Apple iBook Does Not Startup
This is a nightmare to me since I bought my Apple iBook. The notebook doesn’t display video no matter how hard I tried! (I am writing this on my old PC)
The begining of nightmare…
While I was happily using my iBook, the applications suddenly did not response. Mac showed the spinning rainbow ball all the time (The Spinning Beach Ball of Death) . I tried to “Force Quit” all applications and relaunched Finder but still the same — no response, rainbow ball was spinning.
I pressed the Power button and select “Restart”. Since it would take a while to restart computer, I went for a drink. When I came back, I found that the monitor is blank (black). I thought it went into standby mode, pressing few keys but it still didn’t wake up.
“Ok, don’t panic.” I told to myself. I shut down iBook (press and hold Power button) and restart it. I heard the startup chime sound and hard drive spinning sound, but the monitor display no video.
Tried few times, the iBook still did not display video…
Trying to rescue
Immediately, I searched online for help. I found Apple official troubleshooting guide about “My computer displays no video“. It is exactly my problem. Following the resolvation steps, I reset computer’s parameter RAM and PMU. But, still the same problem…
I tried boot from Mac OS X Installation disc. Slotted in the CD, pressed Power button, pressed and holded “C” key (boot from CD)… I heard the disc spinning sound, but… still, STILL BLANK! 
Worse, the Installation CD is now stucked in the slot drive…
The last step of the troubleshooting guide is:
If you tried all of the steps above and the computer still won’t display video, contact Apple technical support (1-800-APL-CARE in the U.S.) or take your computer to your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) for diagnosis.
Seems like I have to send my iBook to the Apple Centra, which is in Kuala Lumpur (I am in Johor).
Put it aside and pray?
In Apple Discussions forum, I found someone has the similar problem. His iBook does not display video, too. He solved the problem by unplug the power adapter, remove battery and leave it. He tried to switch on the iBook in the next morning, and it is alive! Now, I have left my iBook aside for hours. I will try to switch it on tomorrow morning.
Please pray for my iBook!
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November 19th, 2005 at 12:30 am
Maybe is that 2nd hand RAM u bought
November 19th, 2005 at 1:00 am
Call Apple support. You should still be under warranty. Your gonna have to send it in. Sounds like the Logic Board. Thats what usually breaks in the ibook.
November 19th, 2005 at 1:23 am
I feel you man … hope for the best. I’m sure it will wake up in the morning
or else you need to send it to KL.
November 19th, 2005 at 10:09 am
hafizismail: the RAM is first hand.
November 19th, 2005 at 10:53 am
Thats why I opted for a Powerbook. My logic board on my iBook went bonkers. Anyway you should still have your warranty right? Get it fixed. iBooks are notorious with their logic board problems I heard.
November 19th, 2005 at 11:05 am
Call the apple support and tell them about the situation u’re facing… see whether if u need to send it to the apple centre, in order to get it fixed…
November 19th, 2005 at 12:10 pm
did u try f2?
November 19th, 2005 at 12:32 pm
i used an ibook for more than 2 years. sometimes i screwed up but the machine is tough. i don’t really understand what do you mean by your ibook doesn’t play video. you try to play a VCD on your ibook? as far as i know, the original applications come with it don’t support VCD format. you have to download something like VLC player to play a VCD. it could be your CD-Rom is dirty that it can’t read your CD, clean it and you can solve the prob.
November 19th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
tuna: what is f2?
lys: no, I mean when I power on my iBook, it display nothing. The monitor is blank.
November 19th, 2005 at 4:36 pm
F1 & F2 are used to adjust brightness of the screen.
November 19th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
haha… thanks. I am sure it is not the brightness problem.
November 20th, 2005 at 8:15 pm
You might want to change the blog description to “From Mac OS X to Windows” now.
November 21st, 2005 at 2:50 pm
Glad to see some mac user here… anyway, i’ve seen this condition in iBook. Sometimes, you can also see a faint image at the screen. Guess it’s going to be fine later… hope so…
November 22nd, 2005 at 12:45 pm
Sending iBook Back to Apple Centre
I will goto Kuala Lumpur (KL) tomorrow to send my sick iBook back to the Apple Centre.
Hopefully it will be fixed soon and does not give me big problem again in the future.
…
November 30th, 2005 at 10:27 pm
Good luck , have you tried zapping the PRAM and other things..If u hear the standard chime no need to worry..If you hear the death chime (i dunno how to explain , but its not the standard daaaaaaaa chime….that means mobo is dead !
December 10th, 2005 at 9:07 am
Maybe you should have switched to Linux instead.
September 10th, 2006 at 2:35 am
[…] Gosh, I should have this guide when my iBook didn’t start! […]
January 30th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
[…] [ More details and road direction at mental jog ] For your information, I have promised to travel from Johor to Penang to attend the gathering. It will be my first time to attend bloggers (and netizens) gathering. So, do not miss the chance (especially girls) to meet me. I checked AirAsia for the flight ticket from Johor Bahru to Penang, it cost RM170 per ticket. I don’t wish to spend RM340 to attend a gathering. So, I will take bus to KL first, meet my friends and fix my iBook. Then, take bus to Penang. I will stay in Penang for two or three days. […]