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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Slow iBook G4

Slow iBook G4
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cbk1994
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Apr 2, 2008, 01:56 PM
 
I have a 1.33 GHz iBook G4 that I got about 2 years ago. It has started running very slowly. I don't recall it being so slow back when I used it, but my brother can't run even the most basic of flash games.

We are using Safari (latest version).

The iBook has 1.5 GB of RAM (purchased with 512 MB, added an extra gigabyte.

I tried running some things, it is very slow.

I can try to reformat it, but I am wondering if anyone else has any ideas.
15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
     
shrugs*
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Apr 2, 2008, 03:01 PM
 
Is OS X up to date? Try Firefox, Opera or Camino.
Macbook Pro + Sawtooth
     
cbk1994  (op)
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Apr 2, 2008, 03:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by shrugs* View Post
Is OS X up to date? Try Firefox, Opera or Camino.
Yes, running Leopard with all current updates. I'll try Firefox and post my results.
15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
     
cbk1994  (op)
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Apr 2, 2008, 03:23 PM
 
No, it is still very, very slow.

However, it runs perfectly on my MacBook Pro.
15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
     
klb5090
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Apr 2, 2008, 05:12 PM
 
I think your only option is the fresh install. A while back i had a ibook G4 800Mhz and it felt sluggish for the last few months i had it, before i passed it down to my brother i did a complete reformat and install and its running pretty good now i must say.
     
seanc
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Apr 3, 2008, 12:41 PM
 
Do you hear any strange noises coming from the hard drive under the left trackpad wrist rest or has it become more noisy recently?
     
peeb
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Apr 3, 2008, 01:06 PM
 
Try creating a new user account - see if that helps.
Second - how much free hard drive space do you have?
     
cbk1994  (op)
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Apr 4, 2008, 01:48 AM
 
I will try reformatting when I get home from my vacation trip...

A new user account did not work.

There is about 10 GB free on the 40 GB hard drive. The hard drive is working fine, checked it with Disk Utility, and it is fast as ever with no noises, etc. Plus the hard drive wouldn't lag a flash game much, I would think?
15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
     
seanc
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Apr 4, 2008, 11:05 AM
 
A failing hard disk will cause anything to lag if the system is trying to read or write to it.
     
cbk1994  (op)
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Apr 4, 2008, 09:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by seanc View Post
A failing hard disk will cause anything to lag if the system is trying to read or write to it.
How can I test this?
15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
     
tinkered
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Apr 5, 2008, 03:31 AM
 
Before wiping I would try a few things:

1) Boot to an OS CD and run disk utility to repair the drive.
2) If you have a external HD with sufficient space, boot to an OS CD and use Disk Utility to make an image of your iBook drive. Then wipe the drive and restore it using the disk image. This will clean up the drive and back up your computer in case your drive is failing.

Instead of a complete wipe, do an archive and install, then trash the old OS folder and do step 2 again, which will defrag the OS. If this fails to speed things up then you either have a hardware issue or something is running the background and you need to check you activity monitor or just wipe and reinstall.
17" MBP C2D 2.33/3 GB RAM/500 GB 7200 rpm/Glossy Display|-|
17" iMac CD|-|15" PB G4 1.25 GHz|-|iBook g4 1Ghz|-|Pismo
     
seanc
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Apr 5, 2008, 05:13 PM
 
You can try putting the iBook into target disk mode and hooking it up to another Mac, even booting from it on another PPC Mac.

The Apple Hardware Test should alert you of any issues with the ATA bus or anything connected to it, such as the hard drive.

How are things like copying files?

Have you checked Activity Monitor for any processes taking up a lot of CPU usage?
     
Alten Schmuggler
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Apr 8, 2008, 12:49 PM
 
Did you try repairing Permissions?
     
   
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