Fixing iBook power problem

I wanted to share an experience I had fixing my son's iBook for a problem that seems common on this forum. The power light on the end of the charging cable was not always indicating the right color. The charging icor in the menu bar was often giving the wrong indication showing no AC adapter was attched, even though it was. Wiggling the connector or applying pressure on it to one side would cause the light and icon to show correctly but as soon as the sideways pressure was removed from the connector, it would act up again.
I suspected mechanical damage internal to the iBook so I used a take-apart guide (http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/iBook-G4-12-Inch/83) and removed the small power board, called the DC-In board in the referenced guide, that the charging connector attaches to. By looking at it with a magnifying glass I was indeed able to see that the solder had cracked on several of the pins that attach the power connector to the board. Using a soldering iron and some fresh solder I was able to touch up all the solder joints. When I reassmbled the iBook, it was working perfectly again.
I realize this type of repair is not something everyone can perform for themselves. But for those who can, consider it. And for those who can't, use this as a big clue where to tell a technician to look to fix the problem, assuming your iBook is having similar symptoms.
I'll stop short of calling this a product defect on Apple's part, but looking at this design mechanically and critiquing it, I can see why Apple went to Magsafe.

Wow excellent detective work and fix. I'd suspected this problem on a lot of posts.
I don't know if I'd blame Apple on this, people walk away, trip over that cord all the time and the constant plugging and unplugging. I think Magsafe is a great solution. I don't see anyone else doing that.
Richard

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Ibook power problem

hi
im new here
i have a problem hope you can guide me
i have a ibook 600/128/10GB i think is a dc-in board problem
im just speculating but, i managed to open the ibook and expose both logical and dc board so when i plugged the dc cord a short crackle sounds and the orange led of the dc cord start flashig also a strange sound comes from de dc adaptor, so i unplugged the dc in board strip cable from the logical board and plugged again the dc cord and the short circuit stops and the orange led lights normally , can you tell me what is the problem here? Dc-in board or the logical (hope is only dc)
Thanks for any replies

These are the four most common possibilities when the battery will not charge:
(1) there is something wrong with your battery
(2) there is something wrong with your power adapter
(3) there is something wrong with your power input board (the part that contains the port where you plug in the adapter)
(4) there is something wrong with your logic board
Have you tried resetting the PMU? There is a chance that may help.
When a DC-in board quits working, the computer will run fine from the battery, but won't run from the adapter, and the adapter will no longer charge the battery. This does sound like what has happened to you. To diagnose a bad DC-in board, you need to make sure it isn't the battery or the adapter at fault by swapping out first one and then the other, If it runs from a known good charged battery okay, but won't run from a known good adapter, then you are going to have to replace the power input board. This happened to my husband's. It acted exactly the way yours is acting.
Usually, if it is a logic board problem, the iBook simply will not run from the battery. This happened to mine. The battery showed up in the battery status indicator. It was recognized by the computer and charged by the adapter (as shown by the battery status indicator). However, when I unplugged the adapter from the iBook, it was just like pulling the power cord from the wall on a desktop. The iBook immediately shutdown. Dead.
Judging from our experiences, it is likely a bad power input (DC-in) board.

How do I fix a initializing problem with my macbook pro? I only get to the blank screen with the apple logo and the "processing something"sign... it just doesn't start the system....

How do I fix a initializing problem with my macbook pro? I only get to the blank screen with the apple logo and the "processing something" sign... it just doesn't start the system....
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Marcelo

If there is no loading bar, it's usually a problem with a third party kext file in OS X itself.
You can press the power button down to force a hardware shutdown, then reboot holding the shift key down on a wired or built in keyboard, this will disable them and you go around and update your third party software.
Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Also take this time to backup your users files off the machine if possible.
Most commonly used backup methods
Sometime that won't work and you need to do more
..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Intermittent power problem Canon 5D Mark iii

My Canon 5D Mark iii (2 years old) has an intermittent power problem, as described below. It may simply be a question of cleaning the terminals that the battery connects to. I haven’t tried since I can’t reach them at the bottom of the battery compartment.
Details as follows:
this is a recent problem in the last 3 weeks
the problem occurs with all three Canon batteries that I use
from time to time when the power is on, the camera suddenly loses all power and displays an “empty” battery image
sometimes it happens of its own accord while no demand is being placed on the camera
but more usually it occurs at the moment of focusing (I use back focus on the * button)
it is often fixed by turning the power off and then on again. This fixes it half the time
it is always fixed by turning the power off, removing and then re-inserting the battery
needless to say this is very annoying!
Since coming back from a trip, while transferring images from the camera to my computer, I noticed that the (almost) full battery started showing “empty”.
The transfer was completed successfully, and when the camera was disconnected from the computer, the battery showed that it had lots of charge left. Very puzzling!

