IBook G4 won't boot - runs fan - show's ghost?

I've had my iBook G4 (14 LCD) for a while now. the LCD originally broke, but i replaced it and had it running for about 2 more years.
I went on a trip to the coast, and everything's been fine with the quirky little iBook - the battery still dies within 10 minutes of unplugging, the charger is touchy as ****, and so on. However, one day, after another brutal Seahawks defeat, i came back and noticed my fan was running wild and the computer almost seemed asleep (much like most people on here have described). after waiting for it to wake up, i finally did a hard reboot, but when i went to turn the computer back on, it actually gave me a few different scenarios:
1.) (the most common). I'll push that little power button, the fan will instantly kick itself into high gear, and i'll see a pretty black screen, maybe a white 1px bar across the top. within a few seconds, this ghostly white-to-purple mist goes across the screen, and actually, when it makes it into the middle, it shows that glorious apple logo, and the loading image on the bottom - but it never goes anywhere. it eventually goes away to a full black screen with a crazy fan blowing, and nothing happening.
2.) (randomly) i'll push the power button, and low and behold, it'll actually get to the login screen. now, seldomly it'll let me login, but it usually freezes at some point, making the same fan noises, and actually scrambling the pixels to some unrecognizable mess over my desktop/login screen.
I've tried the resets, i've tried booting from disk, i've tried letting it be for a month or so, but to no avail, the problem persists. i've scoured the forums, but nothing quite matches up with my set of problems, so hopefully someone can help me out!

Hey Travis,
the battery still dies within 10 minutes of unplugging
Needs a new battery. Check - about this mac - more info - power - battery and look at the capacity and cycle number
the charger is touchy as **,
Needs a new charger, cord or DC in board.
noticed my fan was running wild .. the fan will instantly kick itself into high gear
That could be U28:
http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/
The shim will fix it temporarily. A resolder of that chip would be permanent.
and i'll see a pretty black screen, maybe a white 1px bar across the top. within a few seconds, this ghostly white-to-purple mist goes across the screen, and actually, when it makes it into the middle, it shows that glorious apple logo, and the loading image on the bottom - but it never goes anywhere. it eventually goes away to a full black screen with a crazy fan blowing, and nothing happening.... it'll actually get to the login screen. now, seldomly it'll let me login..freezes at some point, making the same fan noises, and actually scrambling the pixels to some unrecognizable mess over my desktop/login screen.
That is the classic description of the GPU BGA problem. Here's a recovery from this problem:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1772152&tstart=0
Richard

Similar Messages

  • IBook G4 won't boot using Install Disk

    My iBook g4 won't boot from its original Mac OS X Install Disk (10.4.2).
    When I try to start by holding down the 'C' key, the drive starts to spin up the disk, but then starts up from the hard drive.
    When using the System Preferences to select the install disk as the start up drive, it shows in the preference pane, I can select it, but when it restarts, I get a flashing question mark before the computer continues by booting up from the hard drive.
    I've also tried holding down the 'Option' key to run the Apple Hardware Test on the disk, but my internal hard drive is my only option when trying this.
    I find it odd that the drive would work normally for all other purposes (reading/writing CD and DVD's), but will not start up from it.
    Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

    An update:
    I tested the startup disk using an external FireWire DVD drive and received the exact same results as when attempting to boot from my iBook's internal drive.
    Since it's definitely not the drive, I'd have to agree with you that my install disk is bad (although I'm still at a loss as how an undamaged install disk goes bad).
    You mentioned that Apple Support would replace the disks for a fee. I went through the Apple Support page and which led me to a page informing me that I had to pay $50 to talk to them once about this issue. I'm hesitant to spend $50 on a call where they'll tell me I can purchase new 10.4 install disks for the discounted fee of $50+shipping for a total investment that's almost the cost of simply upgrading to 10.5.
    Has anyone actually purchased replacement install disks from Apple? I'd be interested in knowing what you were charged.
    Or is there another method of contacting Apple regarding this issue that won't cost me $50?

  • MSI 890FX-GD70 and AMD 1100T won't boot. bug LED shows F F.

     Hello everyone!  This is my First Time  Build a Custom PC.  My MoBo won't boot Bios ,  NB shows debug LED   Off  of  AMD  1100t  Processor , What's wrong? I Properly removed processor  and cleaned and reinstalled again  with thermal paste  , CPU fan work perfect, memory and video card installed correctly, I removed and  reinstalled  3 times to  find  the problem and still  Bug LED shows  F F. What I can Do? What is the  problem?     Processor  or  MOBO?  I'll  Appreciate your  suggestions, Recomendations and help.  Thank you.
    my Custom Pc
    MOBO-  MSI 890FXA-GD70
    AMD X6 1100T 3.3
    Memory  8G  Corsair  Vengeance  1866Mhz
    CPU cooling  Corsair water cooling  hydro  H70
    SSD OCZ 90 Gb
    video card ASUS 2GB ATI 6970.
    Case NZXT Phantom
    Power supply : PC & Coolling  silencer  MkII 950 watts
    LITEON BD Burner.
    Logitech 350 Keyboard.
    Your  Help  will be  considerate  and  appreciated..  

