PowerMac G4 doesn't see startup drive

I've had this to happen before, but it's been so long ago, I cannot remember how to resolve it. I've got a PowerMac G4 that is not seeing the startup drive ... it just alternately flashs the Mac smiley face and a question mark.
How do I get it to recognize the startup drive again? Thanks.

Will it boot in Safe Mode? See
What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
 Cheers, Tom

Similar Messages

  • M8530f desktop PC with a m2n78-la mother board doesn't see my drives

    i have a m8530f desktop PC with a m2n78-la mother board it doesn't see my drives for some reason. i thought it might be a bios problem. is there any way to fix this or do i need to get another board

    Before you begin, disconnect everything from the computer (USB devices, printers, floppy disks, and CD/DVD discs) but leave the mouse, monitor and keyboard connected. You already checked and made sure that the power and data cables have a good connection to your drives and the motherboard now go to your BIOS Setup (should be F10) and reset the BIOS to its' defaults (should be F5 and then press the enter key). Arrow over to the Main screen and the hard drive should be recognized. Exit BIOS and save the changes. The computer should load the Windows OS if it's installed on the hard drive. If you get into Windows, check the Device Manager to make sure that the drive is showing up there too. If the hard drive was not detected, after you save the changes and exit the BIOS, turn off the computer. Disconnect the power cord from the back of the PC then press the power button on the computer for 5 seconds. Reconnect the power cord and turn on the computer and see if it boots up.  If it still doesn't boot up, try a different SATA connection on the motherboard (one that hasn't been used). If that doesn't help, disconnect the Memory card reader connections inside the computer and try to boot again. If it still doesn't work and since you already tried a new hard drive, I would suspect a SATA controller/bus problem and you may need to install a SATA controller card to resolve the problem.

  • Brasero doesn't see my drive, but PCManFM see it...

    Hello
    I just installed Brasero and I wanted to burn some audio CD but Brasero doesn't see my drive. It says that Brasero will drive my audio project to an iso file because it doesn't see my drive.
    My drives works, I've installed Arch with it, PCManFM (my filemanager) see it, and see that I insert a Blank disk...
    Any ideas ?
    Thanks

    Similar thread https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=101192
    Edit: Do you have hal running?
    Last edited by karol (2010-07-17 16:55:01)

  • Disk Warrior can't see startup drive

    I have a 2008 iMac running Mountain Lion and have not been able to start up from the internal hard drive since a system crash. Following the advice on these forums, I tried Disk Utility, but it could not repair the problems it found with the disk. I purchased Disk Warrior and booted from its CD, but it cannot see the startup disk either.  Previously, I had been able to boot from the Mountain Lion recovery partition and see the afflicted drive from another machine in Disk Utility when connected in Firewire target disk mode. But having tried both since running Disk Warrior, the affected drive no longer shows up. Is there anything else I can do to try to get Disk Warrior to see the drive and repair/recover files from it?
    Note: I have a recent Time Machine backup but wanted to exhaust all my options trying to work on the startup drive before testing that TM backup on new hardware. (As an aside, is it possible to restore the TM backup to another volume—that is, not the affected drive, assuming that's impossible, but another partition of an external drive—and boot from it to check and see if there any problems with the backup? (My fear is that whatever caused the initial crash and problems will persist in the Time Machine backup, but perhaps I am being paranoid.)
    Thanks for any advice.

    Thanks for the tip. I figured out that as the drive is not connected via USB, then of course it won't show in Disk Utility. And the Lacie Cloudbox I bought only has Ethernet.
    Lacie do not supply any software to format the drive as far as I can see. The set-up utility they used to ship doesn't exist any more.

  • Mac Doesn't See External Drives on WinPC, PC Doesn't See Mac

    I'm trying to transfer some files that are on an external drive connected to a Windows PC to my new Mac Pro.
    On the Mac, in Finder, I can see the PC, but I can only see it's internal Hard Drive; the external drive don't show up in Finder.
    On the PC, I'm not seeing the Mac Pro at all. In Tiger, it seems to me, there was check box under the "sharing" preferences for "Windows sharing," but I can't find that in Leopard. So, the PC doesn't see the Mac at all.
    It does suddenly dawn on me that I could just detach the external drive that I'm trying to copy from the PC and plug it into the Mac, but... that would be too easy. I would still like, at least, to be able to see the Mac from the PC.
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks,
    --PS