It sounds like either the battery terminals aren't getting a solid contact or there's a fault (something loose or grounding out) inside the camera. But if something were genuinely loose or grounding out inside the camera, then power cycling or even re-inserting batteries would probably not fix it -- which makes me suspect it's still something outside the camera.
Are any of the batteries new, or are they all about the same age as the camera?
Batteries only last a few years but it'll depend on how they were used. In other words if all three were used about the same and enough charge cycles to be at the end of their reliable life... it might be time to replace them.
It's difficult for the internal battery terminals to get dirty unless the battery itself had something on the battery iteself when you inserted it. You can try a bit of denatured alcohol on a cotton swap to reach in and clean the terminals. Also, inspect the batteries to make sure they're all clean.
Tim Campbell
5D II, 5D III, 60Da

I have an I Pad 1 with 64 gigs. It constantly drops me off the Internet for no apparent reason. Is there any fix for this problem?

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First, try a system reset. It cures many ills and it's quick, easy and harmless...
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If I reset my iPad in order to fix my email problem, will I lose everything on it....like my books?

If I reset my iPad to fix a email problem will I lose everything on it.....like books?

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IBook boot problems

Hello, My iBook recently won't boot correctly. It goes to the login screen and then goes to a full screen terminal and asks for my password. The only password that works is the root password. Now this happened after I installed the xvid codec for quicktime but as far as I know that couldent have caused something like this. So in trying to fix this I rebooted the computer into single user mode and removed the applesetupdone (/var/db/.applesetupdone) file to hopefuly get the computer to just go through the intl. setup. Well that didnt work. Now it gets stuck in a loop saying it cant load up the intl. setup. I can still get into single user mode though so it should still be fixable. If not I think the mac has smbmount so I could just move my files over to my friends computer and reformat. I know this problem was not caused by my dual boot because its been running fine for about 2 years. Could anyone tell me how I could fix this boot problem or how to startup the network services in single user mode.
Thanks, Spazo

An update. . .
Booted in TDM and wouldn't show up on my MBP, however could view it in disk utility. It wouldn't let me mount it though. I've tried repairing however after an hour still nothing. Here's the info notes. I'm getting the impression the hard drive is damaged beyond repair.
Name : AAPL FireWire Target Media
Type : Disk
Disk Identifier : disk1
Media Name : AAPL FireWire Target Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : FireWire
Connection Type : External
Connection ID : 2979676490117816
Partition Type : Applepartitionscheme
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/PCIB@1E/FRWR@3/node@a95fffebd32b8/sbp-2@4020/@0:0
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : Yes
Location : External
Total Capacity : 27.9 GB (30,005,821,440 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 1
Partition Number : 0

IBook logicboard problem

Hello
My ibook logic board has failed. It shows all the symptoms that are described by apple.
Is there any way the logic board could be repaired? Is there any kind of fix I could try?
I have tried to get it repaired by apple, but it is out of warranty and out of the Expanded iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program as told by my local apple authorized repairer.
I would be nice to get it back on the road as it is a vital tool!
Any suggestions, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

My brother-in-law recently bought an iBook G3 600MHz from eBay. It worked fine for a few days, then the display (backlight) started to go out. Pressing on the case to the left of the trackpad seems to temporarily fix the problem. This suggests a problem with the logic board. I connected an external display to the iBook and the external display sometimes works fine even when the iBook display goes blank. Sometimes the external display shows distorted lines, then it goes blank, even though the iBook display looks fine.
Perhaps the display processor is not making good contact with the logic board? Perhaps there is a broken trace on the logic board?
What is your opinion on how to repair this iBook? From the discussions I have read, replacing the logic board may only be a temporary fix to the problem since there may be a design flaw in the iBook.
Personally, I think my brother-in-law should purchase a PowerBook. Between my wife and I, we have owned 4 PowerBooks and the we have had only one fail after 3 years due to a bad hard drive. I replaced the hard drive for $100 bucks and it had been working great since.
Thanks everyone, espceially Rhonda Wilson, for posting all this useful information to the discussion group!
Robert in Albuquerque

