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jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 05:13 AM

I posted a few weeks ago that my PB was randomly going to sleep, usually just closing and opening the lid or pressing the on button woke it from sleep. I repaired permissions and everything seemed ok.

Last night I worked late, closed the lid and left the PB to sleep with power cable attached. This morning I opened it up and it remained asleep.

I've tried:
Closing/opening lid. No response
Pressing on/off button nothing
Putting in and removing USB canles - nothing
Trying to wake the PB with bluetooth enabled phone that is set up to sync with PB: Nada
I even took out the battery but the PB stayed asleep (pulsating light tells me that) and again nothing.
Inserting CD (OSX startup disk) but the slot drive won't accept it, as if off, or asleep.

It's like having a dead computer - I work for myself and have a stack of work to do.

Help if you can I'll greatly appreciate it.

Chuckit · Jun 6, 2006, 05:21 AM

Have you tried turning the computer off by holding in the power button?

CharlesS · Jun 6, 2006, 05:53 AM

If a PowerBook's battery goes so low that even the reserve power is about to run out, it goes to sleep and won't wake up, pretty much exactly like what you're seeing.

I wonder if your power adapter is working properly.

If your PB is one of the models where the battery has a few lights on them to indicate the charge, and a button you can press to see the battery's status, does it appear as charged after you've had the laptop plugged in for a while, or is it still dead? If the battery is charged, then my hypothesis is incorrect, but if it's dead, then it could be the power adapter (or the power supply or connector on the PowerBook, which would be a more serious problem). If you borrow another power adapter, what happens?

jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 06:28 AM

Have you tried turning the computer off by holding in the power button?

Of course!

I wonder if your power adapter is working properly.

If your PB is one of the models where the battery has a few lights on them to indicate the charge, and a button you can press to see the battery's status, does it appear as charged after you've had the laptop plugged in for a while, or is it still dead?

It seems fine. orange and then green light on power adapter shows charging/charged as normal. And the battery appears charged according to the time remaining info. However I will borrow a different adapter to check in a few moments.

ghporter · Jun 6, 2006, 07:28 AM

Also try removing the battery for a while before reinstalling it and charging the computer. And let it sit and just charge-don't try to use it-for an hour or so, just to get the battery charged to a reasonably usable level.

snoopy199 · Jun 6, 2006, 07:32 AM

Did you try removing the battery unplugging it. let it sit there long enough to let the internal battery drain. plug her back in and try to start it up (without the battery in the bay).

jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 11:01 AM

The story so far:

I took out the battery, disconnected the power supply and reset the power management unit by then holding down the on/off button. Upon putting the battery back and Computer started up.

However, there is still a problem as it has several times gone back to sleep while I've been using it, although it has woken on pressing the on/off button. So.......... I have just used Disk Warrior (10% was in need of repair) AND look at this:

There is a 1GB Ram card in the lower slot which is showing empty!!

Any ideas? Should I just re-seat it or take it out?

One question When resetting PRAM which I have attempted it is taking so long to give me a chime when starting I've given up (ie let go of the keys)....How long should it take. I've not reset PRAM before

ghporter · Jun 6, 2006, 11:05 AM

Yes, do reseat the RAM. RAM that's not quite properly seated could cause all sorts of problems!

Chips G · Jun 6, 2006, 01:35 PM

If after reseating the RAM the problme persits, remove the RAM as it may be defectice. Also, make sure you do a backup of vital files ASAP.

Good luck!

-Chris

jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 02:54 PM

So that's taken care of. To early to say if it will hold I'll let you know. If not I'll remove it immediately.

But I still have an unanswered question about reseting the PRAM. I shut down the computer and then restated immediately holding down Option,command,R,P but y'know that kind of mechanical sound in the superdrive that you hear on startup (before the chime) that repeated endlessly, like 10 times before I let the keys go. There was no chime and I don't know if I just got impatient or there was a problem. Does resetting PRAM take an age usually? Is what I described normal?

jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 02:55 PM

By the way thank you for all the help and suggestions.

CharlesS · Jun 6, 2006, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by jbleisure

But I still have an unanswered question about reseting the PRAM. I shut down the computer and then restated immediately holding down Option,command,R,P but y'know that kind of mechanical sound in the superdrive that you hear on startup (before the chime) that repeated endlessly, like 10 times before I let the keys go. There was no chime and I don't know if I just got impatient or there was a problem. Does resetting PRAM take an age usually? Is what I described normal?

You probably zapped the PRAM about 10 times.

jbleisure · Jun 6, 2006, 06:31 PM

You probably zapped the PRAM about 10 times.

