Powerbook boot troubles! Yes, common post, but please, help!

[DstrctAutocrat]

Hey Everyone,

I know that this is an overworked, overasked question, but believe me I have gone from forum to forum employing methods provided to previous posters, but none seem to work.

I have a Titanium Powerbook 15' G4 (purchased Summer 2002). On it are critical files (writing samples) that I need to apply to PhD programs, and of course I am waiting until now to start dealing with the issue. Let's cut to the chase:

1) Tried PRAM solution
2) Tried Single-user mode fsck -yf solution ==> One error indicates that my "journal magic is bad." Should I be worried that knife wielding monkeys that ride unicorns are now going to attack? Also a disk0s5: I/O error comes up (Which scares me).
3) Tried booting with CD and I get a scare text/image screen that tells me to restart the computer, which I do and it brings me back to the same screen.
4) Open Firmware reset solution (no Idea why I did this, but it was suggested)
5) Basically, you name the alphabet soup key combination, I've tried it.

I either get the grey screen with the lovely white apple (stays there until it shuts down), progress bar that stops halfway through and reveals a blue screen with the spinning gear, sometimes a blue screen with a cursor.

My battery is completely dead (could this be 1 problem?)

I try booting doing the whole firewire thing, and a big firewire symbol pops up on my old Mac, but doesn't give any action on my new Mac.

Here is an error message I receive:

/System/Library/StartupItems/VPN5000
- execution of startup script failed
/System/Library/StartupItems//PrintingServices
- execution of startup script failed

DSGetSpecialNodeName(): dsFindDirNode(2200) == -14008
MCXD.initializeDirectoryServices: Unable to open local node -14956
.createConnection Unable to register server
MCXD Unable to create the connection
mcxd- runloop could not be started; status = -2

What can be done friends, oh what can be done? Sorry this was a long post.

Thanks for your anticipated help!

[zo219]

>My battery is completely dead (could this be 1 problem?)

Yes, absolutely. I had a 15" that would not start up until the battery was charged up to three or four lights. Never mind that it was plugged in.

Obviously not a Powerbook in good health--but neither is yours. I don't believe those error messages are particularly relevant. What are the chances of your borrowing a good battery? Otherwise, any tech can "hot wire" a hard drive into starting up so you can get your files off. Or if you have any kind of drive enclosure you can do it yourself. Might be easier to think of it that way than trying to deal with the whole machine.