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iBook G4 password?

AiO_Inc.AiO_Inc.
edited August 2016 in Hardware
Decided to reinstall Mac OS on my iBook G4 and replaced the hard disk, but I inserted the wrong CD (disc 2 instead of 1) and couldn't eject it.

Reset the PMU, tried the eject command, nothing worked. Ended up going into the Open Boot Firmware to eject the cd with the command "eject cd," but it asks for a password like so:
  ok
0 > eject cd
Enter password:   Invalid!  ok
0 > _

How do I reset this or what can I do short of replacing the optical drive to get this disc out?

Comments

  • msorrimsorri
    Doesn't it have the little hole in the drive, that can be punched with a needle or a paperclip? I'd think that it would have... :?:

    Edit: Ah, nevermind. It's slot-loading. If you press left button in the touchpad while it's booting, it should come out. Hold it, power it on, and the disk should come out.


    -milo
  • AiO_Inc.AiO_Inc.
    msorri wrote:
    Doesn't it have the little hole in the drive, that can be punched with a needle or a paperclip? I'd think that it would have... :?:

    Edit: Ah, nevermind. It's slot-loading. If you press left button in the touchpad while it's booting, it should come out. Hold it, power it on, and the disk should come out.


    -milo

    There's only one mouse button, and I've already tried that.

    Yes, the drive is slot loading so there's no emergency eject hole.
  • garirrygarirry
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.
  • lhn555lhn555
    You can reset the Open Firmware password by holding down Command + Option + P + R. This resets the PRAM and, by doing so, gets rid of the password. Hold it until you hear 3 chime sounds. It should reboot.
  • AiO_Inc.AiO_Inc.
    garirry wrote:
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.

    I know the drive works because before my other hard disk died, it ejected and took in DVD-ROMs just fine (as well as read them, and even burned a CD-R once).

    Unfortunately, I have no way to install to a USB drive, any USB drives I can use for this purpose (unless a 256MB drive will work), and I'm not sure if the iBook G4 can start up from USB.

    I put the old drive back in and got the disc out just fine, then put the other drive in and now it refuses to start from the CD. Even when holding 'C' on the keyboard, it won't start form my Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger CD (which I downloaded from here and I used to install Tiger onto my PowerMac G5).

    P.S. I did reset the PRAM before this, but it didn't help. I'm not sure why, I never put a password on there myself...
  • lhn555lhn555
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    garirry wrote:
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.

    I know the drive works because before my other hard disk died, it ejected and took in DVD-ROMs just fine (as well as read them, and even burned a CD-R once).

    Unfortunately, I have no way to install to a USB drive, any USB drives I can use for this purpose (unless a 256MB drive will work), and I'm not sure if the iBook G4 can start up from USB.

    I put the old drive back in and got the disc out just fine, then put the other drive in and now it refuses to start from the CD. Even when holding 'C' on the keyboard, it won't start form my Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger CD (which I downloaded from here and I used to install Tiger onto my PowerMac G5).

    P.S. I did reset the PRAM before this, but it didn't help. I'm not sure why, I never put a password on there myself...
    Sometimes you have to keep holding them down and just let it do it in a loop a few times.
  • AiO_Inc.AiO_Inc.
    lhn555 wrote:
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    garirry wrote:
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.

    I know the drive works because before my other hard disk died, it ejected and took in DVD-ROMs just fine (as well as read them, and even burned a CD-R once).

    Unfortunately, I have no way to install to a USB drive, any USB drives I can use for this purpose (unless a 256MB drive will work), and I'm not sure if the iBook G4 can start up from USB.

    I put the old drive back in and got the disc out just fine, then put the other drive in and now it refuses to start from the CD. Even when holding 'C' on the keyboard, it won't start form my Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger CD (which I downloaded from here and I used to install Tiger onto my PowerMac G5).

    P.S. I did reset the PRAM before this, but it didn't help. I'm not sure why, I never put a password on there myself...
    Sometimes you have to keep holding them down and just let it do it in a loop a few times.

    To eject or boot the CD?

    The system still refuses to do either.
  • lhn555lhn555
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    lhn555 wrote:
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    garirry wrote:
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.

    I know the drive works because before my other hard disk died, it ejected and took in DVD-ROMs just fine (as well as read them, and even burned a CD-R once).

    Unfortunately, I have no way to install to a USB drive, any USB drives I can use for this purpose (unless a 256MB drive will work), and I'm not sure if the iBook G4 can start up from USB.

    I put the old drive back in and got the disc out just fine, then put the other drive in and now it refuses to start from the CD. Even when holding 'C' on the keyboard, it won't start form my Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger CD (which I downloaded from here and I used to install Tiger onto my PowerMac G5).

    P.S. I did reset the PRAM before this, but it didn't help. I'm not sure why, I never put a password on there myself...
    Sometimes you have to keep holding them down and just let it do it in a loop a few times.

    To eject or boot the CD?

    The system still refuses to do either.
    No, to get the password to go away.
  • AiO_Inc.AiO_Inc.
    lhn555 wrote:
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    lhn555 wrote:
    AiO_Inc. wrote:
    garirry wrote:
    Uh... if the mouse holding technique doesn't work, then are you sure this isn't something with the drive? Can you boot into a USB Mac OS X install and deal with it that way? Also make sure you are actually doing this correctly and make sure your mouse even works to begin with, that is, before bootup or after bootup but before chime start holding the button and do not release it until you see the Apple logo or disc (I mean, it has ALWAYS worked for me in the past, even with the worst drives). Also, you can try holding option on startup and eject using the eject button on the keyboard if you have one, that could work.

    I know the drive works because before my other hard disk died, it ejected and took in DVD-ROMs just fine (as well as read them, and even burned a CD-R once).

    Unfortunately, I have no way to install to a USB drive, any USB drives I can use for this purpose (unless a 256MB drive will work), and I'm not sure if the iBook G4 can start up from USB.

    I put the old drive back in and got the disc out just fine, then put the other drive in and now it refuses to start from the CD. Even when holding 'C' on the keyboard, it won't start form my Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger CD (which I downloaded from here and I used to install Tiger onto my PowerMac G5).

    P.S. I did reset the PRAM before this, but it didn't help. I'm not sure why, I never put a password on there myself...
    Sometimes you have to keep holding them down and just let it do it in a loop a few times.

    To eject or boot the CD?

    The system still refuses to do either.
    No, to get the password to go away.

    No such luck. The firmware password is still present.
  • wingzeroisminewingzeroismine
    Another great way to reset firmware passwords on Macs is to change the amount of memory in the system, if you have two sticks, remove one, if you have one stick, find a different sized one or add another.
    Booting up with a different amount of memory may clear it, once that's done you can install your memory again.
  • jestjest
    lhn555 wrote:
    You can reset the Open Firmware password by holding down Command + Option + P + R. This resets the PRAM and, by doing so, gets rid of the password. Hold it until you hear 3 chime sounds. It should reboot.


    You need to add/remove ram first
  • ezoolander33ezoolander33
    Well try your admin password when it asks if that doesn't work try the password password if that doesn't work try leaving it blank and if worst comes to worst the tray loader can pretty easly be opened with a phippep's head screws on the drive outer case although the last one can be dangerous if you not carefull
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