..but it hasn't fixed the problem because it's still going to sleep on me, randomly. I'm very upset about it especially as I have so much work on right now and it looks like I will have to send my PB off for repairs.

It must be a problem with the power management system..would that mean a new logic board?

voicebox · 02:43 AM

Originally Posted by jbleisure

..but it hasn't fixed the problem because it's still going to sleep on me, randomly. I'm very upset about it especially as I have so much work on right now and it looks like I will have to send my PB off for repairs.

It must be a problem with the power management system..would that mean a new logic board?

Hi jbleisure,
Sadly I think you may be right - be prepared for a new Logic Board - which is fine if it's still under warranty but £600+ if it's not ...!
Back up all your stuff immediately.
Good luck,
voicebox.

jbleisure · Jun 7, 2006, 11:06 AM

It gets weirder. Today the problem is continuing the RAM card which I reseated (the lower slot 1GB card) again registered as empty today after a very odd system freeze ( strange lines on the screen and what looked like which caused me to have to shut down and reboot.

I took it out and left the 512MB card in the top slot - PB wouldn't boot. So I put the 512MB card in the lower slot and the 1GB card in the upper slot. PB booted fine but the lower slot is reading empty.

Any knowledge of the above issue?

I'm praying it ain't the Logic board as I had planned to buy an iMac this month but need a portable as I work away from home too...and the budget is finite!

kick52 · Jun 7, 2006, 03:53 PM

try looking for the panic logs, and take the 1gb ram out, and see if its ok then.

jbleisure · Jun 7, 2006, 06:33 PM

6 17:35:27 john-bassis-powerbook-g4-15 kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Jun 6 17:35:27 john-bassis-powerbook-g4-15 kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Jun 6 17:35:27 john-bassis-powerbook-g4-15 kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.

I don't really understand logs but I have had a look through and this is cropping up under system logs.

I'm guessing that it is the log for the unexplained sleepiness of my PB but what else it means I ahve no idea

pheonixash · Jun 26, 2006, 06:18 PM

I think it means that your PB is overheating. Check if the CPU fan is spinning. I also get a feeling that you might have a faulty RAM slot, which would mean a Logic Board replacement.

TheoCryst · Jun 27, 2006, 03:43 PM

Yeah, those logs definitely show that your PB is overheating and going to sleep. This overheating could also have caused that odd freeze you saw earlier. Check your system fans, and note if your system is getting unusually hot.

There's also a chance that it isn't really overheating, but just thinks it is. This could be caused by a loose connection or a faulty logic board/thermometer.

EDIT: Hey, my post count is back where it should be! Cool.

jbleisure · Jun 28, 2006, 03:29 AM

Yeah, those logs definitely show that your PB is overheating and going to sleep. This overheating could also have caused that odd freeze you saw earlier. Check your system fans, and note if your system is getting unusually hot.

There's also a chance that it isn't really overheating, but just thinks it is. This could be caused by a loose connection or a faulty logic board/thermometer.

Thanks.

Infact the problem is worse when I am on battery only. The lower RAM slot shows empty even though there is a RAM card in there. I've tried all configurations and have left the smaller ram (512) in there whilst the larger on 1 GB stays in the top slot. (system profiler show lower slot empty!)

I don't have the money to get the PB repaired yet and the problem has lessened, a bit of a problem as its out of warrenty and no apple care (lesson learned there!) and if it's the logic board then it'll be pricey.

So I'm living with this imperfect situation: Everything is backed up and I incrementally clone the system every few days just in case.............

vinster · Nov 12, 2006, 12:02 AM

Wanted to revive this thread as I think this problem's becoming more and more prevalent with 2005 G4 PowerBooks.

This started happening to me yesterday. I get the Power Management received emergency overtemp signal then the PB goes to sleep. I ran a utility called Temperature Monitor and it the Trackpad temperature graph has large spikes (up to 200F) right before the PB sleeps.

I found a blog post that discusses the issue and some fixes. It looks like the only real fix at this time is to send into Apple for a new top case.

Wondering if anyone else has this issue.

billyo · Oct 23, 2007, 06:01 AM

Hi I'm new here, so be gentle...

I'm having similar problems as listed above. My Powebook G4 keeps going to sleep suddenly and then doesn't want to wake up. The only way I can wake it is to take the battery out and wait for the internal battery to run down.

Interestingly I've already sent mine back to Apple about 6 months ago to have the known RAM slot problem fixed. If this problem is part of the same problem I wonder if that work was under warrenty? Any thoughts?

Thanks

billyo

jbleisure · Oct 23, 2007, 09:45 AM

Funny to see this thread resurected. It's a bitch of a problem.

