Please help! My powerbook has been freaking out lately. It all started with the fan turning on frequently and loudly, then becoming a loud buzzing sound like a gear was jamming. I had an old battery in there and thought maybe it was overheating because of it, so took out the battery. So far so good as far as the above symptoms are concerned but...
Now if left in sleep mode for long periods, it's shutting down, and not only that, when it reboots, the hard drive makes some freakish sound like its has severe asthma, and is coughing and wheezing for about 3 seconds. then all is fine. This has happened twice so far.
Should I reset my PMU, or is it my hard drive failing? or(I hope not) my logic board? I verified the disk with Disk utility, and it says it's fine.
As far as heat is concerned:
HD: ~38˚C
CPU: 48˚C
GPU: 52˚C
HD Bay: 44˚C
This is when the fan kicked in just now.
Console startup says this (no mension of the panic I heard):
Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 (Build 8S165)
2009-03-17 10:08:10 -0400
2009-03-17 10:08:16.743 loginwindow[70] FSResolveAliasWithMountFlags returned err = -43
2009-03-17 10:08:16.882 loginwindow[70] FSResolveAliasWithMountFlags returned err = -43
2009-03-17 10:08:30.673 SystemUIServer[90] lang is:en
Main starting
2009-03-17 10:08:34.679 Skype[158] SkypeApplication::init called
2009-03-17 10:08:40.010 Skype[158] SKInitDebugLogging
And since then keeps saying this:
30 95 68 782009-03-17 10:16:04.842 DashboardClient[213] needs update
(timer):Null value
2009-03-17 10:16:11.074 DashboardClient[217] (com.mirtchovski.widget.WeatherOffice) : Null value (line: 773)
The extra ram I have is from Canada Ram, and has been in for over a year now, so I don't think it's the culprit. The harddrive has 28 Gig free still.
I'm not using anything heavy. the most I've had open at once during the past month is BBedit, FireFox, iTunes, Mail, iCal. And sometimes I watch some streaming video on with FireFox. I'm still using Tiger. My computer info is in my sig.
Any help would be appreciated. I was thinking of waiting for Snow Leopard to get a new machine, so if I can save this machine with $100 or less, that would be great. And sorry for the long read.
Thanks!
__________________
12" Powerbook G4 1.5! It's small,shiney, beautiful, and it has brains too!
Tascam US-122 Interface
Fear is but a wall of illusion to that which will make you happy.
If it is the original drive on PowerBook it could well in its death throes, age being against it.
I'd say the first thing you should do is backup everything you value, but you've done that already haven't you?? Well?? Because, frankly IMHO, the drive is as good as dead the way you describe it.
__________________
"not all those who wander are lost….." j.r.r. tolkien
It's not what I wanted to here, but it seems the toshiba bad bearing sound is what I've heard. Yes, I've backed up, and will do it again today.
crap. This is actually the second HD, the first went within 2 months.
So I need a PATA drive then? Is this correct? or is it IDE?
Can't say off the top of my head.. Under the Apple, check About This Mac > More Info... or in Utilities (inside Applications) run System Profiler and look under the 'Greneral' heading. Put in something nice, fast and big.
__________________
"not all those who wander are lost….." j.r.r. tolkien
Lars is correct. pata is also known as ide, which is also known as 'ATA'. don't get the SATA or eSATA because unless you're willing to fiddle with the connectors - which I wouldn't do, just stick with what you know will work. Unless you've got huge files that require 500 GB or more of hd space, you can pick up a 400 G IDE Hd for about $60. If your files are that big, then you should be transferring to an external drive anyway. Good luck with your upgrade!
Ciaochiao
I don't remember plain-jane IDE notebook drives ever getting larger than 320GB, and it's possible that this particular model Powerbook G4 can't even handle larger than 128GB anyway (I don't remember for certain). OWC in the states or CanadaRAM, Canada Computers or SIG Electronics (and many others) here in Canada can find you a cheap 128GB 2.5" ATA drive. This shouldn't cost more than $70 or so. If you can do the upgrade yourself (google some guides if you didn't DIY last time), this should be a very modest repair in terms of cost and effort.*
*Oh wait, sorry, I have a reputation to maintain: cheeses cripes, buy a new machine already!!!
I didn't realise people were still answering this. LOL! I ended up getting a 160GB disk (I only have 58GB including the OS on my current 80GB HD), and larger ones are hard to come by. So It should get here by Monday or Tuesday (can't find these things in a live store anymore).
As for you chas_m, I'm waiting for Snow Leopard, and then for Apple to revamp their intels even more to make it all work together superbly. THEN I will get a new machine. As it is now, I'll stick with this lovely machine that will be working just fine, with the help of a new HD. In the meantime, there's no need for you to worry. I'm sure your reputation for the love of new shiny toys has not been thwarted by your attempt to help me.
Thanks everyone!
__________________
12" Powerbook G4 1.5! It's small,shiney, beautiful, and it has brains too!
Tascam US-122 Interface
Fear is but a wall of illusion to that which will make you happy.
As for you chas_m, I'm waiting for Snow Leopard, and then for Apple to revamp their intels even more to make it all work together superbly. THEN I will get a new machine. As it is now, I'll stick with this lovely machine that will be working just fine, with the help of a new HD. In the meantime, there's no need for you to worry. I'm sure your reputation for the love of new shiny toys has not been thwarted by your attempt to help me.
Thanks everyone!
So I am NOT the only one. The new MiniMacs are tempting though but it would be hard to keep things around my $1200 budget as I would need a good monitor and 4 GB of RAM.
__________________
I retain all rights to images I have posted on ehMac. They were posted that other members of the community could enjoy them. They may not be used or sold in any other way without my written consent.
Linear Mode
