Powerbook Troubles

Axeon · Apr 25, 2005, 02:44 PM

I've recently started having some trouble with my Powerbook. I left for a vacation in Mid-March, and when I came back two weeks later I realized that I had accidentally left my Powerbook running for the entire time. When I first went to use it, I had a bunch of programs running and it caused the computer to lock up, so I did a manual reboot.

Ever since then, my hard drive has been making a clicking noise, like a gear is clicking in 1 to 2 second intervals whenever I do certain things, like browse certain folders. I've also noticed that it does this for about 10-15 seconds when I awake the computer from being asleep, and it also takes the computer a lot longer to boot up, but it does eventually. While the "gear" is clicking (the hard drive, obviously), usually something is locking up -- typically it's Finder, but while it's locked up I can usually use other programs fine.

Most recently I went to boot up from a boot CD, just so I could repair the disk and take care of any problems, or see if any existed. It went through the procedure, but then it stopped at "Checking Catalog," and after a long time it eventually informed me that I had "invalid sibling links." I'm guessing this was caused due to my manual reboot, which corrupted the data in the B-tree. I then made a Boot CD with a copy of DiskWarrior 3.0.2 on it in order to repair it, but whenever I run DiskWarrior and have it make repairs, it says it can't rebuild because of a Mac OS services error.

The closest Apple store used to be in Wellington (FL), which is an hour and a half away, but recently we just got a new Apple store at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, which is 15 minutes away (it opened up on the 23rd, and I visited it yesterday -- very cool!). Anyway, a friend suggested that I "talk to a 'Genius'." Should I go to the Apple store and have them check it out? I think my Apple Care ended a few months ago. Does this sound like I'm on the verge of a broken hard drive? Everything besides what I described above seems fine, and the SMART thing checks out.... but apparently something is wrong.

As educated Mac-o-philes, what should I do? I'm really not keen on having my laptop gone for a 5-6 day hard drive replacement, or for paying for something like that... or, of course, having to back up 60GBs worth of data on DVDs. So, if there's another solution, I'd really like to hear it. The most important thing I need to know is if this sounds like my hard drive is dying, or if it's the product of a corrupted OS. If it were the latter, I would be much more satisfied, but I'm getting a feeling that just isn't the case...

Sutekidane · Apr 25, 2005, 03:07 PM

Yeah, sounds like your HD is going out. It's a rather common problem with any notebook. It would be a very good idea to let the genius look at it, hopefully, you're under warranty or else it will be be a costly repair.

iZach · Apr 25, 2005, 03:20 PM

this exact same thing happened to me! my powerbook is on its way from the apple store to be repaired.

Sun Baked · Apr 25, 2005, 03:23 PM

Would be a very good idea to save the data immediately, by copying it off the drive.

Would probably be best to dump the stuff to an external FW drive instead of taking the time to dump to DVDs.

Time is usually critical in the dying drives, and you may be getting a warning.

The drive may be suffering thermal death, backing up to DVDs adds more heat to the fire.

Axeon · Apr 25, 2005, 04:11 PM

By under warranty do you mean under AppleCare? If so, I may be screwed. How much money would it cost to have something like this fixed?

RGunner · Apr 25, 2005, 04:39 PM

fairly easy to replace (1hr service time ~ $75-$100) and the cost of a new drive (at ~$200 'seagate 100gb' ).

or do it yourself, using cost of drive only. not hard to do.

iZach · Apr 25, 2005, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axeon

By under warranty do you mean under AppleCare? If so, I may be screwed. How much money would it cost to have something like this fixed?

This is why you should have signed up for AppleCare.

For me, I took it in on Friday. The guy at the store ran some tests, and he told me it would be ready in 7-10 days. He then shipped it off, and I can't wait to get it back!

Anyway, I asked how much it would have cost if I did not have AppleCare. He said the cost of the hd + around $150.

Frisco · Apr 28, 2005, 10:25 AM

If you decide to replace it yourself here is a guide to help you out.

http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/

Good Luck!

