DssW - iBook

iBook battery dying...

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:23:02 -0500

Just over two years old as well :-(

I'm pretty sure it's dead anyway, I'm just trying a calibration, but
it's flattening at the rate of about 1% charge every minute or so. I'll
see how it does after the calibration, but I'm not too hopeful.

If it does, any ideas where the best (i.e. cheapest) place to get one?

--
Andy Hewitt
<http://web.me.com/andrewhewitt1/>

iMac C2Ds won't power up

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:51:35 -0500

I recently purchased 29 new iMac C2Ds and then went to Europe for 24
days. When I recently returned, I found two iMacs which won't start
up upon pressing the power button. Having seen similar behavior on an
iBook, I'm wondering if there is a trick to get the circuit's 5V of
standby voltage to actually do something.

iBook G4 replacement power adapter and battery

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:51:41 -0500

Hi all!
I have an old iBook G4 12" that needs a new power adapter and a new
battery.
I'd like to know if either of you have purchased what's to be found on
ebay?
Is it reliable harware (seems so anyway)?
Then what reference should I take?
Apple only sells 65W adapters now so should I go for a 65W adapter? Or
stick to the 45W (as it came out of the box)?
As for the battery, I guess I'll just follow whatever fits the
desciption...
Best regards,

Drive spins up every 15 minutes

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:56:22 -0500

I'm running 10.5.2 on a Core 2 Duo iMac.

Every 15 minutes I hear my Firewire drive spin up for some reason. It's
not on even 15-minute boundaries, so I assume it's tied to my boot or
login times.

It's not Time Machine, it only runs hourly.

I never noticed this happening with the iBook G4 running 10.4.11 that
this machine replaced.

Some third-party utilities I'm running that might be suspects are
SMARTReporter and Compost. But I was running them on the iBook, too.

I tried running fs_usage, to see if I could catch any unusual process
running when I hear it spin up, but nothing really stood out. I saw
Compost, but not at the times of the spin-ups.

I tried using the Energy Saver option not to spin down drives. This is
a little less annoying, since there's no spin-up whine, but I still hear
the sudden buzzing of the drive as it's being accessed.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***

Question about iBook (A1055) Batteries ---- OEM or not?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:13:58 -0500

I am a pc guy trying to help a friend replace their mac g4 iBook A1005
notebook battery.

What I am not sure of is how much to trust non-genuine apple replacements.
Does anyone have any trusted supplier of genuine and/or non-genuine
batteries? I am not at all sure whether to trust the "compatible with aaa,
bbb, ccc..." business, even when genuine apple.

Further, "all things being equal", what mA rating should is recommended?
4400ish? I just am not sure in the mac world.

Thanks!

Battery lock ring on iBook

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:00:22 -0500

I have an iBook G4. The lock on the battery compartment fell out, because
the plastic that holds it in tore away (I wasn't doing anything unusual!).
I've put masking tape over it to hold it in, but has someone had to deal
with this? I suspect Apple would make me replace the entire bottom case!

Ed

iBook G4 PMU

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:12:36 -0500

The way I understand it.. Install a new, fresh battery. Wait about a minute before pressing the PMU reset. The PMU needs a good battery to function proprely.

--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------
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-= Get GrabIt for free from http://www.shemes.com/ =-

iBook G4 Battery Question

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:25:58 -0500

Would a bad battery prevent the laptop from operating normally when
the AC adapter is connected, or should the laptop switch to the
external power no matter what the state of the battery?

Thanks.

Battery problems with clamshell iBook

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:33:54 -0500

About four or five months ago I replaced the completely dead battery on
our clamshell iBook with a third-party one, before the machine was
donated to extended family.

Recently it's stopped holding charge properly, but despite it being from
a Chinese eBay seller, I am not completely sure that it's just a crappy
quality battery.

Troubleshooting it, I have discovered that after a reset (using the
little penhole reset button, not just a power cycle) it will happily
charge for approx one percentage point (ie 12% to 13%) then stop. The
light surrounding the power cable goes green like it's fully charged,
and it no longer takes in more power, but both battery diagnostic
software (I forget which, now) and the battery meter in the menubar show
it as only partially charged.

This behaviour happens whether the machine is on or off. I can even have
the machine turned off on the table, watch the power ring turn green,
hit reset, and see the power light turn orange and stay orange for a few
minutes. Doing this and then turning on will show it to have increased
charge by two percentage points.

