PowerBook issue

[waynetravis]

I got my Powerbook today from ebay, but when I turn it on I get a grey screen, then a question marked folder starts to flash.
When I looked online it said there was a issue with OS Leopard finding it's place and I'd need to pop the disc in to check.
The only thing is, I don't have any discs at all for it.

Does anyone have an alternative solution?

 

[kramwest1]

The only solution I know is to get the OS start-up disc. I have had the same thing happen, but I have the disc. I don't know if you can find it online to download or if you know someone with one.

I assume the person you got it from trashed a bunch of things before they sent it to you, and like you said, the OS is confused as to where it's located.

I wish I could be more help.


Mark

 

[Liesje]

Was it sold with an OS? Being off eBay, just makes me wonder if that was part of the deal or if the seller just wiped it before shipping.

 

[waynetravis]

The seller's description said it was fully working with OS Leopard. It never said anything about the discs missing or whatever.

Even though Leopard is on there, could I install something like Puma? That's only £15 on ebay, compared to a Leopard disc at £70.

 

[kramwest1]

You need the OS Install Disc 1. They are gray discs that should come with the laptop. It's like the reinstall/crash disc.

It's not the same as an OS disc (leopard, etc.). I don't know if those OS discs can do the same thing or not. I've never tried them for that.

If you can find one, put it in the drive and hold down "C" while powering it up. The computer will run off that disc, so you can fix the OS.


Mark

 

[waynetravis]

I emailed the seller who said he doesnt have the discs for it but he said he'll burn me a copy of OS X to try that.

 

[digitize]

You can download OS X illegally and install it, or buy OS X for however much they're charging. Or you can install Windows legally or illegally and not bother with OS X. Or you can eschew both and install Linux legally for free. You can also do any combination of the three.

 

[neutral]

He has a G4 Powerbook, can't install Windows except with Virtual PC.



Wayne the only thing I can think for you to try without the disc, reboot holding down the option key. It's possible you'll be able to select your drive and boot from that.
Mac OS X 10.5 Help: If your computer stops or delays while starting up

 

[waynetravis]

I tried that. All I get is a curly arrow and a arrow pointing right

 

[neutral]

^ Is there anything else on the screen? Is there a cursor arrow showing?

 

[waynetravis]

Yes, the cursor is there and the 2 buttons I mentioned.

 

[waynetravis]

Got OS Tiger from a friend. Installing now, but got to the part where it says select destination and its just a blank box.

No hard drive?

 

[kramwest1]

Got OS Tiger from a friend. Installing now, but got to the part where it says select destination and its just a blank box.

No hard drive?

Have you tried holding down "C" while powering up with the Tiger disc in?

 

[waynetravis]

Yeah, that's what I did, and there was nothing to install to. I went to the Disk Utility thing and there was 3 things listed: the CD Drive, Session 1 (which was about 700MB) and the contents on the CD in the drive.

 

[kramwest1]

Yeah, that's what I did, and there was nothing to install to. I went to the Disk Utility thing and there was 3 things listed: the CD Drive, Session 1 (which was about 700MB) and the contents on the CD in the drive.

I think the hard drive needs to be replaced. That sounds like exactly what happened to my wife's MacBook earlier this year.

Sorry. That sucks.

Anybody else have a thought?


M

 

[waynetravis]

Went into an Apple Reseller store and told them about the issue. They said it's a failed hard drive.
The seller is offering me a refund which I'll take, no point in spending more on it as it will probably cost more than I paid for the machine.

 

[Liesje]

Does it need a certain drive? The ones I've replaced recently have cost less than $100.

 

[waynetravis]

The Apple guy said it needs the right drive for the right machine

 

[Liesje]

Macs

j/k

 

[neutral]

The drive isn't anything unusual or Mac specific, it just takes a standard parallel ATA 2.5" notebook drive.

I'd definitely take the refund though, he sold you what he claimed was a "fully working" machine with a running installation of Leopard and it arrived nonworking. Who knows what else might be wrong with it after you replaced the drive.

 

[waynetravis]

Got another working Powerbook now Was actually about £30 cheaper than the broken one
Microsoft Office was bundled with it to.

I just need to get a new battery as the one that came with it is more or less dead.
There's just one thing that concerns me, I changed the wallpaper and added apps to the dock, and imported music to iTunes.
When I turned it on again after a few hours the desktop and dock went back to their defaults, and the music I ripped in iTunes was deleted but the stuff imported from an external drive remained

I looked on google for a solution, and one website said it might be because of a dead battery and something about CMOS??