    Quote from: Juank1 on 10-April-11, 10:26:37
    umm   have you connected the power cable for CPU?  sounds rare question for me,  sorry  ..  All  I know is  CPU is seated into socket where get power.     Power ATX 24 pin power connector to mainboard  is properly  connected.  or  are you talking about  ATX 8 Pin power connector JPWR2?  is it that?
    .      Also  I tried and  clear CMOS just using  1 stick RAM the slot close to CPU. nothing got it.     Debug LED   FF .     no  signs  of CPU no debug Led   Must see CPU LEDs  On .   as for  me trouble  is  on CPU or motherboard. when you install CPU did you push hard down and closing lever?  I installed CPU like manual say completely embedded into socket and closing lever  I didn't pushed .   Have To push hard it?   what you think about?     I 'll Try tomorrow removing motherboard  and reinstall   Properly as  I  did  and everything back    again.        
    Quote
    or  are you talking about  ATX 8 Pin power connector JPWR2?  is it that?
    yes

  • IBook G4 Won't Boot - Anything!

    Hey!
    I have a G4 iBook that won't boot! It's a friend's. She brought it over, and it was showing the "question mark folder", so I figured I'd just boot from a CD and see what's happening, but no go. I tried to boot it in Firewire Target Disk mode, but nothing mounted, except one time I left the CD-ROM in the drive and it mounted.
    So, it can't boot from the HD, can't boot from a CD-ROM, and it can't be started in Target Disk mode. Nor can I start it in Single User mode. I zapped the PRAM, but that didn't help. I figured the HD's shot, but that doesn't explain why it can't boot from a disk, right?
    I'm stumped - any ideas, folks?

    You will NOT be able to startup any Mac that shipped with Panther with a retail copy of Panther. The retail copies are for people who are updating. That iBook may require Mac OS X 10.3.4 or even 10.3.8 to startup and the Panther install CDs are probably 10.3.0.
    If you don't have the original install disks, I would recommend making a trip to an Apple retail store. The Mac Genius there has access to all the install disks for every type of Mac. They can help you get a whole new set or let you borrow something like the Apple Hardware Test disk for that model iBook.
    -Doug

  • My iBook g4 won't boot up

    My iBook g4 won't boot up.... I tried the option key and there is a reset option maybe and then it loads and after that the blue screen comes and after that only blue.

    Hi, and welcome to Apple Support Communities.
    It sounds as though it could be having hard drive problems. Have you tried starting up in Safe Mode? If not, I suggest that you give it a try. This will take quite awhile longer than a normal startup because it does a file check and repair of the hard disk.
    If this works you will see your normal desktop. Once completely started up in Safe Mode, try to restart normally, and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Click on the top hard drive icon in the left sidebar and note the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom right of the pane. What does it say?
    Select the named boot volume in the left sidebar, ("Macintosh HD" unless you've renamed it). What is the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it? Repair permissions on it.
    See if you are able to do a little hard drive maintenance to help things out.

  • IMac G5 won't boot and fan just runs

    I have an older iMac G5 that has always been a little flakey...it would just shut off for no reason intermittently.  For the most part, I could deal with that as this is no longer my primary Mac, but when I did the last iOS update, my external TimeMachine drive started getting errors - won't write because the drive was read only and now, when I turn on the computer, it won't boot...the fan just runs loudly.
    I researched this and tried the following:
    Reset the SMU - didn't resolve
    Unplugged everything and rebooted - didn't resolve
    So I have a couple questions since I'm ready to toss this computerI have a current Time Machine backup, but don't have a machine to restore to
    Is there a way for me to get at the Time Machine backup (I think I can just plug it into another Mac)?
    How can I get my iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, etc. files off the backup and is there a way to import them into my existing applications on my MacBook Pro?
    Any help would be VERY much appreciated!! 

    You may have the old exchange/repair program power supply capacitor issue on your iMac.  You might be able to find another on my FAQ*:
    http://www.macmaps.com/usedrefurbished.html
    Note, recovering to an Intel Mac directly from Time Machine may not be practical because of various issues with compatibility.

  • Won't boot, loud fan noise after kernel panic?

