Is my powerbook electrocuting me?

I dropped my powerbook, unprotected, a couple of feet yesterday and it landed right on the corner that is closest to the battery (with the laptop open, this is the front left corner on the base [non-screen] portion of the computer). There is a bit of crumple from the drop and the upper part of the base just barely does not touch the lower part of the base due to the crumple. This is certainly not a terrible issue, though I have some concern about dust getting in through the very small gap.
The real issue is that since then, it sort of feels like I'm getting a very low level shock when I use the computer. I've been shocked before and this isn't a big jolting shock, and in fact it can barely be felt (I'll admit this could be psychosomatic and imagined). But when I'm typing and resting my wrists on the base, I get an odd feeling in my chest, throat, and head.
My wife tried it and said she senses something as well, but I'm trying to determine if it's even possible to be shocked by the laptop. I will also note that this happens regardless of whether I'm plugged into an outlet. I'm a couple of hours away from my apple store and would like to avoid the trip until I'm back in this area in a couple weeks, unless being shocked by this computer is a realistic issue.
Am I crazy?

It is possible to be shocked by your laptop. I've seen other threads where users have reported very definite shocks. Besides which, any electrical item presumably has this potential. Being disconnected from the power won't necessarily prevent it - there is still power from the battery. Even pulling the battery does not rule out the possibility of shock as power is stored in PRAM batteries (where applicable), capacitors etc. If you open a laptop to install RAM, for example, you disconnect from AC and pull the battery but you can still be shocked.
So it is very possible, you are not crazy (well, not necessarily on the basis of the evidence presented, anyway) and you should not postpone the trip to the AppleStore. It is never good when your computer starts attacking you!
- cfr

Similar Messages

My Powerbook is bleeding electricity

Dear Apple & Apple Support,
I have discovered that my powerbook bleeds electricity across its casing/chassis when plugged into USB devices that have their own power source. This discovery came after a few instances, including getting shocked while trying to unplug a USB device, consistent "alive" sensations when touching the notebook and the ability to feel the "charged" state of the notebook through other people when they are touching it.
I am however in a difficult situation of trying to resolve this issue. I am currently living in Russia (Major Problem #1). My notebook is the only way I can make money... and even at that I don't always make enough to feed myself and family.
I have dealt with the Apple IMC office in Saint Petersburg. While the staff is friendly enough, the process of getting problems addressed is not. My iPod that has been broken for the last 12 months of the 14 months that I have owned it is still dead and was even further damaged by Apple IMC who failed to process the iPod even-though they had it for two months.
Apple Cupertino has been unresponsive to my requests. I am unable to call into the office... e-mails and newsgroup posts go unanswered.
So while I continue to use my Powerbook... getting electrified and mildly electrocuted in the process, i am at a loss as to what to do. If this was a normal problem with the Powerbook and/or its components that i can understand various options. However, this is actually a rather serious problem that holds extreme liability on everyone's part.
Two solutions that I find to be very acceptable and appropriate in this situation are as follows:
Solution #1: The notebook can be given to Apple IMC with clear instruction from Apple as how to process the repair/exchange. In the meantime, a replacement powerbook (iMac or Powermac) will be made available until my Powerbook is repaired/replaced.
Solution #2: Apple will send a replacement Powerbook to Apple IMC. I will then directly exchange the Powerbooks with Apple IMC.
But the crux of the problem is that Apple is not responsive and Apple IMC only cares about the inflow of cash.
While I know that the forums are not a solid environment to post such matters, I have so few options that I sit here on a prayer hoping that i will get some sort of official response.
Michael Hamson
Home: +7 (812) 570-9110
??. ?????? ?.1 ??.80
?????? 189620
??????

hi there.
I used to live in indonesia and i found the exact same problem. but i knew for a fact that the electricity there is not grounded in most homes. i used my computer there for 3 years without any problems while plugged into a special grounded regulating powerbar at my office, and at home i would watch dvd (not touch the machine often) while it was charging and then do my work off battery. I know it is a pain, but when i got back to canada it worked fine without the zaaaaap! i know this isn't helping much but just so you know, i don't think Apple will do anything to help you. (They won't even replace my new machine that has been malfunctioning regularily for 6months and has been in the repair shop ten times, although they will reimburse you for a rental when you have hardware issues) But if you run your finger accross the machine and it feels like you are massaging a power line, it is definately because you are in a place with dodgy electricity. In my experience, i just took it as another interesting aspect of life in a different country, the way it is. But if you are there for good then some electrical work will definately help. It is not your machine.

