Hey all-

I haven't been around much; busy with work and the baby...

jcmcb's (RIP) Folks just bestowed upon me his old iBook G4. While greatful for the gift, it doesn't boot. After pushing the power button, it turns on, goes to a gray screen with an apple logo and a "working" spinning thing, then the screen turns a lovely shade of sky blue, then nothing.

It sounds as if the hard drive stops spinning after the screen turns blue. I brought it to the Apple Store, and the "Genius" told me it would cost $290 and about four weeks to have it sent out and come back working. He thinks it's the logic board.

So... What can I do before shelling out the 300 bucks to get it repaired?

Also, the "Genius" suggested I back up the contents of the hard drive before sending it out, but how the crap can I do this if the damed thing won't boot?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

-c9