    My recommendation is to format the drive as FAT32 via OSX's Disk Utility, this will allow you to read/write from both the Mac and PC environment.
    Like I said, I don't think that's the issue, because my MacBook shares everything with the PC just fine (except the externals on the PC). And of course, I don't want to reformat the external drives until I've got the data off of them.
    I just checked, and Tiger has a "Windows sharing" checkbox under the "Sharing Preferences" that allows the MacBook to show up in "My Network Places" on the PC. The problem I'm having is getting the MacPro to show up on the PC; the Pro has Leopard, and there's no "Windows Sharing" in Leopard that I can see.
    Thanks again,
    --PS

  • MacBook Pro doesn't see hard drive

    My MacBook Pro doesn't see it's hard drive. It doesn't show up when I press the Option key or in Disk Utility on the Snow Leopard disc. It was working for a while and then the computer started freezing, mainly when I was using Xcode. I thought it was an OS problem originally. Then it would occasionally not see the hard drive and come up with the "?" folder. It steadily got worse until it reached where I am now, not working at all. It doesn't see my Windows XP partition either. I have reset the PRAM and NVRAM, but to no avail. The OS boots just fine when I put the hard drive in a different MacBook, so it's not the hard drive. I have taken great care of this computer, rarely taking it out of the house. I did buy it used with a backlight problem though, so I don't know exactly what the previous owner did. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

    Boot from your install disc & run Repair Disk from the utility menu. To use the Install Mac OS X disc, insert the disc, and restart your computer while holding down the C key as it starts up.
    Select your language.
    Once on the desktop, select Utility in the menu bar.
    Select Disk Utility.
    Select the disk or volume in the list of disks and volumes, and then click First Aid.
    Click Repair Disk.
    Restart your computer when done.
    Repair permissions after you reach the desktop-http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
    Or if you have Diskwarrior or Techtool Pro use one of these utilities by booting directly from their cd.

  • Import "Copy To:" choose button doesn't see other drives in Win 7?!

    When I click "Choose" beside "Copy To:" on the import photos window I only see "My Desktop" and folders under my Windows username. I can't see any other drives on my system. I've tried both 2.5 and 3 Beta and I've encountered the same issue: I can only import to my C:\ drive and the workaround is to  than move the imported files to the other drive in the Lightroom catalog menu. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit now (clean install). Any suggestions? This never happened with Vista... is it Win 7 related?? I can see the other drives in other parts of Lightroom, it's just the Import window that doesn't see them? Anyone?

    On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 12:15 PM, aar1123 <[email protected]> said:
    >
    Oh, I see another post with the same issue from a few months back: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2174302#2174302
    >
    No replies to this thread - hopefully someone knows what to do?
    That post mentions a DROBO (i.e., a non-local drive). Is that your
    problem, as well? The drive you want to see but can't - is it an
    internal drive? External, but directly attached drive (USB)? Some
    networked drive?
    >

  • Finder doesn't see USB drive - Another one!

    I shall describe the situation:
    400GB SATA HDD in triple interface enclosure. Drive partitioned into six volumes.
    This drive mounts and runs fine on a brand-new MacMini (OS 10.5), a 3 year old PowerBook (OS 10.4.11), a 7 year old TiBook 667 (OS 10.3.9), and a PowerBook G3 500 'Bronze' (first FireWire, OS 10.2.8).
    But on my MacBook Pro, Finder doesn't see it.
    Every other program on my MacBookPro that I can run sees this drive: DiskUtility, USB Probe, TechTool, Disk Warrior, all say everything is fine, and the disk IS mounted.
    Finder doesn't see it, not on the desktop, not in a Finder window, not in any open/close dialogue boxes.
    Doesn't matter how it's connected, USB, FireWire 400 or 800, or which cables are used.
    Since Finder can't see it, I have to make sure I go to DiskUtility to unmount them, or I get the Device Removal warning.
    Does this sound familiar to anyone? Anyone know which switch got set wrong and how to set it back?

    I have several identical 400GB external drives connected via Belkin hubs.
    They have worked flawlessly until the latest Security Update.
    Now one of them will no longer show up when connected via the hub but will if connected directly. The other identical drives still work ok.
    It won't show in Finder or Disk Utility unless connected direct and this is quite reproducible. No problems reading it on a Macbook with Leopard either.
    AC

