N900 dead

Please excuse me if this topic was already discussed, but i have followed these other ones and none of them was exactly my case:
/discussions/board/message?board.id=topfaq&thread.id=168
/discussions/board/message?message.uid=589647#U589647
I have received this week my new N900. Everything superb until last Friday when I was in my car listening music through the A2DP profile (stereo bluetooth), received a call, was using also 3G and all this meanwhile the N900 was plugged to the car charger (borrowed from a N97). That was quite usual with my HTC Diamond. But suddenly when I left the car the N900 bricked, so I restarted but since then the only thing I could see is the NOKIA logo with the white wallpaper.
Later at home i tried to remove the battery, put it back again, plugged to the adapter and i could see a small usb logo on the right top corner. Then I followed the guides found here to flash und update the firmware (flasher-3.5 and so on, with my windows 7 pc). First I reinstalled the latest firmware file (.bin) and it seems to be OK, with no error comand. Then I rebooted the N900 but the result was the same, it stopped 30-40 segs later and switch off. I though it was also necessary to do the eMMC, so i repeated following the new steps, but in this case i found these messages from the flasher:
-USB not found
-USB raw data transfer EP found at EP2
-SU_GET_UPDATE_STATUS_REQ terrminated with error code 1.
I have no idea what do they mean but the case is that now I can see no usb logo on the top when I plug the usb adapter (either USB or AC), so it is now impossible to comunicate with the pc. I have tried again to remove the battery, even in a Nokia center with another battery from the 8500 which i didn't know was the same, but no result. The most strangest thing is that the N900 refuses to be charged as once it is plugged to the AC, a yellow light appears and on the screen I can only see the nokia logo on a dark backlight (as I said, with no usb logo now), but 30 segs later it is continously switching off.
I am already mentally prepared to ask Nokia for a replacement, but I still resist to accept there is no solution to revive this little but complex device.
Thanks in advance for your help.

As cpitchford mentionned it, the N900 does not behave well with a low battery. I've experimented a similar problem a while ago when I left my N900 turned off for quite a while. It seems it did not like it as when I tried to load the battery again, nothing happened (even the orange charging light was off). I replaced the battery with a brand new one, and it worked again.
Today as I was using FonJoikuSpot on my Nokia 900 (I'm using this solution to get WiFi access at home using my unlimited data plan and it consumes a lot of battery), it suddenly went off. I could see the Nokia logo on the back screen of my phone. I removed the battery, put it back and tried and turned on my N900. Nothing happened.
The guy at the Nokia Care Point (not a Nokia employee) told me that my Nokia was dead. I explained that I had a similar problem in the past and it was fixed with a new battery. He just smiled at me and went to attend another client.
So I'll try and order a new battery (again...) and hope that my N900 will come to life again!
I'll keep all of you posted on whether this solved the problem or not.

Similar Messages

N900 completely dead

It seems my N900 is completely dead.
The phone does not start up at all. It does not react at all, and even if I try to charge via the adapter or USB, nothing happens (no blinking lights, nothing).
I've tried to do the things as indicated in many forums to try to re-flash it but I can't even get to the initial step of it trying to startup (showing lights, logos etc.).
Any ideas?

when i used to sell phones, there were some that just needed to be left on the charger for a while before they began to actually charge....dont ask me why, but they were only nokias.
how long did you just leave it sitting there on the charger. i have seen it take as long as 8 minutes of absolute nothing before the charge started happening.
at this point, you have everything to gain and nothing to loose. give it a try.

Dead!!! NOKIA N900!!!!

hello peoples,
I have a N900 and it wont start up. ive tried reflashing it several times however it starts up but never passes the loading screen with the five bubble things. ive learnt to reflash it by using peoples blogs online and videos, i dont know much about it.It started when the screen froze so i just pulled the battery out to solve the problem, could this have caused any damage to the internal hardware???
any ideas??? on how to fix it??

