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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Pismo terminally ill? Help

Pismo terminally ill? Help
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Hairllama
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Jul 17, 2004, 12:45 PM
 
This is a call for help. My Pismo is on it's death bed and we need to diagnose the problem to save it. Here's the story. About six months ago I booted to a flashing question mark. I connected to my desktop using target disk mode. The desktop was unable to mount the Pismo drive, but disk utility was able to see it. I ran DiskWarrior, but it was unable to help. A reformat and clean install later we were back up. I ran a thorough test with DiskWarrior, no problems were found. Three months later I had a kernal panic at startup . . . Disk Warrior fixed it, but the prefs were so messed up I had to reinstall anyway. Yesterday I had another panic on startup, Diskwarrior could not help, disk would not mount to desktop, had to reformat. It's now flashing the question mark again today shortly after a wake from sleep. The disk is horribly corrupted. I have not added anything hardware wise in a year. It's running a Powerlogix G4/500, IBM 5400RPM 40GB HD, 768MB RAM. The hard drive is fairly new (less than two years old). Should I start with the drive or could it be something else? I'm ready to dump it for a new mini Al, but need to fix Pismo before selling it if I expect to get anything for it. Who has any ideas?
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
powerduck
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Jul 17, 2004, 02:24 PM
 
My Pismo had similar symptoms at one time. Replacement of the Logic Board (Apple care) helped.

Pismo PowerLogix G4/500 (after repair: G3/500), Travelstar 40/5400, 1 G RAM.
     
Eriamjh
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Jul 18, 2004, 10:23 AM
 
If you can boot the pismo off a FW HD and run fine without trying to access the internal drive, perhaps the drive is the only thing bad. Can you borrow another internal drive to see if that avoids the problems?

I'm a bird. I am the 1% (of pets).
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Jul 18, 2004, 02:46 PM
 
I don't have an external drive that I can use. I could put my Quicksilver in target mode, but I'd hate to have my main drive eaten if there is something with the Pismo other than the drive. I do need an external HD. . . here's the chance to order one. I have more info to add to the issue. I was able to install OS 9 last night. I ran "check for bad block tests". It took all night, but found no problems and was running fine this morning. I tried to install X, but it froze on the 2nd CD. Once again the drive had been eaten. It took three tries to format it (kept on coming back with "unrecognizable file system". I'm trying one last time . . . cloning a X drive to the PB. I will attempt to run it off my backup HD through the Quicksilver later.
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
bmhome1
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Jul 18, 2004, 02:52 PM
 
Try pulling one the RAM chips to see if maybe RAM has gone bad (it happens) or is marginally okay, except with latest OSX version (actually fairly common).

Could your combo drive be an issue, are you using Patchburn for support? Is it a model natively supported in 10.3?

Try running a S.M.A.R.T drive test on your hard drive for warnings of impending trouble.
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Jul 18, 2004, 03:12 PM
 
I'll try pulling the RAM. Which chip should I start with? I have a 256 in the lower slot and a 512 in the upper slot. They have both been in the machine for over a year runnin Panther with no trouble. I didn't know that RAM could just go bad after a period of time. Can bad RAM cause such bad system corruption? Could it be that the increased head from the G4 upgrade is cooking the internals and shortening the Pismo's life?
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
bmhome1
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Jul 18, 2004, 06:09 PM
 
Its doubtful the RAM is at issue if Panther has been running okay so long. Kernel panics are usually hardware related. Any USB peripherals connected? Try unplugging any before startup. It could be the G4 upgrade card, how hot does your Pismo get? Fan run frequently?
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Jul 18, 2004, 07:01 PM
 
The fan rarely runs. The G4 upgrade has been in for as long as the RAM. Nothing is connected to the Pismo. I just ran the SMART test and the drive passed. I tried to install OS X again and it stalled on the first disk. I'm back in firewire target mode and trying to format the disk. It will not retain the name that I give it in disk utility. Right now it's calling itself "disk4s10". It has to be the hard drive.

Next, it should be under warranty. I bought it less than three years ago from OWC.
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Jul 25, 2004, 08:58 PM
 
The new hard drive is in the Pismo and it is working like a champ. I'm curious as to what the failure rates are for these drives. Why didn't the SMART diagnostics return anything?
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
Detrius
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Jul 25, 2004, 10:27 PM
 
Originally posted by Hairllama:
The new hard drive is in the Pismo and it is working like a champ. I'm curious as to what the failure rates are for these drives. Why didn't the SMART diagnostics return anything?
The most bizarre hard drive failure I've seen:

Slot-Load iMac fails to boot from internal drive.
Boots fine from FireWire drive.
Internal drive passes all tests (surface scan, directory, etc...).
Put known good drive with known good OS in iMac: boots fine.
Moved internal drive to external firewire: boots fine.

