>> Everything stops cold 5, 10 or 15 minutes after the machine is booted. > My Pismo did this once when the hard drive was failing. Also notably > when the optical (DVD) was failing something similar. > > Two things I would try : a) get some kind of adapter (usb I guess) for > the laptop drive and attach to another mac and check it that way -- > look at SMART status with Disk Utility (in Applications/Utilities > folder) > Really not sure about USB but for sure Pismos have two firewire 400 ports.
Start up the Pismo while holding down the T key. It will boot quickly to give a firewire symbol moving slowly about the screen. (Symbol here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394_interface) Then connect a firewire cable between the Pismo being diagnosed and the mac that’s being the doctor. The Pismo’s disk will mount on the doctor-mac’s desktop. You can then use the doctor-mac’s DiskUtility on Pismo’s hard disk. Ahh, sorry, I misunderstood the USB reference - the above firewire method is the surgery-free way of doing things. Of course you can extract Pismo’s HD and put it in an external enclosure which then attaches to another mac. However, to do this, you need to remove keyboard, metal shielding, heatsink and heatpipe, processor daughter card (rather a pain to get back in - you have to press very hard - and even more of a pain to get out if the wee plastic pull-tab has torn-off) before you can extract the cage holding the HD. I’ve done it a number of times - it gets easier but there’s always a moment of fear. So I’d suggest trying the firewire route first. If it doesn’t work or you don’t have a firewire-400 equipped mac to act as a doctor, or if you’re convinced you’re going to need to extract the HD anyway, or of course if you just want to get used to Pismo-surgery (which can be fun, in a masochistic way), then try extracting the HD to put in an external enclosure. I’d strongly recommend printing the ifixit guide here: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-PowerBook-G3-Pismo-Hard-Drive-Replacement/27/1, and taping each screw you extract to the relevant bit of hard copy. Hope I’ve not been to patronising or rambling here. Bruce -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Books, a group for those using G3 iBooks and PowerBooks (we run a separate list for G4 'Books). The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g-books Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
