Ask Jacob

These things do happen from time to time and Apple has you covered. Built into every Mac is a general fix-all startup command that can get you out of monitor resolution errors and some startup errors. It is probably the first troubleshooting step you should use with any hardware problems on your Mac. It is called “Zapping the PRAM” and all it does is erases whatever your Mac had once known about its hardware configuration. Your Mac then searches for devices connected or installed and sets itself up in a compatible way.

With the computer off, hold down the “P,” “R,” “Option,” and Command/Apple Keys. Continue to hold down those four keys and turn on your computer. Let your Mac chime four times before you release those keys. You should now be able to see your Mac booting up and things should start to look normal again. You may have to reset the date and other settings, but none of your data will be lost.

You can certainly get a quote from me or by calling into our sales line. We would need to know the screen size and all the details, but sending us the serial number would let us get most of that info. Unfortunately, we do not buy computers outright. We take them as trade towards another purchase. In the past this would have been a problem for people who need to use PCs for work, but everything has changed in the last year. Now Intel-based Macs can run both Windows and Mac operating systems, essentially giving you the best of both worlds. A MacBook could be set to boot into either Windows XP/Vista or Mac OSX. Some users will boot into Windows during work hours and then use the Mac OS when they are at home. There is also the option of running Windows and OSX together with the Parallels Desktop software. Intel Macs have made it so you do not have to choose one OS over the other; all opportunities are available for the modern Mac user.

Audiobook files are slightly different than music files, that is part of the reason that self-added files are not showing up as Audiobooks. Music files, when they are encoded in the AAC file format, have “.m4a” file extensions and Audiobook should have “.m4b” file extensions. Just changing the extension is not enough. Luckily for you, some nice guy named Doug Adams has written a script that will convert your AAC music files to audiobook files. It is called Make Bookmarkable and is a free download. Your files will have to be in the AAC file format for this script to work. To change your files to AAC from another format you have to change your default encoder to AAC. In iTunes’ Preferences, click on the Advanced icon and then select the Importing tab. Change the “Import Using:” pulldown menu to the AAC Encoder and click on the OK button. Now select the audio files in your library that you want to convert and go to the Advanced menu. Select “Convert Selection to AAC” and those files will be converted to AAC music files. Now run the Make Bookmarkable script that you installed. If all goes well you should now have Audiobook files.

OS X has passwords for everything, that is part of the security, but they can also be a headache. To avoid entering a password when starting up your Mac you will have to go to the System Preferences. From there go into “Accounts” and click on the padlock to unlock the preference window. Enter the password you used when you created the account. Now click on “Login Option” in the lower left side of the Accounts window. Place a check mark in the first checkbox for “Automatically log in as…” Select your user account from the pulldown menu and enter the password again. Now you won’t have to enter a password on startup again.

As for your other passwords those are stored in your Keychain. In your Utilities folder is a program called Keychain Access that will help you manage your passwords, but for the most part you can just tell each application to store your password in the Keychain. When you enter your password in Mail, look for a check box for “Remember this Password in keychain.” Mark that Checkbox and enter your password. Now you should be set, and password free!

Getting a broken tip out of any port can take some skill but it is possible. Many years ago I worked as a locksmith and we had a tool to remove broken key parts from locks. You will have to make a tool like the locksmithing tool. All you need is a small paperclip and a metal file with a square edge. Unbend the paperclip straight and file the tip into a point. On the pointed end use the file’s edge, held at a 45 degree angle, to make triangle cuts on one side of the paperclip’s shaft. You want the paperclip to look like a saw blade. It only needs teeth for the first 1/4-inch of the paperclip. Now you have your tool. Remove the battery and insert your paperclip tool, pointed end first, into the power port. You want the smooth side of the paper clip pressed tight to the inner edge of the port. Push the tool down as far as it will go. You want to get the tool between the tip and the plug wall. The teeth should be able to grip the broken tip. When you have the tool between the tip and wall, start pulling out the tool. The tip should come along for the ride. It may take a few tries.

