Start up problems

[mizlizz4u]

My 2002 iBook has been doing the following for months: Every so often (and it's gotten more recent) it will not be able to start up. A grey screen will show after the 'ding' sound when it is turned on, and then eventually a folder icon with interchanging face/question market sits in the middle of the screen, and that is it.

Then, after a week or 2, it will work again out of the blue. Talk about a mind of it's own.

Anyway, I've been told about holding certain keys (ctrl, option, apple combinations) but no one ever knows exactly which and combinations I have tried don't work.

(Oh - it might be 10.3 or 10.2, I forget, and now I have no way to find out).

Thanks!

 

[MacPeople]

As I recall, a folder icon with interchanging face/question market sitting in the middle of the screen indicates a problem with your startup drive. As it starts up occasionally, it could be a loose connection to the drive. (Can you open the machine and check?) Can you boot from the system CD? If so, trying using the system utilities to check the internal hard disc drive. You might also like to try re-specifing the start-up drive in case the machine 'forgot'. Good uck!

 

[hennessymac]

I have no answer for the problem but I noticed large increase in this type of problem after security update from apple in December , in fact my g4 crashed is there any known problem with security update around this time?