    So I got that kernel panic screen yesterday, turned it off, and now when I try to turn it on, the screen remains black and the fan comes on really loud. After about 30 seconds it stops. I tried inserting the original disc, but it won't go in the whole way. I've been using the laptop pretty heavily lately, but haven't damaged it that I know of. The battery has been dead for a while now - relying completely on the adapter.
    Any suggestions would be appreciated!

    I have a similar problem. My son was using the computer at the time so I don't know if he saw the kernel panic. The screen is black and the computer won't boot. The fan runs loudly and doesn't stop. The battery is relatively new, about six months old. I've tried plugging in an external monitor but there's no signal.
    I have tried two different power adapters. One has showed orange and quickly went to green, then the light went out. The second adapter is third party but it seems to be getting power to the Mac. To complicate matters further, there is a DVD stuck in the drive. If the Mac is dead, I'd like to at least get the DVD out of the drive!
    Thanks in advance for any ideas.

  • IBook G4 Won't Boot - 'Disk Utility' sees no drive?

    Hi everyone,
    Over the past week, I've started to see my old iBook G4 (Late 2004 Model) acting odd. It started with a sort of generic "Mac OS X has encountered an error and must restart" type of message.
    Now it won't boot. It gets to the Apple logo screen with the progress indicator, but never gets past that.
    I put the Tiger disc in and rebooted, while holding down "C" -- and once I boot from the DVD, I'm getting varied results.
    The first time it booted, it showed the HDD fine, but when I verified the disk, it mentioned that the disk needed to be fixed.
    So I clicked "Repair Disk" and it went through a lot of HDD noises and such, then shut down.
    When I restarted it, I can no longer see the HDD when I boot from the DVD. Yikes!
    Any other steps I can take?

    Hi Jason,
    "The first time it booted, it showed the HDD fine, but when I verified the disk, it mentioned that the disk needed to be fixed. So I clicked "Repair Disk" and it went through a lot of HDD noises and such, then shut down." When I restarted it, I can no longer see the HDD when I boot from the DVD. Yikes!
    Sorry to say this but it sound like hard drive failure. You could get DiskWarrior http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html It can repair the directory, but it can't repair hard drive failure itself.
    Another suggestion is to take it in to a nearby Apple Store or Apple reseller:
    http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/
    You can even make a reservation at a Genius Bar ahead of time...
    http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
    Carolyn

  • Won't boot and fans go mental

    since updating to 10.5.5 my 17" iMac has began to fail. not sure if this is a coincidence or something to do with the recent updates.
    after about 10mins it started to freeze up with the spinning beach ball of death
    then it would freeze after 2mins
    now it won't boot and the fans go mental and it shuts itself off.
    i held down some keys to get the text up of the booting process and first it went on about "intelPSU missing" or something and finally would say "I/O error" "14 majors" and stuff
    could it be the hard drive?
    could it be the ram?
    could it be the power supply?
    stupid mac
    i can get it into target disc mode but my macbook pro doesn't see it.

    It's probably a combination of a failing power supply unit and logic board. I suggest you take it in to be looked at.
    Try booting from your install disc and running Disk Utility to check things out.
    1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
    2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
    Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
    3. Click the First Aid tab.
    4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
    5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
    6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
    Reboot from your hard drive and repair permissions.

  • Ibook g4 won't boot, but hard drive seems fine

    I have a ibook g4,800mhz. osx 10.4.8
    On start up i get the folder & question mark. I have tried the following.
    1) i booted with an os install disk. disk utilities reported the drive was ok it but couldn't see a disk partition so disk first aid had nothing to do.
    2) next i ran disk warrior which had the same probably, it could see the hard drive, reported that the drive was functioning, but saw no partition.
    3) finally i gave up and reformatted the disk, and re installed an os. this worked for 48 hours at which time the problem came back.
    4) i can put the laptop in firewire mode connect it to a desktop and access the hard drive. I can format the disk using apple disk tools, i can install an new os, but after all this it still won't boot from the internal hd.
    5) I reset the pram. also tried starting up with the option key down .. no hard drive is visible when i do this.
    So the hard drive seems to work ok. Two different disk utilities see the hard drive and think its functioning ok. OSx installer runs without complaint, but the &$%! won't boot from the hd.
    Anybody got any suggestions?

    ...this worked for 48 hours at which time the problem came back...
    This is the time period that I was commenting on. If something was used during that time that corrupted the OS, it would cause the situation you are in.
    If everything is perfect with the OS then something is wrong with the hard drive or the motherboard's interface to the hard drive.

  • Ibook g4 won't boot from install disks

    Got an ibook g4 1.33 ghz combo drive from original owner w/install disks. I want to reinstall original system but it won't boot from install disk 1. Tried starting holding down c but ignores disk. Holding down option just gives me the HD. Install disk shows up on desktop and opens. Tried disk utility from install disk but it doesn't allow me to erase the hd. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks.