Apr 25, 2005, 02:44 PM	#1
Axeon macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI	Powerbook Troubles I've recently started having some trouble with my Powerbook. I left for a vacation in Mid-March, and when I came back two weeks later I realized that I had accidentally left my Powerbook running for the entire time. When I first went to use it, I had a bunch of programs running and it caused the computer to lock up, so I did a manual reboot. Ever since then, my hard drive has been making a clicking noise, like a gear is clicking in 1 to 2 second intervals whenever I do certain things, like browse certain folders. I've also noticed that it does this for about 10-15 seconds when I awake the computer from being asleep, and it also takes the computer a lot longer to boot up, but it does eventually. While the "gear" is clicking (the hard drive, obviously), usually something is locking up -- typically it's Finder, but while it's locked up I can usually use other programs fine. Most recently I went to boot up from a boot CD, just so I could repair the disk and take care of any problems, or see if any existed. It went through the procedure, but then it stopped at "Checking Catalog," and after a long time it eventually informed me that I had "invalid sibling links." I'm guessing this was caused due to my manual reboot, which corrupted the data in the B-tree. I then made a Boot CD with a copy of DiskWarrior 3.0.2 on it in order to repair it, but whenever I run DiskWarrior and have it make repairs, it says it can't rebuild because of a Mac OS services error. The closest Apple store used to be in Wellington (FL), which is an hour and a half away, but recently we just got a new Apple store at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, which is 15 minutes away (it opened up on the 23rd, and I visited it yesterday -- very cool!). Anyway, a friend suggested that I "talk to a 'Genius'." Should I go to the Apple store and have them check it out? I think my Apple Care ended a few months ago. Does this sound like I'm on the verge of a broken hard drive? Everything besides what I described above seems fine, and the SMART thing checks out.... but apparently something is wrong. As educated Mac-o-philes, what should I do? I'm really not keen on having my laptop gone for a 5-6 day hard drive replacement, or for paying for something like that... or, of course, having to back up 60GBs worth of data on DVDs. So, if there's another solution, I'd really like to hear it. The most important thing I need to know is if this sounds like my hard drive is dying, or if it's the product of a corrupted OS. If it were the latter, I would be much more satisfied, but I'm getting a feeling that just isn't the case...
	0

Apr 25, 2005, 03:20 PM	#3
iZach macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Bloomfield, MI	this exact same thing happened to me! my powerbook is on its way from the apple store to be repaired. __________________ 12" PowerBook G4 Saving up for a new C2D iMac
	0

Apr 25, 2005, 03:23 PM	#4
Sun Baked macrumors G5 Join Date: May 2002	Would be a very good idea to save the data immediately, by copying it off the drive. Would probably be best to dump the stuff to an external FW drive instead of taking the time to dump to DVDs. Time is usually critical in the dying drives, and you may be getting a warning. The drive may be suffering thermal death, backing up to DVDs adds more heat to the fire. __________________ MacRumors member fails resist iPhone glamour effect, suffers credit card damage 2d8.
	0

Apr 25, 2005, 04:39 PM	#6
RGunner macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Midnight Sun	not that expensive... fairly easy to replace (1hr service time ~ $75-$100) and the cost of a new drive (at ~$200 'seagate 100gb' ). or do it yourself, using cost of drive only. not hard to do.
	0

Apr 28, 2005, 10:25 AM	#8
Frisco macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Fran, CA	If you decide to replace it yourself here is a guide to help you out. http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/ Good Luck! __________________ Frisco
	0

Apr 25, 2005, 03:07 PM	#2
Sutekidane macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2005	Yeah, sounds like your HD is going out. It's a rather common problem with any notebook. It would be a very good idea to let the genius look at it, hopefully, you're under warranty or else it will be be a costly repair.
	0

Apr 25, 2005, 04:11 PM	#5
Axeon Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI	By under warranty do you mean under AppleCare? If so, I may be screwed. How much money would it cost to have something like this fixed?
	0

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