Got electrocuted by ipod headphones

I listened to my ipod 5 minutes while walking to school at 48% volume, when i got there i opened my locker and then paused my ipod and took out the right ear piece to listen to my friend talk. About 5 seconds later the headphone crackled and then a jolt of electricity jumped through my ear, my ear started to throb in pain and hurt for about 15 minutes and then started to ring and now that the ringing has stopped it feels like pressure is stuck in my ear. Where should i got to email apple about this problem cause i don't want it to happen again cause it hurt really bad or have permenant damage done to my ear.
To add to this, these are my second pair of headphones cause my first pair the right ear bud shot craps.

Sorry to hear about your painful experience but
FYI,
to electrocute is to kill using electricity. If
you
live to tell the tale, you’ve been shocked, but
not
electrocuted.
That's not correct:
e·lec·tro·cute vt
1. to cause injury or death with an electric shock
2. to execute somebody by means of the electric
chair
Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999
Edit "That's not correct" to "That's not entirely correct".
1 Ghz Aluminum Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.4) 5G iPod 60GB

Powerbook is SHOCKING me. Electrocution.

I have a 15" Powerbook with 1 gig of ram.
On and off my Powerbook will literally shock me, usually through one specific area, the bottom left-hand corner of the wrist rests.
I took it into an Apple store and could not recreate it, and Apple didn't want to talk to me, saying if the hardware test came out ok - it did - then they wouldn't be able to do anything, that it was environmental.
While I'm surprised Apple doesn't care their computer is electrocuting me, I realize it COULD be environmental. My landlord checked my electrical plugs, and because it's an old house they are not grounded, meaning that big bottom hole isn't functioning. I have my computer plugged in through a surge protector regardless.
It's not a quick static shock, as Apple keeps telling me it is. When it occurs it's an extended, graduating shock that makes me pull my hand away, it actually hurts that bad. It doesn't do it all the time; sometimes I get a wierd tingling feeling on the wrist rests of the Powerbook.
Has anyone had this problem?

I have a 15" Powerbook with 1 gig of ram.
On and off my Powerbook will literally shock me,
usually through one specific area, the bottom
left-hand corner of the wrist rests.
I took it into an Apple store and could not recreate
it, and Apple didn't want to talk to me, saying if
the hardware test came out ok - it did - then they
wouldn't be able to do anything, that it was
environmental.
While I'm surprised Apple doesn't care their computer
is electrocuting me, I realize it COULD be
environmental. My landlord checked my electrical
plugs, and because it's an old house they are not
grounded, meaning that big bottom hole isn't
functioning. I have my computer plugged in through a
surge protector regardless.
It's not a quick static shock, as Apple keeps telling
me it is. When it occurs it's an extended, graduating
shock that makes me pull my hand away, it actually
hurts that bad. It doesn't do it all the time;
sometimes I get a wierd tingling feeling on the wrist
rests of the Powerbook.
Has anyone had this problem?
Hi Ian, I have exactly the same problem as you do. I just got my 15 " powerbook and in it 1 gb of ram. Every now and then I can feel the electric current on the top of the keyboard and in the lower left corner. I live in a totally reformed house in Barcelona and there is plenty of humidity here now so I am not dealing with dry air. I think it has something to do with the machine. I havent taken it to apple yet because it is not a constant problem, it happens randomly. I have also been having problems with the soundcard in the machine. A couple of times a day the sound im playing goes into a loop for 2 or 3 seconds and then continues normally, regardless of what program I am playing sounds from.

Wrong 'mini dvi to video' adapter for my 12" Powerbook 1.33

I recently bought the M9319 mini dvi - video adapter for my 12" Powerbook 1.33 to find that the mini dvi on the adapter is a different size to the one on the computer and the adapters supplied with the computer.
I've been doing a bit of research into this and it seems a bit of a grey area. Apple have not made it clear in advertising this product that it is only suitable for the newest 12" Powerbooks and even state that it will work with a 1.33 machine in their following article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86507
Has anyone had a similar experience, or suggest an alternative product that will work? Did Apple make an older version that works with the 1.33?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Graeme.