    OK, so let us suppose that you have the correct disk, the possibilities are:
    • the optical drive is not functioning properly. However, since the disk shows up on the desktop the drive is apparently reading it.
    • the disk itself is the issue. It could the wrong disk, but let us assume it is not. It could be damaged so that it is no longer bootable, or it could dirty. I would begin by giving the disk a good buffing and see if that will encourage it to boot the computer.
    Good luck.
    cornelius

  • IBook G3 won't boot hard drive

    Hello guys.
    Recently I got a whole slew of iBook G3s, broken and new, which I will eventually fix and sell (probably keep one) but I am still in the process of fixing them and have a few questions.
    I have this hard drive that I'm almost certain works (I can install tiger on it without it crashing) but it refuses to boot to tiger. I know it's not the iBook itself because I have a different hard drive that boots great, even in other iBooks too. I'm figuring the mbr config is jacked up, and ive already tried option apple pr and reset nv ram, reset defaults, and so forth in the firmware. How do I make this darn thing boot? And yes, I have tried to boot directly from the cd, but when it restarts it just sits there with the two faced mac face and the blinking question mark. I bet I'm going to have to do some magic in the OF, but I don't know what to type, so yeah...
    Thanks.

    But you said:
    +I'm trying to boot from the OS X Tiger CD, and I know there's nothing wrong with it because I've done a full install on another hard drive and it was fine.+
    Are you saying it did boot off the CD and install, but now it won't boot off the CD?
    By the way, Tiger normally comes on a DVD. There are a few copies on CD out there, but they are relatively rare. Is your copy of Tiger on CD or DVD? Have you used a retail copy of Tiger for the installation? If you used an Tiger install disc from another Mac, that may not work on the iBook.

  • Desperate, won't boot. Screen shows file folder with question mark??

    I'm out of applecare warranty. My PB G4 won't boot. All I get is a gray screen with a small file folder in the center that has a question mark alternating with a little smiling face. Does this mean that my hard drive is fried and the system can't find my OS X software to boot from?
    Is there anything that I can do to remedy this? I'm desperate. This post is being performed with a Dell using Windows

    If the drive appears in Disk Utility then it isn't dead. That you cannot repair it nor install the OS suggests that there's serious damage to the directory if not the partition table. If you haven't backed up recently and have data you really don't want to lose, it might be worth getting DiskWarrior to attempt repairing the drive or retrieving some data. No guarantees.
    Whether you do try that or not, eventually it's back to rebooting with the CD and returning to Disk Utility. Click on the erase tab. Do you have that option? If not, click on the partition tab and select 1 partition scheme and try that. If you can erase or partition the drive you will, of course, have erased everything.
    If you succeed only time will tell if the drive went south because of a hardware issue or software. So, were I you, I'd become very careful about frequently backing up the important info on your computer.

  • G4 Won't Boot Up and Shows The Flashing Question Mark Folder Thing

    Ok so I bought a Quicksilver G4 from this guy and he said that he took is info off it and now it won't boot up. So I have a Tiger Disk and I tried the to boot from the disk by pushing C down while it was booting and it still goes to that Flashing Question Mark and Folder thing. What should I do? Should I take it in or is there something I can do without taking it in?

    Hi! It should boot from the install disc by holding down the "c" key at startup with the disc already inserted as long as it's a retail disc and not one for another model of computer. If it won't boot from a retail install disc then you have hardware problems. Tom

  • IBook G4 won't boot after 10.5 software update?

    Hi,
    I have a iBook G4 14" 1.42GHZ 768mb of ram which was running fine under 10.4.11. I updated to OS X 10.5.4 via a retail discs and it installed and re-started perfectly. All seemed ok so i ran software update and the installation seemed to go fine. However upon restarting it all i'm getting is the grey Apple screen & logo along with the spinning flower icon below it? If i boot of the installation disc it won't see the hard drive, just the Mac OS X discs? If i reboot holding the "alt" key it shows the discs as macintosh HD but it still hangs at the Apple logo. Disc Utility will also not see the hard drive. The iBook was working fine before this, is it just coincidence that the hard drive has died?
    Any thoughts or advice welcome?
    Thanks.

    Is it possible that the hard drive was nearly full and installation of Leopard has filled it to the point of disastrous failure? It's generally recommended to keep at least 15% of total hard drive space free for smooth operation.
    If this is a possibility, do you have access to another Mac with FireWire or a bootable external FireWire hard drive so you can pull some things off the drive to another location in order to free up some hard drive space?

Maybe you are looking for