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Reviving old Ibook, get start screen only

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nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
G3,600, dual usb, unknown OS. inherited, no docs, no CDs, no cords, no peripherals. Sitting unused for unknown time.
bought and plugged in charger, charged for an hour, press battery button gets 1 flashing light. Press start button, sound and gray start up screen with moving wheel, forever, electronic/mechaical sounds inside, but no screen change.
So far, did pram reset, pmu reset. No change. have not tried safe restart. Newbie to Mac since 15yrs ago. PC literate. What to do next? Worth spending money on? Or is it ready for recycle plan? Thanks.
Kerwin in Valley Forge.
 
N

nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
update on reviving old I Book; where are the gurus?

Battery now has 4 lights.
Started in safe mode, with progress log shown on screen.
Progress stopped at: adding browse domain local. Sat there for over an hour.
Not new: optical drive door does not open with F12 or with mechanical pin insert.

Where are the helpful gurus?
 
L

lostime

macrumors regular
May 19, 2009
166
11
sounds like there isn't an operating system on the hard drive (or it's missing a hard drive)

I would download ubuntu for powerpc and install it (it's free) to see if the computer is capable of running without problems before buying an OS or spending any money on it.

Try holding down the trackpad button while powering up to see if the cdrom drive ejects.
 
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nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
ubuntu

I have got the drive door open manually.
How would I install ubuntu? No cables, no internet connection. Could I download on a PC, write to CD, and put CD into I Book? And how to get IBook to read the CD, since it never gets past the apple/spinning wheel screen?
I find it hard to understand you Mac guys' jargon and your instructions without your Mac-world experience.
Thanks for your reply.
Kerwin
 
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nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
fabian 9 hdd question

No grinding noise, just the same light, slight, clicking of something going on, just like a PC. But the screen never changes. No extra hdds here. Nothing.
Kerwin
 
L

lostime

macrumors regular
May 19, 2009
166
11
nnsquared said:
I have got the drive door open manually.
How would I install ubuntu? No cables, no internet connection. Could I download on a PC, write to CD, and put CD into I Book? And how to get IBook to read the CD, since it never gets past the apple/spinning wheel screen?
I find it hard to understand you Mac guys' jargon and your instructions without your Mac-world experience.
Thanks for your reply.
Kerwin
Click to expand...

Not sure what Jargon you are referring to but PowerPC is the processor type that is in your iBook, all G3-G5 Mac computers were PowerPC's and require a different version of ubuntu to run. (link to powerpc .iso is below)

that clicking noise you are hearing is the hard drive searching for something to boot from, plus it could be the sound of a hard drive going out.

yes, download from another computer, pc, mac, it doesn't matter and burn the .iso to a cd using any burning software. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/jaunty/release/ubuntu-9.04-desktop-powerpc.iso

this link is for an unbuntu forum specifically for powerpc apple users http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=133

then boot from the disk by holding down "c" while booting.

I know this is the long way around but this is the free way to see if the computer hardware is capable of running before buying an Apple operating system for it, and who knows, you might want to keep ubuntu.
 
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nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
unbuntu procedure

Thank you for the feedback and recommendations. I will try it and get back to you with results. Today may not be the day. Busy on other stuff.
I have followed instructions to boot to OS 9; no change. And all other procefures I found on the forum and in Apple knowledge base. No success. I am hoping your suggestion opens Sesame.
Thanks,
Kerwin
 
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nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
no success on getting past opening apple screen

I got the door to open by pressing trackpad on startup. I created CD of ubuntu. Tried starting with disk already in drive, tried starting with door open, then closing after strtup commenced. No difference. Nothing but the apple and the spinning wheel.
Is Ubuntu supposed to start instead of the apple screen? What is supposed to happen?
Trying to undersand all the ubuntu versions, download procedures, checking success, etc. may have resulted in a CD that was not correct. My comfort level with the various sites in Mac world is pretty low.
I am at a loss about next step to get this working, other than paying the local Mac shop to "check it out" for $85.
Chunk of money to tell me it is unsalvagable.
Other options?

Thanks for your help.
Kerwin
 
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lostime

macrumors regular
May 19, 2009
166
11
are you holding down "C" while you boot? That is the command to boot from the CD drive.
 
N

nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
hold down C

I have started with C held down. The drive makes starting noises, fan on, and goes through a series of clicks for 2seconds, repaeated 6 times, and does this for 3 or 4 cycles. Then optical drive is quiet, and hard drive makes its normal clicking noise. Screen never changes. Apple and spinning wheel.
Is this now a paperweight, or spare parts, or museum piece? It is old, 128K ram, small screen, no wireless, slow, unknown OS. Certified working used model is $225 or so.
What do you recommend?
 
D

drewster

macrumors member
Aug 4, 2008
54
0
Try booking from a firewire source - external CD drive, or better Mac OSX bootable HD, perhaps the internal cd is toast?
 
N

nnsquared

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
no capability

I have no firewire cable, and no donors. Also, based on what I know, and what seems to be happening here, what makes you think firewire works before the startup completes? Do you know that a firewire cable and good HDD or CD drive intervenes immediately after I press the start button? Or that it will cut in before the faulty start process gets to the fault sequence? If I understand that your recommendation will work even when my system does nothing but sit there, I'll try to implement. But where am I likely to find the firewire components/setup that you describe, that will work on my G3 600? It is old, the local Mac factory certified store says they don't even have the power supply or OS X disks that they could use to reload. What am I missing in the correction process you recommend?
Thanks,
Kerwin
 
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