klay65

We have a Powerbook G4 15". We attempted to reload the CD that came with the computer over the past weekend and could not get it to load. The problem started when I was going to change the administrative password on my computer. I went into Accounts but could not unlock the lock to be able to make a change so was told by Apple tech to reinstall the installation disc that came with the computer. I was unable to do that. There were three discs that came with the computer but couldn't get the first one to load.

sinclair_tm

did you hold down the "c" key as you started the mac? that tells it to load from the cd and not the hard drive. could you tell us what it says on all the cds, just to make sure that you are trying the correct one.

klay65

This is my husband's computer and I do know that he held down the "C". He said he has three installation CDs. When he put the first one in, it started to load and then came up with a circle with a slash across it and wouldn't go any further. I don't know that much about computers but we have had Macs for at least 20 years so I know he usually knows what he is doing. I just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and if the only solution would be reordering another installation disc. This is the first time he has attempted to use them but as I said in my initial email, the Apple technician he spoke with told him that he would need to reinstall the CDs.

sinclair_tm

which is why i asked what the labels of each cd reads, so that i can tell you which cds need to be used in which order. a mac in this condition can be rather finicky. that crossed circle means that the mac didn't see a system on the cd or hard drive. and until it sees a system, it will not start. are there any other macs around that you may be able to use to help trouble shoot with? if there is, turn the laptop on and hold down the "f" key, and you should get a firewire symbol on the screen. now plug a firewire cable into the laptop, and the other end in another mac. the laptop's hard drive should then mount on the desktop of the other mac like a cd or flash drive. if it doesn't, or the other mac says that it can't read the drive, then it should like the hard drive is bad or the file system got hosed.

klay65

I talked to my husband during the lunch hour so I could get the facts straight. I misspoke when I said Tiger, it was Panther and then we bought the Tiger upgrade and he had upgraded from that disk but Panther is the program on the install disks. The three disks are: Mac OSX Panther, Version 10.3, Install Disc 1, Install Disc 2 and Install Disc 3. He said the Mac technician he spoke with told him to load the first disc holding down control which would allow him to select the hard drive or the installation disc. He said he also tried loading it with control "c" but with no different results. He said when he held control and put the disc in, it was slow bringing up the window wanting to know if he wanted to open the hard drive or the installation disc. He double clicked on the installation disc and it started to load but then the circle with the line through it came up. He said he was able to load disc 2 and disc 3 but couldn't use them because they did not have the operating system on them, only disc 1 had that.

Thanks,
Janna

sinclair_tm

if the computer doesn't start, how could he load the 2nd and 3rd disk in?

klay65

I'm sorry that I was not clear about what was going on. The computer will start, he is just not able to change the admin password. He said that he put in a new admin password and the computer accepted it but then wouldn't allow him to use it. I talked to an Apple tech Saturday and he said that is probably because the install disk my husband is attempting to load is Panther but that he had already upgraded to Tiger and the machine is saying, you have already loaded a new version than the install disk. He said the Tiger CD, even though it is an upgrade, is just like loading a stand alone version and said my husband should be able to reload it and at that point be able to change the password. My husband works at an electrical generating plant and has been on emergencies the past week and may not be able to try that until after he gets off the emergencies tomorrow. I sure appreciate your answering me back. Do you think this sounds logical?

Janna

sinclair_tm

well, at this point, now i'm sorry to have to tell you that we can't help, as its part of the forum rules not to help with changing admin passwords. so i guess good luck with what apple said to do.

klay65

Thank you again for your quick responses and if we have another problem, I will be sure to use this forum.

Janna
Muskogee, OK