Severe startup problems (sounds like the hard drive is done.)

Hey all,
Last night, I attempted to wake my iMac out of sleep mode. The screen prompting me for my username and password came up, and I entered in my password. After pressing enter, the system hung and all I saw was the colored spinwheel.
I shut off the machine, and restarted it. I still hear the Mac start-up sound, but the system hangs at the grey Mac loading screen with the twirling circle. After a few moments, I can hear the fans kick on, and they're louder than ever.
After a few times of restarting the machine, and letting it hang, the grey screen eventually faded away and a new screen, a black screen with white lettering (very similar to DOS), came up and gave me the following text:
"diskOs3: I/O Error.
/etc/master.pssword: Input/Output error
diskOs3: I/O Error.
-sh:/etc/profile: Input/Output Error
-sh-2.05b#
-sh-2.05b#"
As you can see, I'm pretty dumbfounded by this. After looking at this screen for a couple minutes, I tried typing on my keyboard and saw that like DOS, I could type commands. I tried typing "exit" and after I pressed enter, a little text box featuring "LOGOUT" came up. But nothing happened.
Anyway, this is my situation. I've tried resetting the PRAM, and since I have a Rev-2, I don't have to manually reset the SMU or whatever it is.
If worse comes to worse, I still have my Apple Care warranty (I purchased it less than a year ago.) I would definitely prefer to not lose all my data, though.

I just wanted to follow up with this. I had to do a fresh install of Mac OS X, which is unfortunate. I got all my music and movies and such from my other Mac computer, including some key programs.
That was 5 days ago.
Today, I installed Photoshop CS and attempted to launch it for the first time. As the program was initializing, it hung. Not figuring this was anything to worry about, I tried force quitting the program but it didn't work. The entire system had locked up. I turned off the computer, and turned it on again, and surprise: I had the same problem. The hard drive crashed.
So...this has happened twice in two weeks. What's going on here? The hardware tests show nothing wrong with the hardware; surely, it's got to be something right?
I did the smart thing this time and backed up all my essential programs and files in case this happens a 3rd time. If it does happen a 3rd time, I'm going to give Apple a talking to. I love their products, but something fishy is going on here.

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I have a powermac dual g5 2.0 that wont start up.When I plug it in I get the click from the power supply. When I hit the start button, the white led on the front panel lights up and stays lit. No whir sound from the hard drive or the fan. No lights on the motherboard

The click usually indicates a big problem, but...
How to reset the SMU/PMU on a Power Mac G5 (Late 2004) or Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436
Earlier G3, G4, G5 models...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939
Might be time to replace the PRAM Battery, 4 years is close to their lifespan, far less if ever without AC power, & can cause strange startup problems...
See which one your G5 has...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/CR2032/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/BAA36VPRAM/

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HEY!!!!!! I wasnt alone. Amazing. I had the same experience with my new Black 30 Gig iPod 5 Gen. It had a 3 second delay, made lots of HD clicking noises. And worse after a few hours of usage, forgot 240 of my 270 songs that had been transferred onto it. This was all happening on the first day! Wow.
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Message was edited by: Rob Lichter

OK, I have a G4 powerbook with a new 80gb hard drive.
You have either a 2004 PB G4 12" 1.33 GHz or a 2005 PB G4 12" 1.5 GHz computer. In either case, if you have the orginal HDD in the computer it is at an age where it will be functionally and physically degraded. Replacing the HDD was likely the right move.
I installed a 518 RAM card before this issue arose, but the problem seems to exist independant of that RAM.
You likely installed a 512 MB module.
Apparently the fall did something else to your computer, but it is not possbile to tell at this point. I suggest that you proceed as BGreg suggested. Boot from the Apple Hardware Test disk that came with your computer and run the extended tests in a loop (hold down Control + L during tests) and let it run for several hours, if necessary, as it may take a while for intermittent issues to surface.
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Start Firefox in [[Safe Mode]] to check if one of the extensions is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).
* Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
* https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
In Firefox 4 [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Safe_mode Safe mode] disables extensions and disables hardware acceleration. 
If disabling hardware acceleration works then check if there is an update available for your graphics display driver.
* Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
In Firefox 4 you can use one of these to start in [[Safe mode]]:
* Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
* Hold down the Shift key while double clicking the Firefox desktop shortcut (Windows)

Palm Zire 31 sat idle for too long and then my hard drive crashed - I have recovered my palmOne files from the hard drive but don't know how to install to desktop?

Since this product is no longer supported by the manufacturer, I hope that someone out there will be able to help me find a way to get my calendar and contacts restored to the desktop. My handheld sat unused for a very long time, but my desktop calendar and contacts were current up until my hard drive crashed. I was able to recover the PalmOne files from the crashed hard drive but all I can see are *.dat files. When I try to import or restore, the *.dat is not a supported file extension. HELP! I have the original installation CD. Thank you
Post relates to: Zire 31
This question was solved.
View Solution.

.dat are the actual working files Palm Desktop is looking for - you can't import them.
Just create a user in Palm Desktop and copy the .dat files (that have more than 1k of data) over the existing address.dat and datebook.dat (or calendar.dat, I forget which existed on your device).
WyreNut
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Is it the hard drive? and battery? What's up with my specs? 3 threads?