Just took the adapter to my local Apple store and they identified it as a mini VGA to video adapter - not what it said on the packaging!
I've noticed a few posts with this problem, so just double check before you leave the store that the packaging matches the product.

Airport Card no longer recognized by PowerBook

I always take my PowerBook G4 to class with me for the purpose of taking notes during class. I was connected to the internet there, over the wireless network (on campus) with no problem.
When I got back home, my PowerBook wasn't seeing the wireless network (at home, seperate from the wireless network on campus), but I knew it was working because my iMac is connected to it just fine, along with two other computers in my house. I tried restarting a couple of times, and actually typing the name of the network into the Airport drop-down menu. This all did nothing, as did repairing the disk permissions.
I find it very unlikely that the card is not seated correctly, because first of all, when I brought the PowerBook back from campus (when it was working properly) it was tranported in my TUMI bag, which has a dedicated padded holder for PowerBooks, and then immediately took it out and sat it on my desk next to my iMac only to find the PowerBook no longer seeing the wireless signal.
And at this point, I could still turn Airport on and off, and I restarted the computer a couple of times to see if it would pick up the signal, all the while Airport was still recognized by the system (I could still turn it off and on from the drop-down menu, but no wireless networks were present).
So, I popped in my OS X DVD to boot from it to use the Repair Disk feature. It came up with an error that said something to the tune of "incorrect number of threads." It repaired the disk without any probems, or so I thought (and so it thought).
Now, the computer wouldl not function because it runs into a kernal panic, forcing me to hard shut-down the computer. It happened everytime, sometimes during startup, sometimes not until I got into OS X, but always soon after the OS starts.
I then booted the computer as a "Safe boot" and this seemed to stop the kernal panics, and I shut down the computer and started it again with no panics. There was no longer any recognition of the Airport card, either. Not even through the Airport Setup Assistant. It keeps telling me there is no card installed.
I have tried two seperate cards, as I thought maybe the one went bad, but nothing came of this. I tried zapping the PRAM, booting into Open Firmware to reset to defaults, all leading to nothing. I even went so far as to completely erase the drive and do a clean install of OS X, which now drops my system down to 10.4. NOTHING.
Please, anyone willing to help that would be great, even if you would like to contact me through iChat and we can discuss this over iSight to get to the root of the problem. Screen name is CoreyAtMiamiU.
Sorry about the long post and thanks for taking the time to read it.

This is a user to user discussion area. So it is unpredictable as to when someone with a suggestion will respond to your post. An hour in the middle of a work day isn't a long time.
Since the card is recognized, there isn't anything wrong with that side of the card. If the card isn't receiving a signal, either the RF side of the card has failed, the antenna wire isn't connected properly, or the antenna in the PowerBook has failed.

Powerbook 520c no longer boots?

Hi,
I recently got hold of a PB520c (System 7.1 installed.) Everything booted fine to start with, but now something seems to have gone wrong. When I try to boot it I get the Mac logo for about half a second, then the screen flickers and an picture of a floppy disk with a question mark appears on the screen.
The last thing I installed before this happened was Apple's Intelligent Battery software (the battery seemed dead and I wanted to see if I could revive it.) However, I had rebooted several times since then.
THe problem first appeared when I restarted while running on battery power only (I don't know if this had anything to do with it.) As the OS shut down it came up a message about the Autoremounter preferences file not being found, but it had restarted itself before I had a chance to do anything about this.
Is there any way to revive the Powerbook? Unfortunately I don't have any install disks for it. Would I be able to create install disks from the System 7.5.3 disk images Apple has for download? (I don't have any Macs with floppy drives apart from the 520c unfortunately.)
In case this matters (I doubt it does) the Powerbook only boots from the AC adapter, once it's running it will work from batteries, but I have to boot from the mains.
Thanks in advance.
Matthew