This machine has a history of funniness with charging. Sometimes it
won't power on unless the reset button is pressed and held for a few
seconds while connected to power, and the power ring is always glowing
slightly green when unplugged from the power (a short somewhere?).

Aside from resetting the PRAM (which I have already done) or throwing
good money after bad by buying a new battery only to find the fault lies
with the iBook, an anyone suggest what I might try to either fix it or
at least work out whether the problem is with the battery or the iBook?

-z-

--
No 3G. Fewer megapixels than an N95. Lame.

Overseas travel with iBook - following up

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 16:13:37 -0500

In article <barbschaller-EA7AC4.21064110092007@news.iphouse.com>,
Melba's Jammin' <barbschaller@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I'ma going to Italia soon. What *exactly* do I have to do or have in
> order to use and not fry my iBook G4 whilst in hotel?
>
> Be nice; I'm old. Thank you.

I returned last night from a week in Tuscany and the Italian Riviera.
Woo-hoo! My iBook performed like a champ with the use of the "Europe"
electrical adapter plug purchased from Target for about $8. It also
worked while plugged into a Airbus A330 during the flight home.

The plane connection was not without a hitch. I was plugged in but
wasn't getting any juice. Didn't pay a lot of attention to it, though,
because I could do what I wanted to do. When I got to 20% of battery
strength I asked a flight attendant about it. Long story short:
there's a note in the NWA in-flight magazine thing that says the plug
may have to be removed and simply plugged in again if there's a problem.
Worked like a charm and I continued to do what I needed to do. :-)
(Italy was beautiful, btw, and the food and wine were so fine.)

Thank you again for your advise.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Dinner at Yummy! 9-15-2007 Pictures included.

Wake from sleep

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:12:40 -0500

Occasionaly, when I wake my iBook by opening the lid, it seems OK for a
few seconds then the screen goes blank. I press the return key and the
mouse button and I am back in business in a few sceonds. Total time
lost is something less that about six seconds.

No big deal but I wondor how unusual this is and why it is happening.
--
Alan Spitz

Overseas travel with iBook

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:44:51 -0500

I'ma going to Italia soon. What *exactly* do I have to do or have in
order to use and not fry my iBook G4 whilst in hotel?

Be nice; I'm old. Thank you.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
For your listening pleasure: http://www.am1500.com/pcast/80509.mp3 --
from the MN State Fair, 8-29-07

Wake iBook over internet?

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:02:18 -0500

I'd like to wake my iBook from sleep over the internet (so I can use
Log Me In). It's usually password protected for wake-from-sleep.
Googling hasn't supplied any answers - I guess I'm out of luck?

Mark

Apple ibook G4 - close lid but won't sleep!

Fri, 25 May 2007 19:57:33 -0500

My computer ibook G4 shuts down itself automatically everytime when I
either close the lid or put it to sleep. It used to be fine but now I
have to push the power on to restart in order to use my computer. If I
leave the lid up, it shuts down itself after a while anyway. It is
realy annoying. What's wrong with the system? Is the problem related
to the networking in the system panel. I just changed the length of
time for the computer to remain connected when the internet is
inactive.

IBook G3 Power problem

Fri, 04 May 2007 09:36:54 -0500

Anyone willing to help with a power problem.
I'm trying to get a used IBook G3 to powerup (got such a deal LOL)
I've checked the power suppy w/a meter it reads 24VDC
The power cord lights up when I plug it into the laptop, no other
signs of life.
I've pressed the reset button (above the headphone jack) with power
cord disconnected
Also lifted the keyboard to look for any obvious damage.
Also removed the battery and tried reset and powerup

Any options besides opening it up?
Any advice about taking it apart.........no taking for service is not
an option

Thanks in advance for the help

BubbleHead

power input board

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:39:14 -0500

Nope, My iBook's not Charging, I'm really starting to Hate my Mac,
Because form what I saw on anther post, this could Cost a a lot...

So My Problem is, My iBook G3 Won't charge, Well from the title you
probaly guessed that. I started up My iBook to install a New HP
printer, So it got done, And i turned off my iBook. I came back to use
it later and Pressed the Button on the Battery to see how much charge
there was and If I needed to take the AC with me, And the 4 green
lights wouldn't work. I plugged it in to see what was wrong, I loged
in And Where the battery info it There was a "x" inside the battery. I
took the battery out and put it back in, and The AC adapter light goes
from Green to red And The Battery Has the Little Plug in it, the
battery says 0% full, And about five Mins. latter it turns back to the
"x".

