HELP! dead powerbook?

My powerbook died on me today... it's just under three years old.
I have a 40 gig drive and only 1.4 gig free... but it's been like this for a few weeks.
I start up the computer, it starts up REAL slow, and then when it's up, will run for about ten minutes, then completely freeze, and I have to manually restart.
I brought it home, and hooked it up to my sister's G4 desktop in Target mode - with the intentions of backing up everything and wiping the drive. The only problem is, It won't let me copy. It does the same thing, lets me copy files for a few minutes, then freezes her computer. I can copy files in VERY small batches. I've been at it for three hours, and have copied about 2 of the twenty gigs i need to copy. There's got to be an easier way.
I've run disk utility, to no avail.
I'm on a powerbook 12' 1gig, with about 800 meg RAM
10.3.9
PLEASE help me... i've got some photos backed up, but not all of them, and as I'm a photographer, my photos are incredibly important to me.
Thanks,
Sarah

The problem is your hard disk is too full to cache the copies that are any larger. You can try a program like LaCie SilverKeeper which will do folder to folder copies:
http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/
Or if you have an external hard drive that is larger than 40 GB, and empty, try using Superduper:
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Similar Messages

Removing files from a dead powerbook drive

I need to remove files from a dead powerbook which has motherboard failure. Does not boot up so Target mode will not work. Is there another way to do this?
Do they make drive dock connectors for this?

You could remove the drive and use a drive adapter. Many places make drive adapters.
I like OWC. Here is an example.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/
Cheers.

Help! powerbook went dead for no reasons

Hi there,
Yesterday i was just doing my regular maintance routine for my powerbook. Repair permission, run system janitor. After that i just use my powerbook to play music, and i fall asleep. after i woke up, the music no longer running, and the spinning wheel displayed. I notice there was a very loud spinning noice comming from inside of the powerbook. Before the hard crash my powerbook didn't make such noice. I tried to get in the (forgot the name, but it's the place where you can see how many application your system are running and kill the application at will), but i can't even get into that application. so i restarted.
Now my powerbook just got to the grey apple logo with the spinning wheel. it no longer doing anything. I tried to use the installation disk but the screen kind of flahes two or three times, and end up at the grey apple logo as well.
I back my my system regularly with a Lacie External drive, but i forgot how to switch to boot with the lacie drive instead. i am afraid it was the hard drive that failed. I had the powerbook for around 3.5 years. If my powerbook's hd does failed, can i use my Lacie to boot and work? I need my powerbook to do most of my work. Please help, kinda freaking out here... thanks alot!!!

More than likely it does. Can you verify the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive?
It is good that you have a bootable clone with a relatively recent backup. You can try replacing the drive yourself, if you feel comfortable with the tools, but only you know your capabilities.
Joe

Dead Powerbook G4 Titanium

Background: This computer sat unused for several years. Want to fire it up and use it for email.
Problem: Will not boot -- in fact, it does not appear to be getting power from the power cord.
Failed "solutions":
1. Tried a power cord from a white laptop of the same era to no avail.
2. Replaced the battery to no avail.
I would appreciate any suggestions on how to revive this dead computer.

There's a special section for the Ti PowerBooks here:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=129
Might be helpful to repost there. I think you'll be among many more Ti owners than are in this forum (for Al 17" "books)

Help! PowerBook G4 crashed on sleep, won't start after forced shutdown.

Urgent call for help: After I downloaded a RealPlayer update today, I neglected to run Disk Utility permissions repair. A little later I left my G4 PowerBook running for a few hours and when I came back and tried to wake it up, it wouldn't come out of sleep mode (white light was pulsing).
I held down the Power button for about 20 seconds but nothing happened, so I removed the battery, which also didn't force a shutdown (white light still on). Finally, after the battery had been out for 5 minutes, I replaced it, plugged the computer in again, and held the Power button down, and it finally shut down (white light went off after about 15 seconds).
I then tried to restart the computer by pressing the Power button, but now nothing at all happens--no chime; it doesn't even go to a gray or blue screen. I've searched Discussions and found a post from "Maxit" suggesting a reboot from the Install disk to someone whose screen went as far as blue and what to do after that to prevent the problem in the future, but since the computer won't draw power, I can't insert the Install disk. (I've copied Maxit's fix below.)
Is there anything I can do to get the computer at least to the point where I can reboot from the Install disk--besides wait until AppleCare and/or my local repairman wakes up on Monday morning? Thanks for any suggestions!
Maxit's fix:
Posted: Apr 28, 2006 7:17 PM in response to: Jimmcangolf
First thing I would do is to restart from the 10.3 installation Disk and rather than proceeding with the installation, go to the menu bar, find Disk Utility, open it and run "Repair." If errors show up, run again.
Then, I would boot into Safe Mode (which forces a directory repair). See this KB article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
This will take longer than a normal restart. Once booted, go into Disk Utility on the drive and repair permissions, then restart. Were this not to resolve your issue, then I would suggest doing an "Archive and Reinstall" of 10.3:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Then update the software to 10.3.9 (be sure to repair permissions after the update).
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 15"