maffoo
Intelligent Battery Recondition (IBR) and VST's EMMpathy can often do in tandem what neither can do alone to revivify the PB 500 series batteries. It is more than probable that not being able to charge your batteries yet has caused the internal (deep) 616-0021 rechargeable backup battery to drain to the point that:
1) it no longer buys the three minutes of time after the main batteries reach last gasp in which you can swap in a charged battery, or shut down gracefully, and
2) cannot maintain PRAM settings, such as 'where is the startup volume?', and
3) allows the Power Manager to get very confused indeed.
With batteries out and AC adapter disconnected, allow the PB to sit for 10min. Hold down the command-option-control-power keys together (the 500s lack the reset/interrupt switches of other PBs and desktops) for 20-odd sec. to reset the Power Manager. Reconnect the AC adapter, start up and immediately hold command-option-p-r to reset the PRAM (and point the PB at its hard drive). If the PB successfully boots from its hard drive, you can insert the batteries, but don't attempt to power the PB from them. Let them take what charge they will as you use the machine and after shutdown.
If they show no sign of charging after 24hr of opportunity to charge from the adapter, begin the head-banging exercise of resuscitation. EMMpathy gives more info. as it diagnoses battery condition, but it is not more successful by itself than is Apple's app. in overcoming the first hurdle: the microprocessor (EEPROM) in the battery. Start IBR with a battery half-inserted into the right bay. When IBR asks 'wheresabaddery', push the battery right in. With luck, IBR will then fast charge the battery to the point that the microprocessor will remember that it is intelligent, and perhaps continue to charge the battery. If IBR tells you to return the battery to Apple, resist the urge and repeat the process several times until ...
EMMpathy can be employed when this initial phase of reanimating the zombie is over. It will give you a dossier on the battery's present state, show the current proportion of full charge as the battery continues to charge, and install the Sleep Drain Bug Fix that supposedly supplies an antibiotic after the boil has been lanced. Above all, however, nil desperandum. Just leaving the PB on the AC adapter night and day may also help in the reanimation. In the meantime, the PB 500 will be a snappy performer on the adapter.
The backup battery reputedly recharges only as the main batteries reach full charge, but often much sooner, such that you may find that the PB remembers its hard drive's whereabouts at the next startup. While the batteries are reawakening (and permanent return to health is only about 50% likely at best) you can proceed to test the HDD with Disk First Aid, reinstall the HDD's driver with Drive Setup (both from a suitable '040-savvy Disk Tools diskette) and re-install or upgrade the OS. How far depends on your RAM complement, which is 36MB at maximum.

Networking powerbook to a new printer

i have a power book G4, this is my first mac and i have no idea what to do...
i just purchased the Dell Laser Pinter 3100cn and am trying to get my powerbook to connect to this networkable printer but don't know how.
i can print when my powerbook is connected to the printer by USB, but i want to be able to print from my powerbook from without having to be directly connected -- please help i am completely clueless as to what to do...
thanks...Song.

Song
It can be tricky I can't explain it clearly. But go to the mac help at top of your screen and enter windows printing in the search box and try this first.
It took me a while to get it working because of firewall problems.
sorry can't tell more
Dav

Powerbook G4 can't connect via ethernet but connects via airport

We have a small office network connected to an Efficient Networks DSL router that's managed by our isp. The router has 4 ports and a linksys 8 port switch is connected to one of those ports. Another D-Link wireless router/switch is connected to another port.
2 i-macs connect without problem via ethernet cable. They are set to DHCP and get 192.xx private addresses. Both run 10.4.5. Another older imac running 9.2.2. also has no problems.
I recently purchased a powerbook G4 and it will not connect via ethernet to the Efficient networks router. At first it was connected to the linksys, so decided to connect it direct to the Efficient Networks router. With DHCP, it acquires a 169. internet address which is self generated (i.e. no real connection). I tried to give it a static private address (talking to the isp provider). They could see the powerbook but saw all zero's (presumable mac address). By the way the Powerbook works perfectly at home connected via ethernet cable to a D-Link router connected to a cable modem so it's not a physical problem. I even checked the ethernet cable I used in the office with another computer - no problem.
When I switch to airport in the office, the powerbook connects to the network and the internet. I get some strange warning messages showing the server's and the router's private ip addresses. I click ok, and the powerbook finds an unassigned private ip address. It's the only way it will work, but it causes problems, because I can't connect to one of the network printers. Speed also isn't great.
Can anyone give me advise how to proceed. I am no expert on this stuff so keep it as simple as possible.
Tks

