iBook won't start in Target Disk mode

[bananabar]

I've got an early '08 MacBook and an iBook G4. The iBook will only work for a few minutes before freezing completely.

I want to use my MB to get info off the iBook, but when I follow the instructions to start the iBook in Taget Disk mode, the MacBook asks if I want to 'initialise' the harddrive. What's that about?

How can I get the data off my iBook (ideally without re-installing the OS)?

 

[California]

Sounds like you have a dead or dying hard drive on the iBook; if it is not reading the disc correctly, it is asking you if you want to initialize it.

 

[bananabar]

I noticed it's renamed it a random name as well - even though I pressed cancel.

Is it really dead?!

 

[California]

If I were you there is one last thing you can try. You have to take the ibook apart and take out the hard drive.

Put it in a plastic bag and in your freezer for thirty minutes.

Get an external enclosure for it and you may be able to get your info off the drive.

Do NOT attempt to use it anymore. Heat kills. The cold brings them back to life sometimes. I did this with a dead Toshiba hard drive and was able to get stuff off it just in time.