Also, MCE makes a 12″ IBook battery charger that should work for your friend’s iBook.

Most USB 2.0 cards will work without drivers in OS X. They will not work well in OS 9, and if they do work at all, it is often at USB 1.1 speeds. If you are using OS X 10.2 and up, then you should be able to use a USB 2.0 card in that G4 tower of yours without any problems. It works like it’s native USB 2.0 for all devices and software, including iPods and iTunes.

iCal is very much a one-way tool. It’s designed to be controlled by one computer and then published. If all of you four had Macs and iCal, then you could each publish your personal boat calendar to a .Mac account and then subscribe to the other three calendars from within iCal. Each person would control their own calendar. You could post a request to your calendar for another’s persons time and they could accept by deleting their time from their calendar, which you could see.

However, you have PC people, and as usual they are spoiling it for the rest of us. To do exactly what you want to do would take more than a free website account. You would have to run a server of your own. Perhaps a good low-tech solution would be to share a Google calendar. You would have to trust each other not to delete entries, but Google’s free calendar can be customized to meet many of your needs.

A few things may be causing your eMac to forget what wireless network to join. The fist place to look is within your password keychain. In your Utilities folder is an application called Keychain Access.app that will allow you to view, edit, or delete your saved passwords. Search for “AirPort” in the search box located in the upper right hand corner of the Keychain Access window. Delete all entries you find for AirPort. Now when you try to connect to the network, you should be prompted to enter your password. Enter it and save it to the keychain. Test the eMac to see if it reconnects to your wireless network after sleeping.

If that doesn’t work, you can try deleting two preference files. One is found here: /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist and the other is here: /Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkConfig.plist. Once you have placed those two files in the trash you will have to restart. After the eMac is running again, go to the Network System Preference and re-enable Airport.

Hopefully one of those two things should work for you and stop the tech support calls.

I think you were right to suspect that the file extension is at the root of your problem. The change to using filename extensions in OS X created some controversy among Mac users because extensions aren’t needed in OS 9. We have seen many great things out of OS X, but one tradeoff is that we now need to think about filename extensions. For Appleworks files it should be the same as the old ClarisWorks extension: ….CWK. So when you’re saving files from OS 9 applications, make sure to include the file extension. One nice use of filename extensions is that you can easily change what application is associated with that extension in OS X. Hold down the “Option” key and click on a file and select “Get Info” from the pop-out menu. Use the “Open with:” section to change the default application and then click on the Change All button. Now, for example, all your .cwk files will open in Appleworks.

Using filename extensions and telling OS X what application the extension is for should fix your problem. Good luck

It is interesting that Safari alone is causing the problem. I would first check to see if browsing the Internet in another application creates the same issue. Try downloading the Firefox browser and use it instead of Safari for a while. If the problem does not occur with Firefox, then throw out your version of Safari and get a new version. A good way of getting a fresh version is to download the Combo update for your Mac OS and install it. The combo update should have Safari. If a fresh version of Safari still causes the crash, then try using it from a different user account. You should create a new user account just for this test. Only use it for testing. The problem will not happen in the other user account if a setting of yours causes it. If you find the crash is caused by one of your settings, delete the Safari Folder in your user accounts Library and the "com.apple.Safari.plist" file in your preferences folder.

It is altogether possible that the crashes are independent of Safari. Some G5 towers need to be thermally calibrated, but that is not a likely cause. Calibration work can be performed at an Apple Authorized Service Center. More likely it is a RAM issue. If there was extra RAM installed, try removing it and see if the problem continues. Remember RAM is installed in pairs so remove two sticks at a time from the same numbers slot. The RAM in slots labeled 1 is most likely from Apple but try just having one pair of RAM, stick in at a time for testing, and then test another pair.