Tim,
Thanks for your help. Here's what I've done before reading your e-mail. The D-Link DI-524 wireless router is connected to the Effiicent Neworks DSL router as you mentioned. One ethernet port of the EFF.Net. router is connected to the WAN port of the DI-514.
Because I have a D-Link router at home which works flawlessly with my powerbook, I decided to connect the ethernet cable of the powerbook to the D-Link which has 4 ethernet ports. Lo and behold, the powerbook acquired a private ip address and connected to the LAN and internet!
When I connected the powerbook direct to the Efficient Networks router, it could not communicate. I believe that there must be some software incompatibility between the powerbook and the Efficient Networks router. By connecting to the D-Link, the D-Link assigned an ip address to the powerbook, and it could connect to the server, lan, etc..
Only problem is that I have a Brother network printer that cannot connect to the powerbook. My powerbook cannot find it on the network. Because there is a linksys switch connected to the efficient networks router's third ethernet port, maybe as you said, going through the D-Link via DHCP (when the Linksys is also acting as a DHCP server, might cause this type of problem. What do you think?
As a final note, other imac G5's connected to the linksys switch (which then connects to the Efficient Network's router) have no problem connecting to the lan or internet and have no problem connecting to any of the printers. When I put the powerbook on that switch, I could not connect to the internet - i.e. whether connecting via the lynksys switch or direct with the efficient networks router - same results: no internet connection whether manually or via DHCP.
So the imac G5 has no problem with the efficient networks router but the powerbook G4 hits a brick wall. The G4 likes the D-Link router. I am concerned (and I will have to check this) that if I turn off the dhcp server feature from the D-Link, that whatever software issue crops up between the powerbook and the Efficient Networks router, will rise up again, because the D-Link will act like a simple switch (just like my linksys switch), and we'll be back to square zero. In any case, no harm in trying. This may be the cause of the Powerbook not seeing that Brother printer (even though it sees another printer and other macs).
Having spent hours reading about network problems, I think it's safe to say that macs have problems with certain routers. Why a G5 works and a powerbook G4 doesn't is beyond me, but clearly software must play a role.

OS 10.2 / Powerbook G4 - install CD not recognised

Hi all,
I hope you can help. A colleague has brought in her Powerbook G4 to see if I can install 10.2 for her. The Install CD was stuck in the drive. At startup, the old Mac icon appears, as does the bouncing beachball of doom. Not much happens at all, although the drive spins.
I should point out at this point that this machine looks like it's been through a threshing machine - apparently at one point it was rolling around in the back of a car with a spare tyre whilst the car was being driven rather, er, enthusiasically. However, the machine itself has functioned just fine ofr several years before the attempted upgrade.
I've fsck'ed, reset the PRAM and tried target disk mode, and the HD appears to be fine. As far as I can tell, the OS itself is a bit of a state.
I've tried two different external USB CD drives, the internal drive and two different copies of 10.2, to no avail. Variously, I get a hang when booting with the option key down, the Prohibited sign and a few other variations. I've not been able to get the machine to boot into anything other than single user mode. Does anyone have any suggestions? As I said, I can view the filesystem when the machine is in target disk mode using my Macbook, and the install disks appear to be fine when tried in that system, too.

If this is an 867 MHz/1 GHz version it requires 10.2.1 or 10.2.3. Earlier models can use 10.1 or higher. If it's the first Gigabit model (500 and 667 MHz) then it requires a firmware update.
You cannot boot the computer from an external USB drive - only Firewire. Be sure you have a retail copy of Jaguar - the CD has the Jaguar "spotted pelt" label. If the disc you have has a gray OEM label then it's probably not going to be usable unless it's the disc that came originally with the computer. This would be unlikely inasmuch as you say the version you have is 10.2. If the disc has the word "Upgrade" on it you can only use it if a prior version of OS X is already installed.
The computer meets the minimum requirements for hardware. The hard drive must be formatted Mac OS Extended and Jaguar requires about 4 GBs of free space during installation.
It's possible the installer disc you have is defective, scratched, or dirty making it unreadable or the computer's optical drive is defective or out of alignment.

