Serious Powerbook Malfunction

[ddcrandall]

Well, my 12" PB died, I'm fairly sure. It would boot up in console, so I took it to the Apple Store (I was going there anyway to buy an iMac). The Genius there told me after running a few tests that the directory was corrupt. I ran it in Target Disk Mode, and it failed every time. So then I decided to do an erase and install. That's where things got interesting. I put in the disk, turned it on, held down the "c" key, and got this:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/ddcrandall/Picture1.jpg">

The last line of it reads "panic: We are hanging here..." The other lines are filled with computer jargon such as "no debugger configured - dumping debug information" and "proceeding back via exception chain" and "latest backtrace for cpu 0:." In the background, superimposed over the power button are the instructions "You need to restart your computer. Hold down the power button for several seconds or press the Restart button."

I did this and got the same screen. I don't know what to do. And no, I don't have AppleCare, and I bought this two years ago. Thanks in advance.

 

[gman71882]

What you saw is called a Kernel Panic. It is usually indicative of some type of Hardware failure in the computer. (can be software related SOMETIMES)
Have you installed 3rd Party RAM in the system? If so take out the extra ram and try running the installation again.
ALSO: what kind of installation disc are you using? the grey restore disk that shipped with your sytem or a newer install DVD?

IF you have the Apple Hardware test CD that came with the system, run that & it will test all your hardware components (including RAM) and give you a report.

I handle tech support at a university and have seen this behavior before with Diagnostic software called Diskwarrior. The CD would run ok in some computers but in Some 17 inch Powerbooks it would cause a kernel panic. In that case it was not caused by a hardware problem(just the CD) so you may just have a bad CD/DVD.

 

[ddcrandall]

What you saw is called a Kernel Panic. It is usually indicative of some type of Hardware failure in the computer. (can be software related SOMETIMES)
Have you installed 3rd Party RAM in the system? If so take out the extra ram and try running the installation again.
ALSO: what kind of installation disc are you using? the grey restore disk that shipped with your sytem or a newer install DVD?

IF you have the Apple Hardware test CD that came with the system, run that & it will test all your hardware components (including RAM) and give you a report.

I handle tech support at a university and have seen this behavior before with Diagnostic software called Diskwarrior. The CD would run ok in some computers but in Some 17 inch Powerbooks it would cause a kernel panic. In that case it was not caused by a hardware problem(just the CD) so you may just have a bad CD/DVD.

No, I have never touched the inside components of the system, including RAM.

I used the grey disk that came with my iMac. I left the disks for my PB back at home (I'm at university right now).

Do I have an Apple Hardware test CD? In my iMac box, I had the Mac OS X install disk (1 & 2) and the techtools CD that came with my AppleCare subscription.

I took the CD out and tried starting it like normal. Now I'm back to square one: console mode.

Any ideas?

 

[ddcrandall]

I think I had a kernel panic because I put in the install disk that came with my iMac (Intel), rather than my PB (PPC). I put in the disk from my PB, and I am running the installation now. By all accounts, it seems to be working. Thanks for all of your help.

P.S.: After using my 20" iMac for the past several days, my 12" PB feels like the smallest computer in the world. It looks like a portable DVD player in comparison.

 

[Temujin]

I think I had a kernel panic because I put in the install disk that came with my iMac (Intel), rather than my PB (PPC). I put in the disk from my PB, and I am running the installation now. By all accounts, it seems to be working. Thanks for all of your help.

P.S.: After using my 20" iMac for the past several days, my 12" PB feels like the smallest computer in the world. It looks like a portable DVD player in comparison.

Yep, using install disks from another mac won't work.