Some People...

[bartelby]

... Don't deserve Macs.
My mate phoned me last night and asked if I could have a look at his 17" PowerBook as it was having trouble starting up.
When I saw it I wept...
1st the latch no longer works:

There are dents everywhere!

The Battery is loose:

And there's a dent in the lid that affects the screen:

Instead of starting up it goes to the Open Firmware screen. When you type Mac-Boot is just displays the flashing question mark. It won't find any OS folders when you hold Option. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[SuperSnake2012]

What the hell did he do to that thing?

Putting stickers on a Mac

 

[Chundles]

No wonder the thing doesn't work - what did he do to it? Drop it in a meat grinder??

Is that a STICKER on the left palm rest? He actually put a sticker on it?

Bloody hell, if I had a 17" PowerBook I'd keep it by my side at all times.

What a terrible, terrible waste. Makes me a very sad Chundles....

EDIT: As for any advice, I'd grip the PowerBook, fingers on the underside, thumbs on the screen side, about a palm-width in from the end where the optical drive is and whack him upside the head like wrestlers do with those fold up chairs. It won't fix the PowerBook but it just might avenge it - all Macs that die from neglect and abuse should be avenged.

 

[HckySo]

Seems like something my sister would do. But she hates macs.

 

[bartelby]

There's a sticker on each side.

The one consolation is that he's just as battered as the PowerBook.


EDIT: Nice advice but I really don't think he'd notice getting smacked round the head with a PowerBook. He has a 20" iMac too and is just about to buy a 17" MBP and a new MB.

 

[mkrishnan]

Have you tried bringing up the HD on it in target disk mode, or booting off an install DVD?

EDIT: and you said he was banged up too...what happened? Was your friend in an accident?

 

[w_parietti22]

my guess is HD failure. your friend needs a new HD. actually what your friend needs is a MacBook. It wont dent as easily.

 

[~Shard~]

I don't know what has more problems - the laptop or your friend!

Whether it's a Mac or not, or a portable or not, come on, use some common sense - don't treat expensive pieces of technology like that! I don't think anything can be done to help either the MBP or your friend...

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Anyone got any ideas?

You can confiscate the thing, for starters...

Have you tried booting it off one of the Install disks – assuming he's kept them and hasn't used them as coasters or something.

 

[bartelby]

Have you tried bringing up the HD on it in target disk mode, or booting off an install DVD?

It won't boot off the dvd using 'C' on start up. Does anyone know if there is an Open Firmware command to get it to boot from the DVD?



EDIT: Nope, no accident. He's battered himself skateboarding.

 

[bartelby]

my guess is HD failure. your friend needs a new HD. actually what your friend needs is a MacBook. It wont dent as easily.

I've managed to get it to work once, then I tried to use the Hardware test and it won't work at all now.

 

[iSaint]

There's a sticker on each side.

The one consolation is that he's just as battered as the PowerBook.


EDIT: Nice advice but I really don't think he'd notice getting smacked round the head with a PowerBook. He has a 20" iMac too and is just about to buy a 17" MBP and a new MB.

Well obviously he's made of money, and doesn't take care of things with the idea that he'll just buy a new one.

Is this the case???

 

[Chundles]

I've managed to get it to work once, then I tried to use the Hardware test and it won't work at all now.

Yeah, it's most likely HDD failure although considering it's condition you can't rule out some deeper hardware problems. Looking at the way it's been chucked around there could be loose wiring, something overheating, anything really.

Poor, poor PowerBook.

 

[Chundles]

It won't boot off the dvd using 'C' on start up. Does anyone know if there is an Open Firmware command to get it to boot from the DVD?



EDIT: Nope, no accident. He's battered himself skateboarding.

Was he skateboarding ON the PowerBook?

 

[iGav]

Can't help you fella... But it reminds me of a Japanese girl on the train once, she had a PowerBook and it was amazingly shafted, looked super-duper-cool though. so it's present aesthetic condition gets big thumbs up from me.

 

[bartelby]

Well obviously he's made of money, and doesn't take care of things with the idea that he'll just buy a new one.

Is this the case???

Not really. The PowerBook is very well travelled, I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

 

[bartelby]

Can't help you fella... But it reminds me of a Japanese girl on the train once, she had a PowerBook and it was amazingly shafted, looked super-duper-cool though. so it's present aesthetic condition gets big thumbs up from me.

At least someone's happy!

 

[riciad]

Or did the damage happen when he threw it down to you?

You missed it and it hit the bottom of the deep well, maybe?

 

[bartelby]

It was definitely battered before!

 

[mkrishnan]

Erm... is your avatar his bloody knee?

Oh, I was never clear... so won't boot off HD, won't boot off DVD. But what about Target Disk as a slave to another (your) mac?

 

[bartelby]

Erm... is your avatar his bloody knee?

Oh, I was never clear... so won't boot off HD, won't boot off DVD. But what about Target Disk as a slave to another (your) mac?

Nope. Won't boot off either. Not sure about Target as I haven't got the right firewire cable.
The HD spins but doesn't seem to read, there's no additional noise except the spinning.

My avatar is my arm.

 

[Kwyjibo]

Have you guys ever had a powerbook get pitting on it ?

I had it really bad once and its starting again. I'd put a sticker over it if I thought I could slow it down ... dents happen, its like scratches on an ipod.

 

[quigleybc]

Some people just don't give an F about their stuff...

My old roomate was like that.

When he told me he just bought a new Toyota I was like "take care of it! and pay your payments!"

Sure enough, I go visit him months later, the car's trashed inside, dirty outside, and he didn't pay his payments, or renew his registration or something, and he couldn't drive it....

some people.....

 

[bartelby]

SUCCESS!!!!

IT'S ALIVE!!!

It was a dead Airport Extreme card.

With that removed it works!!!
Now I'll smack him round the head with it!!!


EDIT: That was fun, it's not often you get to mess around with the insides of a 17" PowerBook!

 

[Abstract]

Well obviously he's made of money, and doesn't take care of things with the idea that he'll just buy a new one.

Is this the case???

In his defence, I care about my stuff and still treat it like crap, some people would say. My iPod and mobile are all scratched up, and even if I were to get a new mobile phone tomorrow, I still wouldn't bother protecting it with a case or anything. What's the point of protecting something like that? Is it so that when it no longer works, I can take off the screen protector and case, look at how new it looks, and throw it away or have it recycled?

It's just wear and tear from usage.


And by the way, my PowerBook aluminium matte finish is "rubbing off" on 10-12 little spots on the left side of the lid, and I don't know why. Looks like cigarette burns on a table or something equivalent, but I don't smoke. Either way, doesn't matter to me, but I do love my PowerBook.