  • Tiger doesn't see hard drive

    Good morning guys,
    I am looking for some assistance debugging an issue where my powerbook will not see the hard drive. I was given this powerbook to work on (no previous history of ever working before). When I got it it would give me the grey screen and the spinning circle for a few seconds then automatically shut down. The first thing I did was to confirm my suspicions (a bad drive) so I used an external firewire drive and managed to install the OS without any issues. Then once in OS X I tried to repair/format the internal drive without any luck. It would just hang forever. So I decided I need to try a new drive. Now, before I go any further I need to point out that when I'd hold the 'option' key down upon boot up it would give me the option to boot from either drive (internal and firewire), in other words OS X would still 'see' the internal drive as being available to bootstrap.
    In order to replace the new drive I followed the instructions in this YouTube video from OWC which as you could see it's pretty straight-forward. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBDHyEQ1bQQ
    Two items to note: I've tried two new HDs (not new but known to be working), one of them being the one I used to install the OS externally via FW. In fact this one I didn't even format it, I just threw it in as the replacement internal drive. So here are the results: OS X now gives me the folder/flashing ? when I boot. But the most disturbing thing to me is that when I boot off of the DVD to install the OS the HD is not listed at all in the Disk Utility. Running *diskutil info* from the Terminal also shows no drive. In addition to this when I boot holding down the option key the internal drive is no longer showing up either (not even when I have gone back to using the *original drive*!). I have re-watched the video to make sure I didn't miss anything (like a missing ribbon cable being loose etc. and have also tried another HD that I formated from another powerbook via the FW and still the same result.
    So here are my questions:
    - Why is it that multiple HDs are not showing up as I hold down the Option key when prior to the failed HD replacement that used to be the case?
    - OpenFirware as far as I can tell is seeing the drive when I run '0 > devalias hd /pci@f4000000/ata-6@d/disk@0 ok' . Is this enough to conclude the drive is installed correctly?
    - I took an original OS X DVD that came with my other 15" PB and used it to run the Apple Hardware Test on this problematic PB and even the extensive mode test came back fine. Mass Storage passed with no problems.
    Well I hope you all have some ideas coz I am willing to try them.
    Oh BTW, I have ran a PRAM and PMU resets just in case also.
    Sorry for the long email...
    Thanks in advance to any brave souls to jump on this one
    -abe

    As I'm at work, I don't recall there being an apple menu. Just a language selection, then and agreement page and then it looks for the hard drive. Do I have to hold down a certain key to access the apple menu?

  • Flashing folder! =( Doesn't "See" Hard drive

    Model: Intel iMac (Late 2008, aluminum display, 20", 2GB RAM)
    Problem(s): does not "see" hard drive / flashing folder
    Things I've tried:
    --made a bootable usb drive for rEFIt 0.13, did not show any drive
    http://refit.sourceforge.net/
    --Attempt to check bootable devices via pressing option (showed nothing except bootable rEFIt drive)
    --Booted into ubuntu 8.10 live, did not pick up any drive.
    --tried an AHT from a tiger disc but it just ejects the disc
    --tried to access disk utility via tiger install but all the options are "grayed-out"
    --reset the NVRAM
    --tried pressing shift to no avail.
    --can't get into single user or verbose mode either.
    I heard Drive Genius 2 and Data Rescue II would be helpful but i do not know how to make them bootable. The imac also takes an unusual amount of time to boot into any bootable CD/USB drive (almost double the time of a 2006 MBP c2d). I've been trying to avoid opening this imac because I have heard they're really iffy to open, been thinking about trying to re-seat the HDD. Could it be a possibly "bad" HDD? I would really appreciate any thoughts because i'm not sure what else to do =/.

    While your iMac can read and write to MS-DOS FAT 32, it has a 4GB file limit and does not support booting.
    If you want to Install the OS X on any Drive and Boot from it, you will need to repartition it (GUID Partition Table) and reformat it (Mac OSX Extended Journaled) using Disk Utility.
    see > http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/partitioningtiger.html
    and > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1948

