HEEEELLPP! accident with my G4 12" 1GHZ POWERBOOK! GREY SCREEN STUCK

ok... i was going to my room upstairs and dropped my laptop on the ground.. about 2 feet fall on its back... kinda a soft hard fall.... no dents to the casing...
but now its stuk on grey screen with spinning gear... and it wont start up!!!
i tried booting from disk and it spat out my LEOPARD DVD....
any help please.. ilove my beloved little laptop!!!

dk968:
Try the procedure below. If you get no response you likely have hardware damage that may require professional help.
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously later.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
• Hold keys down until you hear the startup chime for the third time.
• Release the keys and immediately hold down Shift key to start up in Safe Mode.
• Log in and empty Trash.
• Restart normally and log in.
Please let us know how it goes.
Good luck.
cornelius

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Mid 2011 mbp i7 with a SSD has problems, including grey screen/blue screen/beeping/freezing when I stream live video (i.e. watch espn or time warner cable) Help? Ideas?

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Anybody have similar experiences, or a solid idea of what the heck has happened to my machine?

I'm not really sure what method that person was talking about. I just read he had a successful install so I posted it.
But I'll hazard a guess
1. copy your entire drive to a backup drive
2. boot into that drive and test it out - make sure its a flawless backup, it works, and the hard drive has no problems
3. eject that drive, disconnect it and reboot into the leopard install dvd
4. erase your main hard drive using disc utilities on the leopard install dvd -- you've made a backup, made sure that backup was good, and disconnected it so it's currently safely disconnected from the leopard install you're about to do. Also, on the hard drive you're erasing and installing leopard on to, many people recommend "Zeroing" it as well as erasing it. That option is part of the erase function in disc utilities on the leopard install disc.
5. do a clean install of leopard
6. follow step 4 from that original post exactly as that person described to do.
7. read the rest of what they said
That's pretty much it. With the backup/erase/clean install/import/ you pretty much get everything you need exactly the way you want it with very few things missing -- and you've done this over a clean install. Plus that poster did mention that you can select what you want to import from your backup hard drive.
It sounds like its a "clean install" method that gives you control via "import from machine" option in the installer. Control over what parts of your "old mac" you want to import into your "new leopard mac".
Hopefully that helps. It sounds more involved, but its actually pretty quick and provides you with a perfectly save backup in case anything goes wrong with the leopard install.

I am using a mac book pro with Leopard OS. when I switch my laptop on it flashes a grey folder with a question mark on a grey screen, after the chime. I have tried all the things mentioned in another discussion. none of those have helped. HELP! im scared.

what must i do? im a student and dont have backup for my work. Im in desperate need of a solution where i wont lose my work from my desktop.

You need to purchase Leopard if you don't have the DVD and reinstall OS X:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

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MacBook Pro failing to start up after fairly recent 10.8.4 update. Just grey screen with Apple logo displayed and then hangs.

After having to do a forced shut down (holding down power button) due to freezing I cannot again progress past the grey screen with the apple logo. The spinning cog comes on at first then disappears leaving just the apple logo (in case that is sognificant).
I have tried to find a solution through the support pages but have unfortunately been unsuccessful in my endeavours so do apologise I have overlooked the obvious and would really appreciate some help. I've just started the second year of my Uni and the timing couldn't be worse.
I have tried the following:
1) held down option and started in "recovery 10.8.4" from which I used disk utility to "repair disk", which at first needed some repairs and then I ran it again for the second time to confirm it had a clean bill of health.
2) I then ran "repair disk permissions" and repeated a second time to confirm it was all working well (however one error remained "warning: SUID file "system/library/CoreS... has been modified and will not be repaired" but have read that this should not be a big problem) After which I tried to start up again and it hung with the apple logo on the grey screen.
3) tried resetting the PRAM by holding down cmd+option+P+R before powering up, but it only chimes once and then restarts the mac, then chimes once and repeats the process again in and endless cycle.
4) I then tried 1 and 2 again and then tried to reinstall OSX 10.8.4 from the recovery mode, but this came up with the message "could not find installation information for this machine".
5) I tried starting up in safe mode by holding down shift after the chime at startup but safe mode did not start after leaving it 3 hours.
6) I tried starting in verbose mode with cmd+V but after running the script it reverts back to the grey screen.
I hope I have explained it in enough detail and appreciate any direction or thoughts as to it being salvageable and what to try next.
Many thanks

