G4 powerbook will not open

[jrosson]

Hello,

Our G4 Powerbook was operating normally for 4 years or so.

About 2 weeks ago, it refused to start.

Pressing the power button gives us a white screen, below which the whirling wheel of black slashes churns.

It's a 10.3.9, 80 GB HD with about 36 GB's free.

We tried Disc Warrior which indicated it rebuilt the directory, but to no avail.
We tried 'safe-boot' with no success.

Fortunately, we were able to start in 'target disc' mode and pull clear some critical (but not all) material.

Have been unable to google an answer.

Thank you for any help you can offer.. JR