Few quick questions about Apples iBook G4....

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

Hi guys i have recently picked up an iBook G4 and it turns out that it has a few issue's and being a MAC newbie i wonderd if anyone here could help me with a few questions ii have about it? OK first the Big one!!! it turns out that the disk drive is screwed and there is a disk stuck in it ... so therefore it makes it extreamly inpossible to install a new operation system.... oh and there is also an admin password that needs to be removed as well... so i have been looking @ an USB plug and play multi drive ....will i be able to install a new OS with it if it is not a apple product?? I also have been thinking of trying to install off of a thumb drive .... is that possible??? also is the network cable the same for PC's and MACs??? for my cable doesnt want to fitt quiet right and finding myself useing the airport quiet alot. oh also ive been told that the only way to install new OS from a external drive is if you use firewire is this true???
Thanks,
T

[sunnyd]

A quick search turned up some answers/options for you....

If you can't get the CD to eject normally, reboot and hold down the Option key. You'll see a startup drive select window. When the cursor changes to an arrow, (be patient, it may take a minute or two) then press your eject key, the CD should eject. You can also try holding the left mouse/trackpad button down during a restart which may work also.

As for changing the password...

Here's how to reset your OS X password without an OS X CD. You need to enter terminal and create a new admin account:
1. Reboot
2. Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
3. When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):

mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

After rebooting you should have a brand new admin account. When you login as the new admin you can simply delete the old one and you're good to go again (maybe).

Try this to see if it works, or here is another alternative.

Instructions for the Mac OS X Password Recovery.

Although there’s no real way to recover a lost root password, you can change the root password even if you do not know the current one. You must have physical access to the machine in order to accomplish this task.
1. Click Restart at the login window
2. While the computer is restarting, hold down “Command-S” until you see text scrolling through the window. This boots the computer into single user mode.
3. At the Localhost% prompt type:

/sbin/fsck -y
/sbin/mount -uw /
/sbin/SystemStarter

You will then see various services starting up.
4. When the Localhost% prompt reappears, type:
passwd [username]
It will then ask you to type the new root password twice, so do so.
5. After entering the new password, type:
reboot
6. At the login window, enter the username with the new password. Once you are logged in, you can use the Multiple Users application (/Applications/Utilities) to change your user’s password, or create a new user account.

Note: this may not work for newer versions of OS X

I would just Google for the type of cable you need. Hope this helps a little, all I did was Google for the above info.

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

thanks for the info Sunny .... i did google but answers where elusive and i have no knowlage of whats creadible info sweet i try that stuff!

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

Oh and by the way this chunk of code here

mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

oh it worked so well worked so well infact that it was the fastest wipe on any machine ive ever seen .... but you failed to mention that doing so will infact delete well .... every thing !!! was better than reinstall ... problem being lost 20 gig of important shitt! thanks i guess.....

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

Actually what is has done is create a new account making the old one unaccessable.....grrrr

[CompMacBookDude]

Take HD out of iBook and hook it up to PC using MacDrive and get the important stuff off it

Yes, you can install the OS from a thumb drive, BUT you need the setup disc DMG on your computer OR a working DVD ROM to copy it over to the thumb drive in Disk Utility

Yes MACs and PCs use the same NICs, hopefully youre not trying to put a NIC cable in the phone modem outlet

Ejecting the CD/DVD, when turning on your MAC, hold down the mouse button and it should eject the disc, if it doesnt eject then the superdrive is broke

[MapleApe]

To reinstall an OS from an external optical drive, it is true that you must use one with a firewire connection. USB will not work for this task.

As for installing a different OS, the G4 is a powerpc based computer and can run the Mac OS up to 10.5, Ubuntu and Yellow Dog Linux and FreeBSD. Mac OS 10.6 and Windows will only run on newer Macs with an Intel processor but MacOS 10.4 (tiger) runs best on older powerpc macs and it is still supported by Apple. You won't get all of the latest tricks of the newest versions but it is still a very good OS. Newer games and the latest pro apps are out but some older ones like Diablo 2, Sim City 4 and Jedi Academy run quite well.

Cheers

[sunnyd]

Hi Silent,
The suggestions I posted were actually combined from a Mac forum, and 3 other forums to which the response from those that used it, was that it worked for them very well. It would lead me to wonder if in fact, there were other serious issues with the mac that caused those things to work improper. Nonetheless, I am sorry it caused you further issues, and I won't make the mistake again of trusting those types of responses, nor posting them as suggestions. I hope you do get it resolved.

Edit: One thing did come to mind, you mentioned it let you create a new account, did it ask for a reboot, then let you set up an admin password at that point? If so, from that new account, you should be able to just change all other account passwords in the account preferences, or delete the accounts you wish to delete.

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

Hey Sunny .... sorry about that.... hears what actually happend ... it had actually created a new user account and one i fig out how to give it Admin powers it had allowed me to somehow change the password on the old account. so now i have Admin power over bolth accounts ... and only one of witch i need ... lol so now i and trying to find some info on how to manage and deleat accounts ... so once again thanks it worked!!! lol and thanks for the firewire info as well . Thankyou so much for your time!

T

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

Oh and thank to the apple dudes for the other info as well .... and no the clip on the cable is just old ... fig out that i have to manually select the built in ethernet in order for it to work lol like i said im a MAC newbie ... neevr worked on them before ... is still little odd for me hahaha.
anyhoo thanks!

T

[sunnyd]

W00t success err.....some success , glad to hear it did work for you as I felt bad for misleading you if the suggestions caused more issues rather than allow you to create the new account. Were you able to get the CD out that was stuck? You never mentioned which OS version you had, but here is some info right from a mac forum, perhaps this can help.

Mac OS X: How to manage user access to applications, system preferences, and disc burning via "Capabilities," "Limitations," or "Parental Controls"

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2400

oops, forgot to post the 2nd link regarding user accounts

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8235.html

[SyLeNtTbRoWn]

No i didnt get the disk out SuperDrives busted i think ... ....lame but no sorry if i sounded less than enthused about my results ... it was late i was tired and working on this thing is really diff ... i feel a bit of a tard sometimes, i lead a pretty hectic life so finding time for reserch is hard lol anyinfo is great.

[sunnyd]

You can try lifting out the keyboard, then try to see if the ribbon attaching the drive is in place, or see if you can move it to gain access to the drive to dislodge the CD. In most instances that I know of, if none of the above work, then it has to be taken in for repairs on that issue. This happened to a friend of mine, but hers came out with the other suggestions, which is why I brought those to your attention.

Once you have the time to read and research, I am sure you will be well on your way to figuring it all out. Good luck.