Lost original start up CDs iBook G4

Question

I can't get past the initial grey screen on start up with my (old) iBook G4, and have tried all sorts of fixes apart from using the original start-up disks, because I can't find them...!
Does anyone know how I can replace the required disks? As I understand it they are specific to my individual computer. Figured I might be able to get them through Apple or sthg, but don't want to spend too much considering all my stuff was backed up anyway (fairly recently) and I've just bought a new Macbook. Would be good to get the iBook running though so I could port my stuff across and maybe pass it on to my niece!
Would appreciate any help!

Answer 1

That does sound pretty expensive! There is one thing that you could try doing that won't cost anything, and that is to see if you can download the AHT and burn a disc and see if you can boot from that:
http://www.info.apple.com/support/aht.html
If this works, you will be able to at least evaluate the hardware and decide if the iBook is worth putting any money into. I would be inclined to not put any real money into it until you have run the AHT and determined that everything is working properly.
Depending on the iBook, it would also run Tiger and possibly even Leopard. If it is the one with the 800 MHz processor, it will not be able to run Leopard. I don't know what sources are available in the UK that would be like EBay or Craig's List, but you could try hunting for a full retail version of Tiger.
You said you tied a lot of things. Did you try a PRAM reset followed by a Safe Boot?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455?viewlocale=en_US
Hold down the keys until you hear the third chime. Then you can hold down the shift key and try to boot into Safe Mode, which often takes a long time.
How is your stuff backed up? If you happened to have made a bootable clone on an external firewire drive, you could boot up from that.
It may be worth a hunt for the original discs. For example, if you saved the original box and packaging, you may have left the discs in it. Or you may have squirreled them away in a good safe place. Maybe think about it as you go to sleep at night, and maybe it'll come back to you where they might be.
The iBook can be run from the power adaptor alone and even from an external firewire hard drive. I would recommend running it like this for a while, making sure it's working before investing any real money in it. Also check the iBook support site--I think there may still be a battery recall, and if you happen to have one that has been recalled, you could get a free replacement battery.
IBooks are often prone to logic board problems, and if this is the basic problem, I don't think it will be worth the cost of repair. You might want to look at this site:
http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/
You can probably look for iBooks for sale in your area and see what they are going for. That will be a good indication of how much or little you should spend to get yours going again.
Do you happen to have access to an Apple Store? If so, you might be able to take it in and get an opinion as to what is wrong with it. I think they would have discs or a store feed that they could boot it from, and they should be able to do this at no cost to you.
Good luck!