It's not the AC adapter, I know this for sure, So it's the battery or
the iBook.

Can anyone help Me? This time I really don't know what to do.

(iBook G3, 10.3.9, 128MB Ram, 30GB HD, 12"in., Dual USB, Firewire,
800MHz)

____________________________________

::UPDATE::

i think That there is something wrong with the power input board.

The Logic board went through the program a few years back, So I don't
think it's the logic board.

iBook HD - wake noise?

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:33:36 -0500

What is the noise that I hear as my iBook wakes from sleep/starts up? It
certainly makes more noise than my old G3 iBook. For the life of me the only
thing I can think of it resembles is a car revving..!

Mark

iBook power plug polarity

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:16:06 -0500

Well, that's just part of the question.

First, some context. I have a Kensington universal car/air adapter for
my G4 iBook. That's what lets me plug my iBook into a car cigarette
lighter port, or an airplane seat port. In this Kensington adaptor,
the DC-DC converter part is separate from the big fat plug that goes
into those ports. So, stupid me, when I pulled it from by airplane
seat, I left the big fat plug behind in the seat outlet.

Now, I would like to just cut off the connector that Kensington uses
to connect to their own "big fat plug" (the one I left behind), and
hardwire one on (saving me about $70 minus the $1 cost of the big fat
plug). But I want to make sure to get the polarity right. The rather
weird Kensington connector oddly has two large pins (which are
connected to the cable) and two small pins which are not. Anyone know
which is +12 and which is ground? (One of the two large pins on that
connector has what appears, though the clear plastic housing, to be
connected to the cable core, and the other to the sheath, which might
be a strong clue. Am I going to destroy the Kensington DC-DC converter
by getting my +12 and ground reversed on its input?

Another way to do it is just to hook it up, hope for the best, and see
what comes out the iBook end of the Kensington power cable. But what
am I supposed to see there on that jack? From some fragmentary
discussion I've seen, the 2-conductor pin (inside the shield) has +24
on the inner part of the shaft, and ground on the outer part. The
shield powers the little light in the connector, and I figure if I get
the shaft polarity right, that will be OK by default.

Is this right? http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/guides/hw/ibook/pjack/

I guess I can handle killing my adapter, but I really don't want to
kill my iBook.

Thanks

ibook battery not charging

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:09:55 -0500

Hi, I have a new ibook (intel core duo ones) and i forgot it swiched
on runing just on the battery last night, this mornig when I incerted
the power plug and restarted it appears with the charging light green
all the time and the battery icon with a x. The battery is not
charging at all so when I plug off the power it swiches off and it=B4s
seems not be recognizing the battery. Please give me some advise, the
labtop is new!!
Thanks

iBook 500 MHz G3 - now sleeps on battery

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:24:56 -0500

Marc Heusser wrote:
> In article
> <paul.sture.nospam-50F039.18571129012007@mac.sture.homeip.net>,
> Paul Sture <paul.sture.nospam@hispeed.ch> wrote:
>
>>> Is it likely that (if this does not happen soon again) this remains a
>>> single incident, or do I have to plan for a new machine?
>>>
>> iBook 600 MHz G3 here, and that happened to me back in July 2003. I've
>> only needed to reset it once since then.
>
> Unfortunately it did develop another problem now: I can start it all
> well while connected to the mains power. As soon as I pull the plug, it
> goes to sleep, and I cannnot wake it unless I reconnect the power
> adapter. The battery is full, and less than 1 year old.
>
> Any ideas of whether this is repairable with little effort and how?
>
Sounds like Power Management again. A hail-mary might be to do a
complete NVRAM reset. Search for "nvram-reset" on Apple Support.
Basically, we want to boot into OpenFirmware and run the two commands to
reset the iBook to factory settings.

There is a chance the battery, while still holding a charge, is failing
in some manner. It may not be telling the iBook it has a charge.

Hint: don't run the iBook with a full charge all the time. A laptop
likes to be used like a laptop, with the battery being partially a few
times a day.

iBook 500 MHz G3 - does not fully recognize battery

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:27:40 -0500

In article <1hsqx1c.2ic8p5c2otvkN%matt@tidbits.com>,
matt@tidbits.com (matt neuburg) wrote:

> > Unfortunately it did develop another problem now: I can start it all
> > well while connected to the mains power. As soon as I pull the plug, it
> > goes to sleep, and I cannnot wake it unless I reconnect the power
> > adapter. The battery is full, and less than 1 year old.
>
> I've seen this (with a different model). I never solved it. :( The
> computer just stops knowing that the battery is there. You might try
> cleaning the contacts with the eraser end of a pencil... It may be that
> the battery has gone bad (despite its relative youth). m.

