Timeline for 17" Powerbook G4 must sit for hours to boot
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2013 at 19:41 | vote | accept | Paul Masek | ||
| Jul 30, 2013 at 19:41 | comment | added | Paul Masek | It now boots back up in about 10 minutes, so far all practical purposes it's fixed! I now have a fully working/very usable/extremely stable machine! Thanks for all the help, I'm marking your answer as the solution for hanging in there with me. | |
| Jul 10, 2013 at 2:06 | comment | added | Paul Masek | Indeed! I figured out another hack, placing it on top of an A/C vent cooled it down to point where I could boot it again in 20 minutes :) | |
| Jul 9, 2013 at 23:03 | comment | added | Hack Saw | Heh. For $20, it's working great if it boots and stays up for a while. Good luck. | |
| Jul 8, 2013 at 20:03 | comment | added | Paul Masek | I did remove the temp sensor under the touchpad which caused other mac's from this era to go to sleep b/c they were reading abnormally high. I also keep an eye on temps while it's running and the highest anything has read has been about 60 for the processor sensor. The battery and HD read around mid 30's and the psu is mid 40's. Thanks again though for all of your input. I'm hoping to eventually find a fix. As far as the usability right now, it's actually not that bad. The major pain is taking it home w/o closing the lid, because it also doesn't come out of sleep. FYI - I just got this for $20 | |
| Jul 8, 2013 at 17:18 | comment | added | Hack Saw | Yeah, I was afraid you might say that. In my experience, this speaks of a marginal chip somewhere (Maybe on the HDD, maybe in the power supply) which can't take any heat any more. Maybe it's fine after boot up because the chip isn't needed. I'm not saying it couldn't be anything else, but I'd be surprised. Given the not terribly modular nature of laptops, and the age of the machine, it seems like it's time for a new machine. Fixing it is likely to cost as much as a new one, though you might be able to find a repair place that can help and has refurbished parts. | |
| Jul 8, 2013 at 0:49 | comment | added | Paul Masek | Yes, the fans are working fine. Yes it only happens when it's been recently powered off... For example if it sits for at least 3 hours it boots perfectly fine every time. | |
| Jul 3, 2013 at 21:56 | comment | added | Hack Saw | Did the fans seem to be working? And let me ask for a clarification: this booting problem happens when the machine is warm? If it sits unpowered for some time, it boots normally? | |
| Jul 3, 2013 at 16:57 | comment | added | Paul Masek | Alright. I took the top off and blew all the dust out. It was actually not that dirty... I also did clip off the temp sensor that fixes the narcoleptic macs. It still has to sit for around 3 hours to boot up properly, otherwise it turns on but just has a black screen... Any other ideas? | |
| Jun 27, 2013 at 1:45 | comment | added | Paul Masek | Awesome thank you so much for this recommendation. I had seen stuff about narcoleptic powerbooks and disconecting the temp sensor, but this doesn't show those other symptoms. I will give it a thorough cleaning in the duct work as soon as I get a chance. I'll report back to share the results. Thanks again!!!! | |
| Jun 26, 2013 at 5:42 | comment | added | Hack Saw | Actually, I have another theory, upon rereading your post with more sleep under my belt. I suspect that you have poor cooling. A common condition for older machines is to accumulate a dust worm along their air filters next to the fan, and block air flow. Equally, the fans may be dying or dead. Getting at these is rated "difficult" by iFixit, but you might not have to follow the directions all the way though just to clean the dust out. | |
| Jun 26, 2013 at 2:30 | comment | added | Paul Masek | OK, I don't have a ton of experience with Mac's. Could I send you the syslog to take a peak at? Also I just booted again now using the cmd v method and everything looked fine on boot-up. I also haven't had it running at all today, so I assumed it would start fine... | |
| Jun 25, 2013 at 4:19 | comment | added | Hack Saw | Hmm, you might take a look in the logs, via Console. There might be things in the syslog which would give you a clue. But it's sounding like a hardware problem. | |
| Jun 25, 2013 at 1:28 | comment | added | Paul Masek | Thanks for your fast input! I have tried this and unfortunately I still just get a black screen unless its been sitting for a while (several hours), in which it boots fine with no issues... eg I also have tried other key combos like long holding the power button or holding "t" and I can tell the computer goes into that special mode but I only have a black screen. Also the screen is fine as it works 100% of the time when it has sat for a while... | |
| Jun 25, 2013 at 0:46 | history | answered | Hack Saw | CC BY-SA 3.0 |