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drosboro · Jun 22, 2005, 08:59 AM

Hello all...

A problem just started with my new (1 month old) PB G4 15" Titanium... When I plug in or unplug the AC adapter into the PB, the video freezes for about 10 seconds. Then everything goes back to normal and life continues.

Any clues? Never seen this before on any powerbook I've ever had.

Thanks,
drosboro

ibook_steve · Jun 22, 2005, 12:39 PM

There is no such thing as a 1 month old Titanium Powerbook, so I'm guessing you bought it used. You might want to contact the person you bought this from. If the system freezes like that when you attach or remove the AC adaptor, there could be a problem with the AC detection circuitry (worst case). You can try resetting the PMU to see what happens. That could help. If it still happens, you could try reinstalling the OS, but I doubt that would help much.

Steve

drosboro · Jun 22, 2005, 07:06 PM

Sorry... braindead that early in the morning... it's an AlBook - 1.5GHz... Brand new. I'll try the PMU, otherwise I guess it's off to the shop...

asodamiac · 02:32 AM

ok, my powerbook also does this (about 1 month old as well). it just started happening today. i plug in the AC adapter and the screen freezes for a few seconds, then its back to normal. the battery was also very low and the setting was at "best performance". there was probably about 10 minutes of battery life left. i never had this problem until today.

how do you rest the PRAM? thanks.

edit: found out how to reset the PRAM and it did the trick. should i be worried about anything at this point?

GSixZero · Jun 25, 2005, 09:04 PM

My 1.67ghz 15" did the same thing until I reset the PMU, it's been better since.

asodamiac · Jun 26, 2005, 02:59 AM

hopefully there isnt anything wrong.. how old is your pb?

drosboro · Jun 27, 2005, 10:24 AM

Resetting the power management unit (PMU) seems to have done the trick for me as well. For those with the Al-book 1.5/1.67:

Turn off the computer
Unplug the AC and remove the battery
Hold down the power button for 5 seconds
Replace the AC and battery
Start the computer

Thanks for the help!

asodamiac · Jun 27, 2005, 03:41 PM

whoops, guess i read PMU and thought PRAM. resetting the PRAM worked for me though.

resetting the PRAM is:

Restart
Hold CMD + Option + P + R

right? well thats what i did and the pb is back to normal. are the PMU and PRAM the same?

ibook_steve · Jun 27, 2005, 04:04 PM

No. PRAM is parameter RAM, storing user parameters such as mouse tracking speed and the clock across system boots, restarts, and shut downs. The PMU is the Power Management Unit, which handles everything having to do with power and battery control, as well as keyboard functions and a number of other things.

Steve

asodamiac · Jun 27, 2005, 04:31 PM

well the ac adapter freezing problem stopped ever since i reset the PRAM. guess it worked when others resetted the PMU. is there any connection to the problem concerning the PRAM and PMU?

tooki · Jun 28, 2005, 04:28 PM

First of all, just a pedantic detail: modern Macs no longer have PRAM, but rather NVRAM; Apple just decided to keep the same key command.

In any case, resetting the PMU resets the NVRAM. Resetting the NVRAM, however, does not reset the PMU!

tooki

asodamiac · Jun 29, 2005, 12:57 PM

so i'm guessing that the problem lied with the NVRAM and not the PMU?

asodamiac · 02:26 PM

just got the problem again. started right now. im going to reset the PMU once i find out how. what the heck is wrong with my pb.. its brand new.

edit: i resetted the PMU (but im not sure if i actually did.. the date and time is correct and did not reset to the odd dates like apple said) and the problem went away again. im not sure if its because i restarted the pb or because i reset the PMU.

is there anything that can be wrong with the pb? should i give apple a call?

GSixZero · Jun 29, 2005, 03:12 PM

I don't think there's anything too seriously wrong. When my PB was doing it (1.67, 15", 128VRAM), I got the feeling it was driver/software related. Yes the video totally locked up for 10 seconds or so, but it was clear that the computer was still functioning. IMs would arrive, etc while the machine was locked.

Once the PMU was reset and all was working well, I didn't bother to call anyone. It's working fine now, my 1 year warranty goes until sometime in February next year, and I'm sure I'll get AppleCare before that. If it breaks I'm sure Apple will make everything right again.

GSixZero · Jun 29, 2005, 03:16 PM

Everyone who have had or is having this problem should post their specs.

It seems to be only the newest PBs, and I'm wondering if it's related to the 128MB VRAM issue.

I'm 15" PB - 1.67Ghz - 128MB VRAM - 2x512 RAM

GSixZero · Jun 29, 2005, 09:28 PM

Of course 3 hours after I posted this, my powerbook started doing it again.

asodamiac · Jun 30, 2005, 03:36 AM

hahaha specs are in my sig.. i have 1x512 (apple) and 1x1gb (kingston) ram.