[Alezone]

I've had the 15" for over a year, never took out the battery, used to have 3 - 4 hours battery life... and reduced to 40mins MAX lately... since a few weeks ago.. max. reduced to 15mins... since yesterday, after upgrading to 10.3.4...

BATTERY DIED... as well as the "Sleep Mode Reserved Battery" (don't know what it's called..)

i was using the PB without plugging it into the wall... and without any warning (like the warning before the PB go to sleep mode when running low juice... etc), it just SHUT DOWN (instead of the sleep mode)... and I can't turn it on again without plugging it into the wall.

I took out the battery and put it back, press the button on the battery, no signal... charge it on the PB, and it was "Calculating"... then "No Batteries available"....

I'm not looking to get back a few hours battery life, just want the 40mins back... so the PB won't shutdown right the way when I unplug it from the wall...

[nate_02]

Maybe you just need to reset the PMU because it is more likely that the PMU was screwed up with the 10.3.4 upgrade, than your battery just dying out of the blue.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.h...um=14449#faq10

[d.fine]

Get iBatt , it lets you see what the current capacity of your battery is, and compares it to other PB users/batteries. I found it to be informative.

[Alezone]

Originally posted by nate_02:
Maybe you just need to reset the PMU because it is more likely that the PMU was screwed up with the 10.3.4 upgrade, than your battery just dying out of the blue.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.h...um=14449#faq10

I tried, but no luck...

pressing the RESET BUTTON under the keyboard and Shift+Ctrl+OPTION+POWER all at the same time right? any indication if it's reset properly? my PB starts up when touch the power with those keys depressed...

[rag on a muffin]

you didnt do it right. there are 2 ways to do it on your model hold the little tiny button for 20 seconds, or press ]command-option-control-power] im not sure which one works on your machine

EDIT: your system clock should have changed.

[Alezone]

Originally posted by rag on a muffin:
you didnt do it right. there are 2 ways to do it on your model hold the little tiny button for 20 seconds, or press ]command-option-control-power] im not sure which one works on your machine

EDIT: your system clock should have changed.

Tried pressing it for 20 secs and then turned it on.... the battery sign stayed at Calculating for 10mins... and then go to the "X" again...

gonna try the other one now... if it still doesn't work, then it means my battery is dead? What about the built-in reserve battery? I suppose there's one since if the PB is put to sleep and the sleep light is still on with the battery detached. But I don't have that light anymore.... if the PB is unplugged, it shut off right the way... power management??

[Detrius]

Originally posted by rag on a muffin:
you didnt do it right. there are 2 ways to do it on your model hold the little tiny button for 20 seconds, or press ]command-option-control-power] im not sure which one works on your machine

EDIT: your system clock should have changed.

You don't hold the button for 20 seconds--that can crash the PMU. You push the button once for less than 1 second and wait for 20 seconds.

[sray]

Originally posted by Alezone:
I've had the 15" for over a year, never took out the battery, used to have 3 - 4 hours battery life... and reduced to 40mins MAX lately... since a few weeks ago.. max. reduced to 15mins... since yesterday, after upgrading to 10.3.4...

Most laptop batteries lose their peak performance in 12-18 months. After that you're lucky if it holds over an hour worth of charge. Short answer: buy a new battery.

This is not a mac specific problem. I've had the same issue in Dell and IBM laptops in the past. Generally speaking, this problem is worse if you constantly use the laptop while plugged into a wall -- it loses its ability to retain charge.

[mh0ffmann]

Here's the ONLY solution that worked for my 15" TiBook: I went to the Apple Store and shelled out the $120 for a new battery. The battery died exactly as described above, over time and then suddenly, after about 18 months of use.

Harsh, yes, but it worked ;-)

Mark

[Phil333]

Hey guys. I'm getting my powerbook next week, and I hear these reports about batteries dying in 12-18 months. Is it worth it to get an extra battery? I'm not going to be a whole lot of travelling but I am off to college and will be flying from Chicago to NYC and such. Let me if you guys think it's worth it $$$ wise.

Thanks

-Phil

[mh0ffmann]

Don't get one until it wears out. You're fine with just one (good) battery.

Mark

[rag on a muffin]

well if you had a 12" dead battery, i would be willing to buy iy from you.