[rx.kumar@gmail.com]

my g4 powerbook housing squeaks where my right hand rests, just above the CD slot. i plan on taking off the whole piece that is there and putting down a little bit of padding or something to stop the squeaking. there are two screws at the top left and right of this piece i'm going to take off, should i be taking this thing apart myself? will the panel come off without anything else attached to it? anybody have pictures of what this might look like?

also, i've been having that sleep bug problem and i can't figure out a definite way to fix it. i put my computer to sleep by either closing the lid or selecting sleep and it doesn't do it. the screen blacks out and the little sleep light on the lid open button does not come on. i wait and wait and the computer just sits there and runs without the screen being on. this happens especially when it's getting hot from charging and when i have a couple of programs running. it's very rare for the computer to sleep the correct way and it is a HORRIBLE problem to have. any ideas? should i be bumping my 512mb of ram to something more? what brand memory should i get and how much?

ALSO, my USB has not worked from day 1 on this computer but i refuse to send it away for repairs because i can't exactly operate without this computer. i plug something that uses USB into either one of the USB slots and most of the time the computer recognizes it, but it doesn't have enough power to run the device (say an iPod, mouse, or memory card reader). so i tried getting a powered USB hub, and that didn't make any difference. what's going on here? i do not feel like reinstalling my OS because i have no idea what programs and files i have on this computer so a full system wipe is kind of out of the question.

after having said all of that, i still LOVE this computer to death. thanks for listening to my gripes!

[phantomo]

For you sleep problem, have you tried to reset the PRAM? Also are you using some Bluetooth Keyboard or Mouse? They can keep the PB awake.

BTW, can you specify which PowerBook G4 you have and the spec?

[rx.kumar@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by phantomo

For you sleep problem, have you tried to reset the PRAM? Also are you using some Bluetooth Keyboard or Mouse? They can keep the PB awake.

BTW, can you specify which PowerBook G4 you have and the spec?

sorry i just ripped the g4 apart but it's a 15 inch g4 aluminum running osx dunno which version. i'm on a different computer now. this is the model just before the powerbook that came out with the double finger scroll on the track pad. 512 mb of ram and yes i have reset the pram many times a long time ago and that did nothing. i am not running anything bluetooth and the bluetooth is off.

[phantomo]

You can check your OS X version and info about your Mac under Apple Menu / About this Mac then click on More Info...

If you reset the PRAM already, have you also tried resetting the Power Manager Unit (PMU)?

[rx.kumar@gmail.com]

I am running on my 15 inch PB G4 mac osx version 10.3.9, 1.5 GHz powerPC G4, with 512 MB DDR SDRAM. I do not think i've tried resetting my PMU. how do i go about that?

[phantomo]

You can dig up the info from Apple's support page. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

Anyway, give it a try and let us know how it goes.

[rx.kumar@gmail.com]

will resetting the pmu cause anything to be lost?

[phantomo]

Did you read the support page? It provided all the info you need.

[wupboxer]

Resetting the PMU is easy to do, and solves pretty much any power related problem you can think of. I'm assuming you're using an Albook (not a Tibook) so you have to dig a little farther to get at the button. Yes, it's a small button you press and hold for 3-10 seconds. You'll lose about the same stuff as you would by resetting the PMU, but make sure to disconnect the power (!!! especially!) and the battery before you do it.

The PMU might also have been corrupted. Ive seen a few cases where, plugging the charger cable into the laptop, then into the wall socket, seems to have created problems. Most of these were solved by resetting the PMU... others resulted in a power circutry replacement (as was the case on my friend's ibook, still under applecare).

On a side note, my Tibook squeeks in the same location yours does. Heh, I did the same thing you did to get rid of it too. I'd suggest about a square inch of weather tape, it seems to have done it for me.

As for a re-install... You have the option to do an "archive and install." Basically this saves all of your stuff to a directory and replaces the system folders to their factory condition. It's hidden in the install CD. A quick google (for archive and install) is more than enough to get you on your way.

If you purchased applecare, I'd suggest fixing your USB slots before you run out... If not, I'd suggest buying the cheapest mac compatible PCMCIA USB card you can find, and just using that.

lastly, as for RAM, it all depends on what you do with your machine. My current laptop, a Tibook functions perfectly with 512mb of Ram, but we all know OS X loves resources. If you're finding yourself waiting for your computer (or doing anything with Photoshop/Flash/Coding/etc.), another 512mb stick definitely won't hurt (assuming you only have 1 512mb stick in there already). If you're unfortunate as to have 2 256mb sticks of Ram, I'd suggest getting a 1gb stick, for a total of 1.25gb of Ram. You'll notice a huge speed boost, 25-30% alone!. Where to get Ram? Easy a website I use exclusively for supplying my customers with Ram ->
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/

Go there, and on the right, choose your model and class of computer, it does the rest for you (and is guarenteed ). Good luck!