Battery Problems?

Hi,

I currently have an iBook from 2001. It has received very little use over the years. For the past 6 months the time has always reset to some date in 1904, even after I correct. Just recently the charging light wont go on, and the laptop will only operate if the cord is directly plugged it. I have tried hitting the reset button (per apples instructions), along with the CTRL CMD PR, but am still having the problem. I am not an apple person so any help with the issue would be appreciated. If it is a battery issue, is there a cheap place to get new batteries online? Thanks.

-Matt

If I were to harzard a guess. I would say battery. Batteries do loss their charge when not in use. So over a period of time, it will discharge. So if the computer works when pluged in, it is most likely the battery. As for the clock, On a desktop system it would be the internal battery that needs to be replaced. I don't know if there is an internal battery in the iBook.

rman said:

If I were to harzard a guess. I would say battery. Batteries do loss their charge when not in use. So over a period of time, it will discharge. So if the computer works when pluged in, it is most likely the battery. As for the clock, On a desktop system it would be the internal battery that needs to be replaced. I don't know if there is an internal battery in the iBook.

Click to expand...

Yes, all (I think) macs have an internal battery (sometimes referred to as the PRAM battery, I believe). It's location varies depending on your computer, but it is usually pretty inexpensive to replace. It might be hard to get to in an iBook, though. Anyway, I'm not sure this is even your problem. Sorry I can't be much more help!

the battery needs to be replaced.

as for cheaper prices, check ebay or use google and search for "ibook battery"

I just recently got a replacement battery from Macofalltrades.com for $50. It was not a brand new battery, but it work for 3-4 hours on a full charge and has been exceptionally good so far. I'd be careful on Ebay as they don't always sell the true Apple batteries, and some are so-called "High Capacity" batteries that I read reports on saying that they don't work after a certain OS update.

Also, check to see if there's a CMOS battery, a CR-type lithium watch battery for the time & date settings. I seem to recall that the iBooks have such a battery, but I can't recall where I saw this. I could be mistaken.

~Dak