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Dropped my ibook, can I fix it?

D

Dr. Peter Venkm

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 6, 2008
1
0
I'm a forum newbie, so forgive me if I don't use all the correct terminology.

Last night I dropped my ibook g4 (os x 10.3) on a concrete floor. To my surprise the screen never even flickered. The only thing that seemed to be wrong was the mouse button was stuck down.

I popped the battery out and pushed the button up from the bottom until it seemed to be back on track.

When I tried to restart my computer after putting the battery back in, it took a long time to load. When it finally finished, it came to the generic blue background with a login screen that I had never seen before.

My only choice at this screen was to select my profile and enter my password. When i entered my password, I received an error message that said

"You cannot continue logging in at this time"

Then the login prompt would shake and go back to square one.

I don't know if this is a common problem or not, but it's new to me and I’m stumped.

Thanks
 
fluidedge

fluidedge

macrumors 65816
Nov 1, 2007
1,365
16
i think you might be ok, but you need to put your OS X discs into the machine and do a clean install or something. Follow the instructions.
 
M

misterredman

Cancelled
Oct 3, 2007
723
0
To me it seems it's looking for a network disk or similar to boot.

Check your keyboard (you had a problem with the mouse, maybe it's related to that) and try a PRAM reset first.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

If it doesn't work start up from the cd/dvd and repair the disk with disk utility.
 
T

techette

macrumors newbie
Aug 11, 2009
1
0
Ibook Fell From 4 Feet High

I AM NEW TO THIS FORUM AND WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE COULD HELP OR SHARE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT MY CURRENT PROBLEM.

A COUPLE MONTHS AGO I HAD MY IBOOK OS X ON THE BAR IN THE KITCHEN SO I COULD VIEW A RECIPE THAT I WAS WIPPING UP.THE POWER CORD WAS PLUGGED IN IN THE CLOSEST OUTLET BUT THE CORD WAS DANGLEING OVER THE EGDE.MY LOVELY PET LAB GOT SPPOOKED BY SOMETHING AND RAN INTO THE KITCHEN. HE CAUGHT THE CORD WITH HIS FOOT AND.......:eek:...DOWN IT GOES FROM ABOUT FOUR FEET. I IMMEDIATELY RESTARTED TO SEE IF IT WAS OKAY.IT POWERED UP JUST FINE BUT THE LCD SCREEN IS SIMPLY GREY AND HAS A FILE ICON IN THE MIDDLE OF IT WITH A FLASHING GUESTION MARK.WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? CAN IT BE FIX?
 
D

dmmcintyre3

macrumors 68020
Mar 4, 2007
2,131
3
Turn off the caps lock key next time

Do you hear noise coming from the left of the trackpad? If it is constant it might just need a reinstall of OS X but if it is clicking and the sound stops and starts it will need hardware replacements. A little bit of clicking when there is a slight humming noise in the background is normal.

Did your iBook include any DVDs or CDs? If it was new it should have.
 
J

Jasoco

macrumors 6502
May 28, 2006
280
1
Please do not post all in caps. This is a rule of all forums and internet etiquette. It is hard to read and makes people less likely to help you.

A flashing question mark means it can't find an OS. Which means the HD was either killed or loosened from its connection. If it was on at the time, I am leaning towards the first.
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
Yeah, I'm also thinking the hard drive may have bought the farm, too. Boot up from your install discs or a external firewire drive and see if the system can see your hard drive. If not, install a new hard drive, which depending on your level of expertise, can be a real PITA.

Dropping a hard drive is often lethal, and a ibook hard drive is already old anyway. Another way to look at the situation is "I accidentally pushed grandpa down the stairs; why won't he get up?".
 
MultiFinder17

MultiFinder17

macrumors 68030
Jan 8, 2008
2,719
2,037
Tampa, Florida
clyde2801 said:
Dropping a hard drive is often lethal, and a ibook hard drive is already old anyway. Another way to look at the situation is "I accidentally pushed grandpa down the stairs; why won't he get up?".
Click to expand...

I'll third or fourth (Whatever we're on now) the dead HDD idea. Also, Clyde, you win the award for Best Comparison on the Forum today :D
 
yoyo5280

yoyo5280

macrumors 68000
Feb 24, 2007
1,910
0
Melbourne, Australia & Bay Area
clyde2801 said:
Dropping a hard drive is often lethal, and a ibook hard drive is already old anyway. Another way to look at the situation is "I accidentally pushed grandpa down the stairs; why won't he get up?".
Click to expand...
Only difference is you can't open Granpa up with a screwdrive and give him a new hard-drive.
You can with an iBook if you don't mind tinkering.

And you can't throw away grandpa and go buy a new unibody young man either :p

-Omi
 
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