I have heard of many Mighty Mouse users losing the scroll ball features in 10.4.6 and I would not be surprised if the same problem would affect many other mice. As a first step, repair disk permissions and download and install the 10.4.6 Combo updater. Since you said that you customize and hack your system, I think there is a possibility that some files are not being updated properly in the standard 10.4.6 update. Installing 10.4.6 "Combo" update will replace many more files than a standard update and I would recommend always using the Combo updates if you change system files often. That may fix your problems, but it is likely that you may need to change the scroll speed settings. If there is a flaw with 10.4.6 and scrolling then changing the settings may act as a work around until a later update fixes the problem. If you have the opportunity, try different mice on the system, as it may be a problem with just one kind of mouse.

Let me know how it goes. I tried to keep this short so you didn’t need to scroll down to read all of it.

That sidebar in the "Save," "Save As," and "Open" windows should be exactly the same as the one in the Finder windows. If you make a change to the sidebar in a new Finder window then it should also change in the Save/Open windows. You may need to click on the square blue button with the black triangle on it in order to see the side bar navigation. It is the button next to the file name field and it will show or hide the sidebar navigation when you click it. Apple provides access to OS X’s Finder navigation for non-Apple programs. This helps software developers better integrate their software with the Mac OS. Some software companies do not use it, but most do.

Make your changes from a main Finder window and you will then see it in the "Save" window.

Not all OS discs are made alike. Some of the versions of OS 9 are only for use in Classic and others are only equipped to support specific hardware. Starting with Mac OS X 10.2, Apple did not provide a separate OS 9 install disc as part of the software included with new computers. OS 9 had to be installed as part of the restore or separate install. It may be that your iMac OS 9 is not a full version but instead a version intended to be used mostly through OS X Classic. If that is the case then you are going to have troubles. A good test is to try launching “SimpleText” to see if that OS 9 Application works. If SimpleText works then the base part of OS 9 is functioning. At that point it is just a matter of troubleshooting your extensions and trying to repair them. It may be better and faster to buy a used retail copy of OS 9. The good news is that any version of OS 9 will run on a B&W G3 tower. Just perform a clean install of the retail OS 9 and you should be fine.

It is possible that your Safari web browser is damaged. I would recommend downloading a different web browser to see if the same problem exists with both browsers, but of course downloading is the problem. This becomes an impasse from time-to-time, how do you download a new browser without a working browser?

To solve this you should be able to create an FTP connection to mozilla.org and get a copy the FireFox browser that way. Click once on the desktop to switch to the Finder. From the Go menu select "Connect to Server…" In the server address window type in this address:  "ftp://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/" without the quotes. Once connected, you should see a new item on the desktop and in the Finder window that is called "releases." Open up "releases" and navigate to the latest version of FireFox. At the moment it is 2.0.0.3 and you get to it via this folder path: /2.0.0.3/mac/el/Firefox 2.0.0.3.dmg. Drag the file to your desktop and then double click on it to mount the install disk. To install, just drag the application to the Applications folder. Now start up FireFox and see if that works. If FireFox works, then you just need to get a new copy of Safari. If it does not work or you could not create an FTP connection, that would mean that there are bigger system problems or settings. An Archive and Install from your 10.4 Tiger disks may be the best solution.

When my daughter started 6th grade I bought her a new G4 iBook 12". It was probably a little too nice for her but I had given her an older computer as a training laptop for a year. It survived, so I figured she had the experience to keep a new Mac in good condition. If this is the first computer you are giving your child, then I would recommend a pre-owned unit. The iBook series has been the best kid-resistant computer ever to come from Apple. Even with my daughter’s successful laptop training, she has dropped her iBook. It did survive without any problems but it taught me a lesson. In the home, the regular location of any young child’s computer should be in a public place. The mess factor is my first reason for not allowing a computer in a young child’s room. Drinks magically spill, things are stacked on top of anything, and level surfaces are often scarce. Another problem with letting a child have a computer in their room has to do with online activities. The scary things that happen to our kids online are far less likely to happen if we can look over the child’s shoulder and see what’s going on. But the most important reason to keep this new computer out of your daughter’s room is so you can see her. Even though my daughter wants to hide in her room at this age, I still want to see her whenever possible. She maybe glued to that iBook for as long as we let her stay online, but I have the ability to interact with her during those times because the computer is in a public place. The computer is on a special desk right next to the kitchen and when I cook, she can chat to her friends online and tell me what happened in her day at the same time.

