[iBook] ibook g3 600 mhz (2002/late 2001)

[Skygram]

Wilfred,

It still sounds like one of your problems is a dodgy power cable. Check that
out. Bring it to another iBook and remove that iBook's battery and hook up
your power cable to it. Actually it might be safer to borrow someone else's
power cable in the event that yours might damage another iBook.

The question mark issue is another matter.

I have cut and pasted this from a web page that I saved a few months back
for someone else. It is from the Ohio State University support page.

Bill


Mac Won't Start Up: Flashing Folder with Question Mark

There is a condition that may occur on some Macintoshes where the system
will not start up after the power has been turned on. The machine will give
its normal system chime indicating that the system has passed some
preliminary tests, but then the screen will show a folder with a question
mark in it and the computer will not start up. There can be several reasons
for why this may be happening.
The directory database, which keeps track of where files are stored on the
hard drive, may have become corrupted. The corruption can often be repaired
by utilities such as Disk First Aid for Mac OS 7-9 and Disk Utility for Mac
OS X, which can be found on most system software install CDs. To initiate a
repair, insert the system software CD into the CD drive of the affected
computer and turn the system off. When the machine has shut down, turn it on
again and hold down the 'C' key on the keyboard. The computer will
automatically boot up from the CD, allowing you run the disk repair utility
from the Utilities folder on the CD. On a Mac OS X system software
installation disk, you will need to select Disk Utility from the Installer
menu. Occasionally, it may be necessary to use a third-party disk repair
utility such as Norton Disk Doctor, which is part of Norton Utilities, or
Diskwarrior from Alsoft.
Another problem that can occur is the driver on the disk itself can become
corrupted. If this is the case, the hard disk (HD) will not appear in any
disk repair utility. This is a problem because you will need to reinitialize
the HD, which will cause all the data on the HD to be lost. If the computer
has a built-in Firewire port, it may be possible to boot it in Firewire
Target Disk Mode on another Firewire-equipped Macintosh and copy the
important files before reformatting the disabled HD.
The last sort of problem is the most severe: The hard drive's mechanical
parts may have failed, which means the data on the drive is completely
inaccessible. There are companies that will (for several hundred dollars)
attempt to recover the data of such drives, but for most people the cost is
prohibitively expensive. The best solution in this case is to have and
maintain a current backup of important files.