Powerbook G4 won't start up follwing attempted OS software update

Hello,
My girlfriend has a 17" powerbook G4 to which she just tried to update the OS. She is not too sure about the details, but thinks she may have been running 10.4.6 beforehand and was updating from there. When she tried to update she was told that a component of the update had failed and she would need to restart, which she did however was met with only a black screen. Since then it has got to a stage where there is a black screen for about 40seconds after switching on, then a blue screen with a grey Mac OS X dialog box, at which point it stops and the hard drive remains quiet. I couldn't seem to start it in either safe mode or single user mode. I have tried looking in every forum around and pressing various combinations of startup keys to no avail. We are overseas and do not have the OS X install disk. She is seriously upset - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi benny6011, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Could be many things, we should start with this, though you've tried some already...
"Try Disk Utility
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."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates.
May even need to do an Archive and Install if you have room on the HD, but saves all your files and gives a new OS...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
I only use Software Update to see what is needed, then get them for real via...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
That way I can wait a week or so, check the forums for potential problems, and get Permissions & such in order before installing.
If you have another Mac you might try FireWire target disk mode...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
Might even have to resort to this...
Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...
http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/

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PowerBook G4 - Won't Start Up - 3 Strange Beeps then just LED flashes and sudden death - black screen.

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Could anyone help me out? Please.
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THE SPECS OF MY POWERBOOK:
Model Family:
Powerbook G4 Aluminum
Processor:
1.67GHz G4 (PowerPC 7457B)
Manufacturer:
Motorola
# of CPUs:
1
Codename:
Apollo 7
Display:
Size:
15.2"
Finish:
Matte
Resolution:
1280x854
Backlight:
CCFL
Base Memory:
1gig PC2700 SODIMM
Brand:
Apple
Wireless:
802.11b/g
Color(s):
Aluminum
Original OS:
Mac OS X 10.6.3
Battery:
50-watt-hour removable lithium-ion battery
Graphics:
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64MB)
Base Storage:
80GB 5400RPM EIDE 2.5"
Optical Drive:
8x Superdrive
Model Number:
A1106
Sales Number(s):
M9677LL/A
Machine Number(s):
PowerBook5,6
Dimensions:
13.7 in x 9.5 in x 1.1 in
Weight:
5.6 lb
Production:
Jan 31, 2005 - Oct 19, 2005
Factory:
China
Production Year:
2005
Production Week:
35 (September)
Production Number:
4240

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Powerbook G4 won't start up follwing attempted OS software update

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