Use this link and re-install your OS with Global firmware.
/t5/Maemo-Devices/Top-12-Meamo-Fixes-Repost-6-Flashing/td-p/921989
Cheers
"You may loose faith on us.. But never in your selves! From here, the fight will be your own.."
_____________[Protect Transformers]_____________

N900 can't get passed lock code, keypad dead

Nokia 900. UK O2 network.
Received 2 text messages this morning and suddenly my phone screen is passive. Switched it off and now cannot punch in any lock code numbers to boot up the phone. Tried removing the battery and the sim but nothing seems to work.
Tried connecting to PC Suite and the computer is not reading see the phone files.
This fault has come out of the blue and until today the phone has worked perfectly.
Anyone any fault finding ideas?
Regards, Mike

hope you get it sorted
if you're new to the device or even not very experienced with it, have a look at the sticky post by ceroberts at the top of the forum for some tips on using it

N900 - How to update software and Reset ALL data.

If you have tried to reset an N900 from the settings menu on the device, you would have noticed it would have left all your data intact.
Sometimes you want to start from scratch and delete all data in one go.
Here is how you do it.
Its quite extensive, but comprehensive.
From a windows PC
You first need to download three pieces of software.
The first software you need is called "Maemo Flasher", and this is the program that needs to be installed on your PC and can be found here:
http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/maemo-dev-env-downloads.php
Download the latest version of Maemo Flasher (which is currently 3.5 at time of posting this), and make sure you download the .exe file (maemo_flasher-3.5_2.5.2.2.exe).
Install that file.
Next you need the software for the N900 itself.
That can be found here:
http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php
This page will ask you to enter your IMEI, with very clear instructions on where to find it.
Follow the on screen prompts until you reach the download section.
There are two pieces of software you need to download from there.
eMMC content - This is the package to erase all data held on your 32GB storage.
The Operating System.
OS 2009
PR 1.1.1
PR 1.2
There are, unfortunately, 3 different names for the OS.
Latest version is "PR 1.2 version 10.2010.19-1".
Download the latest eMMC package available, It's version 10.2010.13-2.
The OS is a little more difficult to figure out which one you need.
The notes alongside the software lets you find the right package easier.
I found the best way to check is to do the following: (On the N900)
Menu
Settings
About Product
This will show you this image(or similar)
Note the Version number on your N900's screen.
Download the OS package that matches the Version on your device. As shown in the image above, using the red text as an example.
For people that purchased the N900 in the UK, the OS package will probably be the same as the red text. But make sure you check.
Software downloads complete.
Place these two software packages in the following location on your PC.
c:\program files\maemo\flasher-3.5
You should now have two .bin files in the directory above.
Next steps.
Updating the N900 OS
Your battery needs to be 100% full to prevent any crashes which could leave your phone dead.
Turn your N900 off.
Press and hold the U key on the keypad.
Insert the USB cable (a USB symbol should appear on the top right of your N900 screen, and also the Nokia logo in the centre).
You can now let go of the U key.
On your PC: Navigate to the Start Menu and select Run.
In the Run box, type: cmd. Then OK
In the command window, type: cd\program files\maemo\flasher-3.5
Type: flasher-3.5 -F RX-51_2009SE_1.2009.42-11.203.2_PR_F5_203_ARM.bin -f
(the file name above may be different to yours, you will need to replace the filename with the filename of the software you downloaded).
This image below shows the completed update of the OS, in the command prompt on your PC. This would have now removed any Apps you may have installed on the device, and reset the homescreens to how they were when you turned it on for the first time.
Your personal data, such as Contacts, Images, SMS will still be on the device.
So if you want to remove these aswell, follow the next steps.
Resetting the Mass Memory
Your battery needs to be 100% full to prevent any crashes which could leave your phone dead.
Turn your N900 off.
Press and hold the U key on the keypad.
Insert the USB cable (a USB symbol should appear on the top right of your N900 screen, and also the Nokia logo in the centre).
You can now let go of the U key.
(If you have left the command prompt open on your PC from updating the OS in the previous section, ignore steps 5,6,7)
On your PC: Navigate to the Start Menu and select Run.
In the Run box, type: cmd. Then OK
In the command window, type: cd\program files\maemo\flasher-3.5
Type: flasher-3.5 -F RX-51_2009SE_1.2009.41-1.VANILLA_PR_EMMC_MR0_ARM.bin -f -R
(the file name above may be different to yours, you will need to replace the filename with the filename of the software you downloaded).
This image below shows the completed reset of the eMMC (32GB HDD), in the command prompt on your PC.
This would have now removed any data you had stored there. Including Music, Photos, Contacts, SMS..
The complete reset of your N900 is now complete.
I hoped this has helped.
My posts are my opinion and in no way the direct views of Nokia.
If my posts are helpful, please give me some KUDOS using the green star on the left.

