Uh oh... G4 12" Powerbook bad noise and won't start

[xdopaminex]

Hello!

I have a G4 12" Powerbook, about 4 months old. I haven't installed any extra hardware or software... basically use it for wireless web browsing and wordprocessing. Last night, I went to turn it on (after having it on earlier in the day, no problems)... and it starting making a horrible clicking noise that seemed to eminate from the left side... clicking and whirring rhythmically about once every 1 or 2 seconds. It finally (after a few minutes of clicking) went to a scary screen that just had a small blinking icon in the middle of that Mac Happy Computer and something else. I couldn't seem to do anything else. Wouldn' load the OS.

Is it dead? How may this have happened? Is there anything I can do? This is my first non-PC and I unfortunately don't know much about Macs. I also unfortunately don't have that warantee that I would have had to pay extra for... bummer.

--Rachel

 

[robbieduncan]

Sounds like your hard drive is not working very well. If you can get it to boot up back up all your data ASAP. Otherwise call AppleCare to get it sorted.

 

[Elan0204]

Your warranty is one year from the date of purchase from Apple. If you bought your PowerBook 4 months ago, you are still covered. The AppleCare extended warranty extends your one year warranty to three years, and can be bought anytime before the end of your "free" one year warranty.

Based on the sounds you heard, it sounds like your hard drive may have crashed.

 

[xdopaminex]

Ah yes, the one year warranty.. I will be calling AppleCare when I get home from work.

I think everything may be lost on it, because I really couldn't get it to boot up. I actually didn't have all that much on it, though, so it's not the end of the world. So how may this have happened? I didn't install anything. Could it have been a virus? Just curious, so I can avoid something similiar happening down the line. And I also am going to buy the extended warranty

Thanks,
Rachel

 

[G4scott]

Ah yes, the one year warranty.. I will be calling AppleCare when I get home from work.

I think everything may be lost on it, because I really couldn't get it to boot up. I actually didn't have all that much on it, though, so it's not the end of the world. So how may this have happened? I didn't install anything. Could it have been a virus? Just curious, so I can avoid something similiar happening down the line. And I also am going to buy the extended warranty

Thanks,
Rachel

It just sounds like you got a bad drive to start with. There's not much you can do to avoid something like this. You should, though, at the first signs of "noises" coming from your computer and especially your hard drive, back up all important data you need, because you never know when the you know what will hit the fan... But yeah, Apple should repair it under warranty.

 

[TEG]

Bummer Dude, Your Hard Drive Crashed. Thankfully Apple will replace it for you for free. Just Call AppleCare (1800-APL-CARE), they will either send you someplace that will replace it for free, or send you a DHL Box to send your PB to Texas for repair at their facility.

TEG