DssW - Power supply

Battery lifespan on PowerBook?

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:54:27 -0500

How long is it reasonable to expect a battery to last? (15" PowerBook G4.)
My first battery started to show signs of aging after about a year and a
half (the computer no longer gave a "low battery" warning but just quit most
unceremoniously after a couple of hours of use). My second battery is now
showing the same signs after about year -- it says it's gone through 128
cycles. The machine is plugged in most of the time but tends to be used a
couple of hours a day on just the battery -- I have to admit I don't
remember the last time I intentionally fully discharged it, but it certainly
doesn't feel to me like it's happened a couple of times a week, which is
what that cycle count says. Right now it's fully charged but if I pull the
plug it says I only have 2.5 hours of battery usage left (full brightness,
wifi on, bluetooth off, doing nothing.) Says full charge capacity 3287mAh,
but remaining capacity (right after unplugging) 3263.

--
Ted Lee
Minnetonka, MN

PB G4 Ti Battery evaluation ?

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:15:57 -0500

Is there a way to determine if a PowerBook G4 Ti's battery is gone or if
it is another problem?

Battery percentage stays at 0%.

If battery is gone, is there a "best" place to purchase a replacement?

Thanks in advance.

Wallstreet PB G3 Series Battery Issue

Sat, 03 May 2008 10:14:03 -0500

Back when my Wallstreet PB was fairly young, the battery appeared to die
prematurely. However a replacement battery had the same symptoms. It
turned out that there was a bad power control module. I ended up with
two good batteries.

Recently both old batteries appeared to be dead. After trying Battery
Reset on both, only one was recognized and took a full charge. Then
with no other action, the second battery was later recognized and also
took a full charge.

The problem appears to be intermittent. Sometimes the Wallstreet
recognizes the battery, and sometimes it doesn't. (It will work on a
fully charged battery, even when not "recognized".)

Two other intermittent problems have appeared. The fan may come on when
the computer gets warm, but it may not, even when too hot to touch. And
the computer may recognize the SCSI disk mode adapter or it may not.

Can anyone tell me if all three problems (battery charging, fan turn-on
and SCSI disk mode) could be explained by a bad power control module?
Or, is the only common factor the main logic board?

Fred

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!

MacBook Pro Battery Life

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:25:53 -0500

My MBP battery seems to be running out of juice more than it did and
Coconut Battery monitor says it is now down to 54% capacity. At what
point is it recommended to change the replace the battery. The machine
itself is 16 months old.

The problem this evening was that I had very little time between the
low battery warning and the machine going to sleep to protect the
battery. This is what I recall happening with my 12" PBook and it
rapidly got a lot worse from that point.
--
Cheers,

Steve

The reply-to email address is a spam trap.
Email steve 'at' shodgson 'dot' org 'dot' uk

Remote shutdown

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:23:54 -0500

Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:

> I have a requirement to remotely shut down my Mac Mini (when the machine
> that's monitoring the UPS decides there's not enough battery left).
>
> Is there any reason why I (or rather, the script) shouldn't ssh to it and
> issue the appropriate "shutdown" command? Or is there a more Mac-ish way
> of doing this?

ARD will let you shut down from the Apple menu.

One way street though,

Jan

12-volt car power adapter

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:50:16 -0500

JohnOK <jmhufford@gmail.com> writes:

>I see that Apple offers a product, Magsafe-Airline-Adapter, for powering
>the Macbook while flying but Apple warns against using this product in a
>car.

>So, are there third-party 12-volt car power adapters for the Macbook?

AFAIK, no. Apple has refused to license the Magsafe design to anyone
that makes such adapters.

Also, that Apple unit does NOT charge the battery; it only powers
the box. I suspect it produces only one of the two outputs the usual
"elephant ears" 120V adapter/charger has.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

Battery Life and Leopard

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:12:55 -0500

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed a drop in battery life
with leopard installed. I have an original core duo macbook so the
battery is aging anyway and im wondering if im imagining a sudden drop
in life after installing leopard or wether the battery is just on its
way out.

Cheers

Jackslash

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.

12-volt car adapter

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:06:43 -0500

I'm seriously considering replacing my Windoze based Dell laptop with a
MacBook. One of the things I do with my laptop is use it as a navigation
device while driving my RV back and forth across the country. I have a 12-
volt adapter that I plug into the 12-volt accessory socket to keep the
laptop perking along for the 8 to 10 hours I'm on the road each day.

I see that Apple offers a product, Magsafe-Airline-Adapter, for powering
the Macbook while flying but Apple warns against using this product in a
car.

So, are there third-party 12-volt car power adapters for the Macbook?

MacBook Pro Battery utility?

