"broken Folder" - Ibook Won't Start

androoo

Registered
Hi all,

I have a G3 ibook 600mhz 256mbRAM with 20 GB hard drive running OS 10.1.5. Recently, I have been unable to get the computer to start. When it does start, a "broken folder" icon comes up and the whole thing stops.

Here's what I've tried so far (thanks to those of you who provided this advice):

1) reseting PRAM
2) reseting nvram via OF
3) starting from the system CD (problem is, it wants me to re-install the software and my hard drive is too full to permit that - unless I can get the damn thing to turn on, I can't make space to free up the needed memory)

Any ideas? I'm getting desperate!
 

powermac

iMac Dual 2.0 17'
To run fsck, you first need to start up your Mac in single-user mode. Here's how:

1. Restart your Mac.

2. Immediately press and hold the Command and "S" keys.

You'll see a bunch of text begin scrolling on your screen. In a few more seconds, you'll see the Unix command line prompt (#).

You're now in single-user mode.

Now that you're at the # prompt, here's how to run fsck:

1. Type: "fsck -f" (that's fsck-space-minus-f).

2. Press Return.

The fsck utility will blast some text onto your screen. If there's damage to your disk, you'll see a message that says:

***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

If you see this message--and this is extremely important-- repeat running fsck. It is normal to have to run fsck more than once -- the first run's repairs often uncover additional problems..

When fsck finally reports that no problems were found, and the # prompt reappears:

3. Type: "reboot" to restart,

or type "exit" to start up without rebooting.

4. Press Return.

Your Mac should proceed to start up normally to the login window or the Finder.
 
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