My Mac does not boot

[RPVG]

Hey guys!
I have been using mac since a long time! I had no issues untill lately. It stooped booting. All i can see is a question mark [?]. How do i fix this issue. I know how to reinstall but that will screw my installed softwares...! Please help me...!

[Patio]

I too have a similar issue : I cannot start my Powerbook G4 1.67GHz. I just get to the startup screen (Apple logo) with a spinning progress indicator. I've tried booting from the install CD and running Disk Utility. It reports "Getting disk information..." with yet another eternally spinning progress indicator. I'm trying to boot into single-user mode to run fsck and am getting the following output:

standard timeslicing quantum is 10000us
vm_page_bootstrap: 253319 free pages
mig_table_max_displ = 70
112 prelinked modules
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
                   The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.

using 2621 buffer headers and 2621 cluster IO buffer headers
IOPCCard info:  Intel PCIC probe:  TI 1510 rev 00
FireWire (OHCI) Apple ID 31 built-in now active, GUID 001124ff fe411cbc; max speed s800
CSRHIDTransitionDriver::probe -s
CSRHIDTransitionDriver::probe booting in single user .. do not match
Security auditing service present
BSM auditing present
disabled
rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: 44B07742-5E8E-359C-A566-CAA8B143A81
Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key><IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOREsources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
kStorageDriver/ST9100823A Media/IOApplePartitionScheme/Untitled@3
BSD root: disk0s3, major 14, minor 2
jnl: replay_journal: from 1265664 to: 7557632 (joffset 0x8601000)
disk0s3: I/O error.
jnl: update_fs_block: error reading fs block # 40168! (ret 5)
disk0s3: I/O error.

I never am given the opportunity to enter commands. It simply updates the screen every two minutes or so with a new version of the last message, incrementing the number after "fs block #" with each new iteration. What should I do!?!

[Noverism]

I have a mac powerbook G4 I need help fixing it! it will not start the operating system it powers on but will not go past the apple logo and the swirl. need help.... Mine is a mac os X Safari Thanks

[Solomon]

Hey!
Ok here is a trick to get your MAC working :

Do not use Apple wireless keyboard but a USB keyboard

After each step check if it has your mac working, if not then proceed to next step.

Step 1:

Hold down ALT + CMD (Apple key) + P + R while turning on the Mac. This clears some settings that could cause driver problems.

Step 2:

Hold the SHIFT button while turning on the Mac. Hold it until you see the Apple logo. It wil now check the boot partition. When it's finished loading, you see the desktop, with the word 'Safe Boot'. Now restart the Mac.

Step 3:

Hold down CMD + S while turning on the Mac until you see a black background with white text. enter the following command:

fsck -fy

It will now check the OS and file system. After this is done, enter the following command:

reboot

Step 4:

Put the installation disc in the drive. To open the drive, hold down the mouse button (or both depending on the mouse used) while turning on the Mac. After you've inserted the disk, turn off the Mac and turn it back on while holding the C button. Choose the Utilities section, and choose to repair the disk.

If still you can't get your MAC working, then the problem is something major which will not be fixed by utilities... You need to contact Apple.

All the best!