Hmm, it's odd, because the wiki.maemo and another thread here say it works fine on 7. I have put flasher into xp compatibility, but the cmd box has no way to change it - at least, if it does it's through a back route that i'm unaware of.
Attached the screen i see
Edit: what "run" dialog box? is that the cmd box?
Attachments:
cmd.jpg ‏55 KB

Dead N8 after Belle update

Hello, i updated my N8 to Belle using Nokia Suite few hours ago.
Half hour ago my phone has switched itself off and can't start it.
When i press the power button it shows Nokia and after that the loading screen (those 5 white points) for like 30 second with the menu button light turned on and after that it shuts down.
Thank you for any suggestions in advance.

Looks like I'm not the only one with the same issue.
After the update, my N8 is dead. During the update, Nokia Suite show "YOUR PHONE IS RESTARTING...". And, there you go. NOKIA, 5 white dots, the screen goes blank, and now the phone is unusable. I don't know if this was because of the Nokia Suite itself or maybe my phone that having a problem.
Nokia 3310, 8250, 6070, 6060, 3120, 1110, 1280, 5300 XpressMusic, N76, 6120 classic, 5800 XpressMusic, 5530 XpressMusic, N900, C3-00, N8-00, N9, 700, X2-01, Asha 302, Lumia 610, Lumia 920, Asha 501, Lumia 820 and Lumia 1520...

N900 - refuses to switch on

I had been using my N900 for 2 weeks without any issues. I never updated the software. Last night I was trying to take a picture and opened the camera lens cover. Accidentally I pressed the power button instead of the camera capture key while trying to take the picture. The display went off. I also found the phone felt warmer than usual. I took the battery out, put it in and tried again. No success. This time the phone did seem to be getting hot. I took the battery out and tried several hours later. No effect - the phone wasn't feeling warm either. I tried both the USB and wall charger - the LED was glowing green, but the phone wouldn't turn on. Now even with the charger connected, the LED doesn't glow. Being a Sunday, I can't contact Nokia Care till tomorrow. Breaks my heart to think the hardware could get messed up so easily. We've had several Nokias in the family but not a high end one like N900. I've tried everything suggested in other forurms (including Maemo). I tried to update software with NSU. The NSU can't even detect the N900 when I connect it to the USB port. Probably suggests the battery is flat. I don't have a 5800 to try and recharge the battery externally - its shocking to know the phone can't charge if the battery is flat. If a laptop can why can't a "smart" phone? Anything else I can try?

