Only a dead battery...I hope?

Hello,
I've been having recent problems with my 14'' iBook G4. Prior to this computer, I had a 12'' iBook G4 with frequent kernel panics, so I parted that thing out to make a few extra bucks. To my dismay, this "new" iBook G4 (purchased from eBay with a Square Trade Warranty) is having problems. I was on it the other day about to burn a CD via iTunes and as it was preparing the disc, the computer shut off unexpectedly. The battery was at 89% when this happened, so I panicked, remembering the faulty machine I had before this. When I turned the computer back on, it informed that the clock had been reset and applications might behave erratically, and was set to some date in 1969! The computer frequently does this, especially in processor-intensive applications (I.E. converting mp3's to AAC files in iTunes). I looked over the auction at least ten times, making sure I hadn't overlooked some crappy as-is policy, but then saw that the only thing NOT guaranteed was the battery.
Downloaded the coconutBattery app, and its health is at 29%, and the computer does not shut down when connected to power. However, I'm still curious why the clock is being reset. If I take the battery out and then connect it to power and boot up without the battery, the clock is not reset. Is this normal if the battery has reached the end of its useful life?

Hey Christian,
the computer shut off unexpectedly. The battery was at 89% when this happened, so I panicked, remembering the faulty machine I had before this. When I turned the computer back on, it informed that the clock had been reset and applications might behave erratically, and was set to some date in 1969!
So the system clock is controlled by the PMU. It resets itself when when the power to the PMU chip is interrupted. There is a super capacitor (~.22F) that will hold settings for about 30 seconds in a no power situation. This is facilitate a battery swap. It is possible that your super cap is bad and when you're running on battery power a power glitch would cause the clock to reset. The glitch could be caused by a bad battery, bad battery connector, bad battery input board or a loose battery lock.
If the super cap is bad that's not actually such a big deal. If you're running on the net all the time and the "set date & time automatically" box is checked in the Date & Time preferences panel the date and time will reset automatically.
Richard
Message was edited by: spudnuty

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