G4 Ti Powerbook power only works when battery is removed.

My G4/15 Ti Powerbook's stopped booting on battery power. When I press the Start button, the hard drive starts to spin, then it quickly stops. The battery is fully charged according to the little green lights.
The Powerbook boots and runs reliably when connected to the power adapter, but only if the battery is removed. If I use the adapter and a battery is installed (even though fully charged), the G4 works for awhile, then shuts down spontaneously.
(When I'm plugged in and powered up with the battery removed, I have to use the Apple Menu Shut-Down command to retain the Date and Time settings. If I accidentally pull the plug, I have to reset Date and Time the next time I power up.)
What could be causing this puzzling behavior? The G3 Powerbook has a small battery that keeps the laptop alive between uses and retains the settings. Does the G4 Powerbook have a similar battery that might need replacement? What else could be the cause? Thanks for your advice.
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Bob: It sounds as if all or most of your problems may be attributable to the fact that your main battery doesn't make or maintain reliable contact when it's installed. Why you "take that for granted" and blame it on the design of the Powerbook, when many other owners of Tibooks up to five years old are still happily using them without any such problem, is puzzling.
Did you perform the backup battery test described in the article I linked above? If you did, and your backup battery is still taking a charge OK, then the likelihood is that each time you transport your PB without a main battery installed, the backup battery is being drained again. This will happen if the moves exceed a few minutes in duration. The backup battery is really just meant to power your PRAM long enough to change main batteries when AC power is not available. It will only last five minutes or so in the absence of any other power supply. That is, you shouuld be able to move your PB from room to room without losing your PRAM settings (incl. date & time), but commuting to work probably exceeds the capabilities of the backup battery.
If your main battery's position in its compartment isn't secure, you aren't likely to be able to address your constellation of symptoms satisfactorily without addressing that root cause first. Depending on where the case is cracked and how much that has to do with the battery's instability, you may need to replace the top case.
What is the speed of your Powerbook's processor, and if it's a 667, does it have a VGA or a DVI port?

Similar Messages

Do i need a new battery if my computer only works when it's plugged in?

my lap top only works when it's plugged into the adapter. it doesn't CHARGE anymore. it works fine when plugged in but shuts off if it's not. Do i need a new battery? i just got a new charger because the one the computer came with died. please help!

Go to the Apple in the upper left corner and select About This Mac, then click on More Info (and then System Report if you are running 10.7 Lion or 10.8 Mountain Lion), then select Power from the left hand column of the System Profiler. Copy and paste the Battery Information from the top of the page back here.

I think something is wrong with my battery. Only works when plugged in.

My battery says its fully charged but only works when I keep it plugged in. I was using it yesterday and it just shut off randomly and started this stuff. I have no idea what I should do. Help?
It's a 2007 black MacBook if that makes a difference.
Model Information:
Manufacturer:          DP
Device name:          ASMB016
Pack Lot Code:          0002
PCB Lot Code:          0000
Firmware Version:          102a
Hardware Revision:          0500
Cell Revision:          0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh):          4158
Fully charged:          Yes
Charging:          No
Full charge capacity (mAh):          4186
Health Information:
Cycle count:          489
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          0
Voltage (mV):          12504

Even though it says Normal the Cycle count is well above the 300 considered the maximum for the battery. Plus your Amperage is at 0.
You can get a new third party battery fairly cheap on eBay. Every MacBook from 2006 through Mid 2009 except the Late 2008 Aluminum Unibody and the Late 2009 and 2010 White Unibodies use the same A1185 battery.
Black Batteries http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=macbook+black+battery&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=12 &_dmpt=Laptop_Batteries&_odkw=macbook+white+battery&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0. m 270.l1313
Or for $129 from The Apple Store http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA566LL/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

7th gen Nano only works when plugged in, turns off when unplugged... battery is fully charged.

7th gen Nano only works when plugged into computer, as soon as I unplug it shuts off (it was ejected from iTunes). Battery is fully charged. Have already done a restore in iTunes and checked for updated software.

Hello there, DizDude.
The following Knowledge Base article offers up some good recommendations for troubleshooting battery issues with the 7th generation iPod Nano:
iPod nano (7th generation): Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4433
Particularly this section:
Battery life appears short
Learn how to conserve battery life.
Ensure that the latest software is installed on the iPod.
When charging, use the cable that came with iPod nano (7th generation) and leave the device connected until it is fully charged.
Note: If you are charging using your computer, don't connect iPod nano (7th generation) to your keyboard. Also, the computer must be turned on and not in sleep or standby mode. If iPod nano (7th generation) is connected to a computer that's not turned on or is in sleep or standby mode, the iPod nano (7th generation) battery may drain.
When you are done using the iPod nano, verify that:
The Radio application is off (tap the button)
Music is paused (tap the button in the iPod application or disconnect the earphones)
There is no active Pedometer session (tap the Stop button in the Fitness application)
Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life on iPod nano. Go to Settings > General > Brightness and restore the brightness to the default, or drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness.
Playing tracks with EQ requires your iPod processor to consume more energy than playing tracks without EQ, because the EQ information is not encoded in the song. To prolong battery life, turn EQ off if you don't use it. Go to Settings > Music > EQ and select Off from the list. Note, however, that if you've added EQ to tracks in iTunes, you'll need to set EQ to Flat to have the effect of Off, because iPod keeps your iTunes settings intact.
Try restoring iPod nano (7th generation) by connecting it to iTunes and clicking Restore.
Test the battery life.
Issue not resolved
If the issue is still not resolved, please read this information on servicing your iPod.
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

My Ipod touch will only work when plugged into a itouch radio. When I take it out, it goes blank. Why can I do?

