Trying to reformat old iBook laptop

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Hi - I have an old iBook laptop that I'd like to give to a friend's daughter who is autistic. It only needs some basic programs, and the speed isn't a problem. So, I attached a firewire to it with my G4 and did a Disk Utility 7-pass erase of the old laptop,with the idea that i could then reinstall the old 10.2 software. Now I can't get it out of the questionmark stage.

I've tried to restart it holding down the C key with the 10.2 install disk, and no luck. Then I tried to load it using my G4 IBook and firewire. No luck. I know there's a trick that I'm missing. But it's been awhile since I did this... so... have i just ruined the laptop? Or is there a way to load the software?

sorry - I'm just techie enough to get myself in trouble. Not Techie enough to get out! :Oops:
 
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Aluminium Macbook 2.4 Ghz 4GB RAM, SSD 24" Samsung Display, iPhone 4, iPad 2
Do you have install DVDs handy?
 
Joined
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Location
Munich
Your Mac's Specs
Aluminium Macbook 2.4 Ghz 4GB RAM, SSD 24" Samsung Display, iPhone 4, iPad 2
(I'm not quite sure what you've already tried, so bear with me if this is all old news).

You can either install the DVDs on the old iBook directly by popping them in the drive and holding down the "c" key.

If that's not working, it might be an issue with the optical drive so you could try piggybacking off your other Mac's drive instead:

Pop the DVDs into your newer iBook and reboot. After the chime, hold down the "t" key. Then connect the two 'books via Firewire and power up the older iBook. Hold down "option" (or "alt") immediately after the chime. You should now be able to select the DVD.

Once you're in the installer, just follow the steps on screen.
 
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(I'm not quite sure what you've already tried, so bear with me if this is all old news).

You can either install the DVDs on the old iBook directly by popping them in the drive and holding down the "c" key.

If that's not working, it might be an issue with the optical drive so you could try piggybacking off your other Mac's drive instead:

Pop the DVDs into your newer iBook and reboot. After the chime, hold down the "t" key. Then connect the two 'books via Firewire and power up the older iBook. Hold down "option" (or "alt") immediately after the chime. You should now be able to select the DVD.

Once you're in the installer, just follow the steps on screen.

OK - I found the original DVDs. Will try that with my new ibook.
i'll let you know in a few...thanks
 
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still dead in the water

Well - it may be too late for the ol' girl. I bought it 7 years ago this week. I tried the method you recommended and got it to show the startup CD and my good laptop on the desktop, but it didn't mount. Went into system profiler and it shows nothing for the old laptop... no DVD showed for that computer, and no mounted internal hard drive.

Wish i could fix it, these old computers are perfect for kids. I'm still using the desktop tower I bought in 1998! Just keep opening it up and adding things to it. Guess I thought these laptops were just as hardy. I'm writing this on one I bought in 2005.

Any ideas? Or is it off to the ant farm?
 

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