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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Is my ibook developing a logic board problem?

Is my ibook developing a logic board problem?
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seanc
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Apr 20, 2005, 05:01 PM
 
Hi,

I've got an Ibook g4 which i've had since the end of December 2004.
Occasionally I notice that the colour profile changes to the Generic RGB profile which is noticeable because the display will have a colder blue tinge to it. Changing it back to my Custom profile rectifies the problem for a while.
The symptom's seem to occur after the Ibook has been on for a while, and is quite warm either during normal use or after being woken up from sleep mode. Once during boot up shortly after I got the Ibook the screen went black - but after it booted pressing the brightness up button sorted the problem, and it has never occured since.
My question is: Do you think my logic board is failing?
I'm reluctant to take it back, as it works fine apart from having to change the colour profile back every so often, but if you guys think I have a bigger hidden problem that may rear it's big ugly head in the future, then I may consider it.

Specs : Ibook G4 1.25GHZ 512MB RAM 30GB HDD OS X 10.3.9

Thanks

Sean
     
jamil5454
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Apr 20, 2005, 06:03 PM
 
So the only problem is that your color profile keeps changing and you have to go back to System Preferences to change it back? Sounds more like a software problem.
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 21, 2005, 10:36 AM
 
I thought it might just have been software too. I'd assume OS X is to blame, we'll soon see as i've pre-ordered Tiger. I just wanted to check, as I know that the old Ibook G3's had problems, and I had read that some Ibook G4's had problems too, and thought that i'd ask a silly question rather than take the risk and have my Ibook die on me!

Thanks,

Sean

PS: Yes all I need to keep doing is to go back to System Preferences and change my colour profile back - just wondering whether there was a well known pattern between heat and the profile changing.
     
smic
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Apr 22, 2005, 02:26 AM
 
i have a faint memory of mine doing that before, but i cant remember what i did to fix it
maybe just fixed the permissions on the volume, or i might have made a new profile
it was something trivial like that i remember
if it helps any
w3rd..
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seanc  (op)
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Apr 22, 2005, 11:08 AM
 
It seems you may be right there smic.
Here's part of the text that popped up when I verified the permissions:

We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays. New permissions are 16893
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles. New permissions are 16893

Here's what popped up when I repaired them:

We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays. New permissions are 16893
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles. New permissions are 16893

I repair the permissions quite often, but obviously not enough. Is there any special user you need to be logged in as e.g. root? I'm asking because it always seems to come up with the same permissions to repair! I'm administrator so I would've thought that I had enough permissions to do it.

I'll see how it goes now - I wonder whether these problems will have been fixed in tiger?

Thanks

Sean
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 23, 2005, 10:03 AM
 
Tried and failed, the profile has chanegd itself about 3 times today.
I have logged into root and repaired permissions there, and again got the coloursync profile popup amongst the text. I'll see what happens now that I have tried repairing in root.
Another thing that I have done after repairing permissions is to check 'only display profiles for this display' in the colour preferences.
If you have any more idea's i'd be grateful, i'll write back my results.
Does anybody know why these permissions keep going funny, or why the colour sync profile keeps coming up in the repair permissions dialog?

Thanks,

Sean
     
Partisan01
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Apr 23, 2005, 11:25 AM
 
I had the same problems, I solved it by turning off the screensaver. It only occured after the screensaver was on. I think this was fixed in 10.3.7 or 10.3.8. Best of luck.
Apple iBook, B&W, Quadra 660, PowerMac 6100
Sun Netra T1, Ultra 1, Javastation
http://natetobik.mine.nu:81
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 24, 2005, 06:39 AM
 
Was this problem really fixed in 10.3.7 & 10.3.8? I'm on 10.3.9 and have still got these problems.
There does seem to be a pattern between sleep, and it going funny, but i'm not sure.
I've created a new colour sync profile and it seems to be fine so far (or else i'm not noticing it any more).

Thanks

Sean
     
stuffedmonkey
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Apr 24, 2005, 01:00 PM
 
This is not sounding like a hardware problem at all. That won't cause profiles to revert.... You get things like no video - or flicker.
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 24, 2005, 03:08 PM
 
I'm glad you don't think it sounds like a hardware problem!
It's now quite obviously software, and seems to be linked with sleep mode, as i've just woken it up and found the colour profile to have changed again.
If you think my hardware is fine, then i'm not too bothered about, it's just a minor annoyance, and ater reading about the deaths of so many ibook's I thought i'd just get some other opinions.
Next time it changes, i'll take some screenshots before (with the mysteriously changed colour sync profile) and after (with my colour profile).
Another question... How do you take screenshots?
And one more thing to add... Do you think this could be linked with printer software?
printer drivers load their own colour profiles.
Epson or Kyocera don't seem to be the most reliable when it comes to their software.

