Tried reinstalling Mac OS X 10.4, now it freezes when it starts to load up.

[Kenyon]

Hey everyone,

So here's my mess. I received an old Powerbook G4 from my grandparents. It worked perfectly, but had about 5 years of old programs/photos on it. I wanted to do an Erase and Install for a fresh OS. It's version 10.4 (Tiger). Everything worked fine, internet, no errors, freezes, etc.

So I popped in the Install DVD, and ran an Erase and Install. I then proceeded to watch a movie, and wehn I came back to the computer, it had a black screen. I believed it was off, although I wasnt sure because Im a PC guy. I hit the power button to try and turn it back on. This is where my nightmare begins. I have not been able to even get to the login screen in two days of working on it.

It will turn on.

I have run a fsck -fy and it says Macintosh HD appears to be OK.

The computer will freeze completely, whether it be I'm trying to boot from the Install CD or regularly.

If I'm booting from the HD, it will complete the loading screen that says Loading Max OS X, and then the gray box that holds the loading bar disappears after loading completely, which leaves me with a light blue screen. My mouse turns into a little multicolored wheel that spins for about a second or two and then stops, and then computer will stop responding (keyboard strokes, mouse movement, anything.)

It will not boot in Safe Mode.

It will freeze if I try and boot from the install disk before I get to the screen to choose my language.

I have tested taking out one stick of ram at a time to see if they is any failure in that. The computer still freezes.

This is really bugging me because the computer was working fine before I did the original Erase and Install, no hardware malfunctions. Did I interrupt a key point in the installation process when I turned it back on? Is it just messed up beyond repair? It didnt seem to be doing anything when I hit the power button.

I REALLY need some help, thank you SO much.
Kenyon

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

It's difficult to say without knowing which model PowerBook G4 you have .... do you have access to another Mac that has FireWire? You could connect them together and mount the PB on the other Macs Desktop as a removable drive ... it's called Target Disc Mode.

Target Disk Mode is available on most Macintosh models. It is a mode in which the computer boots into Open Firmware instead of the OS and essentially becomes an external hard drive. On all modern Macs, the connection is over FireWire.

This is one way you could reinstall the OS using the other Mac to install the OS onto the mounted drive of the PB.

Have you tried pressing Option at bootup or X ?

You may need the original OS X version that shipped with the PB G4. I had big troubles with an iBook G3 that was running Panther. My nearest mac store told me it was dead but I sourced a Full Retail Version of 9.2 (which originally shipped with the iBook) and when I booted up from the disk I was gobsmacked to see that the iBook came back to life and allowed me to continue with the install. I then moved up to Panther and all was well. I'm not saying that is what you need to do, but rather that without the exact specifications of your PB, it's a little bit harder to troubleshoot.

I would also like to say that you have done a tremendous amount of troubleshooting yourself ... that is always a bonus when it comes to helping out from this end