[alisonc]

I've read on this and other forums conflicting statements: some say it's OK to use the adapter from a Ti on a 17 incher, and others say it's not OK, as the Ti's is a 45 watt and the 17 incher's is a 65 watt adapter.

I have an extra adapter from my old TiBook and I would like to use it on my new 17"Book, but until I get a concrete answer I don't want to take the risk!

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by alisonc:
I've read on this and other forums conflicting statements: some say it's OK to use the adapter from a Ti on a 17 incher, and others say it's not OK, as the Ti's is a 45 watt and the 17 incher's is a 65 watt adapter.

I have an extra adapter from my old TiBook and I would like to use it on my new 17"Book, but until I get a concrete answer I don't want to take the risk!

The Ti (at least mine, a 1ghz SD) uses a standard 65W apple power adapter. Contrary to what some on here have said (I checked into this after the fact) the power adapters are one and the same for not only the late model 15 and 17, but the 12" and 12/14" iBooks as well.

I seem to recall the first gen Ti's as having a different (round) power adapter... this MIGHT very well be different from your 17"... I'd check w/ Apple.

[MaxPower2k3]

the 12" Power adapter (or, at least mine) is 45 watts, not 65.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by MaxPower2k3:
the 12" Power adapter (or, at least mine) is 45 watts, not 65.

Hehe, lying Apple bastards... they told me it was the same.

Funny thing though... my old 12" iBook IS a 65W, I just checked.

So I guess the answer is... read your adapter. If it says 65W go ahead and throw it on your 17"...

Even if you DID plug a 45W adapter in a 65W machine, all I imagine it would do is either 1) not power it at all or 2) power it until you really got the processor kicking and drawing some power, then stop.

[alisonc]

Well, guys, I answered my own question... I thought I had already searched the Apple support website and not found my answer, but another search yielded exactly the information I was looking for. I'm pasting it here for the benefit of the rest of you:

The 45 W Apple Power Adapter is used with these computers:
PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
PowerBook G4 (DVI)
iBook (Late 2001)
iBook (14.1 LCD)
iBook (16 VRAM)
iBook (14.1 LCD 16 VRAM)
iBook (Opaque 16 VRAM)
iBook (32 VRAM)
iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM).

The 45 W power adapter also works with computers that use the round adapter included with PowerBook G4 and iBook (Dual USB) computers.

The 65 W Apple Portable Power Adapter is used with the PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz) computer. It also works with computers that use the 45 W adapter. The AC cord for the 65 W adapter cannot be used with the 45 W adapter, however.

You can distinguish the 45 W Apple Power Adapter from the 65 W Apple Portable Power Adapter by the color of the DC connector. The 45 W adapter has a silver metallic DC connector, while the 65 W adapter DC connector is white.

[StiZeven]

Originally posted by alisonc:
Well, guys, I answered my own question... I thought I had already searched the Apple support website and not found my answer, but another search yielded exactly the information I was looking for. I'm pasting it here for the benefit of the rest of you:

The 45 W Apple Power Adapter is used with these computers:
PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
PowerBook G4 (DVI)
iBook (Late 2001)
iBook (14.1 LCD)
iBook (16 VRAM)
iBook (14.1 LCD 16 VRAM)
iBook (Opaque 16 VRAM)
iBook (32 VRAM)
iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM).

The 45 W power adapter also works with computers that use the round adapter included with PowerBook G4 and iBook (Dual USB) computers.

The 65 W Apple Portable Power Adapter is used with the PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz) computer. It also works with computers that use the 45 W adapter. The AC cord for the 65 W adapter cannot be used with the 45 W adapter, however.

You can distinguish the 45 W Apple Power Adapter from the 65 W Apple Portable Power Adapter by the color of the DC connector. The 45 W adapter has a silver metallic DC connector, while the 65 W adapter DC connector is white.

I have both the 45W and 65W adapters and they both have the white connectors. The 65W shipped with my 1GHz TiBook and the 45W shipped with my 12" PowerBook. They look identical until you read the little label on the side.

[tungtied07]

Yeah, i know same thing. My 45w has a white connector, but my other 45w adapter has a silver adapter... Isn't white supposed to be 65? because my 45 has a white connector

[DaedalusDX]

I've been charging my titanium 1ghz Superdrive from a 45 watt round power adapter that came with my brother's older iBook... What's the bottom line? Will it cause some damage in the future, or should this be working at all?

All I know is that I've been doing this for a while, and it does appear to charge and show no issue...

[MacNStein]

Using a 45W adapter on a 17" PB or a 15" GigaBook will not hurt them, I've done it several times with these models. They'll just charge more slowly and the adapter will get hotter than normal, but it shouldn't hurt the adapter. I have a 45W and a 65W that I use with my PB 12 and the 65W charges my 12 faster, about 25% faster. As anything, YMMV.

[alisonc]

I can't believe this—the information on the Apple support site is WRONG? That's crazy man crazy. Just nuts. It also doesn't help that the older white adapters don't seem to indicate their wattage. The volts and hz and all that are printed on, but not how many watts.

[urrl5201]

If both have same amp rating you should be fine. Voltage can vary from any battery being used, and yet it does not affect radios and other appliances. Power (watts) is directly related to the product of amps and volts. Just my opinion.

[ae86_16v]

My Powerbook 17 won't even turn on w/ the old 45watt adapters .

[Xaositect]

Per the Apple support site (can't link, requires password)...

You can use the 65watt on older models with no problems. The supply will only give as much power as requested by the unit (intelligent power supply).

You can use the 45watt on newer models, but they will not charge the battery as fast, and in some power modes it may not charge the battery at all (in other words, if you do too much, you may not be charging the battery at all). Burning DVDs/CDs on a 45watt adapter not recommended, may drop power and spoil the burn (DVDs require more power than CDs, according to this site).

That being said, switching between the two may (note I said may, not will) confuse the power manager, resulting in shorter battery life or ignored batteries. Do a NVRAM reset in Open Firmware to get most (if not all) of the battery life back. This paragraph is not from the Apple site, it is from experience.

[ae86_16v]

That is weird, because when I do plug in the old adapter, nothing happens when I press the power button. . . no clicks no boot screen, no nothing.