IBook G4 Incomplete Start-up / Post-Apple Icon Blue-screen

My brother's iBook G4 is acting strange and I've run a number of tests to sort the problem, none of which have yielded any useful results. This is a summary of what I've tried/seen:
• iBook was running 10.4.?? - not totally sure which version he had last updated - I suspect 10.4.9
• iBook starts to boot up, but after showing gray Apple logo and "load progress spinner" below
it then displays a blank blue-screen and sits there. No pointer, no loading - just sits
• His machine is Target-Mode access-able from my machine (MacBook Pro), and Target Mode symbol correctly appears and moves around the iBook screen. I was able to copy/archive his most important files just in case - though some picture files seemed to cause the transfer to hang
• *iBook seems unable or unwilling to boot off of OSX disk - no matter how many times we try. It doesn't appear to see it even when holding down 'C' at startup. The disk in his drive, however, shows up fine and readable on my desktop via Target-mode. Odd.*
• Running Disk Utility from my machine and looking at his drive in Target-mode reveals that his drive checks out 'OK'... however it doesn't appear to see a valid OS on the drive as options to "Verify/Repair Disk Permisions" are grayed out.
• Have reset PMU & PRAM successfully - and have run 'fsck', which says disk is fine.
I cannot think of what else the problem might be. He doesn't run any complicated/odd/non-standard software as his needs are simple. I would like to clean-install from his original disks, but see no way to do this as my machine does not allow me to boot from his older OS disks in order to do so by remote.
Any additional suggestions before considering the repair-shop? Much appreciated.
ant.

Welcome To  Discussions ant!
"My brother's iBook G4 is acting strange..."
Please post what the strange behavior is.
Exactly which model ibook G4 is it?
What size is the Hard Drive, and how much space is available?
How much RAM is installed, and is it original or added?
What happened between the last time the iBook functionmed properly, and when it didn't?
Had he made any changes, like upgrading the system, updated or installed any applications or programs, etc?
Have there been any unusual occurences, like freezes, crashes, power outages, etc?
"iBook seems unable or unwilling to boot off of OSX disk - no matter how many times we try."
Are you sure you are using the correct disc, for the iBook, and the installed version of OS X?
What version of OS is on the original system install disc, if that is not the disc you are using, and will the iBook start from that?
If you are using a disc other than the original, is it the Full Retail Version, of the Tiger Install DVD?
ali b

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