Powerbook G4 locks up at login

[Rotatedline]

Hey everyone, so I kept getting wanings that my memory was low...I turned it off so that I could restart it never came back on. I ran the hardware diagnostic and it said the lower ram slot wasn't working so I went out and picked up a new stick of memory and threw it in the upper slot. I ran the diagnostic again and it says it fine. However, once I get to the "mac os x is starting" screen the bar will continue to spin indefinitely and it never makes it to the actual login in screen where I can type my password in. Also, the computer won't start up in safe mode (it locks up at the grey apple screen) and my superdrive doesn't work all the time, and after I ran the last diagnostic the computer doesn't recognize that I have a disk in the drive even though it spins up. Any help or ideas would be awesome, the apple store's service department where I am is closed today and I have a large paper due tomorrow that is partially on the computer. Thanks, and sorry if there were any spelling or grammar mistakes I
typing from my iPhone.

 

[Rotatedline]

Thoughts, anyone? I've figured out that I can login in single user mode, but I have no idea if that means it is a software problem and not a hardware problem or if it means nothing. Granted I have absolutely no idea what all the code means in single user mode, but it said "Welcome to Darwin" "You have mail" etc, which I'm guessing tells me the hardware works?

 

[SHADO]

Did you try putting the HD in a different machine and seeing if it can read the data? Or copying the data to an external?

 

[Rotatedline]

I don't have a firewire external--it's usb and I don't think I can make any transfers with that, right? I'd like to try and run a disk repair from the install disc, but it's not recognized right now and holding down the mouse key at startup doesn'e eject it.

 

[SHADO]

I don't have a firewire external--it's usb and I don't think I can make any transfers with that, right? I'd like to try and run a disk repair from the install disc, but it's not recognized right now and holding down the mouse key at startup doesn'e eject it.

No a USB 2.0 external will do the job, it'll just be a bit slower. And try holding the eject key as soon as you start up the computer (and keep it held down) and see if that will eject the disk. You could also connect your computer to another mac via FireWire and restart in target disk mode (by holding down the T key during startup) and treat your computer as an external HD and see if you can get any data off of it. You could also do a disk repair via the other mac with Target Disk Mode. Good Luck.

 

[Rotatedline]

No a USB 2.0 external will do the job, it'll just be a bit slower. And try holding the eject key as soon as you start up the computer (and keep it held down) and see if that will eject the disk. You could also connect your computer to another mac via FireWire and restart in target disk mode (by holding down the T key during startup) and treat your computer as an external HD and see if you can get any data off of it. You could also do a disk repair via the other mac with Target Disk Mode. Good Luck.

Thanks, that's pretty helpful. When I said I only had a USB external though, I was trying to ask if it was possible to open it in target disk mode that way or any way that would allow me to transfer files before it locks up at the login page.

 

[Borjan]

I had a similar lock up in my Powerbook.

It turned out to be bad RAM, though I am not sure if it is a problem with the slots, or the sticks.

Perhaps, try again with another stick, maybe the new one you got was a dud?

 

[SHADO]

Thanks, that's pretty helpful. When I said I only had a USB external though, I was trying to ask if it was possible to open it in target disk mode that way or any way that would allow me to transfer files before it locks up at the login page.

O i gotcha. No you can't use a USB cable for TDM. I would also try resetting the PRAM by holding down option+command+P+R at startup. But I still think TDM with another mac is your best bet.