Software update seemed to quit, so I restarted. No more hard drive?

I know, I know. It was a big mistake. In a moment of weakness and frustration due to other circumstances wearing me thin, I shut my PowerBook off when it had appeared that the spinning beach ball was never going away and it looked like software update was stuck. When I tried to reboot, I got the whirling thing on a gray Apple screen for a reeeally long time, and because I was really bent out of shape (again, dealing with too much other stuff whilst trying to get something else accomplished), I hit the power button another time.
The next thing that happened continues to happen: File folder with blinking question mark.
My PowerBook is acting as though there is no longer a hard drive in it. There was never a grinding noise, or anything unusual prior. Now I just hear the head park and unpark, that intermittent ping-pong ball kinda sound that I used to hear every now and then. Only now it happens three times, then stops, then again.
I have tried going into open firmware and the internal drive is not readable there either. The Open Firmware command for verifying a drive is present does work (can't remember the command) but when you put in dir hd/ it says "cant OPEN the DIR device". I've reset all params, prams, pmu, etc.
I have tried a disk warrior boot-up CD. The internal drive cant be found by the software.
I have tried booting with an external drive, but once up and running, disk utility does not see the internal drive.
I have tried putting it in target mode, hoping my iMac can see the drive in the PowerBook.
No Go.
I'm trying to figure out how a software boo-boo turned into a hardware failure. I can see if there's a corrupted boot sector or something, but for the drive to be present, not grinding, but not be seen by any software is something I'm not understanding.
Any thoughts?

Hi, Eric. A software boo-boo didn't turn into a hardware failure; a hardware failure led you to commit a software boo-boo that, by the time you did it, made no difference at all. Your hard drive failed during the software update, causing the computer to hang. Everything that happened after that was inconsequential. Your actions were unwise, but the damage was already done.
Just replace the hard drive. I hope you had your data backed up. If you didn't, mount the bad drive in an external enclosure and try to recover the data from it using one or another of the following utilities:
Data Rescue II
FileSalvage
VirtualLab
All three come in demo versions that will show you what the full version could recover before you have to pay for anything.

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You have 10.6 on that machine, I suggest you stick with it for performance, third party hardware and software reasons as long as possible.
Consider 10.8 (not 10.7) when it's released, because 10.7 and 10.8 will require a new investment in software and newer third party hardware as it requires newer drivers the old machines won't have. (forced upgrade because of software, really nice of them)
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
Far as your Safari problem do these things until it's resolved:
1: Software Update fully under the Apple menu.
2: Check the status of your plug-ins and update (works for all browsers) also install Firefox and see if your problems continue. You should always have at least two browsers on the machine just in case one fails.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/
Flash install instructions/problem resolution here if you need it.
How to install Flash, fix problems
3: Install Safari again from Apple's web site
https://www.apple.com/safari/
4: Run through this list of fixes, stopping with #16 and report back before doing #17
Step by Step to fix your Mac

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Using install discs created for another computer is the problem. I suggest you get a stand alone install disc for Leopard and give that a try. I know it's a bummer since you have a perfectly good install disc but you can't take an install disc from a new computer and use it to update an older computer. As a matter of fact you would have problems using your install disc on the same type of computer if it didn't have the same build number. In the old days of Power Macs that wasn't an issue. You could take an install disc for one computer and update every Mac you owned. Sorry.

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Hi Jane, your info may still be there, look in the Users folder at root of the drive, how many users are there there?
It sounds like this may have happened...
Return to default desktop, apparent "loss" of home directory, (it can happen spontaneously too)...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854

HT4906 I tried to do the update but it reads that I don't have enough hard drive to do the update. How do clear up space on my hard drive to do the upte????

I tried to do the update but it reads that I don't have enough hard drive to do the update. How do clear up space on my hard drive to do the upte????

That is hard to say, as we do not know what you keep on your hard drive.
To free space
empty the trash, both on your Desktop and the Aperture Trash,
Delete files and folders you do not need
Move files to an external volume.
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Do you have your data backed up?
Press this key combination: Commandoptionesc
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If you press the power button once, do you get the option to shut down?
If none of that works, hold the power button down till the computer powers off. After that, try booting in Safe Mode (hold the Shift key while booting) and see if the computer boots okay. If so, try booting normally. If a normal boot goes without issues, you can try updating using Software Update again--but do only 1 update at a time and see if it works. If not, let us know and we'll do more troubleshooting.
If the computer won't boot into Safe Mode, try repairing the disk using Disk Utility from the Install DVDs you got with your Mac. Insert Install Disc 1 and reboot the computer while holding down the C key. When the language menu appears, hit enter. Move your cursor to the top portion of the screen--some menus should appear. Choose Utilities, then *Disk Utility*. Highlight your drive's icon in the left-hand column and click the *repair disk* button. If anything can't be repaired, post the complete error here.
Goodness, that's a lot to read. Best of luck to you!
~Lyssa

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Software update seemed to quit, so I restarted. No more hard drive?

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