New Powerbook Harddrive Failure

[pr0fessor]

Hiya folks, I wish my first post would be under better circumstances but...
Well anyways, my Powerbook locked up while watching a movie earlier today and I was forced to press+hold the power button to shut it off. After doing that, the machine came up with the little flashing folder with Mac face and question mark, so I went to the manual, popped in disc 1 of the install and went to disk utility to fix stuff up. Problem is, the Macintosh HD doesn't show up in the disk utility. I've tried it a few times with no luck and also tried resetting the PRAM. It seems like it's pretty screwed and I'm wondering if there's anything else I can try to see if I can get it going before I have to send it back to Apple, something I'd really rather not do as I haven't even had the machine for a week yet.

[latergator116]

Usually when there is a hard drive failure, there is not much that can be done. When you do call apple, you might want to request a new powerbook, as your current one might hold future problems. Good luck.

[pr0fessor]

Yeah, I just called them up and they'll be sending me a thing to return it to them for repair. Had to sit through a couple minutes of the guy trying to sell me applecare first though, heh. After this, looks like it may very well be a good idea!

[latergator116]

Yeah, I just called them up and they'll be sending me a thing to return it to them for repair. Had to sit through a couple minutes of the guy trying to sell me applecare first though, heh. After this, looks like it may very well be a good idea!

Applecare is definately worth the money (ecspecially with laptops). Just one repair on a PowerBook can make up for the cost of applecare itself.

[JuicyGoo]

I just got my PB yesterday and I'm having the same issues.

Everything started out fine, I was running programs, surfing the web, then I ran Software Update to go from OS 10.3.2 to 10.3.3 along with about 10 other updates. Everything seemed to be going okay until it stalled at 81% Optimization. I waited for about 45 minutes and then did a Force Restart. Probably not smart but I didn't know what else to do, and was rushed by the fact that I was nowhere near a power outlet.

I restarted and got the Gray Apple but with no spinner. I waited and restarted a few times with the same result.

I tried holding Option to select the HD, I tried holding X, I tried any combination of Ctrl, Cmd, Shift, Option.

I bust out my Restore CD and run Disk Utility, except that DU couldn't find my harddrive. I try reinstalling OSX but it freezes just after I select which language. I am seriously starting to get angry/annoyed/freaked out.

I do a little research on these forums and try resetting my PRAM. Nothing. Cmd-S, nothing. Ctrl-Option, I get the Gray Apple with the spinner but nothing beyond that.

At some point I start getting a Flashing Question Mark. I'm thinking that it can't find the Harddrive and is trying to startup on a Network drive.

I try using the Reinstall disc again and this time I get through to the Select Destination part, which I can click on the OSX harddrive. It does a lengthy search for previous installations and tells me that there's a newer version of OSX installed and I need to change my settings. So I click on Options and get the Color Spinner and nothing changes for about 45 minutes. Finally it responds and I start reinstalling. It goes through Check Install Disc but errors at Preparing Disc and says I need to restart and try reinstalling again. I do that with the same result.

I open Disk Utility again and it actually finds my HD this time. I try Verifying and Repairing Disk but no luck. So I go to Restore, select the Restore CD as the Source and the HD as the Destination. I get an error so I select "Erase Destination". It successfully copies but I'm wondering if this was the right move. I run Verify/Repair Disk successfully so I restart and try Reinstalling again.

So far the Install is going okay. It's at 85% writing files which is a lot farther along that I was 10 hours ago.

Very frustrating since I've been obsessing over getting a PB for over a year and this is quite a sour experience. I'm still not sure if this will work but hopefully it'll help anyone else with similar problems.

UPDATE:
Okay I completed installation and restarted but got stuck on the Gray Apple with the spinner again.

Any suggestions?

2ND UPDATE:
I tried reinstalling again, but clicking Options and doing a complete install and it finally worked!
[BIG SIGH OF RELIEF]

[phonic pol]

Yeah, I just called them up and they'll be sending me a thing to return it to them for repair. Had to sit through a couple minutes of the guy trying to sell me applecare first though, heh. After this, looks like it may very well be a good idea!


Sorry to hear about your experiences. Which hard drive option did you go for, 60gb or 80gb?

[pr0fessor]

I have the 80gb 5400rpm drive in my PB. The box should arrive tomorrow so it can be sent back, then I get to wait for it to come back! :) The hardest thing is being without it, as it's such a lovely machine and makes commuting in and out of NYC for my class so much nicer.