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Need help w/ a dead iBook ...
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2005
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I'm sad to report that 3.5+ year old 12" 1.2 Ghz. G4 iBook is in rough shape. ;-(
Last night it completely froze so I rebooted it. When it started back up it showed these things in succession ... - A flashing picture of a globe (earth) for maybe 20+ seconds
- A picture of the system folder with I think a question mark in it (this scares me)
- The full gray screen with the large darker gray Apple logo in the center of the screen (small spinning pinwheel near the bottom of the screen) for as much as a couple minutes
- A bright blue screen, sometimes showing the mouse pointer
This last screen just stays there indefinitely, I've waited as long as 20 minutes. I've rebooted several times with the same results.
The machine had Tiger on it. I found what I think was the Tiger DVD and attempted to boot from it, but I got the same results as above. I may try my Panther discs if I can find them. I do think I hear the HD spinning at times.
Any ideas? Does it sound like the HD might have finally just died? It was the factory 80GB 4800rpm drive. If I replace it I would like to get one that spins faster, it's plugged in the vast majority of the time anyway.
All advice and pointers to info much appreciated, thanks very much in advance!!
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
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do you have an external firewire HD with MacOS that you could startup off? That'd tell you if it's the HD. Finding the correct (or a universal) startup DVD should also tell you whether it's the HD.
Putting a faster HD in would be a plus. I put a 250 GB 5400 rpm in my 12" PB, and it's wonderful to have all that space. It does heat up more, so in the summer temps without AC I'm using a laptop cooler.
If you use a laptop cooler, find one that blows air AT the laptop, instead of dragging air away from the cooler (doesn't do much good.)
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Thanks. I think it has a single firewire 400 port. But I don't have an external OS X drive to use. I'm going to try to boot from the OS DVD again tonight and see if I can run the disk utility. I suppose a new HD might me in order from macsales. ;-)
Originally Posted by amazing 
do you have an external firewire HD with MacOS that you could startup off? That'd tell you if it's the HD. Finding the correct (or a universal) startup DVD should also tell you whether it's the HD.
Putting a faster HD in would be a plus. I put a 250 GB 5400 rpm in my 12" PB, and it's wonderful to have all that space. It does heat up more, so in the summer temps without AC I'm using a laptop cooler.
If you use a laptop cooler, find one that blows air AT the laptop, instead of dragging air away from the cooler (doesn't do much good.)
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
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Well, I've found better prices at zipzoomfly.com and newegg.com.
First thing is to find out whether it's the HD of the motherboard. Finding the MacOS install disks that'll start the iBook will tell you whether it sees the HD.
I bought a 250 GB WD2500BEVE from zipzoomfly and installed it in my 12" PB. I took the 60 GB from my 12" PB and installed it in my 14" iBook G3-800. Then, I installed the 30 GB HD from the iBook into my vintage 5300CE PB running 9.1 with its lordly 64 MB or RAM. I'm going to see if it can function as a music jukebox attached to the stereo.
Anyway, from this vast experience and from advice gleaned from this forum, if it's your HD you download the install guides from ifixit.com. Print out 2 copies of the guides. As you disassemble the 12" iBook, you tape the screws to the exact location on one of the copies. You keep the clean copy to read off as you minutely follow the instructions. If it says to use a dental pick-like tool to pry off the small audio connector (for example) then that's what you do--you don't go pulling on the wires, thinking that will work as well.
To reassemble, you take the screws off your scotch-taped guide, and be sure to check that you leave no itsy-bitsy screw behind, hidden under the scotch tope.
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Thanks, guys! I was able to boot from the DVD last night and run Disk utility. The HD is being reported as failed.
Is this an appropriate drive for a G4 iBook (it's ATA)? I think the newer MacBooks use SATA?
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Weste...tal/WD800BEVE/
Thanks!
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Thanks for the tip, just placed my order w/ them! ;-)
Originally Posted by amazing
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