[evancp]

Hi, this is my first post and not really educated with all the computer knowledge so bear with me please,

I had been recently enjoying my G4 Powerbook when to my horror i found it would not switch on one day. When i pushed the power button all i would get is a beeping sound, and a flashing light on the button to open the lid, and then nothing, no fan, and no picture. I tried holding down the control, command and power buttons simaltaneously and i got the fan coming on, but after a few seconds i got the same beeping sound and then the fan stopped. any suggestions on how to fix this annoying problem?

thanx!

[ibook_steve]

Not the most descriptive title for a thread.

In any case, count the beeps and lights. Chances are you have bad RAM. You can run the Apple Hardware Test to confirm, if it can load.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58442

Steve

[s.j]

Originally Posted by evancp

Hi, this is my first post and not really educated with all the computer knowledge so bear with me please,

I had been recently enjoying my G4 Powerbook when to my horror i found it would not switch on one day. When i pushed the power button all i would get is a beeping sound, and a flashing light on the button to open the lid, and then nothing, no fan, and no picture. I tried holding down the control, command and power buttons simaltaneously and i got the fan coming on, but after a few seconds i got the same beeping sound and then the fan stopped. any suggestions on how to fix this annoying problem?

thanx!

I have had Mac experience for countless years, and I like to think that I am able to diagnose the majority of issues with Macs. I find it strange that such a bizarre issue should crop up so closely to experiencing the same symptoms myself. Here is what I am currently experiencing:

If you try to boot up the computer (PB G4 1.67), I get a Chime and nothing more. Screen doesn't light up, caps lock doesn't light up when pressed. That's it. And you need to remove battery or hold down power button to turn the computer off. I have tried resetting the PMU. Strangely enough I managed to get the computer started a couple of times, but it froze each time after about 5 mins. By froze I mean mouse wouldn't move, nothing happening on screen, Force Quit and Cmd-Ctrl-Power (Restart) wouldn't do anything.

I am currently doing some troubleshooting before I go into the Applestore and I noticed that if I press the power button to turn the computer on... and HOLD it down for a bit, the following happens:

1) Fan goes on full power
2) Computer emits one long beep
3) Led (on button to open) flashes like crazy (can't count how many times) for about 1 second.
4) Fan stops
5) Startup chime
6)... nothing. No screen activity, caps lock etc.

My GF and I both have the same computer and she was experiencing some problems (some of them similar) to me, both around the same time. However, after reinstalling 10.4 her computer seems to be running fine. What concerns me about my machine, is that what I am describing is NOT related to system software... since all of this happens in the ROM at pre-startup. My only guess is either a hardware issue... or that 10.4.4 updated the computer's ROM and that update has some bugs in it.

I tried starting up into target disk mode etc, but the computer never gets that far. So at the moment I'm scheduled to go in and chat to a genius and see if he has any clue about anything.

Do any of the other experienced techs here have any ideas? Thanks evancp for bringing up this topic although the subject is a bit vague

Thanks

// Seb

[s.j]

Here's an update on what happened at the applestore.

I showed the problem described above and they agreed it was a Logic board problem.... which is kinda what I expected because I was also having a strange graphics problem (graphics card is also on the logic board).

evancp... your problem may be different from mine, so the first thing to check is the link provided by ibook_steve above. Otherwise you may have a bigger problem and should drop into an applestore.

// Seb