OK, now to your actual question. I would have you look at an iBook G4 for your daughter. You could also go with a MacBook, which has many of the same features as an iBook and will support future software upgrades better than an iBook.

The refurbished iBook we have is also a great option.

Microsoft makes a student version of their Office application suite of software. You can install one copy on up to three computers.

Region codes are the legacy of an archaic distribution model. Its sole purpose is to allow movie studios to charge different prices and release movies on different dates in other countries. That Apple was forced to abide by the Region code scheme is a disappointment, but it was necessary in order to license DVD video playback. The better solution, as opposed to buying a new DVD drive, would be to use another DVD-playing application. VLC is one of the best multi media players I have seen for cross-file video playback and is a good alternative to Apple’s DVD Player.

First you will need to get a copy of VLC. It is downloaded for free from here: www.videolan.org/vlc/. You will need to set it as your default DVD video player. In the System Preferences select "CDs & DVDs." In the CDs & DVDs window, change the “When you insert video DVD:” pulldown menu to Open another application. Select VLC and click on the Choose button. You should be all set from here on out. VLC in most cases will play DVD VOB files without setting a region code. Some Intel Mac laptops have had trouble using VLC for DVD video playback, but you should be fine.

Well, whether you like a glossy or matte finish on your display screen is like asking "do you like butter or jam on your toast?" The answer is of course I like both, but you may not. The glossy screen provides vibrant color that draws you in. Matte-finished displays are good in many different lighting situations and are what we are accustomed to. Matte displays offer accurate color but glossy displays offer brighter, more saturated images. Many people who work outdoors prefer glossy over matte because of the brightness. In the end it has more to do with individual taste, but overwhelmingly the public chooses matte displays. Glossy is not often selected and it sometimes is returned.

I hope this helps some, but if you can’t find a glossy screen MacBook to examine in person, then you should buy a matte screen model.

The root of your problem has to do with the software you are trying to install. Any file that ends with a ".exe" is a Windows-only application. There is nothing installed on a Mac that will run it. You are not doing anything wrong. The truth is, when using a USB flash memory drive like the Memorex Mini TravelDrive, you do not need any software at all. As long as you are plugged into a USB port on the computer (don’t use the keyboard ports), the drive should just show up on your desktop. The files on that drive are just extra applications, you do not need to use them to copy files to the drive.

The truth is in most cases you wouldn’t want the features that the Windows-only application offers. You can safely trash any file on that drive to make room for your own files. If you are only going to use this drive with Macs, you can use the Disk Utility to erase the drive before you move your files onto it.

Yes, most Intel Macs will work for gaming, but there are a few things you should consider when buying a Gaming Mac. You will want a Mac with a minimum of 256MB video RAM for the best gaming experience. Upgraded VRAM will also make sure that you can play future games that will require that much VRAM. That Video RAM requirement will point you towards a 20" or larger screen iMac, or a mid-range to high-end MacBook Pro. If you have funds for a Mac Pro, it certainly will fulfill your gaming needs but it is overkill for the games you are interested in. If a 256MB VRAM Mac is priced outside your budget, 128MB VRAM is sufficient to play contemporary games to their fullest. The only drawback to 128MB VRAM is that, with the exception of the 24" iMac, you can’t upgrade the video card in an iMac or MacBook Pro. Games will always require more VRAM, System RAM, and processor speed in the years to come. With 256MB VRAM you have some breathing room before you must upgrade again.

