HELP please. Drive-Fan-pRam

[beatle888]

oh man,

well, first, i THOUGHT my drive was making a funny noise so i figured i better get a new one "some day" well, i zapped the pRam and all the sudden my drive didnt work anymore. when i would try to start up the computer i would get the dreadful folder icon with a question mark. NOTHING worked. so i got a new drive and everthing was fine. THEN i started hearing that sound again, that funny noise which i originaly thought was the drive...but now it seems like that sound might have been the FAN the hole time. so now i think i need to replace the fan...is that possible?

and to top it off. after replacing the drive and STILL hearing that funny noise (which i can only guess is the fan), i zapped the pRam again because i heard that it could help with excessive fan use, my computer wont start up normally. i have to start up with the option key pressed down and choose a start up disk manually. anyway, why would zapping pRam cause my first disk to die, my second disk to not be recognized as the start up disk and lastely how can i check to see if its my fan making the noise and can i replace it myself.

system:
tibook 667
Mac OSX (rocks).

 

[simie]

You could run the hardware test - from the OSX Hardware Test CD /DVD that came with your MAC - it should tell you about anything that is faulty.

What I would do is disconect all third party hardware addon's then boot fron the OSX CD.

Make sure the latest firmware for your computer this may resolve the problem by just updating it. If you have recently updated the Firmware and suspect that this is causing the problem then I would contact Apple.

If you ignore the OSX installer and open up the disk utility you can then check the following. (From the Apple menu, choose Disk Utility)
You should be able to see your hard drive in the Disk Utility when you started from the OSX CD. If not then I would reset the PRAM once more.

See if your your hard drive is mounted - if not then try and mount it.
Use the repair icon under the First Aid Tab.

You will then need to reboot.

If it still does not load up select the drive manually by holding down the Option key and then go to the Startup Manager and then try selecting the disk. You cold also try repairing permissions as this may help.

As you put a new drive in your MAC anyway you could reboot from the OSX CD and Erase your existing OS and just reinstall everything this should utlimately resolve your problem. You only then have to reinstall all of your updates and software then.

What everyone should do and people don't do this is to keep a backup of their system people don't because they always asume that disasters will never happen to them - I myself backup my system onto a 80gig firewire drive everyweek. Its very easy to create a backup by making an image of your OS by using the Disk Utility. If you plan to update an application or part of the OS - the first thing that you should do is make a back up of your system in case the update causes problems.


In the Classic OS when this situation occured you just put the hard disk drivers back on the disk and the system was able to boot.

 

[beatle888]

thanks for the input. and what about the fan? is that something i can replace myself? also, i tried to download firmware updates from apples website but the link said the firmware will only install from a local OS 9 drive...can you believe it? so how do i install firmware if i dont have OS9.

also, why would zapping pRam cause my FIRST drive to fail to mount?

 

[simie]

Are you absolutley sure that the first drive is dead - I would test it at some point - If it is dead then I would asume that it had developed a fault, an electronic one ( hence your Mac can't detect it). Zapping your PRAM sounds like the cause though.

Right the fan - fans can make funny nosies if they have a lot dust on them or they are wearing out.

Regard replacing it yourself it depends how easy it is to get access to it and how easy it to replace.

Regarding the Firmware, be very careful not to update using the the wrong Firmware Update as this will destroy your MAC - Use Software Update from Apple Menu under OSX. It will tell you if their is one available.

The best thing to do is to provide the forum with full specs of Mac and anything that you want to try, you can ask on here first as someone will give the correct advice.
or

You could just go to an Apple Store and ask them for a quote for replacing the fan, else you will have to source the part yourself. If you take your Mac with you they should be able to sort your OS fault out as well if you cant resolve it.

 

[beatle888]

i know this is going to sound stupid but....how do i test it to see if the drive is dead?

i called a computer store and they said the drive needs to be IN the computer for them to test it. is this the only way?

also, ive already tried the following.
starting up with disk utiltiy/installation CD: when i do this i cant even SEE the internal drive, it doesnt show up as a mounted drive at all.

start up with the option key held down: no drive shows up with this option either.

Disk Warrior: no disk shows up.


if i start the computer as usual all i get is a folder with a question mark.



i guess i might have to pay a minimum of $800 dollars and take it to a data recovery shop...all i need is ONE file, oh well, who ever said life has to be on my side. you think they would make a drive that could WARN you of a possibility of malfunctioning. anyway i'd better go and play a violin somewhere else.

thanks to all that helped.

 

[beatle888]

i just finished putting the OLD drive back in to see if it would work and it didnt.

it DOES spin though....doesnt that mean its working? on the drive label it says Apple firmware 2001, could it be that zapping the pram messed up the firmware? even if that was the case i dont know how i would be able to reload firmware on the drive since nothing acknowledges it.


maybe using an OS 9 startup disk? i dont know. thats my last hope. an OS 9 startup disk is a chance at least.

the reason why im thinking an OS 9 startup disk is because the tibook 667 originally came with OS 9 and OS X installed. and all the apple firmware updates say that you need OS 9 disk to install firmware (really weird). i dont know, its a shot in the dark but thats all i got.

 

[beatle888]

update – i just ran the hardware diagnostic cd that came with my mac and it said that the mass storage was FINE

but NOTHING SEES IT.

 

[simie]

You could test the drive in a PC and purchase Transmac to recover the files.
I have used this program in the past to recover Mac data off of drives.

The PC should detect the drivein its bios - If you put the jumper in the right in the place. This will prove that the electronics are ok.

Windows detect the drive and allow acccess if Transmac is preinstalled before connecting the drive. You should then be able to recover any files.

If you don't have access to a PC then you may have to take the drives and the machice to an Apple Service Centre or to a Data Recovery Company.

 

[simie]

I don't know what success that you have had in trying to get your Mac up and running again but I have been doing some digging around and have come up with the following.

According to Apple you can force the Open Firmware to boot from the internal drive by holding down Command key - Optiion Key and D

Another trick that you could try but do this at your own risk - Responibility is your own here.

Manually resetting the NVRAM

Start up into Open Firmware by pressing and holding the Command-Option-O-F key combination during startup.

At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-nvram

Press Return.

If you have an open firmware password installed then you may be asked to enter it here at this point else ignore this instruction.

It responds OK.

At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-all

Press Return.

The computer should now restart and you are now be able to reset the PRAM and startup in Single-user mode, Verbose mode, or from CD-ROM.

Best of luck

 

[beatle888]

i tried all you have suggested except for the PC solution due to the fact that i dont have a note book PC. nothing at this point has worked but that doesnt mean that i am not gratefull for all your help. thank you very much for all of your time and support.. have a great new year.