Yes, the sleep light stayed on until I was finally able to force a shutdown by removing the battery for a time, putting it back, and holding down the power button.
You've asked a good question: I don't know why it didn't go black as soon as I took the battery out, or why I had to hold down the power button for almost 30 seconds before it finally did.
Maybe when the battery is drained to 1%--which is what the indicator said when I finally realized what had happened and plugged it back in--its reserves are so low that it doesn't have the wherewithal to turn itself off. Or maybe after 5 hours of hibernation it was cranky when I tried to wake it up. . Do you know why it wouldn't respond as expected as soon as the battery was removed or the power button held down?

How to wipe the hard drive on a screen-dead Powerbook G3?

The display on my 1998 G3 Wallstreet Powerbook recently went black and the computer made a noise that I understand is called The Chimes of Death, although the hard drive still makes whirring noises. My local and trustworthy Apple repair service assures me the Powerbook wouldn't be worth repairing even if they could get the parts for such an old machine.
Is there a way to wipe the hard drive and make my data irretrievable before disposing of the computer?
If there's no way to wipe the hard drive, I'd like to find out: (1) How to remove the hard drive. (2) The best way to destroy the hard drive or at least make it forever unreadable (can my shredder eat it?). (3) The correct way to dispose of a Powerbook that has heard the Chimes of Death. (From what the repair service says, I assume nobody would want it as a donation.)

Turtlewiz,
I would not be so quick to pronounce it dead:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14438
I would try the suggestions in the above article. Will it boot to a CD?
As far as wiping the drive, it is easy as long as you can see a display so you can follow the steps necessary. You just open Drive Setup in the Utilities Folder on the CD > select 'zero all data' in the Initialization Options; do it a few times if concerned.
Removing the HD is relatively easy: Just lift off the keyboard and the heat sink, then remove the HD.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/3.0.0.html
Hit the HD a few times with a hammer and nobody will bother with it...it has a glass platter.
Nothing to offer on the recycling except Good Will may still take it as "non-working" since there are Mac users looking for such bargains.

Help needed, powerbook down after FCP HD crashed

Hello,
any help would be useful :
my PB : PB 12, 756 (or so) MB memory, OSX 10.3.9
I was running FCP HD on my powerbook to compute some effect (timecode on a 4 minutes movie). The disks for rendering and so on is an external LaCie drive (firewire).
FCP crashed during the computation of effects. Before it crashed the PB hardrive was making noise as if it were reading again and again the same location.
Then I was not able to access the finder, neither was I able to soft shutdown the computer. So I turn it off pressing the power button 5 sec. Then started again. The hard drive was making about the same noise (like it was swapping for ever).
Not able to run any application, it took 10 minutes for the finder to appear.
I then restarted with the installation DVD, repair permissions and checked disks. 7 Gb of free space, all seems fine. Started again : same problem. 10 minutes to start, and the disk keeps swapping for ever.
Does someone have any idea ?
thanks for help
Marc

Thanks for the info.
I put my pb outside, where it is pretty cold. I got it to work normally for a few minutes, and I am trying to save all my datas. it is working slow but it is working at least.
So it temperature goes down it is working better. Does this give any clue ?
Marc

Help! PowerBook Won't Power On and Start Up!!!