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:16:02 -0500

Woody <usenet@alienrat.co.uk> wrote:

> Flavio Matani <flavio_mataniTAKETHISBITOUT@mac.com> wrote:
>
> > Ian Robinson <junk@canicula.invalid> wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, 1 Jan 2008 11:33:53 +0000, Ian Robinson wrote
> > > (in article <0001HW.C39FD5A10001E9D3B01AD9AF@news.gradwell.net>):

<snip info on battery charge from System Profiler>
> > >
> > > Time to dump it in the battery recycling bin.
> >
> > So it would seem. The one in my macbook, which is holding charge
> > 'nominally' for an hour (much less than half as new and it is not an
> > hour, please read on) and which has taken, in spite of PMMU resets, etc,
> > to shutting down without warning when it reads about 25 min remaining,
> > reads:
>
> Sabs lasts longer than that, but it does shut down randomly without
> warning.
>
> How old is yours then? We got hers (or mine as it was) a couple of weeks
> after they were released.

Same here.

--
flavio matani
guitar tuition
homepage.mac.com/flavio_matani/guitar/
www.livejournal.com/users/flavius_m/

Brand New Macbook Pro Battery - $40.00

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:20:59 -0500

I have two MacBook Pro Batteries that I'm trying to sell. They are
both brand new and still sealed in their packages.

Here is the flyer I've been putting up.

Genuine Apple Battery For MacBook Pro 15" Notebooks

Brand New & Still Sealed!

According to the Apple Store: This battery is a 10.8V 5500mAh,
60-watt-hour-rechargeable lithium polymer battery which provides up to
4.5 hours of operation depending on battery saving features used and
system configuration.

Fits the following Apple Aluminum Macbook Pro 15.4" models:

* 15.4 inch 1.83 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.0 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.16 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.2 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.33 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.4 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)
* 15.4 inch 2.6 Ghz (Matt or Glossy Widescreen Display)

Including Model Numbers: A1175, MA348G/A, MA463LL/A, MA464LL/A,
MA600LL/A, MA680LL/A, MA601LL, MA466LL/A, MA681LL/A

1 Battery is $40.00 or if you want two I will sell them to you for $75.00.

Email me if you are interested: NOSPAMhartmATipfw.edu

Remove the NOSPAM and replace AT with @ (but you knew that). :-)

Mark

will powerbook uk plug adaptor fit airport express?

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:12:33 -0500

As per heading. I'm thinking of bidding for an airport express which
only has a US plug. Will the (white) adaptor from my powerbook power
pack fit this? It looks as if it might, but I can't be sure...

TIA

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"He can't be as stupid as he looks, but nevertheless he probably
is quite a stupid man." Richard Dawkins on Pres. Bush"

Recommended UPS?

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:07:07 -0500

My power has just gone down *again* (third time this week) and I've finally
decided it's time to get myself a UPS.

Unfortunately for me, I know nothing about UPS's so can anyone recommend
something that would support two computers for a minute or so?

TIA

Powerbook G4 battery buying advice

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:10:16 -0500

Hello,

My PowerBook G4 (15" ABook) battery has decided to give up the ghost.
I've been looking for a replacement. Apple want =A389.99 for it, and the
Newertechnology one is pretty much the same price.

However, I've found a site called www.au-battery.com/ who only want
=A325.23 for what looks to be the same battery.

Obviously, I'm concerned that this price is too good to be true.

Has anyone any experience of this company?
Or any other recommendations for places to buy PowerBook batteries?

advice on a UPS and surge protector

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:39:56 -0500

A recent power outage has convinced me that it would be a good idea to
consider a surge protector and uninterruptible power supply. Does
anyone have recommendations on what to look for? Is there any reason to
buy both a surge protector and UPS?

iPod Touch battery life - severe disappointment

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:56:32 -0500

I picked up a 16GB model from the Regent Street store yesterday.

I love the user interface, the mobile Safari browser etc.

The battery life, however, is unacceptable. It's appalling. Leads me
to think Apple have rushed out an unfinished product. People always
say never buy a Rev-1 product. I guess this is why.

MacBook Pro battery drain while sleeping

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:20:49 -0500

Put my machine to sleep last night with 41% reading on the battery.
Didn't use it at all, up this morning and it's reading 0%. In fact it
initially refused to switch on, though I'm typing using my allegedly 0%
battery right now.

It definitely went to sleep - I had the pulsing LED on the front. Any
idea what could be causing that kind of drain?

(if it's accurate of course - 0% detected but it's still going fine at
the moment and has been for about ten minutes now)

Cheers,
Ian

What to Do With Battery That Just Arrived

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:57:30 -0500

I have a PowerBook G4 15" aluminum that is a bit over four years ago. About
a week and a half ago, the battery began to appear to act a little erratically
(this is the second battery that I've had) according to coconutBattery, with
capacity dropping to about 75%. Concerned that the battery was about to die
on me, I ordered another battery from Apple, which arrived today.

However, the situation with the battery appeared to stabilize, and the battery
is no longer showing signs of impending doom. My question is: with the new
battery, would it degrade if I let it sit in the box for a while before
starting to use it? Or should I wait until the current battery get a little
worse before starting to use the new one?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

battery backup units

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:50:21 -0500

I just bought my first-ever battery backup unit (an APC brand 750A
model). The inspection sheet taped to it is dated 11-17-05. Is this
normal? Is the battery as good as new when it's been sitting on a shelf
for two years? (One terminal needed to be connected by me, the consumer,
per the instructions.)

