Apple power book g4 really slow

julian24 · 05-09-2008, 10:22 AM

hey guys I recently got a mac powerbook g4 everything was good for the first 5 months and then like a week ago it has been acting up. I try to open up programs and it takes about 5 min to open it up. You just see the little mouse pointer circle spinning. It happens on anything i try to open Even when i just click the little apple on the left. Now since this morning i cant get it to boot up. When i power it on it just stays on the gray screen with the apple. I even tried to start it with safe mode. And still in the gray screen.

I am not sure what version of mac i am running since i cant boot it up t find out anymore. But it was something like 1.0.3.4. I have 1gb of ram, my hard drive is a 74.4gb and 34.11gb of free hard drive space. I am not too familiar with macs but is there any type of virus or spyware protections programs i can download? Seems like everything i look up is only for microsoft.

Thanks for all the help you give me guys.

sinclair_tm · 05-09-2008, 12:21 PM

No, there aren't any software to download, because there is no need for it. The problem you are having is most likely a hardware failure. I'd be guessing the hard drive. A quick way to test is to hold down the Option key when you boot (push and hold as soon as you push the power button). Hold it until you see a gray screen with two buttons at the botton. It will scan your Mac and then show icons of all the bootable disks it can see. If it takes forever to show the hard drive, or it never shows up, then the hard drive is bad. When you got this Powerbook, did you get the CDs that came with it new too? If so, stick the hardware test CD in and boot, holding down the C key. Run the tests and see what it tells you.

julian24 · 05-09-2008, 12:46 PM

Alright i did the hold down the option key while starting and the blue screen with the the buttons in the bottom came up and a picture of the hard drive in the middle. I tried clicking the hardrive icon and u cant click it. I am guessing my hard drive is gone. Do i have to tear the computer apart to get the hard drive off?

And yes i got the discs with my computer but there are in my storage unit so i have to go dig tru everything to get them out.

thanks for your help

sinclair_tm · 05-09-2008, 03:10 PM

Okay, once you click on the hard drive icon once, you then click on the straight arrow and that will then boot the Mac on from that drive. But yes, I'd go get those CDs and boot from the hardware test one and see if it comes up with something. If not, then you could boot from the OS restore/install CD and tell it to archive the old OS and install. That will put the curent OS in a folder, and then install a new copy, but keeps the user info, appilcations, and most settings.

julian24 · 05-10-2008, 11:23 AM

No i cant click on the icon at all its just like a picture of the harddrive with mac os x under it. I clicked the arrow and it just goes back to the gray screen with the apple and a loading circle on the bottom it stays like that for hours until i finally just shut the laptop off.

I'll see if i can stop by to day to pick up those discs.

05-09-2008, 10:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
julian24 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10 OS: windows xp service pack 2	Apple power book g4 really slow hey guys I recently got a mac powerbook g4 everything was good for the first 5 months and then like a week ago it has been acting up. I try to open up programs and it takes about 5 min to open it up. You just see the little mouse pointer circle spinning. It happens on anything i try to open Even when i just click the little apple on the left. Now since this morning i cant get it to boot up. When i power it on it just stays on the gray screen with the apple. I even tried to start it with safe mode. And still in the gray screen. I am not sure what version of mac i am running since i cant boot it up t find out anymore. But it was something like 1.0.3.4. I have 1gb of ram, my hard drive is a 74.4gb and 34.11gb of free hard drive space. I am not too familiar with macs but is there any type of virus or spyware protections programs i can download? Seems like everything i look up is only for microsoft. Thanks for all the help you give me guys.

05-09-2008, 12:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
julian24 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10 OS: windows xp service pack 2	Re: Apple power book g4 really slow Alright i did the hold down the option key while starting and the blue screen with the the buttons in the bottom came up and a picture of the hard drive in the middle. I tried clicking the hardrive icon and u cant click it. I am guessing my hard drive is gone. Do i have to tear the computer apart to get the hard drive off? And yes i got the discs with my computer but there are in my storage unit so i have to go dig tru everything to get them out. thanks for your help

05-10-2008, 11:23 AM	#5 (permalink)
julian24 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10 OS: windows xp service pack 2	Re: Apple power book g4 really slow No i cant click on the icon at all its just like a picture of the harddrive with mac os x under it. I clicked the arrow and it just goes back to the gray screen with the apple and a loading circle on the bottom it stays like that for hours until i finally just shut the laptop off. I'll see if i can stop by to day to pick up those discs.