I'd like to see what happens when you use a different, charged battery on your phone before I said for certain that it is dead.. but it sounds more like a hardware failure.. and those tend not to occur as a result of firmware bugs or pressing the wrong button..
It could be you have a duff device..
I've heard of loose magnets on the keyboard so it couldn't tell it was fully open.. power buttons that failed so the device would turn on then turn off again.. back cover sensors that couldn't tell the back cover was present (which means the microsd slot won't work) dead LCDs that have a single bright line and not much else.. GPS not working.. *MICROUSB PORTS FALLING OUT OF THE PHONE*
the N900 doesn't have the greatest build quality and things can and do go wrong.. new firmware might not help your device, but if you can charge your battery and then it seems to work again, it might stop it doing this.. if it is a software fault.. which is might not be

Canadian sim not working with uk N900

i landed in canada a few days ago and bought a Rogers pay as you go sim, for the phone to say unrecognised. Is there a way to get it working? I'm moving here permanently in a few months and want to keep the phone. Itworks here but i'm paying UK roaming rates for texts and calls which obviously isn't viable long term

N900 spec:
GSM 1800
GSM 1900
GSM 850
GSM 900
WCDMA Band I (2100)
WCDMA Band IV (1700/2100)
WCDMA Band VIII (900)
Rogers in Canada:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE on the 850 and 1900 MHz bands (Also known as 2G GSM, or 2.5G in the case of EDGE)
UMTS/HSPA on the 850 and 1900 MHz bands (Also known as 3G GSM)
OUCH!!! I could be wrong, but the N900's bands (900,1700,2100) don't seem to overlap with Rogers 3G bands (850,1900) so no 3G for you over there?
As for not recognising the sim, might this be a rediculous UK firmware issue? Are you using a global or UK firmware version? Flashing to a global one mightn't help since it's unlikely to update any radio firmware at this stage..
Other people have reported using the N900 on Rogers (2G only) with relatively few problems.. perhaps there's something funky with their payg sims?
Which network do you roam onto? I take it it's rogers?
Does the sim definitely work? Any chance it might be dead.. or in need of some perculiar activation?

N900 eMMC flashing

First off: Very sorry to open a new topic, but I need answers fast...
Short history of events:
-New N900, been playing in the app store for a couple (2) of days.
-Dropped it once (40cm in my pants), phone went into reboot cycle.
-Flashed the 1.2 version rootfs.
-Phone booted alright but was complaining about memory.
-Nokia Care servicepoint are PC Suite monkeys who know nothing at all.
-Got my phone back from servicepoint before they shipped it out for 6 weeks.
First symptom: No memory to start decent applications...
Problem seems to be in lacking eMMC.
-Tried flashing the eMMC vanilla image.
-Made some nice additions to: https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7433
Phone model doesn't support Booting into Flash mode and crashes big time (battery removal)
Now I'm left with a reasonably working phone with a couple of exceptions:
- No access to /opt
- No /home/opt folder
- No mounted /home/user/MyDocs
mount gives me:
ubi0:rootfs on /
(and the usual proc, tmpfs, devpts stuff)
df -h says:
/ (227.8 / 149.5 MiB) rootfs ubi0
/tmp (1024 / 972 KiB) tmpfs
/var/run (256 / 196 KiB) tmpfs
/dev (10M / 56KiB) none
/dev/shm (64M / 4 KiB) tmpfs
/dev:
Dspbridge
bus
cmt_speech
console
core
cpu_dma_latency
fb0~2
fd
full
i2c-1~3
input
iphb
kmem
kmsg
loop0~7
mem
mtd0~5
mtd(0~5)ro
net
network_latency
network_throughput
null
omap-previewer
ppp
ptmx
pts
pvrsrvkm
radio0
ram0~15
random
rtc (0)
shm
snd
stderr
stdin
stdout
sticon0
tty
tty0~63
ttyS0~3
tw14030-adc
tw14030_wdt
ubi0
ubi0_0
ubi_ctrl
urandom
usbdev1.1_ep00
usbdev1.1_ep81
usbmon0~1
vcs
vcs1~2
vcsa
vcsa1~2
video0~1
watchdog
zero
Now I can't find the device that's supposed to be the eMMC.
Am I supposed to be able to mount it manually?
I've opened another topic about this: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=54040
But it got bashed up pretty bad because I've only owned the device for 2 days before it went completely useless...
Some questions:
Why is there no reset button
Why is there no way of doing a proper monkey-friendly hard reset
Is there something the NOKIA Care point uses except PC Suite (hardware level debugging)
Why doesn't NOKIA want me to be able to flash the eMMC
I have a WXP Pro and a Ubuntu AMD64 machine at my hands to fix this.
Is it possible to flash the eMMC with TFTP or something (saw cpitchfork doing this somewhere)
I need to have this fixed before monday, because that's the last day I can call in DeadOnArrival (14days) which only takes 5 days to get me a new phone (instead of NOKIA's 6 weeks for repair).
Thanks in advance!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