Eric
Thank you for taking the time to post those links to informative articles.
In relation to the first article entitled "Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck"
I can confirm that i was not able to start in safe mode but was able to boot up in recovery mode and run disk utility. The only one i hadn't tried is fsck. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if from what I understand by the article, this is to be used if I could not run disk utility, with which I have been able to do and to repair both the disk and permissions. But again, if I've missed the obvious from that article please correct me.
Te second article entitled "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" identifies troubleshooting that should be carried out in safe mode. However I am unfortunately unable to start in safe mode and have not been able to progress past the apple logo since this problem started.
Thank you for both links and for taking the time to share. If though I have missed something more significant in this regard I would appreciate your feedback.
Many thanks

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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

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Last night my wife's G5 froze. It is a G5 2.0 running OS X 10.4.11. I shut it down (had to use the power button) and tried to restart. No luck, just made it to the grey screen with Apple logo and spinning wheel. After a few seconds the Apple logo disappeared and a black box took its place, then the wheel stopped spinning. It was late, decided top wait until morning before trying again.
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System Failure : cpu=1; code=60000009 (Invalid pmap)
Lateset crash info for cpu1;
Exception state (sv=0x609bb280)
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backtrace terminated - unaligned frame address; 0xfc088891
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Whew, could be many things, from RAM, (or RAM slots/solder issue), to CPU #1 being bad, (CPU#1 is actually the second one.
Does it boot into any of these modes?
Target mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
We might get clues with verbose mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492

Just bought 1Ghz powerbook but...

Got it from shop in Akihabara (sofmap for those that know), it was super cheap compared to the rest because of no box, data on the HDD (even though it's guaranteed) or OSX install cds. (¥50,000)
Wow i thought, it's ok about the OSX because i have an iMac at home with Tiger install disks (I know it's not 100% legit, but i figured the powerbook came with a copy of Tiger, so using my iMac's install cd is just a shortcut as I am not really cheating Apple as this computer should have Tiger).
But upon loading said installation cd, it says I don't have the drivers and does a kernal panic thingy!
Is there any way i can solve this?
I want to be legit, so please don't bash me.

You have a few options here:
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3) If you want Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) you CAN still get it, but the only place to get it is from Apple's phone support agents. Call (in the US, at least) (800) 275-2273. Note that it does not come on CDs, but DVD. I do not know if it is available in Japan, sorry.

Can I use a solid state drive (SSD) with a G4 1 GHz powerbook? If so, how do I do it?

Hi:
Can I use a solid state drive (SSD) with a G4 1 GHz powerbook? If so, how do I do it? Thanks.
fromx001

fromx001 I believe you can use a SSD as internal drive, of course make sure to buy an ide/ata. There are all sorts of sizes up to 480 GB also in the ide/ata standard. You should however research carefully your purchase, as the performances of your SSD are going to have to rely on firmware "garbage collection", as the older operating systems haven't been written with SSD in mind.
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Powerbook won;t go past grey screen with apple logo on start up

Hi
I am getting very stressed, my powerbook g4 won;t go past the grey screen with the apple logo when switched on. I need to sort it ideally without another computer to go through but if that is necessary then I will do it. I have tried the RAM reboot but nothing, there is not even the spinning loading symbol just a grey screen - which it will stay on until I turn it off. Someone please help!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not sure of my OS as I can't turn my comp on, but I am running leopard on it

Welcome!
First, see if you can boot in Safe Mode, holding the Shift key during startup until you see a message about safe mode. Getting a desktop can take longer because Safe Mode forced some disk checking.s
...I am running leopard on it
Then you should have the install disks. They can be used to boot the computer for repair. Insert the DVD and press and hold the "c" key during startup. That will launch the installer BUT you don't want to reinstall yet. Find the install's Utilities menu and launch Disk Utility. From there you can check the hard drive and make some repairs.
I need to sort it ideally without another computer to go through but if that is necessary then I will do it
That would require that your compute work enough to start in FireWire Target Disk Mode. FWTDM lets your hard drive show up on another Mac as if it were an external drive. You can test by starting the computer and holding the "t" key until you get a blue screen with a big yellow FireWire symbol. Looks like this:
!http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8uGcDJDrUrECaelR5ash9yA3zuGBakhxrJ9TjfjO_uoCmKQ&t=1&usg=_5RiQv2QkO7UuPLUpiige1MVxdb0=!
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Is the AT-MIO-16E-2 ISA card compatible with a Pentium III 1GHz with a 133MHz bus? The system has an ISA slot available but I'm afraid the bus speed is too fast for this old card. Do I need to buy a new PCI card to work in this system?

