Member Avatar for whiteknight

HI,
Cant quite get the hang of my powerbook G4,Would love to be able to format the hard drive and start again,Could you please give me a quick guide
Cheers :))

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Short, model-aware checklist and troubleshooting for formatting a PowerBook G4 hard drive (and alternatives to wiping). Builds on ’s pointer to the PowerBook documentation and clarifies ’s target-disk remark (SCSI disk mode was older; most G4-era machines use FireWire target disk mode).

First: back up anything needed before erasing. The fastest non-invasive backup for a PowerBook G4 is FireWire Target Disk Mode — hold the T key at power-on and mount the G4 on another Mac to copy files or make a clone. Using an external 2.5" enclosure or a USB/PATA adapter is a good physical alternative. How Target Disk Mode works. (support.apple.com)

When ready to wipe and reinstall, use installer media appropriate to that machine (model-specific restore DVDs or a retail OS X disc that supports PowerPC). Boot the machine from that disc, open Disk Utility from the Installer menu, select the physical disk (show all devices), then Erase/Partition: choose Format = Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (HFS+) and set the partition Scheme appropriate for PowerPC Macs — Apple Partition Map (APM). Use Security Options if overwriting data is required. [Disk Utility erase steps and partition-scheme guidance]. (support.apple.com)

If the install disc won’t boot or the Reset Password/Utilities menu item isn’t available, confirm the media matches the PowerBook’s model/OS (many restore DVDs are model-specific) and that a firmware password isn’t blocking alternate boot options (firmware locks prevent starting from external discs or Recovery). For password recovery without wiping, use the installer’s Reset Password utility or Recovery’s resetpassword flow (modern docs). As an advanced last-resort for older OS X versions, single-user mode techniques (mount the drive read/write and remove /var/db/.AppleSetupDone) will force Setup Assistant to run so a new admin can be created — use only after backing up and with care. (support.apple.com)

Summary notes: prefer a retail/retail-equivalent installer if unsure, always back up first, and prefer Target Disk Mode to rescue data before any destructive erase.

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Member Avatar for gortonsfi

Your Powerbook User's Guide has instructions for doing that. If you don't have it anymore, try

Member Avatar for whiteknight

Your Powerbook User's Guide has instructions for doing that. If you don't have it anymore, try

Hi thanks for the info,after all that my son remembered what the password was lol,i tried useing the os x install disc to reset password but for some reason it would not allow me too,thats why i wanted to find out if and how i could format and start again,,,bloody kids :)

cheers Ray.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

I am not sure if you were using OS X or OS 9 with your powerbook.

Anyways, either an OS 9 or an OS X install disk will give you the option to format the hard drive. You may need to look into the customize button before making the install, and there are options there to format the hard drive, or keep data in it's place.

Older computers could be booted with a Floppy disk and format the hard drive that way, and some of the older powerbooks had what was called SCSI Disk Mode that you could attach it to another system, and format the drive that way.

Easiest to do is to boot with an install disk, and find the format option.

Christian

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