My PB 5.8 battery won't charge. It has 261 cycles.
Many seems to have such problems on their PB.
I did reset the PRAM/NVRAM/PMU but it's always the same.
I also tried the update battery software from Apple but it says that the battery was ok.

Any solutions?
Some even change the battery and it was not working either.
The battery is cold so I suppose that either because of SW or HW problem it's not charged.

Thanks
Kamel

kamelito

Your battery problem is also a known problem. I suggest everyone buying PBs google the model numbers and read the forums....

Magnetic

If by forum you mean Apple ones then I did look into them (even Mac centric sites).
The serial number of the battery I have is not part of the Apple battery recall program.

Kamel

My powerbook 5,8 arrived today (sold the 5,4 a couple of days ago..) and it's in very good conditions! I'm very happy with it

Miky060,

Good for you :) Mine as I already said do have a small hit in the corner. The seller told me that it has been done during the transport :(
Well all I can say is that it work well and its good looking, too bad Morphos 3 only comes in December :)

Kamel
PS OSX Tiger is not that fast, I heard that Leopard is slower...

Quick question. Would it be worth selling my Silent upgrade mac mini and getting a PB, which is faster, easier to upgrade ?

It's surely "faster", but not so true it's "easier to upgrade", you can just add more ram and fit a bigger HD.

Quote:

Silent upgraded mini (edit: 1.5GHz/64M model) is soo nice and handy to connect to big screen monitor and hide to the table that I'd keep it, but why don't buy PB too and have two MorphOS machines :) I personally don't like to use laptop as main machine, but surely it is good to have fully portable option too.

[ Edited by jPV 06.10.2011 - 04:54 ]

Got the hardware A1138, waiting for 3.0. software.
Has minimum memory..Looking to upgrade to 2 gb single or double 1gb?
Drive is 80Gb upgrading to 320 gb.
Have a new battery with two spares
Thank-you again for the tips

jPV,
Quote:

I totally agree with you.

What you mean with "silent upgrade"?

> What you mean with "silent upgrade"?

It's the two "Late 2005" (PowerMac10,2) variants of the Mac mini G4. See note below table:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini#Specifications

In particular, jPV seems to refer to the 1.5 GHz 64 MiB VRAM "silent upgrade" variant (as opposed to the 1.33 GHz 32 MiB VRAM variant).

Mine is the 15.ghz 64Vram version.

Thanks for your thoughts all.

Can everyone that has purchased a G4 PowerBook please download and install istat pro to test if it correctly shows the fan operation of both fans in their PowerBooks? It is located at:

http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

It is a Dashboard Widget that gives you many stats about your Mac, such as the cpu temp, & usage meter, fan operation, etc.

The reason I ask is that I used the info it was providing to determine that I should replace the heatsink/fan assembly in my 17" G4 PowerBook, model 1139, as istat pro was showing that the right rear fan was not running, no matter how hot the G4 got, and I did not want excessive heat to damage my investment.

Well, I just received a "new to me" 15" 1.67GHz G4 model 1138 PowerBook and installed istat pro on it and it is also showing that the right rear fan is not running, even when the G4 temp rises to 60 degrees C.

So I am wondering if istat pro is not working correctly on G4 PowerBooks, or if the heatsink & fan assembly in my 15" G4 PowerBook is defective, just like the one in the 17" G4 PowerBook was.

As careful as I was in replacing the heatsink in the 17" PowerBook, I have not been able to bring it back to life completely yet, as it does not complete the boot process and does not seem to recognize the touchpad, or external USB mouse.

Right fan is a gfx cooler, so you have to run some 3D programs to make GPU warmer.

[ Edited by Korni 08.10.2011 - 09:03 ]

Thanks for the info, I thought they both came on at the same time.

Good news is that I have been able to fix my 17" G4 PowerBook and all seems well now.

I've bought a PowerBook 5.6. It is G4 and got 1.64GHz cpu on it with 512MB DDR SD-RAM. The info says it got USB keyboard interface. Hope it will work with MorphOS 3 ?

How about the lights behind the keys, will it work in MorphOS?

@Morphdelf

Yes, 5.6 with 1.6!7! GHz will work.....

You might want to something bout the RAM thou .... (/me got plenty sticks from 512MB to 2GB around)

@amigadave

I use this utility Temperature Monitor in PowerMac G4 / G5, PowerBook G4 ...etc...

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
http://www.bresink.com/osx/0TemperatureMonitor/screenshots.html

Hi,
I also have a 5,8 that won't charge as well :(
The charger that went with it showed a green light on the barrel adapter or the charger indicating
a full battery and a "trickle" charge was in effect. I got another A1021 charger this showed the correct amber light but again only a trickle charge! Got 4 A1178 batteries all slow charging. Googled the charging issue and many have the same problem! I am upgrading the Hard Drive to 320gb and then I'll look for hardware problems on the logic board, dc board, cracks on bread board,water damage, debris, and cracked joints....



http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Apple-PowerBook-G4-15-2-Laptop-M9969LL-A-October-2005-/300611816198?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item45fddc4b06#ht_2227wt_1095
last stop will be the Apple Store here in Boston.
laters
osco

[ Edited by osco 18.10.2011 - 18:59 ]

OK,

Which model is the best 17" G4 powerbook to buy?
How will I tell the seller what I want?
Is there a model # on a sticker?

> Which model is the best 17" G4 powerbook to buy? How will I tell the
> seller what I want? Is there a model # on a sticker?

From the document linked to in the first posting of this thread, which I pointed out to you already before in another thread:

"When in doubt, always ask for the serial number - this is the best way of making sure what model it is. The serial is always visible when you remove the PowerBook battery or in the System Informations utility. Sometimes it's enough to just look at the screenshot of the About this Mac window which is commonly attached to the auctions. If it's 1.67GHz then it's a supported model. If it says it sports DDR2 memory, this is the best (last) revision. Check http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g4/index-powerbook-g4.html (the last four models) for all the machine model codes Apple used to refer to those machines - they're also used on those auctions."

Follow the advice that Andreas provided.

The model numbers are 1106 & 1138 for the 15-inch models and 1107 & 1139 for the 17-inch PowerBooks. If possible, get an 1138, or 1139.

I have an 1139 and love it. It is my main computer now and I gave away my Core2Duo Intel MacBook to my Son to use in college. The speed difference is noticeable, but I have gotten used to the G4's power and limitations without too much trouble. I also bought an 1138 15-inch G4 PowerBook that I bought when I thought I had messed up my 1139 17-inch PowerBook that I will likely sell as soon as MorphOS3.0 is finally released, unless I decide to keep it as a backup MorphOS laptop. More likely I will try to trade it for another model 1139 G4 PowerBook so I can have two of the same size and model to swap parts and keep at least one of them running longer.

The lighter weight and smaller size of the 15-inch model is nice, but the larger screen of the 17-inch model and long battery life is also nice.

I can't wait for wireless networking to be completed/perfected, so I can run MorphOS3.0 all the time and stop using MacOSX for email and web browsing.

[ Edited by amigadave 19.10.2011 - 00:38 ]

osco,
Quote:

In USA you can still find BRAND NEW Powerbooks!!!?? You lucky bastard, I hate you all!!

Look at the last picture on ebay and than tell me it's really NOS (it can't be "new" as Apple won't honour warranty for that old item).

@Miky

Simple rule when buying PBs : Don't do as you did

Any french here?

Not mine but seems pretty good.

http://www.leboncoin.fr/informatique/244081180.htm?ca=18_s

Kamel