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Hi,i have a very big problem....i had an accident with my macbook , i poured some champagne and it does not start anymore....it will work again???

hi,i have a very big problem....i had an accident with my macbook , i poured some champagne and it does not start anymore....it will work again???

If you spilled champagne on it, chances are not good. If you haven't alredy DO NOT turn it on or charge it. I would immediately take it to the Genius Bar and see if they can clean it up before.
Had the same problem with a 15" MBP and a tea spill and I did the opposite. Trashed the Logic & Keyboard Assembly. Cost to repair was going to be more than what I paid for a computer so ended up having to replace it.

Accidently deleted /var/vm, stuck on grey screen with apple logo.

I deleted the entire vm folder and now my MacBook Pro won't get beyond the grey screen with the apple logo. I don't have any recovery discs with me. What can I do to rescue my MacBook Pro?
Thanks in advance.

Very true, you could enable the Finder to show hidden files and then restore just the vm folder with that.
The /var/vm folder is just used to store the sleep image and swap file for OS X, so you should be able to simply recreate it using the Terminal in the Recovery HD partition, and not have to deal with reinstalling or restoring.
To do this, select Terminal from the Utilities menu in the OS X Tools interface (when you boot to the Recovery HD partition). Then enter the following commands:
mount -uw /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/
mkdir /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/var/vm
After doing this, use Disk Utility to repair permissions, and then restarting should have OS X use the folder for the sleep image and swap files.
Message was edited by: Topher Kessler

HELP!! powerbook stuck on grey screen, not able to boot safe or single user

hey, i need some help, ive searched the forums the best i could, im experianced at fixing pc's but this has been my first mac in awhile, a friend of mine brought his 12" powerbook g4 to me, he says whenever he turns is on its stays stuck on the first screen where you see a grey apple and it shows a spinning wheel loading, he said hes even left it on overnight and it still stays there, he said he might have gotten a virus, cause he said he was searching **** last time it worked =P (hey i dont judge, every man has to find someway to reveive the "pressure")
so anyway, i dont have alot of his specs, not even the exact o/s # i just know he told me it osx 10.4, so i did some research and found some ways to TRY and fix it, i tried safe mode (shift) and single user mode (cmd+s) and even verbose mode(cmd+v) when booting up the powerbook, but alas, none have worked, safe mode doesnt do anything, just the same grey screen, and single and verbose mode both halts after the cmd screen goes through a few lines.
he doesnt have any software for his powerbook, they are all at home, which is about 900 kms away (or 559.26 miles to the non-metric ppl out there) so im working with nothing but my brain and the net, which isnt much, does anybody have any suggestions, maybe some third party software that would help, just point me in the right direction, or better yet, explain it to me like i was an infant, im not used to macs, but they intrigue. at least for now, i dont want to be put off just from this one little incident.
thanks to anyone who offers help, its my first time EVER asking for it in any forum.

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
There's a couple of things I can think of that may be the problem. Based upon what you have described, the first is a hard drive failure.
A couple of ways to check for this is to use the PowerBook's original installer disc (which you don't currently have access to), or perhaps a Mac OS X Tiger installation disc, to restart from and then use Disk Utility to perform a Repair Disk. Restarting from CD or DVD is performed by pressing the 'C' key during startup with the disc in the PB.
Another way to check is to see if the drive can be accessed via FireWire Target Disk Mode.
A second possibility is that there may be a directory corruption on the drive. If so, then DiskWarrior is the best option.
Another possibility is to take the PB in to an Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider for them to diagnose.
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Half of my Powerbook's Screen is Darker

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I have also noticed that when I set the brightness to the lowest possible, the screen goes complete black...
Thanks for any comments.
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janani
See my reply in the thread called "Darker corner..."
15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, PPC Mac minis, 12" iBooks G3/G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5) Cube, TAMs, iPods 2G/4G, iPs, AEBS, AX

HEEEELLPP! accident with my G4 12" 1GHZ POWERBOOK! GREY SCREEN STUCK

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