My powerbook G4 will not startup... All that appears on the screen when I try to turn on my computer is a tiny folder with a question mark on it. The mouse pad is nonresponsive.

The Powerbook G4 power button functions like a reset button if you hold the power button in for a few seconds until the computer powers down.

1. Hold the power button in for a few seconds (until you see the screen turn off/go black and hear the fans & hard drive stop spinning).
2. Press the power button again to turn your computer on.
3. If you have more trouble, you may need to boot in Safe Mode or "perform a Safe Boot":
   Press and hold down the "Shift" key immediately after you hear the start-up tone. Release the "Shift" key when the gray Apple icon appears on the screen.

Hi ,
take out the battery for 5 minutes , this resets the computer , , if this does'nt work , put in a bootable disk and try to recover the system ...........let me know if this works , i can advise futher
Goodluck Roy

Your hard drive has lost a file needed to start up the machine. The folder with the question mark means it cannot find a useable Operating system. I hope you backed up your files you needed becuase the only real way to recover the machine is to reinstall the OS from the install disk. You must format the Hard Drive from the format option on the install disk and reinstall the OS.

try booting with control command P and R all pressed at the same time, wait for second chime then release.

I seen a blinking folder with a question mark in the middle in folder, in the middle of a display screen, but not a camera.

Either way, you are not able to access your main desktop so that is where I want to help.

A blinking folder with a ? in middle, is an indication that your bootable Mac OS X volume cannot be found.

If you do, I would first recommend you try this procedure first:
(PRAM Reset)
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} • First, hold in your power button for approximately 10 seconds to do a hard shutdown, if you have not already turned your Mac off.

• Once your Mac is shutdown, you will need to perform what is called a PRAM reset (Parameter RAM)
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously .

• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Now, hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the start up sound for the third time.
• Release the keys and allow the Powerbook G4 to start up.
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If this still returns you to a blinking ? folder, try this process:
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} DISK UTILITYYou can use your Mac OS X install disc to repair your hard drive and Mac OS X volume using Disk Utility. Click the link below to try this procedure.
* Apple Support Link:
Use Disk Utility to Repair Disk

Should neither of these processes work and you still boot up to a flashing ? folder, then your only recourse is to use your Mac OS X installation disc and perform an Archive and Install procedure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} This procedure also allows you to save your applications, files and folders without the old directory interferring with you then accessing those files and creating a new Mac OS X Directory.

Here is the Apple Support Link for that procedure:
Archive and Install



This should get your Powerbook G4 back to normally functionality without any serious data loss.



Regards,


-Mactechtrainer

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.
If I could be of further assistance, let me know. If this helps or solves the issue, please rate it.
Thanks, Joe


I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309

Do you have any external harddrive attached to it? If so, remove it before restarting. Try to start it up in safe mode by holding the Shift button down at startup: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455

Hi, sorry to hear you are having problems,
Are you saying that your Mac was working fine with the dead battery but then when you put in the new battery, the Mac died?
Well, if that is the case it might be possible that the battery ran down to ZERO and the mac's internal battery also is dead so, it does not even know what hard drive to boot into...
So, with the Mac Shut Down, hit the power on button and then VERY QUICKLY, press the ( alt ) key and hold it until you see a blue screen with a Big right pointing blue arrow and a circular arrow.
You can let go of the key, and the mac is now looking for suitable startup volumes to boot from...
You should see your harddive appear after a minute or so... If it does not appear, then either your system is damaged or your disk is KAPUT...
How old is your Mac? It is very very common for PowerBook drives to die after 4 years without advanced warning... :(
Good luck

Something is wrong with the operating system. If there is a flashing folder with a question mark, then it might be with the hard drive as well. If you just get that warning, then you may only have to reinstall your operating system (OS X). Get your CD/DVDs out and insert the OS X disk. Hold down C when you start the computer so it will start from the disk and not from the hard drive. After the startup program has loaded, you can try to check the hard drive and repair permissions and such to see if that works, or you can just reinstall the OS. Good luck.

The hard drive is probably on it's way out. You can get and run Disk Warrior and you could repair permissions and such but the hard drive is probably on it's way to the grave.

A couple things though. It isn't enough to just put the disk in, you need to hold down "c" while the computer starts for it to try to run off your disk. You can then try to repair permissions and fix the disk from the installation program that starts. When the Install OS X screen comes up (looks like a desktop but with the big dialog box in the middle) click on Utilities at the top and then on Disk Utility. HERE IS APPLE'S SITE for you to read about how to try to repair your disk. I've found that this sometimes works and may help it work enough for you to get your files off, but may not.

Another method would be to get another Mac, and hook the two together with a firewire to transfer your files, then reinstall OS X in your ailing computer. Go HERE to read about this technique.