I did notice it did not recognize the battery - the menu bar symbol with
the cross in the battery. Cleaning contacts made that go away, it shows
the battery as being charged (even though the charger still charges -
yellow light), and 0% - there is definitely something wrong here.
I did all the reset-nvram and reset-all in open firmware.

Looks like it is time for a new one ... The battery was exchanged by
Apple on the exchange programme - I'd guess from the behaviour that the
charger actuall charges the battery ok, but the computer seems not to
recognize the battery, at least it behaves as if it was not there.
Not bad - 6 years for a portable.

Thank you for your help.

Marc

--
Switzerland/Europe
<http://www.heusser.com>
remove CHEERS and from MERCIAL to get valid e-mail

MacBook loses WiFi connection when going to sleep.

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 04:01:57 -0500

My wife's MacBook (and her iBook before it) loses its wifi connection to our
cable modem when it goes to sleep, so she must log on again, with a
password, even if she just had the computer closed for a few minutes. This
may be a "feature" but it's an annoying one for her. Is there a way for the
computer to log back on automatically (a script or something?) when it wakes
up?

TIA
Paul T. (pstarantino AT comcast DOT net)

Control fan of G4 iBook

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 09:19:25 -0500

Does anyone know a way of manually controlling or configuring the fan
of an iBook G4 ? Presumably this would work for the Powerbook as well.
In my case I know there is a fan, and I know it works because my 10.3
install cd turns it on full blast whenever I boot from it. My problem
is that I am frequently encoding large music files or doing long
computations and the machine gets too hot. I use reduced CPU to keep
it cool, but I would prefer to run the fan. Earlier versions of 10.3
seemed to turn the fan on at around 60 C (internal temp), but 10.3.9
doesn't seem to turn it on at all. I have let it get up to 75C, which
is insane.

Does anybody know what I can do about this ? I have tried hacking the
Info.plist in the AppleFan extension, however it had no effect (see
this thread: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=238961 note:
early posts contain errors, so be sure to read into the thread). One
guy there even went as far as recompiling AppleFan.kext with modified
values however he reports no difference (timmer on page 11, see also
tokyovigilante on page 9 for the hypothesis about how the fans are
controlled).

If someone knows of an app to configure or even just run the fans, I
would be very grateful to hear of it. Otherwise, does anyone know for
sure how the fans in iBooks and Powerbooks are actually controlled ? I
would appreciate any help or expertise.

Thanks,
Roman

sudden Mac battery failure

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:14:54 -0500

Walked up to my G4 iBook today and found battery indicator with an X
over it. Unplugged the power cord, and it instantly died. Whoa. I had
100% yesterday, and as of a few days ago documented several hours worth
of time available on this battery. I did the usual PMU resets, etc. as
recommended by Apple, and the battery indicator merely ended up with a
rock hard 0%.

Ran out to get a new battery (wondering about the cost of logic boards
as I did ...), and everything is fine.

Now, OK, this was a 2-3 year old battery, but my understanding was that
these things die more or less gradually. Now, the thing didn't swell,
or go up in smoke (it is not on the recall list) but just cratered
relatively suddenly. Is this the norm? I really don't want to keep an
extra battery around in case it dies on Sunday nite and I have a big
need for the machine on Monday.

G3 800MHz 12in iBook battery and converters

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 10:58:24 -0500

Hi, a few very basic questions regarding a G3 800MHz 12in iBook.

1. Does the battery have a 'memory'? That is, should I run it right
down regularly?

2. As it's mostly a static machine, is it better to leave it plugged in
pretty much permanently? If so, anyh chance of lightning damage?

3. As I'm new to OSX, do I still need graphics and text converters or
is the OSX software capable of doing most/all such conversions?

TIA,
Grahame

PS: this has been unsuccessfully asked elsewhere - can I get a .pdf
manual for it? (or does the Apple Help pretty much cover most/all of
the stuff a manual would?)

Strange iBook sleep behavior ...