I'm having similar problems as listed above. My Powebook G4 keeps going to sleep suddenly and then doesn't want to wake up. The only way I can wake it is to take the battery out and wait for the internal battery to run down.

Actually when you take out the battery you can hit the power button and that should let you put the battery back in and power up. You then have to reset the clock and date or just select it to be done automatically in system preferences for next time.

Interestingly I've already sent mine back to Apple about 6 months ago to have the known RAM slot problem fixed. If this problem is part of the same problem I wonder if that work was under warrenty? Any thoughts?

I did this a while after this thread went to sleep. It didn't fix the random sleep problem however it did reduce it dramatically, so now it only happens rarely (once a month perhaps, or less even) and most times allows me to hit space bar to bring the PB back to wake.

maxneosynthetic · Oct 23, 2007, 10:49 AM

I know how to solve, I had the same problem

Delete the following archives (are from the economization preferences, don´t worry):

- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist

- /Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist

- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.AutoWake.plist

Best,
Pedro

billyo · Oct 24, 2007, 07:01 AM

Does anyone know if this works? I've seen a few ideas on various sits about moving or deleting certain files but no-one has verified them. The only verified action i've seen is to rip out the Trackpad Temperature sensor, which I'm reluctant to do, but given it's out of warranty I might just have to do.

cskoeshall · Nov 2, 2007, 08:09 AM

Hi, i'm new here as well. I'm having similar problems as previously posted.
My PB Ti running 10.4.10 will occasionally not wake from sleep; therefore I keep shutting it down cold and restarting it. I have tried deleting the archives mentioned by maxneosynthetic and the problem persists.
My last resort (i think) is to reset the PMU, except I cannot find out how to do that.
Can anyone give me advice on what to do?
Thanks.

cskoeshall · Nov 2, 2007, 08:36 AM

to clarify, if anyone can give me advice on what to do before i reset PMU, that would be great.
and also, i read before that sometimes it's a bad RAM issue. my RAM is fine. thanks again.

jbleisure · Nov 2, 2007, 09:53 AM

My last resort (i think) is to reset the PMU

You may want to check this but as far as I am aware you can reset the PMU by, put the PB to sleep - take out the battery - press the power button, that will turn the machine off. Then put the battery back in and restart.

Just to let you know that has not fixed the problem for me and I've tried it many times. It does however allow you to turn the machine off when It won't be woken from sleep.

Also note: It is NOT a RAM issue.

cskoeshall · Nov 2, 2007, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by jbleisure

You may want to check this but as far as I am aware you can reset the PMU by, put the PB to sleep - take out the battery - press the power button, that will turn the machine off. Then put the battery back in and restart.

Just to let you know that has not fixed the problem for me and I've tried it many times. It does however allow you to turn the machine off when It won't be woken from sleep.

Also note: It is NOT a RAM issue.

wow, i think that fixed it. i did two tests:

1. put PB to sleep manually via power button and choose sleep
2. just by closing the lid.

both times it woke right up whereas before it would usually come up with a dark screen.

some things to clarify

1. make sure PB is unplugged
2. put PB to sleep via powerbutton and choosing sleep
3. wait for pulsating light
4. take out battery
5. press power button to power computer down
6. reinsert battery
7. PMU is reset.

thanks again for everything.
hope the problem never arises again.

cskoeshall · Nov 2, 2007, 11:34 AM

scratch that. I spoke prematurely. if anyone knows how to reset the PMU or what else to do, i need help.

Simon · Nov 2, 2007, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by cskoeshall

...if anyone knows how to reset the PMU...

Apple Support: Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU)

jbleisure · Nov 2, 2007, 04:45 PM

scratch that. I spoke prematurely. if anyone knows how to reset the PMU or what else to do, i need help.

I wonder if you have checked to see if you have one of the faulty batteries for the PB that were recalled. You'll have to search the forum. I think one of my old threads points to an apple article.
Other than that which only reduced the frequency of the problem for me, I cannot think of anything else that isn't already written here.

I still have this problem sometimes.

cskoeshall · Nov 2, 2007, 05:37 PM

My battery is a 3rd party battery, not from apple.
Thanks for the link simon. i will try it tomorrow and let you know if that worked. right now i'm trying to back everything up just in case.
Thanks again everyone.

cskoeshall · Nov 3, 2007, 02:13 PM

The same problem keeps coming up. I reset the PMU according to the apple doc that simon posted. I put my PB in sleep mode and woke up fine; however, the second time it just came up with a blank screen.
If there are any other ideas out there, please let me know.

wlj17 · Oct 24, 2008, 11:13 PM

I have had the same problem.
I had the recalled battery and and an old power adapter when it started. I just replaced both the battery and the power adapter and the problem persists, so it is probably not either of those things.