OSX 10.4.6 wont boot after free space erase

macfan23

Registered
I ran a 35 pass free space erase on my power book g4 it finished and everything was working fine. so then i just decided to restart my computer and now it wont boot its stuck on the grey screen with the spinnning wheel. so far ive tried booting it from the 10.3 disk i got with my powermac g5 but that didnt work. and ive tried booting it from the single user mood and nothing happens it just goes to the apple grey screen with spinning wheel. i dont have the 10.4 disk and dont wanna but it if it doesnt work. any help would be appreciated.
 
I ran a 35 pass free space erase on my power book g4 it finished and everything was working fine. so then i just decided to restart my computer and now it wont boot its stuck on the grey screen with the spinnning wheel. so far ive tried booting it from the 10.3 disk i got with my powermac g5 but that didnt work. ...
Wow, just wow! How many times does it have to be said that you cannot use the System Restore disc on a different model Mac?

As for your original problem, you seem to have done much more damage than simply erasing free space. If you cannot find your PowerBook's System Restore disc, then you will need a retail MacOS X disc that is newer than your computer.
 
i will have to get the retail disk more than likely. do you think i will be able to save my drive and comp. i checked it and it gave me my space back after it finished. i never thought restartin would mess it up. i hope i can fix it with the disk. im really worried
 
That free-space erase is probably the culprit. 35 passes is very hard on a hard drive, and likely accelerated problems that were already there.
You restarted, and the operating system began using that erased space immediately, hit a slightly damaged block, and <wham>, <burp>,<ugh>
You may need to back up (if you need to do that), erase completely and restore all your files. You may really need a reinstall disk. You may need to replace your hard drive.
If your system was basically working OK before the <super-erase>, then you should try Disk Warrior...
 
I have a copy of 10.4 that came with comp when i bought it but i installed tiger from it before to another comp but i never tried to boot from the disk til now. booting from the dvd copy doesnt work. does it matter if its the real disk or a dvd copy. should i buy the real retail disc?
 
the comp i installed it to is my 1.8 g5 which had 10.3 on it first. the disk dvd copy i have came with the powerbook i got it off ebay and i only have a burnt copy. but i cant boot the powerbook from it. do you think it would be better if i had the real disk and not just a copy? All your help is appriciated just want to get it to boot up and work again it was working fine up until now before the free space 35 pass.
 
... the disk dvd copy i have came with the powerbook i got it off ebay and i only have a burnt copy. ...
I'm have a little difficulty understanding the facts surrounding your situation. However, a homemade DVD is problematic. The content is recorded in commercial DVDs by pits in aluminum film. In burned DVDs, the content is recorded by a reflectance change in a dye film. This technique is subject to being bleached out if the burned DVD is exposed to light. Without a better description from you, there is no way for me to know what happened. The bottomline, however, is that it could. You should never rely on a burned DVD for a critical application.
 
do you think it would be better if i had the real disk and not just a copy?.
I think it would be better if you had a retail install disc. Whether its copied to a disc or on the actually DVD that it came on, makes no difference if your computer will boot up from it (and then it will say This software Cannot be installed on this computer"
I made my brother a copy of my leopard disc, and it worked just fine for him.

EDIT: yeah misterme is right, but only if the disc has had damage to it. It wouldn't change the fact that it won't let you install it.
 
Only mode i was able to boot up in was open firmware mode maybe thats preventing me from booting up from the other modes. so ill take it apart and disconnet the power and battery for a few days.and see if i can reset it to boot from another mode or from my burnt dvd.
 
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