My battery had not been fully recharging for a while. For weeks, it would "max out" at a lower percentage, lowering incrementally pretty much weekly. No, I am not eligible for the recall.
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Both Startup Disk and Disk Utility saw the hard drive that one time since the fitful night.
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I cannot drag and drop to Restore. RAID and Partition do not seem to apply.
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Bonus points for helping me understand, progress toward goal of working computer!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
My battery had not been fully recharging for a while. For weeks, it would "max out" at a lower percentage, lowering incrementally pretty much weekly. No, I am not eligible for the recall.
Besides your other issues, it may simply be time for a new battery. The batteries not only have a limited number of complete charge cycles, they also have a shelf life that could expire even if you've never used it. Here is a little bit of information from Apple on batteries:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
As far as your hard drive is considered, I'm guessing you don't have an AppleCare Protection Plan? It really does sound like the hard drive is failing. Have you started up from your Apple Hardware Test disk yet and run the extended tests?
If you decide to replace your hard drive that's out of warranty, you just need a 2.5" IDE/ATA hard drive that's less than 9.5mm tall. (This is a standard configuration for notebooks.) While it's possible to install yourself, it's quite the operation and you may want to take your iBook to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to do it for you. Or you might consider sending your iBook in to a service like MCE Technologies to do it for you.
-Doug

Spinning ball while the hard drives warm up

Hi guys,
I have a G-Tech 1TB (Firewire 800) hard drive, a 500GB (Firewire 400) drive and two internal sata drives (not striped together) I also have a wireless keyboard and mouse.
If I leave the computer alone for a few minutes, each time I return to FCP, I have to wait for the spinning ball to stop. It sounds like the hard drives are warming up again, but its really annoying having to wait so often. I am working in a long project of 90 minutes length, but this also happens in shorther projects as well.
I have unchecked the 'put the hard drives to sleep as often as possible' and set the energy saver to 1 hour but no difference.
Any ideas?
Thanks as always.
Stephen - UK

you can minimize occurrences of the SBBOD due to hard drive sleep by making BOTH of the following selections in the Sleep tab of Energy Saver preferences:
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You could try the free demo of DataRescuell .
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HT201412 My Ipad quit working - it's 2 years old. I called Apple and they basically told me that it's done. I can pay 249.00 to get a reburbished Ipad 1, or buy a new one. I want to know why it died? They mentione it could be the hard drive.

My Ipad 1 quit working after 2 years. Was never dropped, abused, etc. Just quit the other night. Went to the Apple store, called the support line and they tell me that since the warranty is up I can pay 249.00 for a refurbished Ipad or buy a new one. Not happy at all. I want to know why it quit. The person I talked to at Support says he doesn't know what happened. He says it sounds like my hard drive crashed. ANyone else have this problem? I am so mad.

If the tech you talked to said anything about a "hard drive", he was completely ignorant or misspeaking rather badly. The iPads have no hard drive; the storage is all solid state. You may wish to talk to another technician, or make an appointment at an Apple Store if there's one near you, and confirm the diagnosis of a hardware failure.
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Regards.
Message was edited by: varjak paw

Problems with Monitor after Hard Drive Replacement

I never had any problems with my iBook G4 until the past 6 months. I sent it in once because it wouldn't start up. They were able to fix the problem without replacing the hard drive. It malfunctioned again and the second time they had to replace the hard drive. I've had it back for about a month and 1/2 now and for the past three weeks, whenever I try to use it I get problems with my monitor. I'm not sure if the video card is going out or what? The image on the screen gets chopped up in horizontal and vertical line increments. Its really hard to explain but sometimes it comes in waves and I have to shut down my computer and walk away from it. Other times like right now, I'm able to use it for up to an hour but then it gets choppy again and I can't use it. My Apple Care Protection Plan expires in December and I want to get as much from it as I possibly can before I have to replace the laptop altogether.

sorry,
to clarify, "internal or external;" display
internal = ibook display
external = display connected via display adaptor
Ok, well I max out the graphics on my ibook on regular intervals (games, high-end graphics work, gigabyte photoshop files etc...)
It isn't likely to be the hardware, so here's some suggestions.
LOOSE WIRES/CABLES:
The ibook's internal monitor connects through the central pivot where the ibook opens, the wires in here may be damaged. (you can't fix this yourself, refer it to apple) this could pertain to a loose or defective cable is you are using and apple display connector also.
REFRESH RATE: (this sound like your problem)
to quote a source:
"If the refresh rate is not properly set the monitor may have a wavy or an appearance that lines are going down or across the monitor slowly or fast. This may also cause a flickering affect."
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000242.htm#02
This is set in display preferences. try setting your monitor's refresh rate. (75hz is good)
INTERFERANCE:
Monitors are succeptible to electromagnetic interferance: Speakers, hard drives, phones etc. try moving them away from the monitor.
BAD MONITOR:
finally; and we hope this isn't the problem. if you are not already doing so, connect an external monitor to the ibook using the display connector (VGA only), if the issue persists with the external monitor the problem is software based, if not you probably have once of a small percentage of monitors that just goes "bad" after a time period, unfortunately it's often cheaper to replace an entire unit as opposed to the screen itself (new computer)
Message was edited by: Peter Miller

How do i remove the hard drive from a compaq presario SR5319uk desktop

Hi I have a compaq presario SR5219UK desktop computer and i want to replace the hard drive but don't know how I have checked online and the videos that relate to compaq are not the same as my computer so I would be so grateful of any help i can get in a step by step run down on how to do this many thanks in advance

Here is the Manual which shows exactly how to do it.
Manual
See Page 17. You have to remove the front panel and go from there per the pictures.
If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

Severe startup problems (sounds like the hard drive is done.)

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