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xi_hyperon · Sep 26, 2004, 01:21 PM

I've got a Titanium G4 500 mhz which, other from not starting up, is in perfect condition. It used to be my workhorse but has since been retired and is rarely used. Last time I used it was around two months ago, with no problem. Since then it has been in its backpack, safely stored in a closet.

Yesterday, I tried booting it up, and nothing. The battery showed some charge still to it, but I went ahead and plugged in the AC to see if it would boot up then. No deal. It was then I noticed that the battery wasn't getting charged by the AC, even though the orange light was illuminated on the AC plug. Frustrated, I tried resetting the PMU, but that didn't help.

I am now concerned that there is a hardware problem, and I hope it has nothing to do with the motherboard. If it is the motherboard, then the 'book will become permanently retired as there is no way I could afford a new motherboard. The motherboard was actually replaced back when its Applecare protection was still in effect, so it is newer than the 'book itself.

As for modifications - I haven't changed anything on the 'book, or added RAM or anything like that. It does have an extra 500 MB RAM which came with the Powerbook when I purchased it, and I did take it out to see if it would boot then (no).

I will be calling the local Apple Certified repair place here tomorrow, but wondered if anyone here has had a similar issue, or might know what the problem could be. Thanks in advance for any advice.

TerryJ · Sep 26, 2004, 01:46 PM

Hi,

Take a look at this document to see if anything there looks helpful.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464

TerryJ

Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist

xi_hyperon · Sep 26, 2004, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by TerryJ:
Hi,

Take a look at this document to see if anything there looks helpful.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464

TerryJ

Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist

Hi TerryJ,

Thanks for replying. I gave 'em a try but so far nothing changed. The ol' Ti seems to be in a coma.

amazing · Sep 26, 2004, 03:31 PM

Originally posted by xi_hyperon:
Hi TerryJ,

Thanks for replying. I gave 'em a try but so far nothing changed. The ol' Ti seems to be in a coma.

Some basic troubleshooting suggestions:

Are you getting a startup chime? If you do get the chime: Reset the PRAM by holding down option-command(apple)-P-R through at least 6 startup chimes, then release and see if it starts up.

If the Ti is still dead, take out the battery and disconnect from the wall socket, then hold down the power key for 30 seconds, Let it sit for a few hours, then put in the battery, plug into the wall, then try starting up.

Does the Ti have OS X installed?

benwhanlee · Sep 26, 2004, 03:33 PM

i have a ti 667 that once acted like that. you've probably already tried this...but i unplugged it and took out the battery and let it sit for like an hour or so. then i reset the pmu, put the battery back in, then hooked it up to an adapter. somehow, it came back and i've never seen a problem like that since...

xi_hyperon · Sep 26, 2004, 09:16 PM

Originally posted by amazing:
Some basic troubleshooting suggestions:

Are you getting a startup chime? If you do get the chime: Reset the PRAM by holding down option-command(apple)-P-R through at least 6 startup chimes, then release and see if it starts up.

If the Ti is still dead, take out the battery and disconnect from the wall socket, then hold down the power key for 30 seconds, Let it sit for a few hours, then put in the battery, plug into the wall, then try starting up.

Does the Ti have OS X installed?

Hi amazing,

No, I'm not even getting a startup chime. It's got OS X 10.3 installed, but since it's been a couple of months, I can't recall which .x update was the last I installed. I'll give your last suggestion a try. Thanks.

xi_hyperon · Sep 26, 2004, 09:17 PM

Originally posted by benwhanlee:
i have a ti 667 that once acted like that. you've probably already tried this...but i unplugged it and took out the battery and let it sit for like an hour or so. then i reset the pmu, put the battery back in, then hooked it up to an adapter. somehow, it came back and i've never seen a problem like that since...

Will give this a try. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

xi_hyperon · Sep 27, 2004, 09:50 AM

Update: I unplugged the TiBook and took out the battery last night, holding the power button for 30 seconds, and then let it sit overnight. What do you know, but this morning my old friend started up.

Thanks to you guys for your help. It seems like no matter how odd a situation might be, there is always someone here who has gone through the same thing and has a fix. You guys rock.

siflippant · Sep 27, 2004, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by xi_hyperon:
Update: I unplugged the TiBook and took out the battery last night, holding the power button for 30 seconds, and then let it sit overnight. What do you know, but this morning my old friend started up.

Thanks to you guys for your help. It seems like no matter how odd a situation might be, there is always someone here who has gone through the same thing and has a fix. You guys rock.

I agree... this site rocks and most of the ppl in it... I don't post much myself, but there's always plenty of good threads/topics doing the rounds and the other Mac users only too willing to help... congrats on your machine working again!

amazing · Sep 27, 2004, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by xi_hyperon:
Thanks to you guys for your help. It seems like no matter how odd a situation might be, there is always someone here who has gone through the same thing and has a fix. You guys rock.

Glad to hear it worked! It seems that the power management sometimes gets confused and the best way to reset it is to deplete the internal battery that retains all the settings.

buffalolee · Sep 27, 2004, 12:46 PM

Cheers!!

benwhanlee · Sep 27, 2004, 01:10 PM

glad it worked out...like i said before, ever since that happened with mine, it never happened again (that was over a year ago). hopefully you'll have similar luck.

The Wolf · Sep 29, 2004, 03:30 PM

maaaaaan, you guys are making me all sentimental for my RevA 500 Ti. I just received a new 1.5 AlBook. I guess I can get used to the extra command button on the right of the space bar (I've only mistakenly hit it about 500 times after Safari timeouts, but I'm getting better). I'm trying to get used to the power supply being on my left now instead of the right.

But, I am having a REEEEAL problem with the screen! It doesn't open nearly as wide as the Ti which lies almost flat. This is a problem b/c I sit for hours at depsotions and sometimes like to keep it on my lap. If my feet are flat on the floor it's ok, but if sit cross legged it's no good. The screen on the AI Book just doesn't open far enough to use it in this positon

Is there a way to replace the way it's mounted? It looks like there is enough room for the screen to open further, but it seems like there's something stopping it from doing so within the internal hinge.