PC card slot woes

Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hello,
I recently used my PC card slot for the first time since purchasing my G4 3 years ago, to upgrade my usb connectivity speed.
I successfully used a new iogear USB 2.0 Cardbus Card three times and removed it correctly, having no problems again mounting the card after startup.
My son mistakenly removed the card without un-mounting it first, now my powerbook will not recognize the card.
I tried the card on another machine and it is good.
I have tried to mount the card under another user profile and the problem still persists.
2 Apple techs have told me the only option is to replace the mother board which is prohibitively expensive for a 4 year old machine.

I find it hard to believe that simply removing the card improperly would fry the card slot, is this possible?
Any offering of solutions, ideas or fixes outside of buying a new machine would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

J
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
945
Reaction score
16
Points
18
Location
Annapolis, MD
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook, 2.2 GHz, 4GB RAM
I certainly wouldn't think so - it may corrupt the card drivers, though. Can you go to the card's manufacturer (web site) and see if they have a support page and maybe you could download the drivers for the card and install them on your G4... If not give them a call on Monday and see what THEY say as opposed to the Apple tech's comments.

Good luck, Noel
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
515
Reaction score
7
Points
18
Location
Blogging about good deals on apple stuff. Come vi
A computer's PMU (Power Management Unit) is relevant to (among other things) port issues (USB/FireWire ports appear dead) and resetting it should be worth a shot.

The Power Manager is an integrated circuit (computer chip) that is usually on the logic board of the PowerBook and iBook. As the name implies, it is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some charging aspects, trackpad control, and some input/output.

Over time, the settings in the Power Manager may become unusable, which can result in operational anomalies with the computer. Examples include not turning on, not waking from sleep, not charging the battery, or not seeing the AC Adapter, among others.

Performing a PMU reset returns the iBook and PowerBook hardware, including NVRAM, to default settings and forces the computer to shut down.

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-Power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the Power button to restart the computer.
 
OP
A
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Iogear's reply

I certainly wouldn't think so - it may corrupt the card drivers, though. Can you go to the card's manufacturer (web site) and see if they have a support page and maybe you could download the drivers for the card and install them on your G4... If not give them a call on Monday and see what THEY say as opposed to the Apple tech's comments.

Good luck, Noel

Hello Noel and thanks for your reply.
I did contact the manufacturer and they were less than helpful. They suggested trying another card in the slot, which I did and not so surprisingly, my G4 did not see it either. Beyond that they denied any connection to their card burning out my PC card slot as it is designed to be hot swappable owing to the grounding points on the card's insert strip...Beyond this simple test they too suggested a new logic board...* sigh, I just refuse to believe that simply ejecting a card can fry the slot completely, it doesn't seem very Apple. Again, thanks for your input :~)
 
OP
A
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hello techound and thanks for your reply.
I did try your suggestion three times, but in each case, the PB booted as soon as I touched the power key, whether at the same time, or just after the first three keys, is this correct?
I did try just shift-ctrl-option, wait then power too and again it booted right away.
If I did it correctly, it made no difference and the card is still not seen. If I did not, please correct me and I'll try again.
Thank you for your suggestion!

ANY other ideas outside of purchasing a new logic-board are greatly appreciated, cheers.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top