MY GOD send it back!
We can look through this but it seems you're missing your EMMC device..
Imagine the internals of the phone like a laptop and a bunch of USB devices..
The GSM phone, the emmc, the wifi, the keyboard, the camera.. they're all "usb" devices.. If one dies, it doesn't stop the phone starting..
It seems your EMMC has bitten the dust.. and yours is not the first, second or tenth phone I've seen do this..
They've pretty much all been dead very soon after buying..
What's more you're in trouble now..
If you give it back to Nokia, they'll flash it.. and they may not notice that flashing it didn't work..so they'll say it is fine because it boots..
In all the cases I've seen, Nokia service dept didn't detect the fault that is very obviously their.. The service teams don't care or have insufficient training..
However, in your case it looks pretty serious..
If you have an ubuntu machine (good) you can certainly try and flash your phone.. but it needs to go into flasher mode.. you can't use TFTP (are you mad?! via wifi?!)
Short simple answer.. take it back whilst you can.. it is DOA.. get a new one!

N900 Keyboard behaves strange

My N900 got in a deep coma after the battery ran empty. I managed to get it out after flashing the device with the vanilla image and the latest OS following the instructions on the Meamo WIKI: https://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware
Flashing through windows didn't work (almost sent it to Nokia) but booting fom an Ubuntu USB stick and flash the N900 did do the trick at the end.
The following images are flashed:
RX-51_2009SE_1.2009.41-1.VANILLA_PR_EMMC_MR0_ARM.bin
RX-51_2009SE_3.2010.02-8.002_PR_COMBINED_002_ARM.bin
The device seem to work OK again until I tried to enter some text from the keyboard. Some characters now seem to be interconneced:
when I enter an 'a' it becomes 'oa'
when I enter an 'o' it becomes also 'oa'
when I enter an 'x' it becomes '.x'
when I enter an '.' it becomes also '.x'
when I enter an 'd' it becomes 'dk'
when I enter an 'k' it becomes also 'dk'
when I enter an '#' it becomes '#&'
when I enter an '&' it becomes also '#&'
I verified 'text input' and 'language&regional settings' under 'setting' but nothing seems to be wrong there. I don't us any custom dictionairy.
The vitual keyboard work normal.
It pretty much sucks when the keyboard can't be used.
Does anybody has a solution for this issue?
Marc

Hi cpitchford,
Just read your message. Thanks for your enquiry.
In answer to your question, no, I don't get #& or #k, I get a lowercase d
Are you having issues with your keyboard as well?
I think some of my keys are dead as there is no response from them: the letter "t", shift, blue arrow and ctrl/Sym keys if pressed alone or in conjunction with other keys, they do nothing. The letter "e" when pressed produces "et" and if long pressed produces "e5".
There is a short circuit somewhere in there.
I'm thinking about buying a new keyboard from ebay but it may not be the keyboard as such. It may be the matrix underneath it.
Do you know of anybody that has bought a dummy N900 (shop showpiece) and used the keyboard out of it? I know they don't have most of the real working parts but the keyboard seems real enough.
Regards,
Wovens

N900 DoA

Just received my N900 after a week of waiting, and it seems to be dead on arrival.
It sort of seems to power up, and plays the startup jingle, but all the screen displays is a few lines of different colours across the screen, and what looks like a white scratch on the inside of the screen.
Nokia Care is apparently (http://www.nokia.co.uk/support/contact-us) supposed to be open until 7pm, but calling the number gives me an automated message telling me their offices close at 5pm.
Is this a common problem? Perhaps some of the 'erratic' behaviour when the phone is low on charge? Or is it just totalled?