Hi All,
I’m hoping someone out there can help! My PowerBook G4 15 Inch (Original model) won’t start at all. When I push the power button, nothing happens. Nothing at all. No lights, no sounds, no fan, nothing. It was working fine when I put it away on a shelf in my closet about a year ago, but when I took it out to look up a document, I found that I couldn’t turn it on. It hasn’t been dropped, knocked, exposed to water, etc. It’s literally just been sitting on a shelf for about a year. Some information which may help:
1. It appears that the battery does not hold a charge anymore, because I left the laptop plugged in overnight and the indicator lights on the battery still do not light at all when the power status button on the battery is pressed. However, I don’t think this should affect startup when the AC adapter is plugged in – the PowerBook should start up regardless of the power status of the battery. (By the way, I know that the AC adapter is good because I tried it on a friend’s PowerBook and it works fine.)
2. I’ve already reset the PMU (several times) by pushing the little button on the rear of the PowerBook with the end of a paper clip. That doesn’t change anything either.
3. I’ve removed the battery and left the laptop plugged in for approximately 15 hours just in case the internal PRAM battery needed a charge after having been stored for so long. No luck there, either.
I can’t understand what could have happened to it just sitting on a shelf! I had another Mac laptop sitting right next to it for the same amount of time, and that one started up just fine. Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem could be and a potential solution(s)?
Many many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Appler5 wrote:
it seems fairly cheap and easy to fix
Yes, which is why I'd tackle that first. My first suggestion would have been to try the power adapter with a meter or on another Mac or check, but you're a step ahead of me on that, so aside from a possible, but highly improbable death while resting on the shelf, the b.u./PRAM batt is the obvious issue.
I do hope that's what this turns out to be
Me too. It'd be worth it for your time and money, whereas other, major, components would likely not be cost effective, given the PB's age.
I'll update with a post when I know more.
Please do, and good luck!

Help! powerbook won't go to sleep...suffering from insomnia

Hey all,
recently i noticed my powerbook has not been going to sleep. i've reset pram,nvram,open firmware, repaired disk permissions, ran cron scripts the whole 9 yards. I checked system logs and i get this:
Description: System events log
Size: 86 bytes
Last Modified: 12/8/05 9:37 AM
Location: /var/log/system.log
Recent Contents: Dec 8 09:37:20 P12 cp: error processing extended attributes: Operation not permitted
it seems the powerbook does try to go to sleep but Tiger won't allow it, anyone know whats going on?. Any help is appreciated, thanx in advance

Well, if you are sure its a warranty issue they will not charge you once the issue is resolved. But from what you have said it seems to be software related. I am at a loss what to suggest (sorry). The only last thing I'd say to check is the following:
1) Make sure your folder actions are off in the Finder. Control click on desktop and the menu should read "Enable Folder Actions." If it says Disable I'd say try it.
2) Try logging into a new "clean" new user account (after logging out of yours) and see if the machine will sleep then. If it does look at the StartUp items for your user.

Help using powerbook as wireless adapter for Xbox 360

Ok I need help partially opening my NAT. I have a Linksys WRT54G. And I play on Xbox Live a lot. The other day I moved the xbox into my living room where our new tv is and then I hooked my G4 Powerbook up to the xbox and did internet sharing because I have no internet connection in there besides wireless. Whenever I use a wired connection on the xbox is says my NAT is open. But whenever I use my laptop it says my NAT is Moderate, and it makes it hard to get into any games. I don't want to chip out the money for a $100 microsoft adapter because I will rarely play xbox in their. So how do I go about opening up the NAT the rest of the way.
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/61 there is how I did it, but I setup the xbox with a static IP
On my router I have ports 88 and 3074 open which make the NAT open on wired connection. So I am thinking I may need to open those ports on the laptop itself? I am not sure if I can open ports on the laptop for outgoing connections.
Thanks for the help!

A wireless router is a device which requires its own wired internet connection. A wireless router is not a wireless access point like the Linksys WAPs. A wireless router does not connect wireless to other wireless routers/APs with standard Linksys firmware. With Linksys firmware you need a WAP54G or similar. The WAPs support wireless bridging and repeater mode.
If you already have a WRT54GL then you have to install a 3rd party firmware which adds wireless bridging capabilities. Read the wikipedia article on "WRT54G" for information about which WRT models support 3rd party firmware and an overview of projects and links.
Remember, however, that you may brick your router if you install a 3rd party firmware incorrectly and you probably void the warranty if you install 3rd party firmware (it is even possible to find out after you restore the original Linksys firmware if you don't clear the NVRAM before).

Help! PowerBook G4 failed, rebooted but I have lost all my iTunes files!

