Member Avatar for Firetree

I have a iBook G4 14" Processor: 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 running mac OS X version 10.4.10

My iBook has been randomly freezing sometimes with a grey message box saying i need to restart my computer (I forget if it says error) other times a wall of text with black background where the text is comes up on the screen when it freezes saying something about bad kernals and other times it just plain freezes. I dont know to much about Computer problems so I dont know what kernals are other than something to do with ram I do have a added 256 MB DDR SDRAM stick along with my 512MB built in ram. Some times THe computer wont start up at all I press the power button and the screen stays black so I hold the power button down and it turns off then rinse repeat. Today i had to do that about 20 times before it booted up normally.

It usually only crashes the first 10-15 minuets I start using it after that it has been working fine for hours. I have been reading about logic board problems and I looked into the guts of my laptop and couldnt find the chip they were talking about that is giving it problems so i put it back together because I'm not totally sure that it is the same problem as that.

I dont know how to access my kernal error log reports so If posting those here wuld be helpfull please tell me how to access them thanks.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by el-gato

Dani AI

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As described, the symptoms look like classic Mac kernel panics and intermittent hardware failures. Prioritize a safe copy of your data first, then use a short, ordered checklist to isolate software vs hardware so the cause can be fixed efficiently.

To capture the panic text (most useful for diagnosis) on Tiger (OS X 10.4): open Applications > Utilities > Console and look for the panic log created after the next restart (on Tiger the file is written to /Library/Logs/panic.log). If Console isn’t available, view or copy the file from Terminal with a command such as:

sudo cat /Library/Logs/panic.log

Save that output to a text file — the first lines often point to the driver or kernel component that crashed. (insanelymac.com)

Quick disk and software checks (do these before assuming logic-board failure): boot to single-user mode (hold Command+S), run the file-system check and repair loop:

/sbin/fsck -fy
(repeat until it reports the volume is OK)

Or boot the original OS install DVD (hold C) and run Disk Utility > Repair Disk / Repair Permissions. Also check the drive’s S.M.A.R.T. status in Disk Utility — a failing S.M.A.R.T. is a strong sign the HDD needs replacement and immediate backup. (gballard.net)

Hardware isolation: run Apple Hardware Test (AHT) — either from the model’s install DVD (hold D at boot) or via the Internet AHT option — and run the extended tests to check RAM, bus, and board faults. If AHT shows errors, back up and seek repair. For iBook G4 models, users have also found that reseating or temporarily removing the AirPort card changes the symptom pattern; reseating is straightforward with available iBook guides but handle with ESD care. Use Target Disk Mode (hold T) or remove the drive (see iFixit) to recover data if the machine won’t boot reliably. (derflounder.wordpress.com)

Also try PRAM/PMU reset for this era of PowerPC iBooks (model-specific steps in Apple KB). If disk checks and AHT pass but panics continue, the fault is likely logic-board related and professional repair or drive replacement is next. (justanswer.com)

If posting logs here, include just the first screenful of the panic (the top lines and any referenced kext or driver); that is the most useful data for diagnosis.

Member Avatar for Firetree

OK I just took my iBook in to a shop to see whats up with it after it would no longer let me log on at all. And the guy says my hard drive was fried and nothing to do with my logic board so if anyone else is experienceing these problems its probably a hard drive issue.

Member Avatar for John A

<edit> (sorry)

Member Avatar for mrmmcg

My G4 laptop wouldn't recognize my external hard drives (LaCie and Rocstor) -seems to have happened after some upgrades to OS X. I read that one should go back to the original OS....Long story short, now the computer is frozen asking me for "Disk 2" - a disk I never had. Suggestions? Think I just need to take it to an Apple Store....

Member Avatar for el-gato

I was having a similar problem...
When I took my iBook G4 to a repair center, the tech advised the mother board needed to be replaced, and that I might as well invest in a more recent laptop, etc.

Reading on forums (similar to this one) lead me to a "potential" problem with the Airport, causing the OS to crash.

I was able to get my laptop to work with Airport turned off..

On youtube I found a step by step on how to open the laptop, place a piece of folded paper between the port and the mother board, in order to ensure the port is tight and will not move (...) AND guess what, I now experience crashes only on very rare occasions... (see how to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrS4Ieuwmlo)

Now when i crash, I simply do a hard reboot (before turning the machine back on, I put pressure on the left hand side -I don't hit the thing, at least I haven't yet), etc...

I still crash once in a while, but aside from that all is good, since i inserted the folded paper (in order to ensure the Airport card is tightly in place)!

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