Troubleshooting a G4 Powerbook

[CNU182]

hello all,
I am trying to help a friend out with his g4 powerbook which hangs at the opening apple (gray) screen. the spiral thing under the apple just keeps spinning...where do i start?

thanks in advance!

 

[mad jew]

Try booting from the OSX discs and using Disk Utility to verify/repair the volume. Also, try booting whilst holding SHIFT to get into Safe Mode. Ask your friend what sort of changes he or she has made to the system recently in terms of hardware and software. If possible, undo these changes. 🙂

 

[CNU182]

managed to get the booger into target mode and ran disk utility from my macbook twice and verified the disk. it fixed a lot of things, but not the overall problem. Tried resetting the pram and nvram afterwards and still have the exact same problem.

 

[mad jew]

Have you backed everything up onto your MacBook? Maybe try reformatting the drive. 🙂

 

[CNU182]

oh it's a problem with the G4. and i don't have the original install disks 🙁

 

[mad jew]

Bugger. Do you have any PPC install discs?

 

[CNU182]

Bugger. Do you have any PPC install discs?

zero, i've been using macs for about 5 months now 😕

 

[mad jew]

Mate, it might be time to tell your friend to invest in an OS disc. The latest and greatest Tiger isn't necessary. Panther is pretty cool, and will be much cheaper on eBay. 🙂

 

[CNU182]

Mate, it might be time to tell your friend to invest in an OS disc. The latest and greatest Tiger isn't necessary. Panther is pretty cool, and will be much cheaper on eBay. 🙂

is there a way to tell the specs besides HD size through target mode?

 

[mad jew]

Not that I know of. It shouldn't matter anyway because you'll need a retail version of OSX to ensure it works. In other words, get a copy that didn't come bundled with a machine.

 

[CNU182]

Not that I know of. It shouldn't matter anyway because you'll need a retail version of OSX to ensure it works. In other words, get a copy that didn't come bundled with a machine.

Well i just recently aquired it from a friend now, so i was more or less wondering for myself. thanks!