Thanks for the reply.
I can just about make out a Nokia logo after a minute or so, but it's very faint; a bit like seeing an LCD screen from an acute angle... but fainter.
I was wondering if this was a common problem with the n900 - perhaps it was exposed to cold temperatures during shipping, which the display might be particularly sensitive to.
I've sent a message via the website (which only seems to work with IE, not Firefox 2 or 3) asking for a replacement.
Since I was pretty quick to notify them of the problem, I'm hoping I won't have too much problem with getting a replacement. If there is any issue with this, I am still covered by UK distance selling regulations, and could always go for a card chargeback if there's any problem with that.
I think that the combination of waiting a week, then waiting in all day for the damned thing to arrive, only to find it broken has soured my opinion of Nokia (and UPS, who can't read delivery instructions for toffee). Coupled with the lack of support for Firefox, and the incorrect phone line times, it's put me in a helluva bad mood.
I'm hoping it won't take Nokia a full 48hrs to respond, and I'll be feeling less let-down after they tell me how they'll get a replacement unit shipped pronto.

N900 "zapping" the bluetooth functionality in the ...

Interesting and potentially (for Nokia) expensive problem here. I bought a pair of BH-905's in September to go with my N97. All worked perfectly, got an N900 about 3 weeks ago and linked up the headphones to that and again initially no problems but twice in the last week after having taken a couple of calls whilst listening to music, having ended the calls the phone wouldn't respond to input from the headphones although the phone still showed the connection between the two active. Rebooting the phone cleared the connection but although the headphones had a full charge it was not possible to turn them on again, the bluetooth functionality was completely dead although the active noise cancellation was still functioning and the headphones still worked with a wired connection (although the N900 didn't register headphones connected and the function buttons on the headphones didn't work). Nokia replaced the first set of headphones no questions asked, and I'm going back there at lunchtime to get my latest pair replaced but obviously if this is going to happen everytime I get a couple of calls it's going to become completely impractical to use them, so any suggestions/theories? Apologies for the essay but couldn't think of a way to condense the explanation.

you're not alone.. this is apparently a common problem with the BH-905.. irritating since they are the most expensive head phones Nokia make.
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=36293&highlight=bh-905
I've been having the same problem.. making or receiving calls occasionally crashes the headphones.. Using the three button reset helps but can mean you need to repair the headphones with the N900..
The bluetooth technology inside the N900 is based on a Linux project called Bluez.. it is the standard bluetooth support in all Linux systems so you'd expect it to work well with any headphones.. This could be a really strange bug in the BH-905 that is being triggered by the bluetooth stack in the N900 or it could be a strange bug in the N900's hardware drivers that is causing the problem.
Either way, it is likely to be fixed in the next firmware update..
My BH-905 worked well with my N97 phone.. never had a crash problem when interrupting music with an inbound or outbound call.. but with the N900 it caused problems almost from the start.. I don't think replacing them will help.. but an update in software would be good.. fingers crossed that'll be very soon

6120 dead screen

My 6120 will have a dead screen after hours of inactivity, phone still on as I can receive phone calls (key pad lights on)? any help ?

Turn the phone off and back on by removing the battery.
Then try doing a software update on the phone..
http://www.nokia.co.uk/A4777088
Backup your stuff first though!
Owned: Nokia 3510i, Nokia 3120, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6233, Nokia N73, Nokia N82.
Current: Nokia N900!

