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)
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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:
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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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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
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