The other consideration for a Mac gamer is Windows. As much as I hate it, games are generally released for Windows before they are for Mac. So in that instance I would also recommend that order your Intel Mac with Windows XP installed via Boot Camp.

This will allow you to play PC-only games on your Mac by using the Windows operating system. Most of the games you want to play are made for the Mac, but as a gamer, you will probably want or need to boot into Windows XP from time to time, at least for a few more years.

Any time a graphics card has a fan and is two expansion slots wide, you should expect some extra noise. The good news is that the difference between the 7300 GT fan noise and the X1900 XT fan noise is not substantial. Also as a whole, the Mac Pro is quieter than many of the previous Power Mac towers. So depending on what computer you are coming from, the Mac Pro with a X1900 card could be quieter.

Over the years dealing with people and their computers, I have found that noise is the most subjective computer quality. I remember one fellow who demanded we change out his Superdrive because the tray made too much noise when ejecting. We tested it, and everyone who could get away from his or her desk had a listen. Everyone agreed that the drive sounded normal and it worked perfectly. Our customer again insisted that the noise was loud enough that it caused him embarrassment at work. Wanting to help as best we could, we replaced the drive with another new Superdrive. He came back days later wanting his old drive back because the new one was worse. I could not have told you the difference between the two drives eject volume to save my life. I have no doubt that this person was being truthful; he heard what at least a dozen people couldn’t. For that person, the X1900 would not be a good choice.

From my ears the X1900 has a good fan that produces little extra noise. My best advice is to get the equipment that you need in order to do what you want. Then arrange your workspace to meet your visual and acoustic preference.

You absolutely can move your files over to the Mac. Most file formats are the same on the Mac as they are on the Windows OS. That is particularly true for photos and documents. Music will often move over without problems as well, unless the song is copy protected. Some online music stores make it difficult to move your music files from one system to another.

Most everything you will need from a Windows system can be brought over by copying your "My Documents," "My Pictures," and "My Music" folders onto a CD-R or USB hard drive. A Mac will see any hard drive that you have used with your old PC. Any disc you burn on the PC will work perfectly in the Mac. USB flash drives would also be perfectly suitable for file transfer.

Once you get the files over to the Mac, use iTunes to import your music. Use iPhoto to import your pictures. Then everything else can be placed in your Documents folder on the Mac.

I hope that helps move you to Mac, you are going to love it.

One of Mac OS X’s best security features is that it requires a password for nearly any potentially hazardous change to your system. It can be annoying, but it keeps malicious software from installing without your knowledge. The Administrator password is created the very first time you start up OS X. If you only have one account on your Mac, then your standard account is the Administrator account and your password will work as the Administrator’s password.

Now Apple knows that people sometimes forget passwords. However, Apple did not want to make it easy to reset a password for security reasons. As a security measure, what they did was to include a password-reset utility in every modern OS X install disc. Boot up off the install disc by holding down the C key on Restart. You will need to have the first disk of your grey restore discs or the OS X install disc in the Macs optical drive. After you pick your language you will see the main installer window. At the top of the screen are a few drop-down menus. Select "Reset Password" from one of the menus. Then select your account and reset the password.

Using a good password in OS X will keep you safe and help you control the changes being made to the Mac. Some people will leave it blank but even then you still have to hit OK before anything will install.

The Mac Pro is, of course, the best choice for Final Cut work but its price is not always in every editor’s budget. The 24″ iMac is a very good Final Cut Studio computer. However, the stock model needs a few upgrades to make it a true video editing workstation. It should have the upgraded video RAM so that you have 256MB VRAM available. Also your system RAM should be upgraded to 2GB or 3GB, although 2GB is enough to start with. The last upgrade needed is optional, if you have external storage space. Upgrade the internal hard drive to 500GB or 750GB. With video, you can never have enough hard drive space. The FireWire 800 port on the iMac 24″ is also an essential part of a video stations I/O requirements. The fact that Apple includes FireWire 800 on the 24″ iMac is an indication that it’s a pro-video editing class of computer. The only negative to the 24″ iMac is that Motion will not run at top speed on this system, but it will work fully.

