4 wk old iBook G4: crash- internal HD broken

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi,

I have my iBook G4 933Mhz for exactly 4 weeks, and it's broken.

(Standard config, 30 Gb of 40 Gb used, Running 10.3.1, no periferies, battery full).

Two weeks earlier, the trackpad was behaving strangely.

Yesterday, I was listening to some mp3's when it froze. After a manual reboot, it could not find a startup disk (folder with question mark). Rebooted with the 10.3 install disk, and launched the Disk Utility, but it could not find my internal HD. Didn't want to reboot with Norton Utils. Didn't reboot under OS9 Install CD. Resetting the PRAM did not help, resetting the PMU didn't help either. So I ran the iBook G4 Hardware Test CD-ROM, and it gave an error on the Hard Disk: 2STF/1/4.



When rebooting the HD goes krrr-krrr-krrr and then stops, resulting in the ?-folder



What does this mean and how screwed am I ?



I can have it repaired under guarantee, but i'd prefer to have a new machine instead.



Help





iBooker

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    ouch...



    Take it in and tell them that the track pad is acting up too.



    If the HDD failed then the rest of your iBook should be fine and in no need of replacement.



    Good luck...
  • Reply 2 of 3
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Well, I've had my HD replaced in the first week I had my iBook, being the exact same one as yours. I had the same error too, I believe. For now, I'll call it pure chance, but I am a bit worried seeing all the reports of faulty motherboards on the older iBooks (specifically: I'm hoping my and apparently your problem is not the result of bad engineering on Apple's part, and only the first of many problems).



    In any case: you have warranty, you should contact Apple. What can you expect us to do? Apple will most probably tell you: you don't qualify for DOA procedure (meaning you get a new machine just like that) because you're out of the 10 to 14 day period immediately after purchase (depending on your country). So they'll ask you to send it in, they'll put in a new drive and send it back.



    I don't think there are other options for you right now.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    There is a two-week-old thread right here describing my problem.
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