Powerbook G3 series 8.6 to 9.2.2 upgrade

Hi,
I just joined the discussions (today) so pardon my "novice" level - in advance.
Background:
=========
I have a Powerbook G3 series (bought in 1999) 333Mhz, 256Mb RAM and 4GB HD. It is running OS 8.6 (came with it).
I know that this is a "dinosaur" but remarkably it has "worked fine" (see further below).
I would like to keep it and "make it more useful" as I contemplate a newer MAC purchase.
So, I would like to upgrade from 8.6 to 9.2.2.
I checked in Apple's "Mac OS 8 and 9 compatibility with Macintosh
Computers" table and it shows that the G3 series can go up to 9.2.2
I considered OSX V10.4 but this G3 is not a "built-in Firewire" and also does not have sufficient RAM and HD for OSX (as I was able to surmise upon further research). Also it appears that even if earlier OS X versions were compatible they might run too slow on such an old machine.
Specific Questions:
==============
I wanted to get educated on the "8.6 to 9.2.2" upgrade for any tips and warning so I searched the discussions topics re: such an upgrade and found very useful information from the various Q&As.
After absorbing all of the relevant discussions, I still have the following questions:
1) It was suggested in one of the threads that "....a firmware update would be required before installing OS9..."
Would I need this for my G3 ? If so where would I obtain a copy ?
2) It appears that to get to 9.2.2, I would have to do the following:
a) do the firmware upgrade as per answer from 1) above.
b) get a retail OS9 (white with gold 9) from one of the suggested sites
and do the install
c) download the 9 to 9.2.2 upgrade from one of the suggested sites
and do the 9 to 9.2.2 upgrade
I am not restating the suggested site names here.
Are the above steps a) to c) correct ?
3) Is there any reason or "gotcha" to not upgrade from 8.6 to 9.2.2 ?
4) Would it make sense to consider some earlier version of OS X vs 9.2.2 ?
Surprisingly and remarkably, my G3 has been working fine for the "most part" but I continue to run into snags when I want to upgrade Apps or when browsing certain sites or wanting to use later peripherals, e.g., flash disks.
For example when I switched to Gmail - it does not show all the features and suggests later browsers which all require 9.x or higher. Gmail does work for older browsers but with limited features.
Also, I am stuck with IE 5.1 (for Macs) and Netscape 6.x and can't use others, e.g., Mozilla.
I am hoping that with 9.2.2 (or some version of OS X) I will be able to bring this G3 to a much more usable level without much $$ expense.
Any help on my questions would be greatly appreciated.
I hope my question information is not overly long.
Thank You.
Powerbook G3 series Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier 333Mhz, 256M RAM. 4GB HD

macd-sm,
There are 6 updates (7 if you have an iPod what can be used with OS9) that can be applied after OS9.2.2 update has been applied.
CarbonLib v1.6 - extremely useful for your system, read all about it and download it here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120047
AppleScript v1.8.3 - again, useful for your use of OS9.2.2, it's all here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120128
Authoring Support v1.1.9 - useful if you plan to burn CD on a supported replacement internal drive (that burns CD's) or a supported external drive, using iTunes or the Disc Burner in the Finder. It replaces Authoring Support v1.1.3 that was installed with OS9.2.2, so it's not going to break anything installing it. It's here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120083
QuickTime v6.0.3 - It's up to you if you want to upgrade to QuickTime v6, or stick with v5 (that is installed with OS9.2). I keep an OS9.2.2 system as a retro system, for once in a while to run older software. As such I don't need the latest QuickTime for web surfing, so I stuck with v5, but you may want to use v6. It's here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime603formac.html
Mac OS Runtime for Java 2.2.6: Pretty much essential if you're going to be using the web: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120209
iTunes v2.0.4: This is the latest version of iTunes for OS9. It was a bit of pig to find this download page, so download it and keep it, even if you decide not to install it straight away: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120073
I can only add to a possible source of OS9.2.1 retail CD's, eBay. Make sure you get a good clear picture of the OS9 install CD, along with any other software they may be selling with it. All the usual "caveat emptor" warnings about eBay apply. I've never bought this CD from eBay - ironically I gave mine away with the PowerBook.
Maybe just another little note about the upgrade. You may find that some of your older apps, utils and games will cease to work under OS9. Maybe 90% of what I used, worked no problem. Then 90% of the rest worked after downloading a patch or two. I can only think of one or two very old games that stopped in OS9. If you have any "must-have" apps that you need to work in OS9, post details of them here and we'll do our best to let you know.