  • Error saving Project 2010 files to network drive - doesn't see network drive

    ANSWERED (11 April 2014):
    So it seems the resolution to this is to simply create a new share with a different name. I used the existing folder (to retain NTFS permissions) and just select to Add a new Share (applying the same Share permissions as the non working Shares).
    Deploying this new Share via Group Policy as a test resulted in staff being able to open files from Windows Search, save files through MS Project and the Share being accessible through browsing SMB.
    All problems resolved by using a new share name for the existing folder. Seems to be a corruption in the namespace.
    Note: I had previously deleted the share and recreated it. I had removed all NTFS permissions and readded (through both the GUI and icacls). This didn't make a difference.
    Only changing the name of the share fixed the problem.
    Original Question
    Already
    posted here... but Microsoft Support has not responded.
    It seems some staff on some computers are having problems saving MS Project files to the network. This is only since an upgrade to SBS2011 (from SBS2003). The only difference now, is that network drives are mapped via group policy rather than a  'net
    use' script.
    This is affecting users on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, with either MS Project 2007 or 2010. The users have full change access to the folders and can create new files and modifying existing files, just not a MS Project file. Other file tyes, e.g
    Word .docx, Excel .xlsx, Adobe .pdf files, all work fine. These files can be opened, edited and saved normally without problem.
    To replicate this:
    The user opens an existing file or creates a new file on the network folder (either through Windows Explorer or MS Project). They then click File > Save in MS Project and receive the following error (see pic below):
    An interesting symptom of this is that if you select File > Save As in MS Project, the Sae As dialog box doesn't remeber the path location of the network drive. MS Project instead prompts to save the file in the local users documents folder (see pic below):
    If they browse back to the original folder where the file was saved and choose to save it there, they are of course, prompted to overwrite the existing file and they can save the file. But the same thing happens every time they open the file.
    It seems the problem is that Project isn't seeing the path of the file or that the network drive is attached.
    If a user closes the file without saving it, they are prompted to save the file and the prompt shows the drive path:
       Do you want to save changes to "N:\... Projects\Active Projects\CC...\F4 Project Plan File\004 Programme\test project file.mpp"?   
    But choosing to save the file gives them the same result as Save As, they are prompted for a new location as if the original file location doesn't exist.
    I have disconnected the mapped drive and connected it again using net use but get the same error.
    I have reinstalled MS Project 201, installed Project 2010 SP2 and installed Windows updates and it does the same thing, exactly the same symptoms.
    Further, if the user opens a file from the network drive, the file shows in the Project recent files list. If they try to open the file from the recent files list in project they get the following error:
    "Project cannot open the file.
    -Check that the file name and path are correct.
    -Check that the file format is recognized by Project.
    Project files saved in a version earlier than Microsoft Project 98 can't be opened...."
    This is a test file that I created on the user's computer and network drive, This is being opened with the same version it was created in. If I browse to the folder in Windows Explorer I can open the file. Of course, I then can't save the file (I still get
    the original error). I'm logged on with Domain Admin privileges.
    I've checked these links from other threads (neither apply to my scenario):
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/983458/en-us|
    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/excel/thread/2eeea140-7e6c-4cb9-a89b-06d2102bd9f7/
    I've downloaded my TechNet version of he software and installed it with Sp2 and Windows updates and it does the same thing. This also happens on the Remote Desktop server (Server 2008 R2) using MS Project 2007.

    Case 1
    This error message appears when the document is open on two or more computers that are running different operating platforms. For example,
    if the document is open on a Macintosh computer and you open it on a second computer running Windows or Windows NT, the error occurs when either user tries to save the document.
    This problem stems from a difference between the ways Macintosh OLE and Windows OLE open files. As a result, you cannot save a file on two different operating platforms at the same time.
    Case 2
    This error occurs in Word 97 for Windows if you save to a MAPROOT type network drive connection on a NetWare server where spaces exist in
    the file or folder name.
    Case 3
    This problem may occur if an anti-virus program running on a network has the ability to scan for macro viruses in documents in shared network
    folders.
    For example, if you have the following:
    a shared folder on a network server
    -and-
    an anti-virus program is running on the network server that is set to monitor the shared folder,
    when you attempt to save a document (across the network) to the shared folder, the anti-virus checker may cause the error to occur.
    Case 4
    This problem may occur on Novell networks when the AutoRecover files path is either blank or set to a network drive.
    According each, please try the following workaround:
    WORKAROUND
    To work around this problem, use one of the following methods appropriate to your situation.
    Case 1
    Method 1:
    Move the document to your local hard disk for editing. Move it back to the server after you finish.
    Method 2:
    Save a copy of the
    file with a different
    file name, and work on the copy, either on your hard disk or on the server.
    Case 3
    Method 1:
    Move the document to your local hard disk for editing. Move it back to the server after you finish.
    Method 2:
    Do not use spaces in the directory or document names.
    Method 3:
    Do not use MAPROOT-drive connections. Map your drive connections to the volume-level only.
    Case 4
    Turn off the anti-virus protection on the network server and then try to
    save the document. Contact your anti-virus protection software company for additional details and/or updates to their programs.
    Case 5
    Set the AutoRecover files path to your local drive. To change the AutoRecover path, use the following steps:
    1.
    On the Tools menu, click Options.
    2.
    On the File Locations tab, select AutoRecover files and then click Modify.
    3.
    Change the Modify Location dialog box to a
    folder on your local drive and then click OK.
    4.
    Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
    Hope that helps.
    Smith

  • One of my Macs doesn't see USB drive hooked to Airport Extreme

    I have three Macs on my home network. Two of them can see the USB drive I've attached to my Airport Extreme, but the third -- a recent Intel Mac Mini -- won't. Airport Utility on the Mac Mini sees the drive, but Airport Disk Utility doesn't. Here's what I've tried:
    ~ Restarting the Airport Extreme
    ~ Retarting the Mac Mini
    ~ Reinstalling the Airport Extreme software on the Mini.
    Any ideas?

    have you gone to the network button in the finder and searched for it after pushing the network button?

