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Hi, I have an Mac Ibook G3 which has Mac OS X 10.2 running on it. I am using this ibook for an over 1 year now. Nowadays the ibook does not power up when the power button is pressed. When the power button is pressed, it boots up till the Apple logo and then nothing happens. It gets stuck at the apple logo. If i try to reboot the same thing happens. Is this because of hard drive failure? Please suggest some solutions.
It seems like an operating system failure to me. When a mac system fails to load, the apple logo appears. Normally the system starts if it is restarted but as you have tried to do it and failed, you can try to install a fresh copy of operating system on your system. To install the operating system again on your system you will need an Install DVD. Once you have the DVD, insert it in to the drive and change the boot priority to make the DVD drive as the 1st boot device and keep the hard drive as the 2nd boot device. Then the onscreen menu will guide you through the process of installation.
I think the system memory of your laptop is fried. Usually if the system is not able to access the system memory it does not load the operating system and displays the apple logo as an indication for system ram failure. It is possible that the RAM chip may have dislocated from the slot or there is a layer of moisture covering the contact terminals. If you can open the laptop then remove the ram chips and clean the connecting terminals on the RAM as well as the slot with clean cloth. Once cleaned, place the RAM back in the slot and check if the system boots. If the cleaning does not help then replacing the ram chip will do the trick.
You will need to do a PRAM (Physical RAM ) reset to make the system work. PRAM can be reset in many ways but the simplest way is to use keyboard and power button to do it. To perform PRAM reset, First find the following keys. Command (i.e apple key), Option key, R and P. Now keep the fingers on them but dont press them. Now press the power button and simultaneously press and hold all the four keys together. You will hear a start up beep, keep pressing these buttons till you here 2 startup beeps. When the second startup beep is heard, release the keys. Now the system will reconfigure it self. Hopefully it will boot after this procedure.
PRAM rest will not work to solve the following problem. The problem is with logic board of the laptop. Remove the battery on the logic board. Check the voltage across the battery. It should be around 2 to 2.5 volts. If the voltage is less than 2 volts then replace the battery and try to boot the system. It will boot if there is no problem with the logic board but if it does not boot then you will have to certainly replace the logic board. To replace the logic board you will have to visit a nearest apple gallery to get there official support. If the ibook is under warranty then no charges will be taken but if it is outside of warranty cover then you will have to pay for the replaced part and there service charge.
Do the following troubleshooting and see if it works. First unplug the ibook from power source. Now remove the battery. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. After releasing the power button, replace the battery and try to boot the system. If it does not work then try to reset the PSU. To reset PSU, first locate the PSU reset button on the ibook (usually near the dvd drive). Remove the battery and press the PSU reset button. Now let the system stand for 45 seconds and then put the battery back in. Hopefully this time the system boots.