Cannot Install OS 8.1 on new hard drive, 233 G3 Powerbook

Ok, so here's the deal.
I have an old Powerbook G3 Wallstreet. 233 Mhz 13" screen.
I recently ran into a problem where I booted up, and the hard drive (original 2GB) was erased. Completely reinstalled, and as soon as it rebooted after the install, the hard drive was empty again. Weird.
So, I decide to reinstall OS8 on a new hard drive. I have an older 20 GB drive from a compaq Armada M700, which I had replaced with a newer 120 GB drive, so I used that in the Powerbook.
Anyway, I've tried lots of things. Fully empty nonpartitioned drive, single 8GB partition by using MacDisk in windows, multiple 8GB partions, what have you. Disk Setup does not see any hard drive I place in the powerbook. I tried both the 120 and the 20 GB.
Any suggestions? I only have a Windows machine to work with, as the G3 is my only Mac. (Well, I have a graphite iMac, but it's suffering from the screen shrinking/power down problem common to those units, so I can't really do anything with it.)

ShatteredOne,
When you have installed the OS and restarted, did you get the blinking '?' alternating with a folder? If so, try resetting the PRAM to possibly correct this issue.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Will the Wallstreet boot to the MacOS 8.1 CD? If so, try Drive Setup on the 8.1 CD again after resetting the PRAM.
The original Wallstreet shipped with a special OS 8.1 CD (green label) since the retail MacOS 8.1 CD will not have the necessary Powerbook G3 enabler file.
You do not have to partition the HD, but just make sure you are have formatted as HFS Extended although HFS Standard will work. However, on a large drive like the 120GB, you will have a lot of wasted space due to the block size.
If still having problems, install the original 2GB HD > boot to the 8.1 CD > open the utilities folder on the CD > Drive Setup and select 'zero all data' when you initialize; now run the Test Disk test and see if it passes. If it fails, zero/test one more time.

Help creating a boot disk for ailing powerbook (and journalist!)

Hello, I'm a journalist with a desperate need to recover my Mac.
My Powerbook G4 (operating 10.4.8 I believe) was working fine until I did the latest suggested Mac software upgrade of Safari. Immediately Safari stopped responding hanging up or quitting. So I tried the next recommended update, thinking perhaps the two went together: Security 2008-009 I believe. It required a restart, which I did. (Note: I didn't do the recommended Java or Quicktime update at the same time because I'm currently working in Sierra Leone with terribly slow internet and figured I'd get to it later).
Now, however, the computer won't boot up. I hear the tone, I get the gray screen with the apple, I get the blue screen, I get the opening OS X screen and the blue progress bar, which then quits early on. Then I get a blue screen of alternating hues, which continues infinitely.
I tried all the Apple and web-suggested fixes. I cannot enter safe mode and can only perform functions with the single user mode. I've tried fsck and it said my HD is fine. The problem, I suspect, would be easy enough to fix if I could just reinstall OS X with my CD. However I am currently 7000 miles from home and CD, and in desperate need of my laptop in order to continue my volunteer work.
I do have access to a friend's MacBook Pro 10.4.9 and the internet. I have downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner... however I don't know which files I need to copy in order to create a boot disk. Nor do I know how to create a boot disk to actually put into my computer. I have also been scared by the CCC literature that says I need to erase the target volume... which in this case is my external hard drive containing all of our video footage from the last 8 months!
I use my computer every day, however I am a newbie at using things like Terminal and higher order functions that these occasions seem to require. CCC's Help manual, for me, might as well have been written in hieroglyphs (which, come to think of it, would have been easier as I seem to understand pictures well enough).
I would be eternally grateful for any simple or step-by-step advice which might help me get back to work. I'm training African journalists, and without my computer to edit, we cannot do a thing!
Thanks,
Kim