17" MacBook Pro Battery

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:07:16 -0500

My 17" MacBook Pro Battery has swelled to over double its original
thickness. The system is 18mths old.
I am running 10.4.10 and have always kept the updates current.
Has anyone else had these problems? Are they the same issues as for the
recall on the 15" machines?

30 year batteries, anyone?

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:18:41 -0500

<http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-betavoltaic-10.1.html>

Cheers,
Ian

battery problem

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:19:50 -0500

Hi.

Running Mac OS X 10.4.10 on a MacBook Pro 15" (Intel Core Duo)...

When running off the battery: At 40% remaining, the machine goes
black and shuts down completely. There's no warning or low battery
alert. The computer is *not* asleep; a hard reboot is necessary to
bring it back to life.

We have attempted to condition the battery by putting the Mac into
sleep mode until there's no more juice, and then completely recharging
the battery. Despite this, the problem persists.

Does this mean that we need a new battery? Or is something else going
on here?

Many thanks!

--
Art Werschulz (agw STRUDEL comcast.net)
207 Stoughton Ave Cranford NJ 07016
(908) 272-1146

Vibrations, cooler and mac

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:51:35 -0500

HI, I've just bought Belkin one-fan cooler to put under my MacBook
Pro (sometimes it heats up a loooot).
It seems to work, but I noticed that the cooler slightly vibrates with
high frequency and those vibrations transmmits onto the Mac. So I was
wondering whether this can bring any kind of micro or macro damage to
the machine? (Yeah I know this may sound stupid - if it does I
apologize) Any sensible opinions on that?

Also when i'm at it, do you think there is a sense in using the
cooler. I mean the bottom case heats up so much that it burns, but
it's been always like that, so maybe that is what is suppose to be?

Thanks,
Michal

G3 iMac and Battery

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 10:54:48 -0500

500 mhz G3 iMac. OSX 103.9. The date and time were not holding. I
checked the battery, although installed correctly, it was dead. I
replaced the battery with a new one that checked out at 3.6 volts. The
iMac refused to bootup! I scratched my head, and on a whim, I installed
the new battery opposite from the correct position. The computer now
starts and runs fine, but it doesn't hold the date and time again. The
+ and - battery terminal positions are displayed prominently on the
board holder. And as I said above, I know the old battery was installed
correctly.

Any ideas?

UPS

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:50:34 -0500

Hi All,

I am about to buy an APC UPS, can't decide on either a CS 500 or RS 800.
iMac 24, second 20" monitor, external 500GB HD are all I am concerned
about at the mo. Don't really need extended work time, just safe
shutdown execution time; but multiple recovery in the course of the day
is occasionally an issue.

Anyone have experience with these?

regards

Chris

Testing Safe Sleep

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:36:43 -0500

I'm about to install some extra RAM in my MBP. I wonder what will happen
if I let it safe sleep, pop the battery, install the RAM and turn it
back on...

Will it restore the state, but not notice the extra RAM?
Will it restore and recognise the RAM?
Will it attempt to restore then crash?
Will it just go through the normal boot sequence?

I'm going to do it in about an hour, so... place your bets... NOW!!!

-zoara-

--
defecation occurs

battery for 12inch powerbook

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 05:16:13 -0500

okay after 4and a half years and over 1500 load cycles the battery is
fairly knackered it doesn't tend to last much below 50%

are any of the copies any good? it's my main machine so would be nice
for it to be moble again.

roger

Uninterruptible power supply

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:15:38 -0500

Lately, for reasons unknown (and my electrician reckons unknowable
without *major* testing) my earth leakage circuit breaker trips
occasionally and takes out all my power. So I am thinking of getting a
UPS, but finding it quite difficult to get the full details of
connections, etc.

It isn't my computer itself that concerns me, as this is a laptop, but
external hard drives that may be working when the power goes. I am quite
happy to have my machine shut down, so that the hard drives will also
spin down normally.

Things that concern me.

1. APC is well thought of, but its own software seems poor. I gather
that when I have a UPS connected there will be a setting in Energy Saver
inviting me to shut down the machine automatically after a certain time
on battery. I take it that this will automatically save open files. I am
likely to be away from the computer at the time there is a failure. What
happens if some program "cancels shutdown", as has happened to me once
or twice (very rarely) when I wanted to shutdown or restart my machine?

2. I gather the automatic shutdown is governed by a USB connection. Can
this go through a hub? Otherwise one does not have enough USB ports.
Presumably, such a hub if powered (which is what I have) would need to
be connected to the UPS.

3. Annoyingly, the APC model that does NOT have a USB connection will
take British plugs, whereas the better model has the computer/kettle
sockets. All my equipment has British plugs. I am sure there is a
connector easily available, but I am wondering if I can get one
connector and plug in a standard multi-socket into which the other
equipment would fit.

It's really only the external hard drives that worry me (I am expecting
to upgrade from my current PowerBook, but it is more likely to be to a
MacBook(Pro) than an iMac). Everything else should not worry too much
about power suddenly going off.
--
http://www.decohen.com
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address;
mail to the From address is never read