Apologies if I've misposted into wrong place.
My friends iBook G4 was running OS X 10.3.? and now when it boots, a grey screen with the ? and face appears. I've been reading and it seems the system can't find the system files to boot, but I'm starting to think the hard-drive died.
Is there a way I can test this? Of course he hasn't backed up in months (shame on him) and he's got about 6 months of baby pics that his wife would divorce him over, so I'm trying to help him out.
I've attempted to use the Disk Utility to repair, but all that appears is his CD-drive. I've gotten into the Open Firmware, but I'm not familiar with it. Is there a command that can test his hard-drive?
I'm afraid to try and re-install because I don't want all his pics and movies to get written over.
Thanks in advanced,
Jeff
Most likely, if the HDD does not show up as a device, it means the drive has failed and died. At this point, it's best to call apple and schedule a repair. I hope it has warranty....
BTW: I had this exact same thing happen with my iBook G3 900Mhz. The hard drive was dead (read:Not spinning up at all) And it had to be replaced. So, that is most likely what happened
This is a common issue I see every day. This can be caused by a number of things. If the computer was jostled - the hard drive ribbon cable may have come loose from the logic board. Though, it may not be a bad idea to reseat this connector out of general habit. If the drive does not show up in disk utility, it won't show up in open firmware. The hard drive may have (and quite likely if it is a Fujitsu mechanism) gone to meet its maker (or necessitate this via warranty claim). The unlikely possibility is that there is an issue with the ata controller on the iBook, but 80% of the time when that happens - the unit will only boot via netboot and not from an optical drive. You're past the format and reinstall point as the drive won't show up in disk utility.
- iantm
ACPT & ACDT
Thanks to both of you for your responses. It is dead, but is in warranty. We will hold out hope a cable came loose. Again, thanks.