  • Airport Disk Utility Doesn't See External Drive, But Airport Utility Does?

    Hey! I am a recent Apple convert and just got a brand new MacBook and Airport Extreme. I am trying to get my Maxtor OneTouch 320GB HDD to work with the Extreme, but to no avail. The Airport Utility sees my HDD, but the Airport Disk Utility doesn't? Any hints/tips on how to fix this problem? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

    All I can think of is that the drive is formatted in NTFS which I have heard cannot be read by the AEBS(Airport Extreme Base Station), but I am confirming this right now in a different message. If you can copy the files, format your drive in HFS+(the Mac's standard file system), then reload the files. See if it works and reply back.

  • Time Machine doesn't see shared drive

    iMac running 10.5.8 with an external hard drive
    MacBook running 10.6.7
    On the iMac I've been successfuly using Time Machine to back up to the external drive. I now want to use the same drive to back up the MacBook. The problam I'm having is that Time Machine on the MacBook doesn't seem to see the shared drive. O can see the share in Finder on the MacBook but not in Time Machine where I have to select the drive.
    I do notice that in Finder on the MacBook all the shares, including the disk, use the file icons. Should the disk be showing up with a disk icon and is Time Machine perhaps not seeing it because it thinks it's not a disk and just a folder?
    When I share the drive, to which account do I need to give access? I have accounts with the same names on both machines. Is there is special hidden Time Machine account?

    Thanks for the tip. So I figured out how to mount the drive and I now can select it in TM. The next question is will the drive be mounted whenever the system starts up or do I need to manually mount it? I would like it to be mounted automatically at boot time and not at user log in time. Is there a way to do that? I want it always mounted, regardless of who is logged on or even if no one is logged on, so that it is always available for TM.

  • Software install in Windows 7 doesn't see mapped drives

    I've looked through the related topics that came up when I started to write this, but I am not sure they answer my questions fully.
    I am trying to install software on a Windows 7 box as the Administrator. My mapped drives are fine, I can see them and they are not dropping off to the middle of nowhere. What is happening though is that when I attempt to install software, the only thing
    that is showing is my local drives, not my networked drives. My work around so far is do it via UNC.
    Is there an easy fix for this or do I have to continue with my workaround of doing installs via UNC?

    Hi,
    I would like to confirm that does this issue occur on all the software you tried to install?
    You may try to
    disable User Account Control (UAC) to test the issue.
    If it does not work, I also would like to suggest you enable NetBIOS to test the issue.
    1. Click "Start", input "NCPA.CPL" (without quotation marks) and press Enter.
    2. Right click on the connection that you use for the local connection, and then click "Properties".
    3. Click Continue button to verify the administrator permission.
    4. Click to select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)", and then click "Properties".
    5. Click "Advanced" button in the open window. On the "WINS" tab, click to select "Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP", and then click "OK" to save the setting.
    If the issue persists, I also would like to suggest you disable the antivirus program and test the issue in
    Clean Boot.
    What is the result?
    Regards,
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Maybe you are looking for

  • How to generate param-prefix in web-services.xml

    Hello I am using source2wsdd to generate my WSDL and my web-services.xml. For sake of interoperability I would like to have the type param-prefix in the web-services.xml file. From my Bean class what kind of javadoc comments would help me generate th

  • Data from a new customertable lost after conntrans ... Activity_Object

    Hello! We're working with CRM/MobileSales 4.0... We've inserted a new segment (for a customertable) into the BDoc Activity_Object. We've done this like we've seen it at the segment from smocondocu. We're planning new activities on the notebook enteri

  • Can't open sql file in subfolders.

    Hi, 1. I can't open any file by Windows Browser, right click, and open with SQL Developer if the file is located in subfolder which is several levels deep from C:\. 2. I can't use Files (from SQL Developer) to browse subfolders than 7 or 8 levels dee

  • Is it possible to save/export Messages created in the Discussions Panel?

    Is there a way to save/export messaegs created in the discussions panel?  For example, when saving a report to PDF or Excel, is it possible to include the discussion messages?  Is there a way to query the Discussion Messages so that they could appear

  • I lost my Ps Icon in my Dock.

    I know this souds really weird, but I can not find the Icon ( the blue Ps icon ) that was in the dock.  The Mac is running OS X , and Photoshop CS3 .  I was dragging some folders over into the trash , and my Icon made the little puff of smoke, and it