Often the service being loaded tells you what portion of the system is having trouble. As the progress bar moves along the text around it should indicate what is loading. Try restarting your Mac a few times to see what it locks up on, and if it is the same thing each time. Then restart your Mac with the "Shift" key held down to get a safe boot. If the safe boot works and you have identified what the problem area is, then you should see if it is something you can reinstall or repair with Disk Utility.

Now if you can’t even safe boot, then you will need to do an Archive and Install from the latest OS X install disks that you have. Archive and Install is selected within the install options section of the installer. The Options button is at the bottom of the window where you select the destination drive. That will fix your OS software without over writing your personal data. Then you should "Repair Disk Permissions" from the Disk Utility. At that point you can try to upgrade your system again.

Unlike the Windows OS, none of the Mac OS versions require installation codes. That is, except for Mac OS X Server. Apple server software will require an activation code on first startup. The Install/Restore DVDs that come with new Mac computers are different than discs sold in retail packaging. One big difference is that those Install/Restore DVDs have more software than just the OS. They will include all the trial software and additional iLife applications that come with the new Mac. The other significant difference in Install/Restore DVDs is that they will only install on certain computers. You can’t use a G5 tower’s Install/Restore DVD on an iMac. Other cross-model install attempts will also not work. However, as long as you have the original DVDs that came with your computer you should be fine, and no code necessary.

If the system’s user password is what is stopping the installation, just restart the computer with the first DVD in the optical drive. Hold down the "C" key when you hear the Mac’s boot chime. That will let you boot from the DVD and then you will not be asked for a password when you try and install.

I have several Macs at home and I will often use the share features of iTunes and iPhoto to do what you want. This is done in the preferences of both applications. Look for the "Sharing" button on the top bar of the application preferences. Check the checkbox next to "Look for shared music" and "Share my music." Do this in iTunes and iPhoto on both computers. Now you will be able to access all your music and photos from any computer. It even works to play music from another computer and send that music to the AirTunes port on an Airport Express. Just look for Shared items in the left hand "Source" column of iTunes and iPhoto. 

I hope this functions as you wanted. There are other complicated ways to do this but this method will work best without constantly re-synchronizing.

Linksys makes many network products and there are a variety of ways to connect them to your Macs. If you are using the wired broadband router, you will have Ethernet wires running to your Linksys router from the computers and an Ethernet cable from the Linksys router’s "Broadband" port to your DSL/Cable modem. If you have a setup that looks like what I have described, just simply unplug the power from both the DSL/Cable modem and the Linksys router. Wait 60 seconds and then reconnect power to the DSL/Cable modem. After another 60 seconds, reconnect power to the Linksys router. Now try getting on the Internet from your computers.

You may also have a wireless Linksys router. It will have a single Ethernet cable running in between the DSL/Cable modem and the router. This router will also have antennas on it and your computers will connect wireless to this router. This setup should be powered down and then back up again as I described above, but there is an added step at the end. After everything has powered back on, go to your Airport icon next to the top right system clock on each computer. It looks like an arched triangle with grey or black bars. Click and hold on it to reveal a menu. Select your wireless network from that menu. When the Airport icon bars are black you should be connected to the Internet.

I hope that gets you connected again and if not write back with your specific model of Linksys router.

It’s certainly not intuitive, but you have to use Disk Utility to erase CD-RW and DVD-RW media. For years people have been complaining about this and Apple has never changed it. Using rewritable media this way is a pain and very un-Apple-like, but this is how you have to do it unless you buy additional software. To erase that DVD-RW, put the disc into your drive and open the Disk Utility application. Click once on the DVD-RW in the leftmost window pane of Disk Utility. Click Erase and select "Quick Erase." Then you should be able to write over your disc.

