Question mark folder on startup 12" PB

[danross]

Hey.

I have a 1GHz Aluminum PB that I just upgraded to Leopard, and it's not starting up properly. The DVD-ROM drive is busted, so I installed Leopard to it as a target disk through my desktop.

When I go to System Preferences on my desktop and choose startup disk, it allows me to use my PB's hard drive, shows the proper software version number, and starts up perfectly well. However, with my PB disconnected, starting up on its own, I get the question mark folder, showing no system drive.

I have reset the PRAM, pressed C at startup to choose my startup disk, and pressed Option at startup to determine whether there is any valid system disk. Pressing Option gives me only the retry arrow (circular) and the right arrow, but does not show my system drive. I have run disk utility on my PB's drive and it is working fine.

Any ideas about what I can try next?

Thanks!

 

[Firefly2002]

You might try Alsoft's DiskWarrior 4.1; it should repair any hard drive problem that isn't related to physical damage. Is the system folder blessed? Is it at least an 867 MHz PB?

 

[Nermal]

Hey.

I have a 1GHz Aluminum PB that I just upgraded to Leopard, and it's not starting up properly. The DVD-ROM drive is busted, so I installed Leopard to it as a target disk through my desktop.

I think that's the wrong way around. If I'm reading that correctly, you've installed a version of the software *for your desktop* onto your PB. What you need to do is put the desktop into target mode, and run the installer on the PB itself.

 

[alphaod]

I think that's the wrong way around. If I'm reading that correctly, you've installed a version of the software *for your desktop* onto your PB. What you need to do is put the desktop into target mode, and run the installer on the PB itself.

I think the OP means he used his Desktop to install onto the Laptop

 

[Nermal]

Yeah, but wouldn't that cause the problem? For example, if the desktop is Intel then installing onto the PB (from the desktop, with the laptop in target mode) will put an Intel version of the OS onto the PB's hard drive. The desktop can then boot it fine, but the PB is giving the ? because there's no PPC bootloader there.

 

[alphaod]

Yeah, but wouldn't that cause the problem? For example, if the desktop is Intel then installing onto the PB (from the desktop, using target mode) will put an Intel version of the OS onto the PB's hard drive. The desktop can then boot it fine, but the PB is giving the ? because there's no PPC bootloader there.

I'm not sure, but in Target Disc does the installer use the hardware of the host (desktop) or the client (PB) machine?

 

[danross]

Thanks for the replies. I never considered that there might be a different version of Leopard that might install...

So it seems that I need to find a PPC computer to run Leopard installer on, and connect my PB to it through Target Disk Mode. That way it should install a PPC version of Leopard.

Thanks for the help.

-Dan