We have a G5 mac from 2008 (?) that starts and has a normal desktop

[marzipanni]

but as soon as I click on anything the beachball spins.

Does this always mean it's the end of the hard drive's life expectancy?

[PJMcK]

1. A couple of thoughts

I hate to get rid of old computers when they (and the software) still work. But then the files can be difficult to transport to colleagues so the machine is only usable by me.

Anyway, do you have the original System CD's? I think you can boot the G5 using the CD: if you restart the machine with the CD in the drive while holding down the letter "C," the computer will use the System on the CD rather than the installed System to boot up. Do you know which Operating System you were running? Using the CD, you should be able to re-install the OS.

It's remotely possible that Apple still supports your OS. Try this Support page to search for any applicable updates:

http://www.apple.com/support/mac/

You can try calling Apple Support (1-800-MY-APPLE) but they're pretty sketchy. If you hard drive is finished, I don't know if you can get a replacement for such an old (!) computer. But, if you have a local authorized Apple repair center or Apple Store, they can tell you what options you have.

Good luck, marzipani.

[marzipanni]

4. I have tried to start with a OSX (Leopard) disk which is the 10.5 series

holding down the "C" key. The computer was running 10.5.8 I think. My husband tried to re-install from that disk, but it said, "12 minutes remaining", and the progress bar hung up part way through. He left it for 40 minutes and it didn't move.

The same happened when I tried Disk Utility>repair disk. The progress bar gets halfway through then stops, or the bar looks like a horizontal spinning blue barber shop pole, and the beachball spins.

Thanks for your reply. Maybe something is wrong with the disk or disk drive.

[PJMcK]

2. Try this site

After posting, I found this site:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/index-powermac-g5.html

They may have helpful information.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. The HD is working well enough to boot up ... sounds more like some system files corrupted.

If you can boot from an OSX Install CD, try running the Disk Utility from the CD. Verify the hard disk, run "Repair" if necessary. If that doesn't fix it, back up all your files and re-install the OS.

The hard drive should be SATA, which is what most current models are. Replacements of the same size as the original should be dirt cheap (< $20).

It never hurts to check the cables, either.

(Power Mac G5 was discontinued in 2006, BTW -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Mac_G5)

[marzipanni]

5. It gets stuck partway through verify disk, then the ball spins.

I turned it off and chose disk repair, and it does the same. As I said to PJMcK, maybe the disk or disk drive/reader are bad. I'll try polishing the disk.
Thanks for your reply.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Yeah, that's not good. Back up everything you can.

If you have an external (USB, FireWire, etc.) case you might try moving the disk to there and running Disk Tools again. Surprisingly, some disk problems on older Macs (older than G5, IIRC) magically disappeared when the internal HD was disconnected, then reconnected. Happened to me with an old ... um ... PowerBook, I think, and one desktop of the "Beige" generaton. Of course, that's not much better than saying "maybe you'll get lucky", but it *might* be worth trying.