ibook g4 hardware problems

[pbridges]

My wife's old g4 ibook is showing some hardware problems:
It will not boot the OS.
Attempts to run the Disk Utility by inserting the first install disc CD and holding down the C key on a restart,
allow the Disk Utility to start but never finish.
Attempts to run the Apple Hardware Test by inserting the first install disc CD and holding down the Option key
on a restart gives a screen with two buttons: one is a circular arrow, and the other is a right arrow. Neither is active.
( the manual says I should have DVD's for this, but I only have CD's).
She has a new Macbook, but likes to use both computers simultaneously to display different data.

I suspect  I should tell her the old computer is dead, but is there any hope of a miracle at reasonable cost ?

[ben schmidt]

Hmm, if all you're missing a boot CD for the g4 iBook, I wonder if booting off the MacBook would be an option?

How to use FireWire target disk mode docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
You'd need a firewire cable to connect the iBook to the MacBook, and you'd need to power up the MacBook first (in firewire target disk mode, hold down T at boot). Or on 2nd thought maybe that wouldn't work -- would the OSX install on an intel-based MacBook be able to boot an older, pre-intel g4 ibook? Or would it be 'intel-only'? Maybe someone else could comment,

...b (still on a g4 powerbook)

[Dan Millar]

No, target mode doesn't work like that, Intel machines boot Intel machines only. Sounds like a) your CD drive is flaky, or b) your internal hard drive is wonky, or c) both are toast, which sounds unlikely but is not impossible. At worst, it's a trip to your nearest Apple Authorized Service location,

Dan

[Dan Millar]

Oh yeah, as Columbo would say - dey's one more ting - are you trying to boot the G4 iBook with the Intel MacBook disk? When the manual states your discs are DVDs - they are! - at least for the MacBook they are. Most iBooks also shipped with DVD drives, but a few didn't - maybe thats part of your problem- or trying to boot the iBook with the MacBook's disk. If you put the MacBook disk in the iBook and hold down the option key, AND your internal drive is psycho, then what you're seing is exactly what you should see - though it's not what you want to see! IF you use the right CD/DVD to boot the iBook with the option key down AND your CD/DVD drive is okay, THEN you will see an icon for the disk appear - select it and click the right-facing arrow to boot from it. IF your internal drive is a recognizable state THEN you will also see it on th screen - but I guess we can rule out your internal drive being okey-dokey or it WOULD have shown up already. So, long story short - IF you CAN boot up with a proper CD (OSX 10.2-3) or DVD(OSX10.3-4), you WILL be able to diagnose the internal HD - is it dead or simply seriously scrambled?

You can also do the FireWire thing - to see if the drive is alive, but not boot from. Simply connect the two 'books together with a firewire cable, then power up your sick machine while holding the T key down(yes-it should be off before you begin). A weird giant firewwire logo will appear on sick machine's screen-let go of the T-key(yes-you're still holding it down). Now look at your MacBooks Finder - a new disk should appear on the desktop representing the sick machines drive or drives if it's still working at all.

Let us know how phase 1 goes...

Dan

[pbridges]

Sorry, made a mistake in identifying the disks, they are DVD's. When I could not run the hardware test I jumped to the
wrong conclusions.

The latest on this problem is that  can sometimes connect to the iBook from my eMac using a firewire cable, but it
soon freezes up. I was once able to transfer most of the important data files.

It has the symptoms of a flakey disk, but if so I do not understand why I cannot run the hardware test.