Hi there,
Please help!
I have an old PowerBook G4. I dropped it this morning by accident and it stopped working. I got it to switch on again and got to the Darwin/BSD page. I followed the advice below:
Start up in Single User Mode and type carefully:
/sbin/fsck -y
Repeat the above until it says your disk is OK. Then:
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /var/db/netinfo
mv local.nidb/ local.nidb.bad
ls -ln /Users
This last command will give you one line for each user, plus one for the "Shared" directory, which doesn't interest us. Each user will have a line like one of these:
drwxr-xr-x 29 501 501 986 Jan 17 18:38 michaelc
drwxr-xr-x 14 520 20 476 Sep 10 2004 jdoeThe second numeric field (501, 520) is the user ID (UID) and you need to list the uids against the shortname s given in the final column. Make sure you get the name right for UID 501! Then continue with
reboot
I had to add new details once it had rebooted and it looks like i's created a new profile. I have the files that were on the HD (photos - phew) but all my music files have gone.
Any idea how to get them back please?
Thanks sooo much for your help!
J

Download a copy of EasyFind (free) and use it to search. It would be really unusual for a folder to go missing so selectively while everything else survived on a drive. Dropping a drive doesn't shake files loose. You posted a lot of instructions somebody had provided but how much of that did you actually need to do?
[Link to EasyFind download|http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11076/easyfind]
It is possible you had some sort of directory damage and the files still exist on the drive but the computer has lost track of them. Try file recovery software.
*File Recovery*
General reading on this topic - [http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/datarecovery.html]
Easiest method: If you dragged these to the trash did you empty the trash? If not simply double click on it to open it and drag the file out again.
Next easiest method: Copy the file off a backup drive.
File recovery software: Try using an application such as [Data Rescue 3|http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php] or [FileSalvage|http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?mainpage=product_info&productsid=1]. Both have free trial versions that let you see if the software will help before you decide to buy. You will also need a second hard drive equal to or larger in size than your first drive as a destination drive for recovered files.
It is critical that you do not use the computer or even turn it on until you have rescued your files. Files only have the directory reference to them removed when you empty the trash or otherwise delete them from a computer (unless you use secure erase, in which case they are gone forever or can only be potentially be recovered by very expensive means) and are still present on the computer. However, their space is marked as available to any other file creation done on the computer (even done by you booting the computer) and there is risk that your files will be overwritten by the computer.
There is also this free tool which supposedly runs on OSX and does recovery of popular media and Office files. http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download I have not run it and have no idea about its functionality. It is a command line program and so is not as user friendly as Mac users might wish. [http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27683/testdisk]
[Baby Boomer's post on file recovery utilities|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10270140#10270140 ] - note, most of these free demos only tell you if they can recover a file and don't actually recover any files for free.
If you manage to rescue the files you should seriously consider getting a backup drive. A $100 drive will cost less than replacing a substantial iTunes library since Apple does not provide for a second download for free.

HELP my Powerbook is password protected

i got my powerbook second hand and it has a password so any help would be helpful

For every Mac model, there is a minimum required OS version. It won't boot into any lower version.
Turn your Powerbook over and remove its battery. Somewhere inside the battery compartment you'll find a label with the machine's basic specifications, serial number, etc. Make a note of the specifications (not the serial number, ethernet ID or Airport ID) and post them here. Also, tell us whether most of the ports for connecting other devies to it are on the back edge of the machine, under a hinged door between the display hinges, or on the left and right edges of the machine. This will help us identify your Powerbook model and determine what minimum OS version it requires. Meanwhile, you could be examining your OS X 10.2.x installer DVD closely for fingerprints, smudges, scratches, scuffs and dirt, and running a drive cleaning disc through your optical drive.
Message was edited by: eww

Need Major Help! Powerbook G4. PLEASE HELP

I have a Powerbook G4 running OS X 10.5.8 and for some reason I can't get it to lanch apps or anything. The finder got corrupted and I've tried everything to get to disk utility but I can't. I tried safe mode. So I figured I might just make a partition on an external drive for my mac and lanch it off this copy of my HD I made a while back. It's in .hfs format. It used to be a .dmg but I was wondering since I (Sorta) don't have a restore disk if I could mount it to a mac partiontion launch my mac from that and fix the finder file. How can I do this? I also have a .iso I got online of the restore disk but I'm not sure it's the right one since they have .exe's on the disk. Not really complying with the info I used to remember about my disk. Please help.

