Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

Tell her to try booting up off the installer disk and then repairing her hard drive using Disk Tools.

Reminds me of the Switch ad in which Ellen Feiss said she had switched to using a Mac after her (Windows) PC "ate" here paper.

I have no actual advice, though Euan's sounds sound enough. Try and avoid doing anything that will write to the drive.

I have no actual technical experience, but it sounds like she should not download the Gilmore Girls.

No, Frank, clearly she should only be downloading the Gillmor Boys (Steve and Dan, natch).

I meant to say tell her to hold down C during startup to force it to boot from the CD

Euan, thanks. Here's more info.

When she boots up off the hd, she sees the finder and a blank desktop, and the finder bar is blinking.

If she boots off the software install and restore CD, holding the C key, it tells her she needs to restart the computer and goes nowhere. She tried with the CD from someone with the same model, and had the same problem.

She is able to boot off other CDs, including Disk Warrior and the Hardware Test. Both worked. It passed the extended HW Test. She rebuilt her disk Disk Warrior and all her stuff is still there. But her operating system isn't letting her get to them. (She got the paper she needed, btw.)

If you have another mac and a firewire cable, Target disk mode turns your ibook into an expensive external drive.

This might help..
You can pull the files off and reinstall maybe?

This apple page has info. (I've done this for other reasons ibook g3 and it worked)

Apple developer
google search

"Now it won't boot, and reports that there's nothing on the hard disk. She needs to turn in a paper on the drive on Monday. Any advice?"

Get a PC... sure they break down more often, but at least -- save losing your bias chip -- you can always just erase everything and reinstall.

I cannot even begin to tell you about the hours I've spent fixing my grandparent's, and friends macs... Its always something weird like chip that got suspended during a crash that messes them up...

I've seen things folks... I've seen things in the hearts of those Macs that are so vile, so horrible, so absolutely repugnent that if I were to repeat them here in this comment thread, everyone would flee in horrror!

Hi David--There's a Mac fixit shop in Watertown called Orramac that did great things for me the one time my Mac acted up. A really nice, competent guy took the Mac out of my hands and made it better right there on the table while I watched--that only works if they're not busy, of course. Just checked their web page, they seem to be open Saturdays until noon: http://www.orramac.com/Index.asp

Betsy

umm take this for what you want. but none of the above will likely work to save the paper, but this probably will:

get another g4 or better mac
get a firewire cable
boot the new mac
plug in the firewire cable to both macs
boot the broken mac hold down t while booting to enter firewire disk mode
wait
the broken's computer's hd should appear on the new computer as a hd with all contents
locate the needed file
copy it to the good hd
print the needed file
delete the copy of gilmore girls
run disktool on the remote hd to repair it
wait until it is finished
unmount the mounted hd
unplug the firewire drive
reboot the broke computer.
it should just work and you already have a copy of the file you need.

Or instead of guessing how to fix it, why don't you go to the Apple Store in Cambridge and get it fixed by someone who knows how to? Go to apple.com/retail and click on the store you want to visit, then click the 'Genius Bar' and make a same day appointment. The appt's free and sometimes you can take your computer right home working... at no charge, if possible. Trust me about the appt, esp. if you're going on the weekend. You've been warned.

"Get a PC... sure they break down more often, but at least -- save losing your bias chip -- you can always just erase everything and reinstall."

I assume this is a joke? Please use the <satire>tags</satire>

Macs still come with the OS on CD-ROM for a reinstall. Very few PCs do these days. Of course, you can buy XP for a couple hundred dollars.

And the religious wars continue...