The Notebook "Instant Fixes" Thread

[trav_]

I purchased an iBook(1.33GHz power pc g4) last summer about three weeks before the release of the macbooks. It was working fine up until about the 4th of july when i came home to find my screen completely black and seemingly unable to awake from it's sleep state.

i tried to restart it but with no avail. i let it cool down because the bottom was hot and it started up again. the next morning while browsing the web, the screen went black again so i shut it off until i could backup the files and take it to a mac store.

of course the problem couldn't be recreated in the store, so they preformed a stress test where they ran 40 apps for 24 hours and again, couldn't repeat my issue.

tonight, i came home to a blank screen again (a week later after getting it back from the apple store) and nothing seems to make it work but turning it off, unplugging it and cooling it down with a fan.

during the blank screen issues, i can see a little bit of the display, but it's mostly unintelligible. the caps lock also turns off and on.

any help?

maybe i should reset the PMU, but if i reset it, what is the out come? what information is lost ect...?

help! i'd rather not waste the gas money to go to the apple store more so they can find nothing wrong with it and i still have a poor functioning laptop. (i'm a broke college student and gas prices are terrible!)

 

[Aptmunich]

Just give the PMU reset a try - you won't lose any data...

 

[trav_]

okay, so i turned off my computer to try this, only to have it do the blank screen thing again and not turn on. i got no response pressing those buttons. when i unplugged the computer and tried to turn it on by itself it works.

 

[trav_]

Okay so an update - I reset the PMU, but now a program that used to work doesn't. it sits there with the colorful wheel moving and doesn't do anything. it's not working.

 

[Aptmunich]

Well I guess that's not too bad considering your iBook works again.
You can just reinstall that one app.

 

[peter romano]

Thanks for posting this info. I have felt for a while that this NO START issue was heat & battery related. I have tried resetting prm and pmu it starts sometimes, Really the only thing i can count on is letting it cool down, IS Mac aware of this issue? Do they offer any repair procedure or upgrade?

 

[Aptmunich]

You might have a bad logic board...
Apple had a repair extension program for iBooks which has now expired I think.

Could you provide more info?

 

[trav_]

i tried re installing. didn't work til i took it to the mac store and it magically started up again.

i dj, and this computer hasn't done it's job yet. i knbow countless other dj's with macs that have them pull through. the sound on this thing is kind of shoddy, i.e. it sounds like farts through the sound system... i;ve trtied EQing it. basically this computer is only good for browsing the web and writing papers. not actual work.

p.s. peter romano. if you put other ram in your comp (not mac's RAM but 3rd party it might not work for you. like mine did. all my issues are/were RAM related, which thankfully the mac store told me after my second visit and a lot of spend time trying to get my comp to overheat.)

 

[optophobia]

G4 and macbook compatibility

I have two, possibly simple questions.

1 - I have a g4 ibook 14" which is running incredibly slow. It freezes on things like slideshows, and when typing there is a big delay sometimes. There is still approx 17GB left on the hard drive. Any ideas ? should I just reinstall OSX (its running an up to date Tiger) Or should I run a disk utility program ?

2- I have a macbook, and just bought another 160gb HDD for it to replace it. Does anyone know if the 120gb i take out of it will fit the above G4 ibook. Just a simple swap and then install the OSX ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nyhcgrrl]

battery issues?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If you are experiencing trouble with power issues, such as:
- Battery charging problems
- Sudden loss of power whilst running off battery
- iBook refuses to switch on
then you might need to reset the PRAM (Parameter RAM) or the PMU (Power Management Unit).

To reset the PRAM, hold Apple-Option-P-R simultaneously at the Apple logo.
To reset the PMU, hold down “Shift-Control-Option-Power “.​

(Neither of these should delete any data - some settings might be lost though)"

-------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone, I am new here so please bear with me. I bought a Mac for what I'd thought was a good deal; it was the Powerbook G4 Aluminum model and it worked great for the first two days, except for a "minor" battery problem. It would only charge up to 99% and never got to 100%, even when I had it plugged in long after it hit that point. The guy who sold it to me said it wasn't known to have any issues, but I'm not too sure that was the truth. If I take the charger out for one second, it immediately starts going down in increments of 5-10% each time, up until it reaches the "You are running on reserve battery power" message. I am going to try resetting the PRAM, but I'm also trying to decide whether or not to get a new battery, and I really don't want to have pay $100-200 unless it is absolutely necessary. Any advice/help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. ;D


Thanks for the thread though, it was very easy to understand and I have it bookmarked for future troubleshooting reference.

