Help a new mac user!

[mick_aka]

Im not sure wether this is a hardware or software problem, but here goes, hopefully one of u talented guys will know how to help me.

I have a G3 Lombard Powerbook running OSX 10.3.9

When i turn it on it gives the little startup sound then the grey apple logo appears for a few secconds before turning into a grey circle with a line trough it!

Any ideas, your help is much appreciated, Mick.

[DefUnct_UK]

Although never having seen this (so sorry if im way off the mark), i would think its the newer version of the old OS 8/9 Floppy with Question mark.

Id say its not finding a system to boot, and there could be many causes for that. If you have a boot CD of some sort (like disk warrior) try booting with that, if that works, have a look at your HD and try repairing it with all the tools you can find (Onyx, DiskUtil). Hopefully its just a software error of some sort, but it could be the hard disk.

[DefUnct_UK]

Sorry, also had a quick browse, and although i think its unlikely, it could be your Firmware? To me that seems like bottom of the list of culprits atm.

[Tetano]

I think you're encountering a kernel panic, normally an hardware related system crash... unplug any USB mouse and everything else, and see if the problem goes away... it also could be a bad RAM block, have you added some RAM recently?

[mick_aka]

No no extra ram, this is a rescent ebay purcase (arrived today) and it was sold as fully working with os 10.3.9, is it worth trying to fix this problem or shall i return it and get my money back?

btw tetano, love ur GK2 avatar

[Cheryl]

Yes, it is worth tackling the problem.

First, use the power adaptor and see if it starts up without the kernel panic.

Next, use the OS 10.3 CD to start up the PowerBook. Make sure you still have the power adaptor plugged in. If it starts up, do not click on the install screen. Instead go to the Installer Menu and select Disk Utility.

When Disk Utility opens, click on the second icon at the top left, then click on Repair Drive at the bottom right. Watch the activity screen. If it does any repairs, you will need to hit the Repair Disk button again when it is done. You want to make sure it finds all the problems and repairs them. You may need to hit that button three or four times until you see no reference to repairs made.

Just for added insurance, click on the Repair Permissions button.

Now quit Disk Utility, and restart the computer.

Did that help? If not, it could be that the previous owner had installed third party RAM. You will need to remove that memory stick, then give it a start up.
Instructions on opening the powerbook are here:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25002

[ElDiabloConCaca]

It's not kernel panicking -- what you're seeing is an indication that there is a valid operating system on the drive to boot from, but for some reason, there's a software error. The prohibitory symbol (circle with a line through) means that the computer is trying to boot the OS but is failing because of some software problem. It's definitely not a kernel panic.

A kernel panic would either a) spew lines of UNIX-like text across your screen, or b) present you with the "You must restart your computer" message in a few different languages. You are not experiencing either one of those, and, therefore, are not experiencing a kernel panic.

Try this: boot from the Mac OS X Install CD that either came with the computer or your purchased, and when it asks you to select a language for installation, instead select "Disk Utility" from the "Installer" menu. Highlight your volume in the left-hand sidebar, then click "Repair Disk."

[mick_aka]

Ok put in CD1 of OSX and restarted, nothing, same old screen, tried holding option button down during boot and holding option + command + p + r until it resets twice but still wont boot up

Any ideas?

Thanks, Mick.