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 16:31:58 -0500

I have a 20 month old G4 iBook. I often shut the lid to put it to sleep
when I'm away for a bit. Sometime lately I can hear the hard disk
spinning up and down, and the system making the sounds it normally
makes when waking up, then it shuts back down, wakes back up, etc.
Repeatedly, all while the lid is still closed and I'm not touching it.
Any ideas? Should I reset the PMU?

Thanks very much in advance for all advice on this, have a great day!

Chris
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/

iBook not shutting down?

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 04:01:45 -0500

Hello

just had a panicked phone call from my colleague in Edinburgh - she had
tried to plug in a zip drive into her iBook (10.4.*) working on a 44mB
file (!) which then apparently took a fair while. She started to worry,
tried to kill processes, didn't work. She panicked even more, pulled out
the zip drive and got the error message saying she should have ejected
the drive properly. She then unplugged all the cords and did a hard
reset.

Now she's left with a desktop that's empty, not even the Hard Drive
icon. She can start Mail, but that's about it. When trying to shut down
the Mac the iBook just hangs and doesn't close down.

Anything I can tell her to do?

Thanks

Norbert

iBook delayed finding cable upon waking after 10.4.8

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 15:30:34 -0500

Anyone else getting this? My iBook used to be online immediately as it
woke from sleep; lately (since around the time of the 10.4.8 ) it's been
taking 30 secs or so to reconnect to my cable internet. iBook G4.

thanks for any ideas,

Rog

Replacing Lombard PRAM?

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:18:49 -0500

I am having a problem replacing the pram battery on my Lombard. I have
done it twice in the past on my Wallstreet with no problem. However, the
Lombard is presenting a problem. The guides I find show that once the
keyboard is flipped open the battery is visible for removal. But in my
Lombard there is a metal plate completely covering the battery area that I
cannot figure out how to remove. Has anyone else ever come across this?

Thanks,
MK

Apple Powerbook Battery Recall

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:54:50 -0500

Hi all

Below is a copy of an e-mail I just received from Apple in regards to a
recall on batteries for some Powerbook models

Dear Apple Customer:

Apple has determined that certain lithium-ion rechargeable batteries
containing cells manufactured by Sony Corporation of Japan pose a
safety risk that may result in overheating. The affected batteries were
sold worldwide, in systems and separately, from October 2003 through
August 2006 for use with the following computers: 12-inch iBook G4,
12-inch PowerBook G4, 15-inch PowerBook G4.

Apple is voluntarily recalling the affected batteries and has initiated
a worldwide exchange program to provide you with a new replacement
battery, free of charge. This program is being conducted in cooperation
with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other
international safety authorities.

Issue: The affected batteries could overheat, posing a fire hazard.
Apple received nine confirmed reports in the United States of these
batteries overheating. Apple urges you to stop using your battery and
to order a replacement battery immediately. After removing the recalled
battery from the iBook or PowerBook, you should plug in the AC adapter
to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

Product: Please use the chart below to identify the battery model and
serial numbers that apply to your iBook or PowerBook. If the first 5
digits of your battery's 12-digit serial number fall within the noted
ranges, please order a replacement battery immediately. To view the
model and serial numbers labeled on the bottom of the battery, you must
remove the battery from the computer. The battery serial number is
printed in black or dark gray lettering beneath a barcode.

No other Apple notebook computers are affected by this recall.
Computer model

Battery model number

Battery serial number range

12-inch iBook G4

A1061

ZZ338 - ZZ427
3K429 - 3K611
6C519 - 6C552 ending with S9WA, S9WC, or S9WD

12-inch PowerBook G4

A1079

ZZ411 - ZZ427
3K428 - 3K611

15-inch PowerBook G4

A1078 and A1148

3K425 - 3K601
6N530 - 6N551 ending with THTA, THTB, or THTC
6N601 ending with THTC

Note: If your battery's serial number does not match any of the ranges
listed above, you do not have to exchange your battery.
What to do: To begin the battery exchange process, go to the Apple
website at http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram. You will be asked
for the serial number of your computer, the serial number of your
battery, and a ship-to address. After serial number verification, a new
battery will be shipped to you free of charge. You may exchange up to
three batteries through the website. When you receive the replacement
battery, please use the same shipping packaging and the included
prepaid shipping label to return the recalled battery to Apple for
proper disposal. If you do not have access to the website listed above,
you can call Apple at 800-275-2273 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,
central standard time, seven days a week, for further assistance.

Thank you for your cooperation with this exchange program.

Apple