Mac borked.....anything that could avoid a trip to repair?

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tigerwoods99tigerwoods99
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
So I havent had my Mac in a few weeks, because the HD seems to be completely borked and the system wont start up.



I've tried just about everything that someone would be told in my situation (looked through posts on here as well. Rset PRAM, NVRAM, pushed button near the RAM slot, started in single user mode, let it hang for a while (like over a day), tried doing disk repair from both OS 9 & original OS X install disc, and some others that I am forgettin to mention but you name it I've more than likely tried. So I figured I would just install Jaguar again since I had the disc...but low and behold when I start off the disc holding C, nothing happens at all. I cannot install OS X from the original CD because it contains 10.1, and I was already running 10.2 and you cant install an older version on top of a newer one it said.



My HD crashed before, and I used some disk utility thing to eventually get it running...but I dont have it anymore. Plus it took like a week just for it to finish running. I dont have a car....so I cant really take it to a repair place to get it fixed (like the Apple Store). Unless you want me to cart my G4 on a bus I could always go to CompUSA by bus, and then buy a program if I have to...but I dont really wanna spend $100, and thats all the money I got on me right now. Are there any cheaper ones or anything I could possibly do? I really hate being without my computer for this long already and want to get it fixed soon...

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    If you have another HDD laying around try instaling it as master and see if you can install 10.2 on it. Maybe you have a HDW issue of some sort other than the HDD. If you can install 10.2 on another drive, slave in your current drive and try repairing it that way. Or at least get your data off of it and then nuke it.



    Am I reading you right and you can boot off of a 10.1 cd but not your 10.2 cd? Maybe it is scratched???



    If you know someone with a i/powerbook (or other mac they would be willing to lug over to your place), you can try running your G4 in FW target disk mode and see if you can repair it that way.



    If all else fails, pour some liquid Schwartz in it.
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  • Reply 2 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Might be...I looked on the CD and it doesnt seem to be damaged, I guess I could try to see if it will boot from CD on the old iMac.



    I figure its definitely an HDW problem....I might boot in to list the exact problems it states and report back to see if anyone knows a possible fix for something specific.
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  • Reply 3 of 20
    pestobreathpestobreath Posts: 69member
    I don't know about 10.1, but newer versions of OS X ship with Disk Utility on the Install CD. Can you boot from the 10.1 CD, use Disk Utility to reformat the disk, and then install 10.1? (You will, of course, lose everything on the hard disk but it sounds like you're resigned to that.)
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  • Reply 4 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    The 10.1 Disk Utility you cant reformat ....it only gives the option to repair...and it cant repair my HD.
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  • Reply 5 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    You could boot off a OS 8/9 cd and reformat it that way...
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  • Reply 6 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    I can? Or do you mean reinitialize? That wipes the whole HD clean....not tryin to do that...
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  • Reply 7 of 20
    pestobreathpestobreath Posts: 69member
    Does Disk Utility (on the CD) recognize that your hard disk is even present?



    If not and your hard disk is truly hosed, then reformatting/reinitializing might at least give you a functioning computer again. But I like opuscroakus' idea of finding a friend with a PowerBook or iBook and trying the FireWire target disk mode.
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  • Reply 8 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Disk Utility will recognize both my hard drives, but the HFS+ is "not mounted" for them.



    I just tried my Jag disc bootin up from it on the iMac, and it didnt work there so it must be the CD. I dont know anyone w/a Powerbook or any Firewire stuff...I could buy a PCI Firewire card for my old G3 and use that, but I'm gonna see if I can get someone to hook me up w/ Panther.
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  • Reply 9 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Ok, this is weird as hell....





    My G4 will:



    -boot up from the original OS 9 install disc

    -boot up from the original OS X install disc (but I cant reinstall since its 10.1, and I already had Jag on it & it says you cant install an older version on top of a new one)



    it wont:



    -boot up from a Jaguar install disc (NOT BURNED...original retail CD)



    and now wont boot up from a Mac OS 10.2.1 install disc that I just got off someone



    I even completely shut the computer down after I put the CD in and then start up with C............still NOTHING IS HAPPENING



    what is wrong with this???
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  • Reply 10 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    bump
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  • Reply 11 of 20
    whisperwhisper Posts: 735member
    Have you tried asking someone at a Genius Bar? They've always had a helpful attitude towards me.
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  • Reply 12 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Do they charge you?? I dont have a car so its kinda hard for me to get to one, but that's what I'll probably end up doing....
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  • Reply 13 of 20
    sh0ewaxsh0ewax Posts: 114member
    It is free until you decide to send the Mac in for service etc. They fixed my ipod on the spot for free, the casing was coming of. My local genius is friendly and honest.



    Good Luck.
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  • Reply 14 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    Is the G4's firmware up to date? When you boot from a OS9 or OS10.1 cd, can you get into the drive?



    It's a long shot but have you tried removing your 3rd party RAM (if any) and then trying to boot off the Jaguar cd???



    Can you borrow a Panther cd from anyone and try that?



    If you could beg, borrow, or steal a FW or USB drive, get your data off of that sucker and reinitalize.



    TigerWoods y'all
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  • Reply 15 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    What do you mean by get in the drives? From OS 9 CD I can see the drive and open it up but I cant run anything since its just booted off a CD. 10.1 install will show the HDs in Disk Utility.



    I couldnt get a Panther disc...the only one I was able to get a hold of was a 10.2.1 install disc off someone's G4. I'm thinking it could be a drive problem and gettin a panther one wouldnt be much help either, since I've tried 2 discs besides the original software and it hasnt booted off them.



    Maybe if I reinstall OS 9 first assuming I can??? Then I might be able to boot up off there and then install OS X again.



    FW or USB drive...doubt I could unless I went and bought one (how much would that cost?).



    My effin father wont even take me to the Apple Store to get it fixed either...he doesnt give a crap if its dead.



    *sigh*
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  • Reply 16 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    "HD's"?



    You have more than 1 HDD? Good! An option would be to boot off of your OS9 or 10.1 cd and copy everything you need to keep to the slave drive, then reinitialize the boot drive. Then you could try to boot and install Jag...



    Did you try the RAM thing?
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  • Reply 17 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    I only have the 512 MB that came stock w/my QS.



    On the OS 9 startu, it only shows the original HD (been that way forever...)
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  • Reply 18 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    Can you boot off of the 10.1 cd and see both drives? If so you could try it that way.
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  • Reply 19 of 20
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    I can boot off the CD and go into Disk Utility yea...but I cant run the system off it because I have Jag on my Mac...and I cant install 10.1 over that because it says that I cant install an older system over a newer one.
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  • Reply 20 of 20
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    How big are the boot and slave drives? If you install 9 on the boot drive, I doubt you will be able to then reinstall OSX over the top of the old X. Maybe I'm wrong, it's worth a shot.



    If you swap drives and have your old slave as the boot and old boot as slave, and boot off of the OS9 cd, I wonder if you could then see both of the drives...



    I would first install 9 on your current boot drive. You may then be able to see both drives when booted from a 9 install as opposed to a 9 cd boot. If you can, then I would copy the data and apps you need to the slave drive and reinitialize the boot drive, then install Jag. If you install 9 and can't see the slave drive, you could at least use your burner (if you have one) and burn off what you need to save, then reinit from there.
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