Hard disk verifies/repairs OK but can't boot, re-install or erase

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philnicholl

Registered
I have a problem with my Powerbook (Tibook) G4 667.

It won’t boot. After the initial grey screen, it gets as far as a completely blue screen and eventually resorts to the Darwin console (?).

I'm running OS X 10.4.? (sorry - can’t remember when I last updated this machine). The 40 Gb internal drive is partitioned: HDA (start-up disk) 35 GB; HDB 2.5 Gb; HDC 2.5Gb.

This is the ‘family’ computer and is shared by five users for internet and general use.

I don’t use this machine often as I also have a 17” G4 1.5 (Alubook) running 10.4.7.

When I was told that it was behaving oddly I managed to save the ‘Users’ folder onto an external FW drive.

I can access the drive from my Alubook connected to the sick Tibook in FW target mode, although the Tibook HDA (the start-up partition) takes ages to show up on the Alubook desktop.

I have run Disk Utility from both the Tiger installation DVD and via FW from the Alubook and each time all partitions verify OK. I’ve run repair as well and this also gives an OK verdict.

As I now have copies of the data on the drive I have tried reinstalling the system from the Tiger DVD but the drive does not appear as a destination for installation (it doesn’t appaear at all, just the DVD and Network options are visible). I have tried to erase the drive but I get an ‘I/O error’ message when attempting to erase from the DVD disk utility and a ‘Can’t unmount disk’ error when attempting via FW from the Alubook.

I’ve tried everything along the lines of ‘fsck’ etc. as advised by Apple at the link below

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

Everything checks out ‘OK’ though I did get a line mentioning Disk I/O error on one ‘fsck’ cycle but it still reported everything as being OK.

It may well be that the drive is dead, but all the tests keep telling me it is alive.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks very much.

Phil
 
If the computer will boot from the installation disk, that gives me the impression that the hard drive has failed. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a Fujitsu or Toshiba drive either. :)
 
Assuming worst case - that the hard disk drive needs replacing (and you are contemplating a replacement), consider ...

01. Connect the two Macs together, via a Firewire cable.
02. Boot the problem Powerbook (Tibook) into 'Target' mode.
03. Via the 17” G4 PowerBook's 'Disk Utility' erase (and optionally - partition) the Tibook.
04. Insert the 'Tiger Install DVD' into the 17” G4 PowerBook, and attempt to install onto the Tibook.

Tell us your results.
 
Thank you.

I tried all combinations of erase and install running Disk Utility from the Alubook with the sick Tibook in Target mode and from the Tiger install DVD in the Tibook. I also ran Disk Warrior but it quit at the final stage. It seems the problem is that the drive won’t write, as a result I can’t erase or partition or install (when attempting to empty trash the drive seems to hit a sector where it just gently ticks and then freezes). The strange thing is that Disk Utility still seems to think that all three partitions are Ok (!)

I have recovered the important user data and am now resigned to replacing the drive. Any suggestions for drive models and suppliers. I’m in the UK. (It also needs a new battery).

Thanks again

Phil
 
I would highly recommend that you get a Hitachi Travelstar drive. I've been repairing macs for years and can tell you with the utmost confidence that they have the highest reliability. When I absolutely cannot get a Hitachi drive, I'll settle for a Seagate with confidence.

Avoid Toshiba and Fujitsu drives -- I'll bet the drive in your laptop is one of those brands.
 
There's no doubt, all hard drives fail at some time. They are mechanical in nature, spin at a high rate of speed using a motor and bearings, so they're all gonna die sometime. The question is how quickly.
 
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