Strangest iBook power issue

I am sure this is an issue with the logic board but I wanted to throw this one at you guys...
My iBook goes to sleep by itself. I have the energy saver set to NEVER for everything. Now, this happens when the battery is in and the adapter is plugged in. Sometimes you have to jiggle the adapter at the iBook power input. If the battery is in it will go to sleep. If the battery is not there, it will shut off completely. This all seems to happen when the iBook is moved around, but can happen on its own too.Sometimes the battery icon goes from battery to plug to battery really fast. I thought it was the adapter (my second by the way) but I used my girlfriends brand new third party adapter (she has an iBook G3 dual USB) and it did the same thing. I reset PMU, PRAM, all that crap (I used to be a support guy at Apple but got sick of being yelled at all the time). I know it is a hardware issue. I know I need a new battery. Anyone have any other ideas?
iBook G4 933 MHZ 1.0 GB RAM 80GB Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi, and welcome to Apple Discussions.
We get "yelled at" here, too, by the way, but it's easier to take when you're not getting paid for it and can just walk away (or fire back a snappy comeback).
It may be your DC-in (power input) board going bad. This is the part of the iBook that houses the adapter port. When my husband's DC-in board was damaged, the iBook would only run from a charged battery. It wouldn't run with the adapter at all. But before it totally quit, it worked sporadically. That sounds like it may be what's happening with yours. Hubby and I swapped batteries, allowing my iBook to charge both batteries, until he could get his fixed.
DT & T Computer Services charges $145 plus shipping to and from Fremont, California for fixing this, but they double the warranty you would get with an Apple Authorized repair. DT & T also do free diagnostics (in case I'm not right about what's wrong with it).

Will apple fix my power button and if so how much will it cost

I need to know how much apple will cost to fix the power button on my iPhone 4

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Apple does not repair iPhones, but replaces them.
Check here to see your warranty status:
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do
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Apple will not charge for the replacement.
Make an appointment before going to the Genius Bar to avoid delay:
http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

Very strange power problem...

Hey guys (and girls ofcourse),
I'm having a very strange power problem with my late 2007 2.2Ghz santa rosa macbook.
Can you guys help me determine what the problem could be?
Here's what happened prior, when the macbook was still working. I got home from work, plugged my adapter into the wall, and it started charging. I left it on the table, and when I came back from the diner table I continued working, but suddenly noticed my macbook wasn't charging anymore. (the orange/green led wasn't lighting up but i was able to work on battery power)
I thought it was the poweradapter, so I went to the apple store the next day to lend one to test it. That didn't work, so it's not the adapter.
So then I started thinking it must be the magnetic DC connector. So I ordered that from the guys at ifixit, (since it's out of warranty) but I replaced it and it's not working.
I don't think it's the logic board, because I was able to continue working until I ran out of battery power. And I also don't think it's the battery connector, because if i'm not mistaking, the macbook can run without battery as well, but mine can't anymore.
Now I can't get any life out of my mac anymore...
Might there be something I overlooked?
Any suggestions are definately welcome!
Thanks a lot.
Timo from Belgium.

Hi Timo,
I think i have the same problem, my mac is not working without battery in it. and it wont charge it.
i wrote a post here http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2105648&tstart=0
let me know if you have fixed the problem
thanks

I've only had my iphone 5s for a week. I keep getting an error message of "Server has stopped responding." I need the server to work. Does anyone know if there is a "fix" for the problem? Other wise, I probably best return for a refund and get a Samsung.

I've only had my iphone 5s for a week. I keep getting an error message of "Server has stopped responding." I need the server to work. Does anyone know if there is a "fix" for the problem? Other wise, I probably best return for a refund and get a Samsung. Thanks

sandyzotz wrote:
Other wise, I probably best return for a refund and get a Samsung.
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Unless and until the user provides some actual details of the problem, there is nothing the indicate that the issue is with the iPhone.

I have a 2005 Jaguar xj8. When I tried to upgrade my 3gs to a 4g I got a ticking noise in the speaker and no one on the other end could hear me. I had to go back to a 3gs. My phone is shot and I need to upgrade. Has there been a fix to the problem?

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Hi Labjock,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
The article below may be able to help you with this.
iPhone: Microphone issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts5183
Cheers,
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Hi all,
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Anyone know when Apple will bring out a patch to fix the volume problem you get on mac mini after downloading OS 10.8.5

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Fixing iBook power problem

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