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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Can't find hard drive
amykittin - Jul 29, 2006 - 6:27 pm
I'm not very tec savvy, I went down the MAC route because a friend was pretty nifty with them but since I've lost contact I've lost all expertise! I'm currently sharing a windows laptop as I can't get this sorted!
Basically, I made the mistake of letting a friend use the machine and they somehow managed to disrupt the system so that the hard drive disappeared. I think they were trying to burn a cd off the battery power which died mid burn and it was downhill after that!
The system will currently read fine off the discs, I've ran the hardware test CD and it says that all hardware passes the test, however if you try to find anything on the hard drive - well, the only operating system it finds is the CD that happens to be running. In case it was just a partitioning issue, I did try to go back and use the Software restore discs, and also the OS9/OSX install, but it can't find a disc to install onto. At one point when I tried to go into the top left apple toolbar and tried to go to start up disc selection, it said that the start up disc was locked.
Has anyone any idea whether this is generally a hard drive failure from the description (as I suspect despite passing the mass storage test?) or could this be something to do with the logic board (which reading around has been a glitch with some of these older machines).
Oh yes, to be helpful, it's one of the 2002 12" white iBooks, G3 600 MHz CD RW combi (I think - it was a while back now!)
Thanks
Basically, I made the mistake of letting a friend use the machine and they somehow managed to disrupt the system so that the hard drive disappeared. I think they were trying to burn a cd off the battery power which died mid burn and it was downhill after that!
The system will currently read fine off the discs, I've ran the hardware test CD and it says that all hardware passes the test, however if you try to find anything on the hard drive - well, the only operating system it finds is the CD that happens to be running. In case it was just a partitioning issue, I did try to go back and use the Software restore discs, and also the OS9/OSX install, but it can't find a disc to install onto. At one point when I tried to go into the top left apple toolbar and tried to go to start up disc selection, it said that the start up disc was locked.
Has anyone any idea whether this is generally a hard drive failure from the description (as I suspect despite passing the mass storage test?) or could this be something to do with the logic board (which reading around has been a glitch with some of these older machines).
Oh yes, to be helpful, it's one of the 2002 12" white iBooks, G3 600 MHz CD RW combi (I think - it was a while back now!)
Thanks
Cheryl - Jul 30, 2006 - 3:38 am
Amy,
First, try resetting the PMU.
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC power adapter.
Remove the battery.
Press and release the reset button (shown here) located above the Audio/Video port on the left side of the iBook (Dual USB) computer by inserting the end of a paper clip into the small hole and gently pressing the switch once.
Wait 5 seconds.
Reconnect the AC power adapter.
Put the battery back in the computer.
Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.
When it starts up, does the drive show up? Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences.
In General, check to see the Show These Items - Hard disks is checked.
Next, Start up with the Install OS X CD.
You do not say what version OS X you are running. If it is Tiger (10.4) you need to select what language you want, then at the next screen go to the Utilities Menu to select Disk Utility. Do not click on the installer screen.
In older OS X versions, at the start up screen, just go to the Utilities Menu and select Disk Utility - again do not click on the installer screen.
Once Disk Utility starts up, does it see the hard drive? If yes, click once on the icon in the side bar, then click on Repair Drive.
If it shows any repairs done, click on Repair Drive again.
If it shows that it can not repair the drive, you will need to use a third party Utility to make those repairs.
A good third party utility that I use is Disk Warrior.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html
It is a start up CD, so once you get it, start up the iBook with it, then have it repair the drive.
Depending on the outcome of using a disk utility will depend on the next step.
Let me know how you do.
Cheryl
First, try resetting the PMU.
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC power adapter.
Remove the battery.
Press and release the reset button (shown here) located above the Audio/Video port on the left side of the iBook (Dual USB) computer by inserting the end of a paper clip into the small hole and gently pressing the switch once.
Wait 5 seconds.
Reconnect the AC power adapter.
Put the battery back in the computer.
Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.
When it starts up, does the drive show up? Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences.
In General, check to see the Show These Items - Hard disks is checked.
Next, Start up with the Install OS X CD.
You do not say what version OS X you are running. If it is Tiger (10.4) you need to select what language you want, then at the next screen go to the Utilities Menu to select Disk Utility. Do not click on the installer screen.
In older OS X versions, at the start up screen, just go to the Utilities Menu and select Disk Utility - again do not click on the installer screen.
Once Disk Utility starts up, does it see the hard drive? If yes, click once on the icon in the side bar, then click on Repair Drive.
If it shows any repairs done, click on Repair Drive again.
If it shows that it can not repair the drive, you will need to use a third party Utility to make those repairs.
A good third party utility that I use is Disk Warrior.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html
It is a start up CD, so once you get it, start up the iBook with it, then have it repair the drive.
Depending on the outcome of using a disk utility will depend on the next step.
Let me know how you do.
Cheryl
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