Thanks,

Sean
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 24, 2005, 03:11 PM
 
.... No I don't get video flicker or blank screens, but the backlight did switch itself off during startup once, (pressing the brightness keys switched it back on), shortly after I bought it. It hasn't done it since.

Thanks,

Sean
     
smic
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Apr 25, 2005, 12:21 AM
 
another idea i had was just make your self a new user, since it could be currupted prefs or plist, or some cache maybe

then see if your new user changes the coloursync profiles after it sleeps, like it does now
w3rd..
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seanc  (op)
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Apr 25, 2005, 11:09 AM
 
Ok, I've created a new user account and will now put the ibook to sleep.
If this new user account were to solve my problems, is there a tool I can use to copy over my mail settings, dock icons, and pictutres etc
Would the setup assistant do this?

Thanks,

Sean
     
sixandout
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Apr 26, 2005, 02:34 PM
 
i turned off the screensaver, and diabled the screen going to sleep etc... and that worked for a little bit. Now i don't see anything on the display at all. I tried to repair permissions, and see the same thing that was posted. I'm using the ibook connected to an external display right now. I also tried to reset the pmu, and did a completely new installation to try to fix the problem. No luck... hopefully when 10.4 gets here it will be fixed. oh yeah it became messed up on 10.3.8 i updated to 10.3.9 and still have the problems
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 26, 2005, 02:41 PM
 
You're screens blank?! What Ibook version do you have 'Ibook' or 'Ibook G4'?
I have noticed under the keyboard is what looks like a silver button, never tried pushing it.... it may not even be a button.... you could try it.
So your colour profiles were changing, you turned sleep and screensaver off and now it doesn't work at all? Try unpluggging the charger and take out the battey to make sure it's off, and leave it for a few minutes to see what happens,then try it again.
If it boots to OS X then goes blank, press your brightness buttons to see what happens.

Hope you get it sorted, and that my ibook doesn't do this....

Sean
     
smic
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Apr 26, 2005, 07:31 PM
 
seanc
i dont know if there is a tool to move all the settings, but you could trash the coloursync .plist, and some other related ones
because then you would know that it is a software problem, and that it is only on your account

i just went through all this kind of, since my i book would kill all the progams, and relaunch them all them, i thought it was bad ram, since i could never find a program that was taking everything down
long story short, i was using the fast user switching, and my main account killed and relaunced everything, but the other one i was using was fine, so i trashed my main plist's like finder and energy saver, and now so far in the last 5 days its been good
w3rd..
surrey represent
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 27, 2005, 03:06 AM
 
I'll try deleting my plist files, should I just drag and drop the entire contents of my prefs folder to the bin, or just do the relative ones.
Safari's been a bit ropy recently so it may help a lot!
Should I do both preference folders e.g the one in library on the hdd and the one in library on my username?

Sean
     
smic
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Apr 28, 2005, 12:31 AM
 
just delete the related plists, not the whole folder, and dont delete a bunch at once
just try one or two and see if it helps or not then try some others if it doesnt
w3rd..
surrey represent
     
SpaceMonkey
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Apr 28, 2005, 01:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by seanc
It seems you may be right there smic.
Here's part of the text that popped up when I verified the permissions:

We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays. New permissions are 16893
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles. New permissions are 16893

Here's what popped up when I repaired them:

We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays. New permissions are 16893
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/ColorSync/Profiles. New permissions are 16893
Sean
Just to clarify something, when you see a notice in Disk Utility about "special permissions," it doesn't mean that anything is wrong. It's simply the permission repair utility telling itself (and you) that the permissions for that file will not be what it is expecting, and that it doesn't need to worry about it (I get the same "special permission" notice about ColorSync profiles on my machine as well, and I have no display problems).

Also, you don't need to verify before repairing. Hitting "repair permissions" will start the verification process all over again before repairing.
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 28, 2005, 11:00 AM
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for your help! It seems OK at the moment, I didn't delete my .plist files but since Tiger will be here soon, i'll probably do a clean install anyway so it will all be fresh.