My Ipod touch will only work when plugged into an Itouch radio. When I take it out of the charger, it goes blank. The battery shows fully charged. It appears that the battery is no longer charging. What should I do?

Try a reset: Hold the home and power buttons at the same time until the Apple boot logo appears. No data will be lost. If that fails, the battery may have gone kaput.

MacBook Pro will not charge, only works when plugged in.

My MacBook Pro says it is at 68% battery not charging but the source is coming from the power adapter. It hasnt gone down for the past day or so. Also it only works when it's plugged in and shuts down immediately when the charger is unplugged. I just bought a replacent cord and this started happening. Does anybody have a fix for this? Here is some of the System Information (I dont believe it is a battery failure problem though the system says its normal)
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          3201
Fully Charged:          No
Charging:          No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          4678
Health Information:
Cycle Count:          277
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          0
Voltage (mV):          11795
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Wake on LAN:          Yes
Current Power Source:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          2
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
Reduce Brightness:          Yes
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:          No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:          Yes
ID:          0x0100
Wattage (W):          60
Revision:          0x0000
Family:          0x00ba
Serial Number:          0x002b46f4
Charging:          No

Perform a SMC reset:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
If there is no improvement, make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar for a free diagnosis.
Ciao.

My ipod only works when its being charged!

my ipod only works when its charged. when i unplug it the screen slowly fades out and i can no longer turn it on. and when i connect it to the computer it doesnt even connect! can someone please help me???!!!!
ipod video Windows XP

"my ipod only works when its charged."
Then it sounds like a battery problem.
Try these.
My iPod won't turn on.
iPod has no power and appears frozen.
iPod battery doesn't charge.
If none of the above help, then it may be an issue that requires service.
You can arrange online service here.
Service request.
Or if an Apple store is near you, take it there and have them check your iPod.

My ipod nano 4th generation only works when it is plugged into the computer; otherwise, the screen turns black and it is completely unresponsive to any efforts such as pushing buttons, reseting, etc. What should I do?

My ipod nano 4th generation only works when it is plugged into the computer; otherwise, the screen turns black and it is completely unresponsive to any efforts such as pushing buttons, reseting, etc. What should I do?

Sounds like the battery is shot and in need of a replacement. You can have Apple replace the battery for a flat fee or you can send it into a third party repair center for a bit less.
Not much else you can do for troubleshooting this one.
B-rock

What's wrong with my MacBook, it only works when its plugged in to the wall charger

my MacBook only works when its plugged in with the wall charger. What's wrong with it? it the problem fixable ?

Marina -
What Kappy said, or maybe your Battery charging cable is faulty, or something's happened to the input slot.
I'd take it to Apple and have them troubleshoot it for you.

Only works when plugged in

My iPad 2 was left on overnight, not plugged in with the battery at 95% last I checked. This morning it was off and I was unable to turn it on. I plugged it into the charger and it seemed to start up, but the date and time had been reset to December 31st 1969 at 4pm!!! Then, I tried to reset the date and time but it would automatically keep going back to that date. When I went to unplug it, so I could sync it with iTunes, it turned off immediately! It only works when plugged into the charger and even then it turned itself off after about 2 minutes. While unplugged, I tried a hard reset (holding the home and sleep/wake button down at same time for 15 seconds, but it doesn't do anything at all. I did notice that it was pretty hot yesterday, but didn't have any problems running it at all. Any suggestions, or is this clearly a hardware problem? Thanks in advance.

When it was plugged in, it was at 95% so that's not the issue. THe battery appears charged, but the device simply doesn't want to run on it. The weird date reset makes me think it could potentially be a software issue, but I'm worried it is essentially a hardware/battery problem.

Ipw3945 only working when modprobing manually / not on startup

The last kernel update broke my wireless.
When booting, the ipw3945d daemon will tell me "ERROR: Could not find Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection". After it finishes booting, I can rmmod the ipw3945 module and modprobe it again. Starting the daemon after that works flawlessly. Even if I try to start the daemon manually after the booting sequence, I'll get that error. I first need to rmod and modprobe ipw3945 for it to work. So...:
[21:32:40 | shapeshifter@Tachycineta ~]$ sudo /etc/rc.d/ipw3945d start
:: Starting IPW3945d [BUSY]
2008-03-01 21:32:47: ERROR: Could not find Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
[DONE]
[21:32:48 | shapeshifter@Tachycineta ~]$ sudo rmmod ipw3945
[21:32:50 | shapeshifter@Tachycineta ~]$ sudo modprobe ipw3945
[21:32:53 | shapeshifter@Tachycineta ~]$ sudo /etc/rc.d/ipw3945d start
:: Starting IPW3945d [DONE]
[21:32:57 | shapeshifter@Tachycineta ~]$
And I have no idea why it only works when modprobing manually.
Anyone?
Last edited by TB2 (2008-03-01 23:05:33)

