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iBookG4 Problems

G

Grzyb

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 4, 2009
9
0
Hi,

I've been given an iBook G4 1.33Ghz 512mb Ram Notebook to repair. The problems seem to be that only a couple of the applications work...the desktop fires up OK. But I can only fire-up Safari..When you double click any other app, they jump up and down, but nothing happens...

I was going to format and reinstall eveything, but how do I get the required files off the iBook, I can't see any icons on the desktop to be able to "open" the HD to remove & copy files....Within the OS the CD-Rom doesn't mount either....nor any USB Stick as far as I tell,

I was thinking of buying an External HD & Trying to install the MAC OS onto it & remove the files from the Internal HD afterwards, Is that feasable....

Any pointers either way would be appreciated

Thanks in Advance

Grzyb
 
the apps jumping would mean that they have been deleted off. if you have no data on the ibook, then just go for a fresh install and don't worry about taking any of the files of it
 
Yeah I'd just do a fresh install.

If you can't get any cds to mount then you obviously won't be able to use the original CD (which came with the iBook)

Download the OS and put it on a firewire external and boot off that. Reinstall the OS and you should be fine (with an iBook it has to be a firewire drive, it won't boot off USB, even if yours would recognise it)
 
drummerlondonw3 said:
the apps jumping would mean that they have been deleted off. if you have no data on the ibook, then just go for a fresh install and don't worry about taking any of the files of it
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the Guy that gave me it says there are some photos/Word Docs etc which he would like to retreive if possible....

The Bottom dock is OK....I'll try & post a screenshot....When I get back from a few days away in France....Doesn't look like All the Data has been corrupted, Just the Apps won't start at all...He says that it froze on Firefox one day & after reboot he couldn't access any of the apps, only Safari...

It can connect to the net from Safari & do a Software Update....But other than that nothing works......

At a loss really....
 
Buy a FW external PATA drive, put the new HD in the iBook, clean install your OS (Tiger?)
Then put the old PATA drive in the enclosure, plug it in and see if you can get anything off it.
You can download programs that will search for pics/docs on a corrupt drive, even if they have been deleted.
 
dubhe said:
Buy a FW external PATA drive, put the new HD in the iBook, clean install your OS (Tiger?)
Then put the old PATA drive in the enclosure, plug it in and see if you can get anything off it.
You can download programs that will search for pics/docs on a corrupt drive, even if they have been deleted.
Click to expand...

Will the iBook Boot/Run Off an External FW Pata Drive....Don't fancy stripping out the Original HD....Seems quite complicated & prone to introducing other problems into the equation.....Then I can try & remove the files that way??
 
Yes it will, over FireWire. Once you have installed your OS on the drive, hold down Option when you power up to choose which drive to boot from.
 
dubhe said:
Yes it will, over FireWire. Once you have installed your OS on the drive, hold down Option when you power up to choose which drive to boot from.
Click to expand...

Cheers...That's the way forward me thinks....Know of any "cheap" sites or recommended FW External Hard Drives?? Will the iBook Run the Latest OS or should I install from the Original Backup Discs???

Thanks for any further tips...
 
A 'full' version of any OS will custom install for that machine. I restore DVD for a specific machine will only be 100% for that machine.

I run Tiger on my PowerBook G4, but some do run leopard, probably need more memory...

If you are not in a rush check eBay for a PATA drive. New ones cost a lot as there are less made, old ones go cheap as they are not that popular.
 
Of course you only need a 2.5" PATA if you ultimately intend putting that drive in the iBook. Else you can get any FW drive, and an old 20GB one would be cheap and large enough for an OS.
 
dubhe said:
Of course you only need a 2.5" PATA if you ultimately intend putting that drive in the iBook. Else you can get any FW drive, and an old 20GB one would be cheap and large enough for an OS.
Click to expand...

I've got a few spare IDE 3.5 inch Drives Ranging From 60gb-250gb...Would a FW/USB Enclosure do the Job...If so would I need to Format the Drive First before Installation...I have a Powerbook myself, which is working Fine So would test it on that first...
 
As long as you have FW then it will work.

The installer should format the drive for you, but to be sure you could plug it in to your PB and use disk utility to format it to Mac OS Journalled just to be sure.
 
If you have a PowerBook, and a FireWire cable, then you can just plug the two computers together with that cable, start the iBook holding down 'T' and it will go into target disk mode, you can then take any files you want off of it, either to your PowerBook or to a USB drive if you plug one in to yours.

Target disk mode turns a mac into a FW external drive :)
 
dubhe said:
If you have a PowerBook, and a FireWire cable, then you can just plug the two computers together with that cable, start the iBook holding down 'T' and it will go into target disk mode, you can then take any files you want off of it, either to your PowerBook or to a USB drive if you plug one in to yours.

Target disk mode turns a mac into a FW external drive :)
Click to expand...

Super Great...Even Better....Now all I need is a FW-FW Cable...Any idea of where I can purchase One....
 
Well, they are probably quite expensive new, so you might be just as well looking for the cheap FW HDD as previously mentioned and using the cable for that. But search on eBay for both options.
 
Hi,

Got the Firewire Cable & connected them both...The Mac HD is now visible to my Powerbook.

I connected an External HardDrive to my Powerbook & have come up against a problem...

My Powerbook says it's "Read-Only"? It is NTFS...I've read somewhere that it needs to be FAT32 in order for a MAC to be able to read/write to it...

Is that True?? Do I need to Format it as FAT32, Hope Not as I don't want to lose any Data on it....

Any Ideas appreciated

Regards

Grzyb
 
Hello again! The FAT32 thing is true. But you can download an app that will let you read and write NTFS, best you check these forums as I have never used one, search using MRoogle which is Google for MacRumors!
 
Just to let you know...All sorted, Data copied over to an External Drive MAC OS Loaded & upgraded to 10.5.8

Working sweet as a nut...

Thanks for all your help...

Grzyb
 
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