[jonstar]

Hi everybody,

first of all, thanks in advance.

Okay, so here is my problem:

I realized today that my iBook G4 started to forget it's own settings, as in preferences that I've set for programs like iTunes were reset back to default. I thought that was weird so I restarted, but when I did that, everything on my desktop and documents etc... dissapeared when I booted it back up. I have no idea what happened. My laptop still works fine, and a few old files and programs still remain, but the majority of it dissapeared. However, the interesting thing is that the HD space remains the same as when I still had everything.

Help!

[chipchen]

FIRST... buy an external hard drive (preferrably firewire). NEXT... backup whatever you can. You may want to install Mac OS on that external, then boot from it, then back up using that.

It does sound like some of the symptoms of hard drive failure. Making any noises at all? Listen close.

[Dr. DDS]

always make backups!!!

[tinkered]

If you have apple care, this might be the time to use it. Replacing a hard drive is not cheap or particularly fun.