How's it run under SAFE BOOT? - how much free space is left on the drive ''(need ~20%).

Could be the HD/Optical Drive they both are very old, and could be acting up. . . might not show up in a Target Scan, there's more read/write going on at boot.

[quote|machead3]'''How's it run under SAFE BOOT?''' - how much free space is left on the drive ''(need ~20%). '''Could be the HD/Optical Drive they both are very old, and could be acting up.''' . . might not show up in a Target Scan, there's more read/write going on at boot.[/quote]

OK. I'm getting it back tomorrow and I'll boot it in safe mode and see what happens. The HD is 40GB but based on what what little data I pulled off (about 10GB, I'd say it's about 50 percent full. That should be a problem. And why would the HD interfere with a boot process from a DVD?

I posted this same message on MacNN and one guy replied he had an iBook with similar symptoms. He replaced the logic board.

[quote|jtgolfer]OK. I'm getting it back tomorrow and I'll boot it in safe mode and see what happens. The HD is 40GB but based on what what little data I pulled off (about 10GB, I'd say it's about 50 percent full. That should be a problem. And why would the HD interfere with a boot process from a DVD? I posted this same message on MacNN and one guy replied he had an iBook with similar symptoms. He replaced the logic board.[/quote]

I worked on a broken iBook G4 that was stuck to the "spinning wheel" screen at boot up. The unit had a bad optical drive cable. Cheap repair but in your case it could also be something else.

[quote|lemerise]I worked on a broken iBook G4 that was stuck to the "spinning wheel" screen at boot up. The unit had a bad optical drive cable. Cheap repair but in your case it could also be something else.[/quote]

I posted my previous reply without thinking. I had cleaned off the HD when I first started working on it. So there is ample HD space.

When I tried to boot in Safe Mode I got Kernel Panic.

Twice I tried to install a new OS while connected to another G4 via Target Disk Mode. In both instances the iBook froze with the TDM icon on the screen before I ever got to actually trying to install the OS.

I also attached an external, bootable HD with OS 10.4 on it. Shortly after the Apple appeared in the boot process, the laptop froze.

I'll unplug the optical drive cable and see if that makes a difference. Gee, what a nice fix that would be.

Thanks all.

[quote|jtgolfer]I posted my previous reply without thinking. I had cleaned off the HD when I first started working on it. So there is ample HD space. When I tried to boot in Safe Mode I got Kernel Panic. Twice I tried to install a new OS while connected to another G4 via Target Disk Mode. In both instances the iBook froze with the TDM icon on the screen before I ever got to actually trying to install the OS. I also attached an external, bootable HD with OS 10.4 on it. Shortly after the Apple appeared in the boot process, the laptop froze. I'll unplug the optical drive cable and see if that makes a difference. Gee, what a nice fix that would be. Thanks all.[/quote]

Latest update on this iBook...

I disconnected the optical drive cable from the logic board and I also installed a known working boot drive (OS 10.4). Neither of these possible solutions fixed the problem. The laptop gets to the Apple logo (usually) and then goes to a blue screen.

I'm next going to try different RAM. I would have done this sooner but didn't have any on hand.

I'm also checking eBay for logic boards.

Any further opinions??

Thanks.

[quote|jtgolfer]Latest update on this iBook... I disconnected the optical drive cable from the logic board and I also installed a known working boot drive (OS 10.4). Neither of these possible solutions fixed the problem. The laptop gets to the Apple logo (usually) and then goes to a blue screen. I'm next going to try different RAM. I would have done this sooner but didn't have any on hand. I'm also checking eBay for logic boards. Any further opinions?? Thanks.[/quote]