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iBook not responding.

M

matt459

macrumors member
Original poster
Hi everyone,

Today my cousin was messing around with my computer, and going through it trying to put a password up. I have no idea how he did it, but now My iBook is not responding to anything. All I see is the desktop (minus the hard drive and other folders). I can not open any applications on the bottom of the screen either. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? I did a search, but I'm even sure what the problem.

`Matt
 
I just restarted... Now there's only a blue screen, and a mouse. I'm a bit worried now 🙁
 
I reset the computer, and it "pinged" like it was starting up normally. (It haden't made any noise before). After the OSX box came up, it went half way and then skipped to this blue screen, just like before. Should I follow the directions on that link and go on to the next step? (resetting PMU)
Thank you for your help so far. I just wish I knew more about how to fix this thing...
 
matt459 said:
I just restarted... Now there's only a blue screen, and a mouse. I'm a bit worried now 🙁
Click to expand...

restart, and hold down both the Apple key and the letter S

that'll put you in single user mode

once in that mode, type in this

fsck -yf

this'll run disk check
keep running it until it says your disk appears ok

once it says your disk is ok, type in

shutdown -r now

that'll restart the machine. Try that and see what happens.
 
I booted in single uswer mode, and then repaired disks. It said on the black screen that a minor problem was repaired, so I proceded to restarting after it was done. Unfortanatly, everything is exactly as it was. Blue screen, mouse... Does this sound fixable, or do I have to take it somewhere? Is it maybe not allowing me to access the computer?
 
matt459 said:
I booted in single uswer mode, and then repaired disks. It said on the black screen that a minor problem was repaired, so I proceded to restarting after it was done. Unfortanatly, everything is exactly as it was. Blue screen, mouse... Does this sound fixable, or do I have to take it somewhere? Is it maybe not allowing me to access the computer?
Click to expand...

nah, it probably just can't find the startup folder...try this

restart, and hold down option, apple, the letter "O," and the letter "F"

your machine will boot into firmware mode. You should see a white screen.
type in this command exactly as shown, and hit enter.

reset-nvram

It should ask you for your admin password. Type in your password and hit enter.

after that, type in this

reset-all

hit enter. it should reboot automatically after this. Try that and see what happens.

EDIT: been a while since I've done this, so it may not ask for your admin password. if it doesn't, don't enter it. Just go ahead and type in the second command.
 
i had this problem a while ago and i took it to my apple service centre and when i got it back (5 hours later) they said that it was directory issues and that they had fixed it and reinstalled tiger for me
 
elisha cuthbert said:
i had this problem a while ago and i took it to my apple service centre and when i got it back (5 hours later) they said that it was directory issues and that they had fixed it and reinstalled tiger for me
Click to expand...

yea, a clean install probably. That would be next on my list if the firmware reset didn't work.
 
matt459 said:
Hi everyone,

Today my cousin was messing around with my computer, and going through it trying to put a password up. I have no idea how he did it, but now My iBook is not responding to anything. All I see is the desktop (minus the hard drive and other folders). I can not open any applications on the bottom of the screen either. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? I did a search, but I'm even sure what the problem.

`Matt
Click to expand...

it's possible he created a user account and enabled "Simple Finder." What you'd have to do is log in as the Admin and disable it.

when you say "blue screen," do you have the Finder bar at the top? I had assumed you meant only a blue screen with no Finder bar at all. Is this correct, no Finder bar appears?
 
Thanks everyone.

I i tried everything mentioned above, but no luck so far. When I said blue screen screen I meant, in fact, no finder or anything else. What would be the next step to take?
 
elisha cuthbert said:
why dont you just give him a call and ask him what the hell he did to your computer
Click to expand...


He's 13, and has never used a mac before, so he has less of an idea than I do 🙄 . Maybe I should just email him a picture of kittens. Attached with a virus of course 😛
 
matt459 said:
Thanks everyone.

I i tried everything mentioned above, but no luck so far. When I said blue screen screen I meant, in fact, no finder or anything else. What would be the next step to take?
Click to expand...

yea, your Finder ist kaput

I hope you have your install CD's, yes? Get the install CD out, put it in the drive, and restart while holding down the letter "C"

basically, you're just going to do a clean install...all your applications/settings will be preserved.
 
I've pretty much turned the house upside down looking for my OSX disks. Unfortanatly, they're no where to be seen. I have applecare, so would that be of any help? Also, I've been reading a lot of information on the Apple support site. Does anyone think this could be the logic board? Or can I pretty much eliminate this possibility?
 
matt459 said:
I've pretty much turned the house upside down looking for my OSX disks. Unfortanatly, they're no where to be seen. I have applecare, so would that be of any help? Also, I've been reading a lot of information on the Apple support site. Does anyone think this could be the logic board? Or can I pretty much eliminate this possibility?
Click to expand...
why dont you take it to a service centre or genius bar and pick their brains they may be able to fix it for you right in front of you or you may loose it for a day or 2 but still if you cant find the disks it will be worth going to them
 
elisha cuthbert said:
why dont you take it to a service centre or genius bar and pick their brains they may be able to fix it for you right in front of you or you may loose it for a day or 2 but still if you cant find the disks it will be worth going to them
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that's probably the best (if not only) thing I can do now. I'll post back again when I figure out what the problem is. Thanks everyone!
 
elisha cuthbert said:
NO clean install does not reatin your apps and settings he means Archive & Install, its the easyiest way to solve any problems
Click to expand...

sorry...clean install is what it was called back in the OS9 days. Old habits...
 
matt459 said:
I've pretty much turned the house upside down looking for my OSX disks. Unfortanatly, they're no where to be seen. I have applecare, so would that be of any help? Also, I've been reading a lot of information on the Apple support site. Does anyone think this could be the logic board? Or can I pretty much eliminate this possibility?
Click to expand...

if you get the startup chime, it's probably not the logic board...though it still could be. I think it's more likely your idiot cousin screwed up some library files it needs to boot.

Let that be a lesson to you, young man 😉

Elisha's suggestion is a good one. Find a local Mac shop and take it to them...they'll know.

EDIT: wonder if it might be the PRAM battery...hmmm
 
beatsme said:
Let that be a lesson to you, young man 😉
Click to expand...

Lesson learned... Don't worry, I assure you he won't touch it again 🙄

Now... If only I could enjoy this fine windows machine. I want to, but it's just so darn hard 😀
 
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