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HELP! Powerbook died!

millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
I was typing an email when all of the sudden I get a beach ball that won't go away and I can feel my hard drive trying to do something, just working and working over and over.

So I do a hard reboot and up on the screen comes a folder icon with a picture of the finder icon inside of it flashing and then a quesion mark flashing, then back to the finder icon, ect.

I do another hard reboot and now the gray screen with the apple logo pops up, but that won't go away. After multiple reboots all I get is that Apple screen.

Does anyone know what happened or how I can fix this? Did my hard drive just die or is it caught in some sort of strange state that I can get out of?
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
The hard drive keeps clicking and Disk Utility won't even recognize it. I'm thinking it's toast. I'm guessing I need to change the hard drive now.

Anyone know what kind of hard drive I should use in a 12" powerbook? And anyone know of any good deals?

Never installed OS X fresh before...how do I do that? Just plug the DVD in and let it run? Or anything else?

Also, is all my data gone that was on my old hard drive? This really really sucks. Out of the two Apple products I've owned (iPod + Powerbook) both hard drives have crashed. Talk about some bad luck....
 
indigoflowAS

indigoflowAS

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2005
268
0
Columbus, OH
My HDD died in a similar fashion, not allowing me passed the gray screen and what not.

I replaced it w/ a drive from newegg.com
if you are in the states, they are among the most reasonable I believe.:)
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
indigoflowAS said:
My HDD died in a similar fashion, not allowing me passed the gray screen and what not.

I replaced it w/ a drive from newegg.com
if you are in the states, they are among the most reasonable I believe.:)
Click to expand...

So any 2.5" HDD will do? Does speed matter? I might just run over to Fry's since it's so close to me. Chalk me up for someone who believes in data backup now....
 
liketom

liketom

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,190
66
Lincoln,UK
millerrh said:
OMG...that is a bit scary. Are there other guides out there that don't have "remaining parts left over" once they are done? You'd think they would make changing the hard drive the next easiest thing to do besides changing RAM.
Click to expand...
if your not happy doing it , go to a apple store or reseller and pay them to do it. cost's but it's worth it
 
L

livingfortoday

macrumors 68030
Nov 17, 2004
2,903
4
The Msp
ifixit.com has great step by step guides as well, I recommend them, I use those guides for all my installs. As for hard drives, I would recommend newegg.com, though bookmarking techbargains.com and checking for deals every now and again is also good.

For speeds, I'd go with a minimum of 5400rpm, since you'll feel the speed drop with a 4200rpm drive, and if you really value speed over size (on a budget, that is - if you have money go big and fast!), go with a 7200rpm drive.
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
Wow, thanks! IFixit.com has some very well laid out guides. Thanks for the link.
 
indigoflowAS

indigoflowAS

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2005
268
0
Columbus, OH
millerrh said:
Wow, thanks! IFixit.com has some very well laid out guides. Thanks for the link.
Click to expand...
The guide could not be more complete, I only found myself slightly confused once. It's actually kind of an enjoyable operation, makes you feel good once it's complete.:) The drive you pointed out should be perfect.

Best of luck my friend, hope you get to salvage your data.
 
x86

x86

macrumors regular
May 25, 2006
166
0
Dearborn, MI
I feel for you, I'm on my thrid hard drive on my 12-inch 867 PowerBook. As long as you are careful, and take your time, replacing the HD isn't so hard. The hardest part is managing all of the screws really...
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
x86 said:
I feel for you, I'm on my thrid hard drive on my 12-inch 867 PowerBook. As long as you are careful, and take your time, replacing the HD isn't so hard. The hardest part is managing all of the screws really...
Click to expand...

Your third one! Dang! I've never had issues with hard drives crashing before... Then within a year my iPod hard drive and Powerbook hard drive crash. Is hard drive failure very common with Powerbooks?
 
liketom

liketom

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,190
66
Lincoln,UK
millerrh said:
Your third one! Dang! I've never had issues with hard drives crashing before... Then within a year my iPod hard drive and Powerbook hard drive crash. Is hard drive failure very common with Powerbooks?
Click to expand...
all hdd's will fail at some point , just back up your data before they do
 
x86

x86

macrumors regular
May 25, 2006
166
0
Dearborn, MI
millerrh said:
Your third one! Dang! I've never had issues with hard drives crashing before... Then within a year my iPod hard drive and Powerbook hard drive crash. Is hard drive failure very common with Powerbooks?
Click to expand...

I don't think it is that common other than the older 12-inch models. When I used Jaguar, the PowerBook would get excessively hot, which I believe caused the problem. Ever since Panther, the fans run more often and I have had less problems.
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
Thanks for all the help guys! Got the new drive up and running last night without a hitch. And bright side is I've got an extra 20 GB now. :)

I did lose some data, but nothing I can't manage without.
 
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