G3 Powerbook (Pismo) boot up problem

cmosco · 03-10-2007, 01:52 PM

Hi everyone.

I just replaced the sound card in my Pismo Powerbook. I've done repairs this "deep" before with no problems, I used a wrist strap, and was generally very meticulous and careful.

However, now that it's back together, it will not boot up. Here are my observations:

1. Boot up begins, but no chime. Could it be that the used sound card I put in is faulty?

2. At first, I would get as far as the big grey apple with the spinning spokes, but then I'd go to a blank, off-white screen, and no more HD activity. That's where it would stop for good.

3. Attempting to boot up from my usual external utility firewire drive (holding the Option key at boot up, and selecting the external drive from the choices) would fail too, with the same exact results.

4. Next, I pulled and reconnected the processor and hard drive, just to be sure everything was seated properly - also ensured that all memory was seated firmly.

5. Now boot up attempts go straight to a white screen with the alternating folder-icon/face with folder-icon/question mark (don't remember seeing this since OS9... and there is a classic folder on the drive, incidentally).

6. Now, when I try to boot up from the external drive, the external drive never shows up in the choices. Only the internal drive shows up, but selecting it and clicking the forward arrow only results in a quick flash of the screen, yet nothing else happens.

7. Powerbook *will* go into Target Disk Mode, and I can access the HD from another computer.

8. Apple Disk Utility and Tech Tool Pro find no problems on the disk.

9. Resetting the PRAM has no effect.

The only thing that "feels" wrong, is that re-seating the processor doesn't give me much of a satisfying "plugged-in" sensation. I don't remember if that's normal or not. I press as hard as feels "safe," but that's the best I can do.

So I'm figuring I likely damaged something... so looking at these clues, I'm hoping one of you can give me an idea as to what seems most likely. Or better yet, that I'm just overlooking something obvious, and I didn't damage anything.. of course.

Thanks for any ideas you may have,
Chris

sinclair_tm · 03-10-2007, 10:24 PM

have you reset the power management unit of the book yet? other than that, if it were a hardware problem, i'd think it wouldn't goto firewire disk mode.

cmosco · 03-10-2007, 10:36 PM

> have you reset the power management unit[/color][/url] of the book yet?
> other than that, if it were a hardware problem, i'd think it wouldn't goto
> firewire disk mode.[/quote]

I have reset the power management, and I agree that it's surprising it went into target disk mode... but it did.

Thanks for your reply though.
Chris

03-10-2007, 01:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
cmosco Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2 OS: Macintosh	G3 Powerbook (Pismo) boot up problem Hi everyone. I just replaced the sound card in my Pismo Powerbook. I've done repairs this "deep" before with no problems, I used a wrist strap, and was generally very meticulous and careful. However, now that it's back together, it will not boot up. Here are my observations: 1. Boot up begins, but no chime. Could it be that the used sound card I put in is faulty? 2. At first, I would get as far as the big grey apple with the spinning spokes, but then I'd go to a blank, off-white screen, and no more HD activity. That's where it would stop for good. 3. Attempting to boot up from my usual external utility firewire drive (holding the Option key at boot up, and selecting the external drive from the choices) would fail too, with the same exact results. 4. Next, I pulled and reconnected the processor and hard drive, just to be sure everything was seated properly - also ensured that all memory was seated firmly. 5. Now boot up attempts go straight to a white screen with the alternating folder-icon/face with folder-icon/question mark (don't remember seeing this since OS9... and there is a classic folder on the drive, incidentally). 6. Now, when I try to boot up from the external drive, the external drive never shows up in the choices. Only the internal drive shows up, but selecting it and clicking the forward arrow only results in a quick flash of the screen, yet nothing else happens. 7. Powerbook will go into Target Disk Mode, and I can access the HD from another computer. 8. Apple Disk Utility and Tech Tool Pro find no problems on the disk. 9. Resetting the PRAM has no effect. The only thing that "feels" wrong, is that re-seating the processor doesn't give me much of a satisfying "plugged-in" sensation. I don't remember if that's normal or not. I press as hard as feels "safe," but that's the best I can do. So I'm figuring I likely damaged something... so looking at these clues, I'm hoping one of you can give me an idea as to what seems most likely. Or better yet, that I'm just overlooking something obvious, and I didn't damage anything.. of course. Thanks for any ideas you may have, Chris

03-10-2007, 10:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
cmosco Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2 OS: Macintosh	> have you reset the power management unit[/color][/url] of the book yet? > other than that, if it were a hardware problem, i'd think it wouldn't goto > firewire disk mode.[/quote] I have reset the power management, and I agree that it's surprising it went into target disk mode... but it did. Thanks for your reply though. Chris