Just bought a refurb PB G4 via power seller on ebay. Froze on 1st power up. Report says unresolved kernel. Is this terminal or fixable. Should I ask for money back whilst under warranty? I am not techie so worried and not sure what to do? OSX 10.5.8

Question

Hi
Just over a week ago I bought a refurb Powerbook G4 via a power reseller on ebay. The first time I switched it on it froze said OSx had quit unexpectedly... assumed I had done something wrong as not very techie so forced shut down and started again. It is saying the same message frequently and freezing... report says unresolved kernel etc etc etc.
I emailed the apple specialist I bought it off and he advises restarting by inserting the OSX disc and pressing down the C button to reboot from there then selecting disk utility, hard disk and repair. He says it shouldn't be happening as it was fully tested before dispatch?? The only thing I have loaded is an update to adobe and Software for my 3 dongle but as it was freezing before I loaded either of these I don't think they can be responsible??
Please can somebody advise if this is a serious problem. I believe I have warranty for 14 days on this item and I am worried I may have bought myself into a problem. Is this a simple thing to repair. Does he mean me to hold down the C key on the alpha keyboard or the ctrl key? (I emailed him and asked him that 2 days ago and he hasn't responded, hence my worries)... I am sorry if that is a stupid question but I really am not very techie at all.....
Should I just ask for my money back??? If it is a simple repair do I just literally push the disc in, push the power button and hold down the C button?
Any advice would be really apprciated.....
Thank you
Debbie

Answer 1

Debbie:
deborahfromwindsor wrote:
he advises restarting by inserting the OSX disc and pressing down the C button to reboot from there then selecting disk utility, hard disk and repair.... Does he mean me to hold down the C key on the alpha keyboard or the ctrl key?
Should I just ask for my money back??? If it is a simple repair do I just literally push the disc in, push the power button and hold down the C button?
That's where I would begin, too, with
Repair Disk
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.TStatus of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report if it saysanything but Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need touse autility like TechTool Pro,Drive Geniusor DiskWarrior
First we need to determine if the issue you are experiencing with the computer is software or hardware based. Once we have gotten things sorted out there should be time enough to make you decision about keeping or returning it.
cornelius