trying to recover old ibook G4; getting kernel panic

[ibookuser2012]

Hello,

I've inherited an older iBook G4, which has had issues with kernel panics. Was hoping to find out if it's retrievable, or beyond assistance. Have searched the forums, but couldn't find exact kernel issue described.

iBook G4, PowerPC G4 (1.5), running OSX 10.4.11

Got it running for a bit yesterday, verified disk ok, updated software version. Later on it crashed to the "restart now, etc." page. Today, after some start-up fiddling, got it going again. Here is the latest panic.log:

Thu Jun 28 10:50:15 2012


Unresolved kernel trap(cpu 0): 0x300 - Data access DAR=0x0000000000000018 PC=0x0000000000274DF4
Latest crash info for cpu 0:
Exception state (sv=0x35318780)
PC=0x00274DF4; MSR=0x00009030; DAR=0x00000018; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x000F34F8; R1=0x123FBCA0; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access)
Backtrace:
0x000F34E0 0x002ABDB8 0x000ABD30 0x00000000
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x35318780)
previously dumped as "Latest" state. skipping...
Exception state (sv=0x26DC6A00)
PC=0x900687AC; MSR=0x0200F030; DAR=0x01D56000; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x92C06718; R1=0xF0181E90; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.0: Wed Oct 10 18:26:00 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.24.17~1/RELEASE_PPC
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xFFFF0003): 0x300 - Data access
Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
Backtrace:
0x000954F8 0x00095A10 0x00026898 0x000A8204 0x000ABB80
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x35318780)
PC=0x00274DF4; MSR=0x00009030; DAR=0x00000018; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x000F34F8; R1=0x123FBCA0; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access)
Backtrace:
0x000F34E0 0x002ABDB8 0x000ABD30 0x00000000
Exception state (sv=0x26DC6A00)
PC=0x900687AC; MSR=0x0200F030; DAR=0x01D56000; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x92C06718; R1=0xF0181E90; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.0: Wed Oct 10 18:26:00 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.24.17~1/RELEASE_PPC

*********

I'm afraid I'm not sure what I'm looking at, any help is greatly appreciated. I read elsewhere someone had a problem with airport, so the only thing I've done so far is disabling that and using an ethernet cable instead. Any further insight would be great, thanks!

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Can you force a kernel panic to happen by lifting, twisting, or otherwise slightly, physically manipulating the body or screen of the iBook?

Some older iBooks had problems with connectors coming loose, getting tugged on by slight movement/tweaking, or otherwise manifested by physical manipulation.

If you can reliably cause a kernel panic to happen by physically manipulating the computer, then it's likely toast... or rather, needs repair, but repair cost would be more than the computer is even worth, probably.

[DeltaMac]

Disabling the Airport in software (by turning the card off) probably won't prevent hardware problems. You would have to physically remove that airport card. The older iBook G4s have an Airport card just underneath the keyboard, and can be removed in less then 30 seconds. The last iBook G4 has an Airport card completely inside requiring major disassembly to get at, and more than 15 minutes to open up, then put the case back together for use, and only if you know what you are doing.

I would recommend removing the RAM memory card first, and see if that fixes the kernel panic. Access instructions to the memory slot is on a diagram printed underneath the keyboard. If the memory slot is already empty (very possible), then that's not going to help.
Quite often, kernel panics on an iBook may be caused by a failing hard drive - but - replacing the hard drive is a major task. There's 50 tiny screws to get at the hard drive (I've counted them a couple of times!), and the first time is really a "grand exploration"

[ibookuser2012]

Thanks for the replies.
@ElDiablo, I'm not able to provoke a kernel panic moving the laptop or screen, so is doesn't appear to be that fragile.
@Delta Mac, sounds like you think it is ram/ hard drive related. I will look into the ram slot first.
That said, so far it's been on for about 6 hours without a crash (touch wood) which is a big improvement over yesterday.
Thanks again for your help.