I am not a big fan of rewritable media. They have a limit to how many times you can rewrite them and they are prone to failure, just like floppy disks. I prefer CD-R/DVD-R backups because they are dated backups of my files. Their one time use forces me to have multiple copies of the same file. Sometimes it is an older copy, but if I have just lost a project file I will settle for an old copy over no copy any day.

Video artifacts can be the result of several causes. Drivers would be the first thing to check and the simplest fix. During your upgrades to this B&W PowerMac did you install a new video card? If you did, look for an updated video driver for OS X. Also look to see if the processor upgrade card you are using has two drivers. Perhaps one is for OS 9 and the other is for OS X, and only one was installed. Because the green lines are only displayed in OS X and not 9, it suggests a problem with just the OS X operating system. However a hardware problem can cause this as well. Bad video memory on your video card can result in symptoms like this. I have seen video RAM issues that only appear in OS X and not OS 9, so it would fit your experience. The only way to fix bad video RAM is to replace the card. However, before you go and buy a new video card, I would first check the next reasonable suspect. That last suspect is your firmware on the logic board. Follow this link to a list of firmware upgrades and check to make sure that you are up to date. If all else fails, replace your video card. The ATI 9200 is a good choice.

There are many Mac options for filling out PDF forms. Adobe has the most advanced support for PDF editing. There are Mac versions of Acrobat Standard and Professional. Adobe has trial versions of both. There is also an application called PDFpen. I have not used this, but it looks like it will work for what you want to do, and they offer a free demo so you can try it out.

One of those should work but there are many more available; a quick Google search showed dozens. Let me know if you need further suggestions.

PowerMax charges $90 an hour for service and it would probably take 30 minutes to determine what is wrong with your iBook. To check if the hard drive is the culprit you can try a few things. If you have another Mac you can try to boot your iBook off its hard drive. By holding down the “T” key when restarting, a Mac will boot into Target Disk mode. Then you can put a FireWire cable in between the iBook and the Target Disk Mac. The last step is to restart the iBook with the “Option” key held down. At that point you will be able to select the Target Disk Mac’s hard drive to boot off it. If it boots without problems off the other Mac’s hard drive, then you have found the source of the problem. It could be the OS install or the drive itself.

The other option is to boot off a software install DVD and try to format the hard drive and reinstall the operation system. If you do not own a copy, you can buy a used copy or a new version of OS X. When you boot off the install DVD, there will be a Utilities menu were you can find “Disk Utility.” Select Disk Utility and format the iBook’s hard drive, then install the OS. If the problem does not clear up, that means you have a hardware problem and need to send it in for service.

It does take significant work getting into the guts of a G4 iMac. It would not be impossible for you to do the job but I would not recommend it unless you have the proper tools and thermal paste. Here is a link to a take-apart article if you want to give it a try.

You should check to see if your drive is truly dead or just damaged. If Disk Utility will not fix the drive you can try Disk Warrior. Disk Warrior has saved many of my drives and is a great tool to keep around.

The other alternative would be to make an external FireWire drive your replacement drive. Any Mac compatible drive would work but I like LaCie drive. With an external FireWire drive on and connected you will be able to install an OS and set it as your default boot dive. Everything will work as normal even though it is on the external drive.

Other than RAM, you’re going to need software and firmware updates. If your mom has a fast Internet connection you can just bring the RAM. Otherwise, you should burn a disc with what you need and bring it with you. The most impotent thing to update is the iMac firmware. Here is a link to all the firmware updates needed to install OS. You will also want to get all the available OS 9 updates and the 10.3.9 Combo Update. All those items are free downloads from Apple’s website. As for RAM, there are two main types of G3 iMacs and each take a different type of RAM. For the best performance I would suggest you buy a 256MB stick of RAM. Anything more is not going to help much, but anything less is going to leave your mom’s system running slow. If the computer has a slot in the front the CD slides into, then you are going to want a full sized stick of PC133 RAM (PN R-PC133-256). If the iMac has a tray that comes out then you are going to need a SODIMM stick of RAM (PN R-WS-256). Also, if it is the latter iMac, you are going want detailed instructions on installing the RAM, as that model is hard to open. Here is a link to the instructions you will want to print out. That should take care of your mom.

