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General discussion

DOH!

Jul 16, 2005 10:51PM PDT

I tried starting my ibook this morning and I get a blank screen with a folder in the middle flashing a question mark and a happy face...what up? Hurry please MrMacfixit....PS: IO found the CD's you were talking about earlier.

Discussion is locked

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More Information is required
Jul 16, 2005 11:42PM PDT

This problem indicates that the iBook cannot find a valid system folder. There are a number of reasons for this. The directories on the HD may be corrupt, the OS could have become corrupt from incorrect shutdowns, (Forced reboot during a freeze), someone crept into your machine at night and stole your system folder, you trashed something from the System Folder or the HD itself is not working.
Some of your posts indicate that you are running some flavor of OS X but this indication is from OS 9 and below. So, what is the iBook you are running, what OS were you running before this happened and exactly what are the disks that you have found?
Do you have any Mac utilities? Disk Warrior or Tech Tool Pro?
Get back to us with this information and we can establish a starting point

P

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10.2.8
Jul 17, 2005 12:09AM PDT

I have 10.2.8, which was upgraded from I guess 10.2 since I bought the ibook. I have had to force quit the book because of freeze up several times including just before this incident. I flipped open the top and had the spinning wheel for 5-10 minutes., so I pushed the power button to shut down (sometimes I have to disconnect the AC and the battery to do this) and started again and got the folder with a question mark. I assume it was looking for the HD. I've been reading in the Apple site: <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042>

Since the CD tray wouldn't open up UNLESS I held the eject button while booting, I did this and inserted disc 1 of the installation cd's per and am following step 1 of the aforementioned html.

In the disc utility/first aid window, the computer advised the block count was too high in red ink then in black "Rebuilding Catalog B-tree" after hitting the Repair Disk tab. Then I got a "Repair Completed" message. Under the Information tab, I see : "Mount Point" Not Mounted". Apple says to reset the PRAM ...is this corrct?

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Let me add a little something.
Jul 17, 2005 1:03AM PDT

How old is this unit?

What many are never told is basic maintenance on hardware. When I see a freezing or locking up machine I get down to the heatsinks and a) make sure they are firmly installed, b) blow off the dust and lint with canned air.

No one seems to tell owners they could do this themselves but wait for the inevitable trips to the service counter.

Just sharing.

Bob

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Troubles
Jul 17, 2005 5:22AM PDT

More guessing because of the lack of information.
Is this an older "clamshell" iBook that has a color other than white and has a Tray Loading CD Reader. Yes? No?
If the answer is yes, there is a tiny hole in the CD drawer front that will, when poked gently with a straightened paperclip, allow the draw to pop open.
Are these installation CD's or are they Restore CD's?. Restore CD's are usually grey. What operating system will they install on your iBook? If you iBook is a ClamShell type, then, if they are Restore disks, I do not think they will put a workable OS X (10.x.x) on your machine. Check them carefully, somewhere on the CD there will be an OS version. However, if they are actual installation CD's they obviously will.
If the version is OS 10.2.x, then there should also be an option to either Restore in Place or Archive and install. This will put a new OS onto you disk and save your data. The alternative is to Format and Install which will destroy all your data.
Your description of "Rebuilding Catalog B-tree" is indicative of directory problems which are best dealt with by using a utility like Disk Warrior.
Of course, if you decide to format and install, the directories are deleted and replaced. You could still have a defective HD.
If Apple says reset the PRAM, do it.

P

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I Missed this Message!
Jul 17, 2005 10:03PM PDT

I'm sorry, Mr. Macfixit, somehow I missed this post. This is a newer "white" ibook. I've used the paper clip trick
several times at work when then DVD controls failed to respond, but alas, I don't use the DVD feature at home, theres gotta be a paper clip around here somewhere. The CD's ARE grey in color and will instal 10.2.1 There are actually three types of discs: two OS X disks, 3 software install, and one hardware test. I don't recall seeing a Restore in Place option and Apple didn't mention it. As a matter of fact, the Apple dude really didn't sound like he was with it. I will either buy or try to locate disk warrior. Thanks for your help.

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Command Key
Jul 17, 2005 12:13AM PDT

Stupid question...which one is the command key in case I need to use it to set the PRAM?

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(NT) (NT) OK..the Apple key is the Command Key...hit me on the he
Jul 17, 2005 12:35AM PDT
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paperweight
Jul 17, 2005 5:22AM PDT

Just got through talking to apple support ($49) and he told me the HD is kapputz. We were going to reformat the HD and in the install process "Select a destination", there was no indication of a HD, HOWEVER, back in Disc Utility/First Aid it did see the HD. I'm confused...or am I like...screwed?

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$49
Jul 17, 2005 5:24AM PDT

Disk Warrior!.
If this drive is visible in a utility, there is a very good chance that Disk Warrior will rebuild the directories for you.
I bet you told Apple what sort of iBook you had

Happy

P

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Huh?
Jul 17, 2005 5:33AM PDT

I did tell him it was an ibook that wasn't working...I did give him the serial #...thats about it. What's disc warrior?

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Disk Warrior
Jul 17, 2005 7:07AM PDT

In my first post on this subject, I asked a number of questions. One was regarding any Disk Utilities that you had, specifically Disk Warrior.
Remember that I said that there were a number of reasons why you had the Question mark? One of them was that your directories had become corrupt. Disk Warrior fixes these directories.
By giving Apple your serial number, they were able to find out exactly what sort of machine you were having a problem with. That gives them a starting point. Other than iBook, we didn't know anything, and still don't.
Disk Warrior is your best bet now, but it is not guaranteed. Disk Warrior and TechTool Pro are two "must haves" for any Mac owner.

P

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Thanks
Jul 17, 2005 10:41AM PDT

Unfortunately, I had no disc utilities...too little, too late perhaps. I'll buy Disk Warrior and try her out. Its cheaper than another laptop. I remember buying this Mac in the hopes of finding something better than Windows. For whatever reasons, mine or the binary gods, the experience was short. I'll let you know if it works.

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Drivers
Jul 17, 2005 9:48PM PDT

if Disk Warrior does not work for you, the drive in this machine can be replaced for a reasonable price.
However, I would not advise you to attempt this yourself

P

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(NT) (NT) That subject should have read "Drives" not "Drivers"
Jul 17, 2005 10:58PM PDT
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Upgrade?
Jul 19, 2005 9:34AM PDT

Ya know...should Disc Warrior not repair the HD and I need to replace it...a lot of things have happened in 2-1/2 years. What HD should I replace it with? I presently have a G3 cpu, should I upgrade that? Its a no brainer about the OS, Tiger right? Anything else? I have 512 RAM presently, what about that? You can't upgrade anything else (can you)? With all this pricey upgrades and repairs, where do you draw the line and say, buy a new puter?

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Upgrade
Jul 19, 2005 11:57AM PDT

You will be able to upgrade this machine with a larger HD but I I'm not sure if you will be able to do it yourself. I know nothing about your level of knowledge with eviscerating laptops. There are a number of places that will do it for you, for a fee. Google for iBook Hard Drive Replacements.
It is not possible to upgrade the processor but you should have something around 800Mhz which will run Tiger satisfactorily.
512 MB of RAM will suffice, obviously more would be nice but let's cross one bridge at a time. Disk Warrior will never go to waste so that is #1 on the list

Good luck

P