To recapitulate: the drive passes all tests but can't boot the machine when it's inside the machine. The data on the drive is fine, since it boots the machine from a firewire cabinet.

I couldn't come up with any explanation other than it being a bad drive, so I had the customer replace the drive.
ACSA 10.4/10.3, ACTC 10.3, ACHDS 10.3
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Jul 29, 2004, 10:45 AM
 
Another Update!

After less than a week of running well on the new hard drive . . . the machine is dead again. I have now noticed that I haven't heard the chime at start up since this whole problem began. Any ideas what it could be? It must not be the hard drive. HD controller? Processor?

p.s. TechTool says all hardware has passed.
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
echosphere
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Jul 29, 2004, 12:35 PM
 
How about the PRAM backup battery, if this finally emptied, could it be it?
I'm from the government and I'm here to help
     
sinebubble
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Jul 29, 2004, 06:05 PM
 
I know you don't want to hear this, but in the last 6 months, I have had TONS of problems with my Pismo. I finally just gave up and bought a new powerbook. Yes, my Pismo was far prettier than this 15" silver tabletop, but dang is it fast. Put your poor baby out to pasture and get a new system. I think 5 years of active life is pushing it.
Brian

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powermacj7
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Jul 29, 2004, 06:37 PM
 
Originally posted by powerduck:
My Pismo had similar symptoms at one time. Replacement of the Logic Board (Apple care) helped.

Pismo PowerLogix G4/500 (after repair: G3/500), Travelstar 40/5400, 1 G RAM.
Same for mine, the logic board replacement appeared to solve the problem.
     
iBorg
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Aug 1, 2004, 06:41 AM
 
Originally posted by bmhome1:
Its doubtful the RAM is at issue if Panther has been running okay so long. Kernel panics are usually hardware related. Any USB peripherals connected? Try unplugging any before startup. It could be the G4 upgrade card, how hot does your Pismo get? Fan run frequently?
My old Pismo (given to my wife to use after I got my TiBook) started freezing on startups, having KP's, etc., without anything added to it for the past 2 years (bought in 2000). I tried every repair utility, each finding nothing, and sometimes the Pismo had trouble starting up even with repair CD's.

Apple System Profiler finally gave me the answer: despite the Hardware Test CD telling me that the RAM was fine, the lower RAM chip was "incompatible," despite having been in place working fine for almost 4 years. Replacing that RAM, it now works fine (fast enough for web-browsing and word-processing for my wife). Like any other part, RAM can go bad with time - if you buy new RAM, most vendors give lifetime warranty.

Try swapping out your RAM, sometimes it's worth even swapping the two modules around and restarting. It's worth a try, and costs nothing ...



iBorg
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Aug 1, 2004, 09:29 AM
 
Here's the real crazy thing; the problem is so intermittent that it's hard to catch the machine doing it. The latest is very odd, all has been working fine except the Pismo just erased mail.app's settings. I was using mail fine two days ago, but today it started clean over. I have noticed that the problems seem to occur more often when on battery power and after waking from sleep, although they are not limited to these times. The hard drive has recovered on it's own the last few times, but it take a couple tries to get it to boot.
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Aug 3, 2004, 12:38 AM
 
I've had some success with the old Pismo recently and now have a theory. I removed the processor card and the hard drive ribbon popped free. It appears to have been loose. Is it possible that the first hard drive was bad and I pulled the cable loose during the replacement. Could it be that the most recent issues came from the loose cable? Can a computer even run with a loose HD cable? This may not fix it, but I'm enjoying the longest uptime on the Pismo in three weeks. Is this it???
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
echosphere
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Aug 3, 2004, 01:14 PM
 
I just bought a used Pismo, and the seller warned me of this, plus I've read similar stuff over at xlr8yourmac. If you can, keep a watch on any probs from now on and let us know? Thanks, Echosphere.
I'm from the government and I'm here to help
     
Hairllama  (op)
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Aug 26, 2004, 02:06 PM
 
The Pismo is still running strong. The HD ribbon cable is certainly loose. It just fell off as I swapped out drives the other day. I hope this was the problem. I'll check in if it dies again.
Powerbook G4 15" 1.67GHz, 128MB VRAM, 100GB HD, 1.5GB, SD
Powerbook G4 12" 1.5GHz, 80GB HD, 512MB, SD
G4 500 Pismo 40GB HD 512MB RAM, Combo Drive
     
Since EBCDIC
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Aug 27, 2004, 07:42 AM
 
Good for you! I hope it was the cable.

5 years too long a life-span? Oh, sir, bite your tongue! My Pismo is my main backup machine, music jukebox, mail server (via Tenon's Post.Office), and all-around cool thang. It stays high up in the closet, by the hub and Airport base station.

I'm hoping it survives another five years!
Since EBCDIC
Using Macs since they were Lisas.
     
   
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