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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > 1.5GHz Powerbook problem (disk? temperature?)

1.5GHz Powerbook problem (disk? temperature?)
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all2ofme
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Jun 17, 2006, 05:18 PM
 
Hi all,

I've had my 1.5GHz PB (2GB RAM, 80GB) for almost 2 years and it's been a little trooper until three weeks ago.

For some reason the machine (10.4.5 at the time and 10.4.6 now) has started to beach ball extremely regularly, even when nothing's happening. An example is the log-in screen where the system freezes before I can enter my username completely. When copying files from a FW disk to my internal drive I get no more than 1MB/second, which is definitely slower than I'm used to!

I thought possible culprits might be:

- Hard disk
- Temperature (it's been really hot in London recently)

To have a go at working out if it's the former I ran the Hardware Test CD and it chugged through with no problems. I then formatted the disk (zeroing it in the hope that it'd mark out any bad blocks) and reinstalled from scratch. No joy, though - even before I'd started copying my files back onto the machine the same problem cropped up.

To examine the second I left my PB in the fridge for a while. Same problems.

This is really getting to me - this machine has been a joy to use until recently and I don't want to get a MB or a MBP just yet.

Hoping that someone has some ideas as to what to try.

Thanks for any help!
Ben
     
imitchellg5
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Jun 18, 2006, 08:55 PM
 
You put it in the fridge??? My aunt has had problems like that on her 17 in 1.67 PB G4 after installing Tiger. I will PM you when she finds a solution if you wish.
     
MRTrauffer
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Jun 19, 2006, 12:16 AM
 
Is your PB making any clicking noises? My 1.5GHz showed the same signs of lag and beachballs shortly before it's factory hard drive died...that was a couple months ago. I ended up installing a new hard drive. I've had this PB for about 2 years now.
I gotta have more cowbell.
     
all2ofme  (op)
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Jun 19, 2006, 05:42 AM
 
imitchellg5
Yep - seemed the best place for it. I rearranged some food for it to sit on Didn't help, though! It'd be great if you work your aunt's out, though it's possible that it's Spotlight indexing your drive if you've just installed Tiger on it. Tiger'll churn through your disk for a while after a new install.

MRTrauffer
No, no clicking noises that I've heard. It'd be nice if it were that clear-cut. I don't mind buying a new drive if that's the problem, but I really don't want to buy one unnecessarily. It's just tiding me over until the MBP that I'm after is out. I take it that yours clicked before it died? Would almost be nice if mine started doing that!

Does anyone have any other ideas? Initially I thought it was the 10.4.6 or the Java update that came out recently, but the reinstall put paid to that idea. Hmmm.
     
seanc
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Jun 19, 2006, 08:02 AM
 
I would heavily suspect the drive.

It lags for not apparently reason and you a are getting poor transfer rates which would all be linked to the drive. I'd replace the drive because after you've bought your MBP, you can give it to a family member or sell it.
     
MRTrauffer
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Jun 19, 2006, 08:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by all2ofme
I take it that yours clicked before it died?
Yes. My drive clicked quite a bit before it died, however, I noticed lagging before any audible noise was heard. The new drive I installed I got from Macsales.com, it's quieter and quicker than the original drive.
I gotta have more cowbell.
     
all2ofme  (op)
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Jun 19, 2006, 09:07 AM
 
Thanks for your help, everyone. Have a 100GB 7200rpm Seagate on the way. Will report back on whether this solves things or not.

If it does it might tide me over until another revision of the MBPs have arrived
     
all2ofme  (op)
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Jun 21, 2006, 04:58 PM
 
Have installed the new drive (what a mission!) and all seems to be well so far. Only a few beachballs, but I think that I can put that down to either the OS or the machine having to ponder something as it is wont to do sometimes. Seemingly not the regular beach balls of yesterday.

Hope this has fixed it for good. Will post back here once I'm certain just in case someone else has a similar problem.

Thanks everyone for your help!
     
imitchellg5
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Jun 22, 2006, 10:00 PM
 
Hope it is fixed.
     
all2ofme  (op)
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Jun 23, 2006, 06:37 PM
 
Well I'm happy to report that my Powerbook is back to normal. Better than normal, actually. Running cooler, more quietly, and a lot faster.

Very happy with this drive. For anyone that's after a recommendation for a new hard disk I'd recommend looking at the Seagate 7200.1 100GB. Nice disk.

Now I'm happy waiting until the MBPs have been revised to have:

Merom
Blu-ray burners (or whatever eventuates as the new standard)
Different enclosures (including an easily upgraded disk - the PB was a pain)
Higher res screens

Thank you all again for your help!
     
   
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