 

[Dalton29]

I'm having problems with my wife's 14" 933Mhz G4 iBook. It doesn't seem to be charging the battery as the adaptor light never changes to orange. I've tried the PMU and PRAM resets which seem to work as I get to the login window and the orange light comes on but once logged in the iBook will completely freeze up and the adaptor light returns to green. I then have to leave the iBook for 10 minutes as if I try to restart immediately all I get is either a black screen or a strange green blob in the centre that grows and becomes brighter. It will not start up from cd's/dvds as it freezes on the grey screen with the spinning circle (which stops spinning). I've also tried the power adaptor from my Powerbook but this makes no difference. I'm assuming that this is a battery problem but before I go and spend a fortune (£89 from Apple!) on a new battery could it be the logic board or any other internal part?

 

[Aptmunich]

I would not recommend buying a new battery!

If it was the battery that was causing the issue, you should be able to simply remove the battery and start up normally from mains power.

Have you tried that? Remove the battery entirely and boot up from AC power only.

If that doesn't work, it sounds as though it could be an issue with the actual power circuitry on the logicboard itself.

 

[Dalton29]

I have tried this and end up with the same system freeze. Would this be an expensive fix from Apple? If it is I might as well buy a Macbook.

 

[Aptmunich]

I have tried this and end up with the same system freeze. Would this be an expensive fix from Apple? If it is I might as well buy a Macbook.

That's probably what I would suggest.

You can probably still get a few hundred pounds for a defective iBook on eBay, so I'd get a new Macbook and try to recoup some of the costs that way.

Fixing it will probably cost a few hundred pounds as well, which is not worth doing for an out-of-date machine IMO.

But if you have an Apple Store near you, I'd definitely get the Genius bar to take a look and see what they think.

 

[livingston]

I'm having this problem where my iBook dies when it still has half a battery charge, with no warning. I'm trying to the PMU reset, but when do I do it? When the computer is starting up, or when it's running, like now? Is there any way to confirm I've done it?

 

[Aptmunich]

You hit the key combo immediately after turning the computer on when you hear the chime.

I think you hear the chime again once it's been done. (If I remember correctly)

To reset the PMU, hold down “Shift-Control-Option-Power “.

 

[baldvinny]

hey gang....

new to the forum here, and i too have been having power issues with my ibook g4. the power issues started similar to what others have described (intermittent power, no charging) so i bought a second AC wall adapter. things worked well for a few weeks, then the problems appeared again

as of now, i can't get the thing to take a charge or power up at all (the battery is completley dead). i thought i needed a new DC power in board, untill i stumbled onto this thread. i REALLY want to try the two resets recommended, but the battery is completley dead and i'm not sure if the resets will work with no power (dosent seem like it would). i'm hopeful that a PMU rest will work (so i dont have to shell out $250+ for a new DC in)

will a PMU reset work on a "dead" battery? is there anyway i can verify that the reset happened?

 

[Aptmunich]

The 'book will need to have a little bit of power, just to zap the PMU / PRAM.

If you're completely empty, I'd try to find someone with an iBook and borrow their battery.

 

[baldvinny]

yeah, thats pretty much what i figured. i'm gonna have to go to tekserv today and see if they can help me out

thanks for the reply!

 

[hamdenlille]

Hi guys

The other day I turned on my ibook g4, but it wouldn't start. I can't figure out what wrong...
but I do know that:
1. The battery works
2. the power is ok
3. the harddrive is new and should be working. I replaced myself 5 months ago.

When I start the mac, tha machine makes the sound it usually makes when it starts up. I'm thinking of the apple sound of the OS, but the sound machine. Then i can hear the harddrive starts - i think its turning or something. I can see the monitor is turning on because the shade of black not the same.
When I press on the computer just above the harddisc the fan starts, and then I can turn off the ibook by pressing the start button for 5 seconds - which i couldn't before.

Whats wrong with my ibook?