Thanks,

Sean
     
sixandout
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Apr 29, 2005, 06:27 PM
 
my ibook g4 1ghz is still not diplaying anything on the lcd. I even upgraded and did a fresh install of tiger guess i have to take my toy into the local apple store.
     
seanc  (op)
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Apr 29, 2005, 06:54 PM
 
Have you tried pressing the brightness buttons? If you tilt the screen into the right light can you see faint outlines of text on the screen?
Try resetting the pram cmd+opt+p+r and if that doesn't work try the pmu (copied from apple)

If the computer is on, turn it off.
Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing
Shift-Control-Option-Power
on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
Wait 5 seconds.
Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.

Try repairing permissions using disk utility and revert to a normal colour sync profile e.g. default mac (try all available)

It could be that the backlight or screen cable is broken. If you frequently close and open the lid it may have been mangled and cut.

Go to system preferences then sound and to the input tab. See if the microphone works, that will give you an indication on whether the cables are working or not.

Try leaving the battery, power and all devices disconnected over-night and then plug the power adapter in and try to boot - keep the external monitor unplugged.

What happens when you wiggle the screen back and forth.

How well does Tiger run on it? I'm still waiting on mine. You will probably find it works better when the LCD starts working, and you are not driving an external monitor. Although the LCD isn't working the computer probably still thinks it is.

Key things: Brightness, Check in right light to see if faint images can be seen, Wiggle LCD back and forth, Reset Pram, Reset PMU, leave all devices power and battery unplugged over night, and another thing.... see if the LCD settings are displayed in the preferences.

Hope you can get it working...

Sean
     
sixandout
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Apr 30, 2005, 09:32 PM
 
my 1 ghz ibook g4 has a logic board problem. so they are shipping it out on monday and said i may get it back by friday. aww warranty repair but at least i'll have something working. i thought they fixed all the logic board problems. my laptop is only a few months old.
     
seanc  (op)
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May 1, 2005, 06:47 AM
 
Oooh bad luck! That's why I was checking, to see if mine was on it's way out, but it seems fine in Tiger. When did you buy yours? I bought mine end of Dec. 2004. Best computer i've ever had.
I was a mac user growing up. We had an ancient powermac running OS 8 which could sit for months without being restarted or having problems. Then I switched to Windows and got very tired of BSOD's and crahses etc. and bought my Ibook. I'd switch my parents back to mac if I could find a way to get their access database to work on mac - that's the only thing that's holding us back.
I thought they had sorted the problems with Ibooks too, but I had read a few threads where people had had problems with g4's and logic boards.
Apple really should fix this by the next Ibook rev.
Have they confirmed that it's a logic board problem or is it the screen cables? It doesn't sound like the normal logic board problem as it was running fine on an external monitor. The logic board problems meant that both outputs failed.

Hope you get it fixed soon,

Sean
     
sixandout
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May 2, 2005, 05:34 AM
 
someone bought it in january, but returned it to the store so they sold it at a discount. i got it after they had it for 2 weeks. it was working fine until march, then it would intermittently go bad. i brought it in to the store and they got it 2 work for a day. then it started to go bad off and on again, until i finally died.
     
sixandout
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May 4, 2005, 05:28 PM
 
my ibook was sent out on monday, and i got it back in the mail just now. not only did they fix my logic board they also replaced my keyboard. nothing was wrong with my keyboard, so i have no idea why i have a new one, anyways so far the warranty seems to be way better than what i had for my compaq. i sent theat in once to have the modem fixed under warranty. they kept it for a month, tried to charge me 250 bucks when it was still under warranty. when i got it back they also took my battery so i had to spend another 80 bucks to get a stupid battery.
     
seanc  (op)
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May 4, 2005, 05:45 PM
 
Great! I'm glad it's all back and working. Did do do any thing to the HDD or do they leave that alone?
At least now I won't have to feel nervous about sending in my Ibook if it ever has this problem.
I wonder why they replaced the keyboard? Was it unstable? E.g did it wobble about/move. Mine moves when you press the cursor keys.

Sean
     
sixandout
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May 4, 2005, 07:46 PM
 
however before you send it in they tell you that the software may be completely lost, not responsible for any lost data or something like that. in my case it was only a hardware problem, so they just replaced the logic board and that was it. my keyboard seemd fine to me, myabe they were crazy at work, i think if you complain about they keyboard or accidentally damage something on it while it is under warranty they will fix it. oh i was also told that if you have aftermarket memory in your ibook they take it out and sent it back to you and say the problem is due to non apple memory. so if you send it in i hope you only have apple memory in it. i took my ibook to a local apple store, so far best experiance i have ever had. they just looked at it and said they'd mail it straight to my address when it was done being repaired.
     
   
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