Member Avatar for aeinstein

Hi All,

Short & quick:
PowerBook G4 w/OS 9.2 & 10.4(? - upgraded from 10.0) won't boot up after aborted browser install.

The details:
My sister was trying to upgrade Netscape Navigator 4.7 to 8.1 on her OS 9.2 (she is running a dual boot OS 9.2/10.4(?) PowerBook G4 (15" screen, unknown GHz/MHz, but I am attempting to track that info down). The system locked up and after awhile she powered down the totally unresponsive system.

Unfortunately I wasn't around to advise her before/during/after the upgrade attempt.

Now, on attempting to boot up, all she is getting is a question mark GUI prompt - obviously alerting the user to the inability of the PowerBook to initiate a bootable OS.

The request:
Any suggestions on appropriate course(s) of action to get the system up & running would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

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Dani AI

Generated

Thanks to for the clear problem report and to and @cscgal for the quick replies — below are practical, non‑commercial triage steps and recovery options to try before paying for anything or committing to a replacement.

First, treat this as a two-path problem: logical (directory/partition corruption) or physical (failing disk). If the drive shows unusual noises or won’t spin, stop powering the machine and consider professional recovery. If it simply won’t boot but sounds normal, try these steps (in order of least risk):

  • Try to boot from external media so you can inspect the internal disk without modifying it. At startup hold Option (Alt) to pick a volume, hold C to boot from a CD/DVD, or hold T to enter FireWire Target Disk Mode and mount the PowerBook on another Mac.

  • If you can boot from external media, open Terminal and identify the internal disk:

    diskutil list

    then run a non-destructive repair pass:

    sudo fsck_hfs -fy /dev/rdisk0s1

  • If the internal volume mounts (via Target Disk Mode or external boot), copy critical files off immediately to another drive. Cloning the whole disk to an external drive is preferable to repeated repair attempts.

If the disk is flaky but mountable, create a block image (so you have a snapshot to work from) before attempting directory rebuilds. For failing drives use an imaging tool that can skip bad sectors and resume (e.g., ddrescue) rather than plain dd, which will often stall and further stress the drive.

If the disk is not recognized, clicks, or returns S.M.A.R.T. errors, stop DIY attempts — further power cycles reduce the chance of successful recovery. For non-critical data, replacing the drive and reinstalling the OS is the fastest route. For important data, contact a professional data‑recovery service. In all cases, prioritize making an image or copying irreplaceable files before running aggressive repairs.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for Dani

Use DiskWarrior. That's my answer to everything.

Member Avatar for aeinstein

Use DiskWarrior. That's my answer to everything.

OK, that's possibly a life saving solution (not mine!), but at $99 plus I'd like to pursue a lower cost alternative(s) first! :eek:

Steps I've taken so far (which, are admittedly, just the basics), all of which have failed:

1st) Ctrl+Command+Option (initiated at GUI question mark prompt)

2nd) Command+Option+P+R (initiated at end of first beep tones & held until second set of beep tones started)

3rd) Reset PMU (disconnected all peripherals, A/C adapter & removed battery {which has a full 4-LED charge}, held power button for 5 seconds, reconnected A/C adapter & re-installed battery; left peripherals disconnected)

:-|

PS: just found DiskWarrior @ CampusTech for $74.65 plus, which is about the cost of an Apple Support ticket, but, I'm still open to possible alternatives if anyone has them.

Thanks cscgal on the DiskWarrior suggestion, it sounds like something my sister should get regardless! :)

Member Avatar for aeinstein

Use DiskWarrior. That's my answer to everything.

I've been looking at Alsoft's DiskWarrior page, and while the current version of 3.0 needs to boot up to 10.x and be installed, it does come with - but it also needs to be able to boot up to OS 8.1+, unless I'm reading something wrong. :confused:

Member Avatar for aeinstein

Use DiskWarrior. That's my answer to everything.

Hi cscgal,

First, I'd like to thank you very much for such a timely reply - that's the fastest I've ever gotten a reply from any website forum post I've ever made :!: :!: :!: Sorry I didn't notice that right off - I was feeling my sister's STRESS at the time, which I'm sure you can understand! :)

Now, for the resolution: my sister decided to take her G4 up to the Apple Store (about a 90 minute drive to the North of town), and they advised her that the harddrive was shot and that there was no sense in running the DiskWarrior software. She's not sure if she's going to get another Mac at this point or jump to the "Dark Side" and get a PC - my hunch is that she'll get a Mac - at least that's what I'm going to advise! ;)

Well, thanks again for the quick-as-heck reply! :D:

aeinstein

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