zenlord wrote:
Are you sure it's driver-related? I have never heard anyone complain about deassociating wireless networks unless they were using networkmanager or wicd or something like that. In the various threads about netcfg2 I have never seen anyone with this problem.
Zl.
I don't know if it's driver-related, but it could be power-related: iwl3945 isn't able to retrieve my ap essid everytime, since on the other hand ipw3945 is able to do, with the laptop in the SAME position.
Last edited by uastasi (2008-03-13 20:10:18)

TS1630 My iphone4 speakers will only work when I receive a call or factime, but for nothing else. Why?

My Speakers on my iphone4 will only work when I receive a call or facetime, and are muffled when an alarm goes off. Other than that, I have absolutely no sound from anything- text, music, videos, games, etc. UNLESS I use headphone. My phone will vibrate with text messages, though. When I try to turn up the volume on the side, it doesn't register any bars- the space for the volume boxes is blank. Also, there is no volume bar in my music when I try to turn up the volume. I have tried restarting my phone numerous times, I have also checked and rechecked the switch on the side to no avail. Does anyone have any troubleshooting ideas or know what might cause this?

I tried this and noticed a little green inside the charging port. I panicked thinking it was corrupt, but found out if you lighting moisten the toothbrush with alcohol and gently scrub (with the power off) you can remove the green. I started inspecting one of our charging adapters, which had been giving us trouble, and it was very green inside. Not sure if it can transfer from one to the other?
BUT now I have sound! Thanks for your suggestion, it helped!

My iPod only works when plugged into a wall socket!

Anyone know why my iPOD only works when plugged into a wall outlet? I tried it on the Bose docking station and also my MacBook and it won't work!
Any ideas??

Sounds like a dead battery. You can have Apple swap out the battery for a flat fee or you can send it to a third party service center to have them do the same for job a little less.
B-rock

Iphone 4: Home Button Not Working. The home button only works when it is connected to iTunes, once i disconnet it does not work, i have tried a restore to factory settings but it still is not working. Any suggestions?

iphone 4: Home Button Not Working. The home button only works when it is connected to iTunes, once i disconnet it does not work, i have tried a restore to factory settings but it still is not working. Any suggestions?

Apple, as I said, does not repair your iPhone. All hardware service issues are handled by replacing the unit. So they can't handle the home-button issue without also addressing the issue of the cracked screen, for which they'll almost certainly charge you. But you can make an appointment at an Apple Store or call Apple tech support and plead your case.
Regards.

My Airport Time Capsule only works when I turn off and turn on, but I think this may end up with the unit. What can this happening and how to solve?

Time Capsule Airport
Hello to all, good day, sorry my english google, but it is the tool I have at the moment. I'm having trouble with my Time Capsule Airport, I made all the settings according to the manual, but there has been a connection problem with my iMac. When I finish my work I turn off the imac and then again when they return to work and care, it can not connect to Time Capsule Airport, making it impossible to remove the files and make back up by Time Machine only works when I turn off and turn on the Airport Time Capsule , but I think this may end up with the unit. What can this happening and how to solve? Thank you.
Olá a todos, bom dia, desculpe meu inglês google, mas é a ferramenta que tenho no momento. Estou tendo dificuldades com a minha Airport Time Capsule, fiz todas as configurações de acordo com o manual, mas tem existido um problema de conexão com meu iMac. Quando termino meus trabalhos desligo o imac e depois quando retorno pra trabalhar novamente e ligo, ele não se conecta a Airport Time Capsule, impossibilitando retirar os arquivos e fazer o back-up pelo Time Machine, só funciona quando desligo e ligo a Airport Time Capsule, mas acho que isso pode acabar com o aparelho. O que pode esta acontecendo e como resolver? Obrigado.

This is easier to do with pictures perhaps.. since we do not share a common language and machine translation leaves a lot to be desired.
In the airport utility bring up your Time Capsule.
Simply post the screenshots here.
So here is mine.
Click on the Edit button and give us the Internet and Wireless and Network tab..
eg.
Please also make sure you are set to ipv6 in your wireless or ethernet .. whichever is used.. and do tell which.
This is wifi in your computer.
The following are important..
DO not use long names with spaces and non-alphanumeric names.
Use short names, no spaces and pure alphanumeric.
eg TC name. TCgen5
Wireless name TCwifi
Use WPA2 Personal security with 10-20 character pure alphanumeric password.
read apple instructions to help with TM and TC.. they did finally admit it has issues in Mavericks.
OS X Mavericks: Time Machine problems
Mount the TC manually in finder.
AFP://TCgen5.local
When asked for the password .. that is the disk access password and save it in the keychain.
Reset Time Machine
See A4 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

G4 Ti Powerbook power only works when battery is removed.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for