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Webscreamer · Jul 25, 2003, 03:43 PM

I have a graphite Airport. I came back from vacation and I noticed none of the lights were on except for flickers of random red lights on all 3 lights.... completely random. Nothing is working.. I tried everything. HELP!

This is my Mom's from her school she works at she got permission to bring home for the summer!!!

Need help FASTTTTT!!!

ghporter · Jul 25, 2003, 06:36 PM

Please define the "everything" you've tried to restore the base station. Also, is it making any noise? A hissing or poping sound from the rear area? Does it seem very hot? Have you simply pulled the power cord out of the wall and left it for a nice, long time?

Webscreamer · Jul 25, 2003, 08:12 PM

I followed Apple's reset directions. Got no response. I tried putting a paperclip in the bottom for 30 seconds. I tried unplugging, and tried unplugging, and letting it sit for a few days.

There seems to be no heat and no sound to be heard. Just random red flashes of all 3 lights ate the same time.

When I first plug it in, I get very few random flashes, but the longer I keep it on, the more frequent they become(like 1 every second).

Please help!

ghporter · Jul 26, 2003, 07:10 AM

I'm afraid that the most likely situation is that the base station has died of (un)natural causes. It sounds to me like the power supply has simply failed-the internal part, not the external part-so it is probably time to start talking to the school about how they want to proceed.

THIS HAPPENS TO A LOT OF GRAPHITE BASE STATIONS, AND IS A RESULT OF APPLE'S DESIGN FOR THE CIRCUITRY, NOT THE USER'S ACTIONS. (That was to make you and your mom feel better, and to help you if the school has "issues.") Apple decided to use components that fit into the cool shell, but were electrically not up to the strain they were being put to. These components (two capacitors in the power supply circuit) fail, causing the operating voltages of the power supply to be seriously out of tolerance, which keeps the microprocessor that runs the thing from working. It's tough luck for the owner, but it does happen.

You could check the serial number, then check with Apple to see if this particular base is one that they will replace on their own.

pistol · Jul 27, 2003, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Webscreamer:
I have a graphite Airport. I came back from vacation and I noticed none of the lights were on except for flickers of random red lights on all 3 lights.... completely random. Nothing is working.. I tried everything. HELP!

This is my Mom's from her school she works at she got permission to bring home for the summer!!!

Need help FASTTTTT!!!

Its just two capacitors (you can find which ones because their tops kind of bubble out). Find someone who can solder and replace them with capacitors that have higher capacitance.