My n900 won't start up

i got a problem...
a month ago, my n900 won't start up.
the battery getting flat, so i bought a new one.
but that doesn't help at all.
everytime i try to charge, or turn on, nothing happen. no changing on the light, and i didn't have nokia logo appear on it too if i press the turn on button.
i go to the nokia care, but they told me to replace the phone machine, and it cost me Rp. 1.900.000,- (if it's only Rp. 500.000,- i will pay, but the price is ridiculous)
could anybody in here can help me??
i want my n900 back to life without paying so much money.

@eijlk
Could only suggest you look at this resource:http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware with instructions "While holding the u key, connect the N900 to your computer via USB. Wait until you see a dim screen on your N900 with a Nokia logo in the middle of your screen with an USB icon in the top right corner" and specifically note"If the USB logo does not appear, and the device turns off - ensure the battery is charged by connecting to the wall charger for an hour and try again. Bear in mind that neither the wall charger nor the USB cable will charge the N900 battery if the N900 cannot boot the OS".
Unfortunately if device is dead to this procedure there is nothing left that you can do.
Happy to have helped forum with a Support Ratio = 42.5

Stuck: Need Disk repair but DVD drive dead and only have USB 1

[1 Ghz flat-panel iMac with USB 1 ports (no USB 2) and also Firewire 400]
I noticed a strange discrepancy (small but concerning) between the size of a folder on hard drive (folder of all mp3's with no subfolders) and the backup of the same folder on a mounted thumb drive.
(The size difference was not due to any invisible .DS_Store files and both folders are displayed in List view format.)
Disk Utility reports three things:
1. Incorrect number of thread records
2. Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
3. Checking volume information.
Volume free block count",0) [I might have mangled this line]
(It should be 13438611 instead of 13437937)
Here is the GOOD (but these are useless as explained under the "Bad"):
- I have a Tiger 10.4 boot DVD for a repair ==>but see below
- I also have a Disk Warrior disk (never used)
Here is the BAD:
- My built-in optical drive [Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-105] is -- I now discover - defunct and DEAD - it does not run the Tiger Boot DVD (in pristine shape).
- I bought an external SuperDrive (unopened) but I believe no boot from USB 1 is possible in PowerPC so a SuperDrive with USB 1 is useless.
Questions:
1.) Is there any way to boot from some external source (optical drive is DEAD) to run Disk Utility and/or Disk Warrior? -- I see none in this case! (gulp).
2.) More importantly (and this is my fundamental concern): Do the three Disk Utility hard drive issues constitute any direct threat to the integrity of my files?
I have almost everything backed up to duplicate thumb drives over these many months as standard practice.
Are these Disk Utility errors fully isolated to hard drive directory-keeping...or do these directory damage errors pose the possibility of mangling or harming my files or their metadata (filesize, etc.).
Put another way, when files are backed-up from a hard drive under the Disk Utility reports above, do they remain unharmed and undamaged by the situations reported by Disk Utility?
Thanks,
Bill

Jeff and Michael,
Thank you both for your generous and thoughtful input.
Michael: As I slept on it overnight, the exact same idea occurred to me of trying a Target Mode to the iMac from my Lion MacbookPro (I have it but stupidly have yet to use it much!).
I did buy a Firewire 800 (MBP) to Firewire 400 (iMac) adapter cable a few months ago!
CONCERN: Would there be potential compatibility issues or risks in running Lion 10.7's Disk Utility against the hard drive of the old OSX 10.4 iMac in Target Disk Mode?
==> Assuming an "it's ok" answer to the Target Disk question, would the majority of users agree that the Target Disk Mode would be more prudent than running:
fsck -fy in Single User Mode
I have never done fsck -fy before especially because I was under the impression there were issues with Journaled drived but from what I have read today...it looks ok to do)
Jeff: Can't thank you enough for the reference to the OTW DVD drive. I might first invest $10 in one of those DVD lens cleaner disks that I've read about. It's probably not the issue or else why would the drive read commercial Music cds perfectly well!
Thanks,
Bilil

N900 dead

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