Whether or not to upgrade your optical drive depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If cost is your primary concern, I would recommend just getting the CD set of Tiger. That’s going to be your cheapest option by far. The real reason to upgrade should be based on how long you plan to use this computer. More and more programs are going to come on DVD and one day Apple may not release OS updates on CDs. In the long term, you are probably going to want a DVD player and even a DVD burner. It may come to pass that you are planning on using the G3 as it is today and trading up in a year or two. In that case, you will not want or need an external optical drive as most newer systems have DVD players or DVD burners.

If you decide to get an external DVD drive, look for one that supports Mac booting. To install off a DVD it will have to be a supported external disc drive. I often recommend LaCie drives for compatibility.

Dot Mac has an effective Spam filter that catches much of the Spam sent daily. The problem is no matter how clever Apple is at filtering Spam, the senders of Spam are determined to get it to you. Their persistence is impossible to counter 100% of the time, and every so often they find a new way around Apple’s guard. What you are seeing could be the temporary success of the spammers. They will likely soon be caught and stopped, but it may take some action on your part as well. On the Dot Mac servers there are plenty of known Spam lists and special “intelligent” filters to look for Spam-like attributes. Mail that gets past those filters is then sent to your computer but not necessarily to you. Within the “Mail” application is additional Spam filtering tools. In the Mail Preferences is a “Junk Mail” section. There you can turn on filtering by checking the checkbox next to “Enable Junk mail filtering.” Work with the default settings for a little while and work to train the filters. “Mail” will learn about what you consider Spam and will start taking care of it automatically for you.

The reality is that we all get Spam, tons of it. Dot Mac just has been taking good care of it for the most part, but they can’t get it all the time. So lend Apple a hand and soon they will beat back the slimy Spammers. That is until Spammers find a new attack.

There are a few things that can cause an issue like what you described. It could be a loose cable in between the logic board and the display. It could also be a faulty cable shorting out. There is also a chance that your iBook is part of the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension. If you go HERE and check your serial number as described on that web page you will be able to determine if it is covered for repair. Apple could cover your repair and save you a good sum of money.

Take a look at the link and see if it saves the day, otherwise take it in for service.

I love O’Reilly books and their Missing Manual series is a good choice for most Mac users. You should look at Office 2004 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual By Mark Holt Walker, Franklin Tessler, and Paul Berkowitz. I think you will be happy with the way that the information is presented and the depth of knowledge that the authors demonstrate.

A display constantly going to sleep mode would indicate to me that the monitor is not getting any signal. The first step is to check the condition of the monitor and its cable. If you can, try the monitor with another known good computer. If it fails with another computer then it is a problem with the display and it is often best to just replace the display altogether. If the display works, then the next place to look is with the video connections. Sometimes it’s necessary to have an adapter between the computer and monitor cable. On old G3 computers, VGA displays need a special adapter to connect to the Mac. Sometimes they had dipswitches that could get knocked out of position. Other times the adapters had screw connectors that, if not tightened down, would keep the adapter from staying connected. Sometimes these adapters just go dead. I have even seen the adapters included with Mac minis die after only a few uses, so never assume that an adapter that has worked will always continue to work. If you are not using an adapter or you know it to be working, then the only other suspect would be the video card. Some models have removable video cards. If you can remove the video card, it’s best to pull it out and then reseat the card. If it was loose, that will put it right again and if the connectors were corroded then pulling it out and sliding it back in will clean the contact points. If the video port is part of your computer’s logic board, you may have to stop your work there. Many video problems with those computers require the replacement of the logic board.