12" powerbook optical drive problems

[carlosbrown]

My 12" powerbook crashed on me big time and all I see is a folder icon with a question mark.
Someone told me I need to reinstall the OS again, however, my optical drive stopped reading cd or dvds a few months before this happened. Because of this I can not install directly from my original discs. Is there anyway to reinstall the OS without having to replace the optical drive first? I intend to get a new laptop around middle of the year so all I need right now is a computer that i can use for webwork without having to burn or read anything. any help or advice is appreciated.:???:

[Marvin]

Get a cheap external DVD drive. You only need a combo drive. Try this site:

http://www.lacie.com/products/clearance/products/?id=10008

If you plan on selling your computer on, it might be an idea to get it fixed though.

[carlosbrown]

Thanx Marvin. I will try that. Any chances that I could upload from another computer?

[Marvin]

Thanx Marvin. I will try that. Any chances that I could upload from another computer?

You can install from an external hard drive like an ipod:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050524104814419&lsrc=osxh

You can do it from another computer if you start your one in firewire target mode holding t while booting. It will show up on the other computer as a hard drive.