[DM-MUG] 600 MHz iBook refuses to take OS X
CW Smith
dmmug@dmmug.org
Tue, 03 Aug 2004 19:54:22 -0500
Thanks, everyone, for all your advice and brainstorming. Keep it coming.
Unfortunately, I don't have Rose's iBook with me now to try cloning OSX fro=
m
the iPod. Does this actually work? There are several folders and hidden
files in OSX, so I'd have to be sure to clone everything. I'd been told yo=
u
can't copy OSX from one drive directly to another. If it works, however, w=
e
may be in biz.
The Puma CD was hers, and presumably there were no problems with it. The
Panther CD was my own, and I know for a fact that it works.
The crashes occurred about two-thirds of the way through the "writing files=
"
routine. We never got to the point of inserting CD 2 in Panther.
My fear is that something, either hardware or software related, is
interfering with the install on this particular machine. There's no reason
a 600 MHz iBook shouldn't take Panther (again, I'm running it on a Blueberr=
y
iBook at 300 MHz). And it was running Puma before she tried to update, so
why shouldn't it go back on the machine?
The only two things I can come up with are: (1) I missed an OSX file on he=
r
hard drive (either corrupt, hidden, or both) or (2) we have one of the
infamous faulty iBook logic boards, which I and her Apple dealer agree migh=
t
be a factor, but which Apple denies is a factor.
I will speak talk to Rose and see if I can get her machine again to try the
iPod clone, but I want to be really, really sure we're not barking up the
wrong tree here. Remember, she's in Chicago. Shipping an iBook is
expensive and nerve-wracking, and I don't want to put her through that
unnecessarily.
Peace,
CW
On 8/3/04 6:41 PM, "Bailey Ford" <bailey@mac.com> wrote:
> hmmmm...
>=20
> glad to hear you were reformatting and did the pram/pmu things.
>=20
> how about installing OS X on the ipod and then cloning it onto the
> ibook's drive?
>=20
> where in the install process does it crash? Do the install disks work
> with other machines?
>=20
> you can repair permissions just by booting from the CD.
>=20
> Don't worry - we'll figure it out. :)
>=20
> -bailey
>=20
> On Aug 3, 2004, at 6:18 PM, CW Smith wrote:
>=20
>> Zapped the PRAM and reset the PMU. Attempted to repair permissions
>> but of
>> course there was no OSX to boot from. Guys, I'm at my wits end.
>>=20
>>=20
>> On 8/3/04 6:11 PM, "Ray Bowler" <rbowler@mchsi.com> wrote:
>>=20
>>> Since we are groping--did you try zaping the PRAM?
>>>=20
>>> At 5:24 PM -0500 on 8/3/04, CW Smith wrote about Re: [DM-MUG] 600 MHz
>>> iBook refuses to take OS X:
>>>> Yes, I did in fact reformat the drive. Both times.
>>>>=20
>>>> On 8/3/04 4:39 PM, "Bailey Ford" <bailey@mac.com> wrote:
>>>>=20
>>>>> Hey there,
>>>>>=20
>>>>> What a fun time you had! I had a few thoughts while reading your
>>>>> post.
>>>>>=20
>>>>> When you say 'wiping the drive' it sounds to me like you are just
>>>>> deleting all the files, but not reformatting the drive. I would
>>>>> definitely reformat this drive before trying to install any
>>>>> version of
>>>>> OS X again. This would insure that all the invisible files and the
>>>>> boot
>>>>> sector were erased properly. Make sure you format it as an HFS+
>>>>> drive.
>>>>>=20
>>>>> If you and the Apple rep in Chicago suspect a defective logic
>>>>> board,
>>>>> you might run the hardware diagnostics that come with most Macs.
>>>>> This
>>>>> would test most of the hardware components to make sure they pass
>>>>> basic
>>>>> tests of functionality and should highlight seriously defective and
>>>>> broken hardware. I did not receive this disk with my most recent
>>>>> mac,
>>>>> but I have in the past. Worth a try if you have it.
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Keep us updated!
>>>>>=20
>>>>> -bailey
>>>>>=20
>>>>> On Aug 3, 2004, at 3:19 PM, CW Smith wrote:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Mac mystery of the week:
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> My friend Rose called me a few weeks ago when she was trying to
>>>>>> upgrade to
>>>>>> Panther on her 600 MHz iBook. The machine bombed in the middle
>>>>>> of the
>>>>>> install and wouldn't (of course) boot to OSX afterward. She
>>>>>> booted
>>>>>> from the
>>>>>> installer CD, and tried again to install OSX, but the machine
>>>>>> told her
>>>>>> OSX
>>>>>> was already installed. I showed her how to change the startup
>>>>>> folder
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> OS9, and she's at least able to use her iBook now.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> A couple of weeks later, she brought her iBook to me to see
>>>>>> whether
>>>>>> I'd have
>>>>>> any luck. I began by removing all visible OSX system files and
>>>>>> emptying the
>>>>>> trash. I then tried installing Panther, with exactly the same
>>>>>> result.
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> wiped OSX files again and tried installing Puma (10.1). Again,
>>>>>> same
>>>>>> result.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> I then backed up her hard drive to my iPod, wiped her drive
>>>>>> clean, and
>>>>>> tried
>>>>>> installing Panther again. Nope. I wiped her drive clean AGAIN,
>>>>>> then
>>>>>> tried
>>>>>> Puma. No way, Jos=E9.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> I wiped her drive once more, put her files back on from my iPod,
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> gave
>>>>>> her iBook back to her in the same condition in which I received
>>>>>> it:
>>>>>> booting
>>>>>> from OS9, with no OSX.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> I suggested to her that Apple had a program for dealing with
>>>>>> defective
>>>>>> logic
>>>>>> boards on iBooks, and suggested that this may be the root cause
>>>>>> of the
>>>>>> problem. She took it to an Apple dealer in Chicago, who agreed
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> logic board may be to blame. Apple, on the other hand, says that
>>>>>> this
>>>>>> is
>>>>>> NOT indicative of a faulty logic board and has washed their hands
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> it.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> What would cause these installation problems? Are there other
>>>>>> files,
>>>>>> perhaps invisible from OS9, that are interfering with the
>>>>>> installation
>>>>>> process? I know her processor and memory are capable of Panther
>>>>>> (I
>>>>>> have an
>>>>>> old Blueberry iBook that runs Panther without a hiccup), but I'm
>>>>>> at a
>>>>>> loss
>>>>>> as to what the glitch is that's causing the installation crashes.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Any help in this matter would be much appreciated.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Peace,
>>>>>> CW
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>=20
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>>>>=20
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>=20
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