I think you want a bootable clone. PPC Machines (G4,G5) need FIREWIRE drives) Intel Machines can use USB and Firewire drives.
I have a Powerbook G4 and use both SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner for backups.Below are some links to give you more information about the advantages of a bootable clone backup.
http://www.bombich.com/index.html
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
http://www.cultofmac.com/48861/how-and-why-to-clone-your-mac-hard-drive-macrx/

(HELP) Dead MacBook Pro.. possibly something to do with the logic board.

I had been noticing my MacBook Pro's performance degrading lately.. for example whenever I dragged a file into a folder it would lag for 5-6 seconds and then copy over. It started to bug me so I guessed that maybe a reinstall would fix the problem. After reinstalling and rebooting, I got no video on the display.. keyboard wouldn't work.. only things that happened was the disc drive made a sound, light came on the font and could hear the HDD spinning a little.
I then took it to the Apple store as thats what Apple told me to do on the phone. So we took the loverly 3 hour drive(there and back) to the closest Apple store just to have the man take it out the back for 2-3 minutes and then come back to say "It's possibly the logic board that is dead".
I am out of warranty by 2-3 months and so he told me I would have to pay £700 or so to repair. As a full-time student I don't have that kind of money.. I don't even have £60. - I find it annoying how they didn't even fully check the problem out.. just a "possibly the logic board".
So what if I manage to click my fingers and have £700 appear right before my very eyes? I pay for the new logic board just to find out thats not really the problem? or maybe have the same thing happen again right after the 90 days that logic board is covered for? meaning I have to fork out another £700.
I am a massive fan of Apple.. I love their products. I have brought so many products of theirs.. now just 2-3 months after my warranty runs out.. I get this. They didn't even say sorry for selling me a faulty product and didn't offer to help out in any way. When I spend £1,299 on something I expect it to last A LOT longer than a year and 3 months.
I need my MacBook Pro very badly for College but now I can't do my work and if I want to do my work, I have to pay £700 for it.
What do I do? Who do I talk to? Is it possible to get it fixed without having to pay that kind of money?
I can't settle for anything less than a Mac. I love the OS way too much and need so many of the apps that are Mac-only. So no way am I going to forget this and buy myself some cheap PC CrapTop.
- iTomath

Unfortunately, if you cannot boot from the disc, it won't be possible to do any diagnostic tests yourself.
It might be worth getting a second opinion. Is there an Apple authorized repair shop anywhere near you? If so, possibly you could take it there and see if they can diagnose it. You may need to pay a small fee for them to do this. But possibly someone might take a little more time with it and be able to give you a definitive diagnosis.
I'm grasping at straws, but you might be able to try resetting the SMC:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411?viewlocale=en_US
I don't know if this would help or not--there are not many things to do when the computer is unresponsive and you can't use the keyboard or a disc.
Unless the problem was reported to Apple while the MBP was still under warranty, I don't think there is any way that Apple would be able to fix it under warranty. Did you ever take it in for any problem under warranty that might relate to its current situation?
I don't know if you might be up for trying to fix it yourself. If you are, here is a site that might be of help:
http://www.ifixit.com/
You have my sympathy--this has to be an exceedingly difficult situation for you. I will continue to think about this, and will post back if anything comes to mind.
Good luck!

HELP! Powerbook display looks creepily like MS-DOS....

Dear kind helper,
When I turn on my brandy new powerbook G4 beautiful machine, the gray screen is displayed then i go right to this black DOS-like screen. I'll type exactly what it says......
/etc.master.passwd: No such file or directory
-sh-2.05b# [HCIController][start]
[AppleUSBHCIController[StopIsochPipeRead] - mIntIsochInPipe = 0 - numReadsPending = 0
[start] 1
I press enter and a command prompt appears like this: -sh-2.05b#....and I can type in commands.
I have tryed to figure this out to no avail. I tryed whatever methods were in the Apple troubleshooting for Startup Failure. I actually do not really knopw what I'm doing so I would love for someone to help me out. If this was a PC I would have a better idea. Am I out of luck?!?!? THis system is like a month and a half old.
Please help!
-Brian

Try the instructions in this article.
(9566)

HELP! dead powerbook?

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