Powerbook Problem
According to Apple Computer, the problems that I have been having with my laptop is due to a bad third party memory. I installed the 512k memory about a year ago, so I don't think it had to do with the memory.
I have learned that an external Firewire hard drive works faster than an internal hard drive in a Powerbook. So I am going to put my newly purchased 40 GB hard drive into my Firwire case and use that as backup storage.
Powerbook Problems Summary:
For the past couple of months the computer was having problems booting the internal hard drive. I was able to boot the computer using a Firewire drive and the internal CD-ROM drive.