[Koodari]

I just got this G3/700 CD iBook, dragged it across the country (in the original case, by hand, so it wasn't bumped) and now I'd like to wipe it, re-install, check that it works and resell it.

I know it was working normally before - I worked with it for hours just a week ago, used it in Firewire target mode, etc. The CD drive hadn't been used in a "while", though.

The iBook seemed to have ran out of power in sleep mode, because it needed a full reboot. After attaching the power supply, I still made it to desktop as normal. I didn't look around (a mistake, in hindsight! Should have ran rember and otherwise stressed the machine).

I attempted to boot the iBook off the 10.2 installation CD 1, the installer came up and promptly barfed.

The installer has quit due to an unexpected error. (exit code 0)Please restart your computer.

Then I tried putting the machine in Firewire target mode and wiping it from my Macbook. Macbook complained something about it being unreadable, and indeed it didn't show up in Finder. So I fired up Disk Utility. The formatting of the disk showed up as "Apple Partition something".

I tried to secure erase the disk, and got a progress bar that never moved. After a while, as in hours, I told it to skip. I don't quite remember if it was that button press or the attempt to eject the disk from Finder that crashed the Macbook, but it crashed nevertheless.

I did the cmd-opt-p-r PRAM zap on the iBook. Just an random attempt to jolt it back into operation.

I got as far as Disk Utility, and erased the HD, which seemed to work but there was no secure erase option so I'm still a little bit uncomfortable with handing the HD to anyone. I started install. Crash.

I'm thinking it must be the HD, mobo or memory. If I could install 10.2 and Rember on my Firewire disk, I should be able to boot the iBook off that and locate the problem.. but I have all of that disk in one big FAT partition and don't feel like losing the contents.

[PKIDelirium]

Can you try running the Apple Hardware Test off the disc?

[alcimedes]

Is it the 10.2 disk that came with the machine, or a generic/retail one? If it's no the one that came with the machine it's possible the iBook needs some specific drivers that didn't ship on the retail disks.

[PB PM]

It should be on your install disk. Your disk will say right below the install version of the OS. It would say "AHT version ......" Another way to check is to hold down the option key at boot, if AHT is an option, its on there.

[Koodari]

There was a Apple Hardware Test CD in the CD pile, separate from the 10.2 install. These are all discs that came with the laptop. I ran the longer version of the test successfully, all tests passed. Disk Utility also gives a pass to the HD, but it only tests the file structure in a couple of seconds, not the surface. Was there a way to test the full surface?

I'm running install again and for some reason it hasn't crashed yet after about 10%.

.. Norwegian Localized Files.
.. Swedish Localized Files.
.. Brazilian Portuguese Localized Files.

[Koodari]

Disc 1 installed without crashing, but the laptop doesn't boot. I'm seeing Apple logo till infinity.

[PB PM]

Sounds like drive is bad or maybe a problem with the connector between the drive and logicboard.

[Koodari]

Oh crap no. This is insane. Who designed this machine?

iBook G3 HD replacement: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/PDF/50/i...eplacement.pdf

I could do the Firewire install thing now, but all it will do is to allow me to run Rember and see that the system is stable when not ran off the internal HD. Doesn't help to find out if the problem is with the mobo or the internal drive.

The choices seem to be:
- sell the thing as is. Maybe someone will want to use it permanently Firewire'd, as spare parts or put in their own drive.
- find a cheap used drive, disassemble the whole laptop to replace the drive and then sell the working machine. Unless the mobo is at fault.

[ghoti]

It may be a bit more difficult than replacing the HD in the PB G4, but apart from the spudger thing it's just a lot of steps and screws. If you use the screw guide at the end of that PDF, and you follow the steps carefully, you really can't go wrong. It just depends on what you want to do with the iBook and the data on the HD, and how important the latter is to you.

[alcimedes]

I doubt it's the HD if you can see it and install items to it, so replacing it wouldn't be likely to fix the problem. Plus if you haven't done a take-apart on one of those models before, it's a bitch.

Can you get your hands on a 10.3 disk, or an external CD/DVD drive? I'm thinking it's more likely to be a bad drive/install than anything else.

[Koodari]

Originally Posted by alcimedes Can you get your hands on a 10.3 disk, or an external CD/DVD drive? I'm thinking it's more likely to be a bad drive/install than anything else.

Bad optical drive doesn't seem to explain the symptom of the Macbook crashing when trying to use the iBook in target disk mode.

[alcimedes]

Didn't sound like it crashed, just that it didn't like it.

[Koodari]

Originally Posted by alcimedes Didn't sound like it crashed, just that it didn't like it.

...

The first post's section concerning this thing, reworded:

When the Macbook was trying to secure erase the iBook's hard drive, and the erase in Disk Utility was not progressing at all, I told it to stop trying, and the Macbook crashed to the familiar grey multilingual "please restart your computer" screen.

That's a crash.

[alcimedes]

Sure, but most of what you described after that fact would indicate a working HD and a working mainboard.

I would try new install media before swapping out a hard drive that managed an entire OS reinstall.

[Koodari]

No way it's the CD or the drive. Remember, what succeeded was just OS X install CD #1 out of 2. The optical drive is reading the CD very well indeed if the installer can start and complete. OTOH, the machine stuck the instant any data needed to be read off the HD (next reboot).

If the HD lies to the rest of the system and claims to be writing things down, but only writes junk or mostly junk, that explains everything. [/greghouse]

I found some alternative CD's, anyway. No harm in trying..