Here's some trouble shooting methods that I've copied from Apple KB articles:
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time. Release the keys.
If zapping the PRAM doesn't work, try resetting the PMU.
Warning: Resetting the power manager also resets date and time settings. Performing a PMU reset returns the iBook and PowerBook hardware, including NVRAM, to default settings and forces the computer to shut down.
PowerBook G4 (DVI) and PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz)
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disengage the two keyboard latches located between the Esc and F1 keys, and the F11 and
F12 keys. (You may also need to disengage the keyboard locking screw located between the
F5 and F6 keys.)
Lift the keyboard. To ensure no harmful static electricity is transferred to the computer,
properly ground yourself before performing this procedure.
Press and release the reset button located on the upper right side of the logic board near the power button, shown here. Wait 5 seconds.
Press the power button to restart the computer.
PowerBook G4 and PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Press and release the reset button located on the rear panel of the computer between the
external video and modem ports. Wait 5 seconds.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.
HTH!

PowerBook G4 1Ghz (Nov 2002) - can i install a 160gb Hard Disk inside?

Hi
I have a PowerBook G4 1Ghz (Nov 2002). I want to upgrade the internal 4200rpm 60gb drive to a 5400rpm 160gb.
Can my PowerBook address the full 160gb? Or is it limited to only addessing 128GB of it.
This page seems to says any mac introduced after June 2002 will be fine with drives over 128GB, but it seems like it's just refering to desktop macs.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86178
Can anybody confirm that it will work?
Thanks!

I'm just wondering why the 667 won't recognise them?
The ATA controller used in those logic boards is not 48-bit LBA compliant. The first Powerbook LBs that had such a controller were the 867MHz and 1GHz boards used in the later DVI Tibooks. Other Macs introduced around the same time also had controllers that allowed the use of internal ATA drives larger than 128GB. So yes, the second part of your post is probably correct.
But be aware that after upgrading to a faster LB, you may no longer be able to boot to the discs that were shipped with your Powerbook or to those that were shipped with any other Powerbook, including a factory 867MHz or 1GHz Tibook. If that's the case, as it has been for some others who've reported here, it will leave you without any way of reinstalling a bootable OS 9.2.2, in case you ever want to. OS X 10.2.3 or higher can be installed from a retail installer disc set. But there's never been a retail OS 9.2.2 disc, and the DVI Tibooks won't boot to anything lower, so no retail OS 9 disc is usable with any of those models. This mattters less and less to most people as OS 9 recedes into the past, but it's something to be aware of.

Photoshop CS2 won't install on a Powerbook

I've been trying to install PS CS2 all day today and it keeps failing. It'll get through the welcoming and licensing process, but once I authenticate, the installer prepares my volume and then stop immediately after the installer script begins to run. The following message is shown in the installer window:
There were errors installing this software
Please try installing again.
I checked the installer log and it shows that my volume is not supported:
Target volume type not supported:
Apple_HFSX
Jun 10 13:37:43 Dan-Rosellinis-Computer : preflight[1166]:
Jun 10 13:37:43 Dan-Rosellinis-Computer : Install failed: The following install step failed: run preflight script for Adobe Photoshop CS2
I tried all the suggestions by Adobe, (removing fonts, reboot with extensions off, disconnected all external devices) and I tried to install this on a iBook and an external volume, but still no luck.
Anyone have any suggestions?
17 Powerbook 1.33 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.3)
17 Powerbook 1.33 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.3)

After talking to Adobe's help desk and trying several things that didn't work, I went back to the install log. Specifically the part that said the target disk wasn't supported. I replaced by internal drive about a year ago, because it was failing, and I formatted the new drive as Case Sensitive Journaled". The Adobe tech said that that wouldn't be the problem, but after a Google search on Case Sensitive Journaled (CSJ), I found several cases of install errors of Adobe Creative Suite when attempting to install on a drive formated as CSJ.
I made a disk copy of my drive using Carbon Copy Cloner then, using Disk Utility from the install disk, reformatted my drive and restored it from the disk image. Rebooted and all worked well, even the install of PSCS2. As a bonus, my copy of Macromedia Contribute now works again. Go figure....
17 Powerbook 1.33 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Is my powerbook electrocuting me?

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