Power supply problem a little better after unplugging imac for 24 hours

Hello,
I'm currently having power supply problems (at least I hope it's the power supply and not the mother board), similar to many others I've seen on these boards. What I've noticed is that if I unplug my iMac for about 24 hours I can get it to run again for a little while. Unplugging it for a few minutes (or even 8 hours) doesn't seem to help. My iMac won't get much further than the starting chime before it loses power. But it seems to me that unplugging it for 24 hours has gotten me between 5 days to 5 hours of use before I unexpectedly lose power.
Is there anything to account for this or am I just imagining things? Ultimately, I don't think the answer will help me much, but I am curious to know. I'm taking my iMac to a Mac Genius tomorrow to see if they can help diagnose the problem. I saw a little hit in my video today, which was a first, so I suspect the problem may be getting worse. I'll probably be buying a new power supply soon.

I'm having the same problem. They say to restart you have to unplug the power, wait 10 seconds and then plug it back in but apparently it's not enough. I have to unplug for about 30 seconds, plug back in, and wait anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours before it'll start up again properly. The last time I had this issue was in october '06- when I had a new logic board and power supply put in. Now I'm worried because my applecare is expired by about 3 months. I bought the computer in feb. '05. I hope a new board doesn't cost more than what the computer itself is worth but I'm afraid that'll be the case...

Similar Messages

[PT880-Neo LSR]Power supply problem

Hello,
We've installed the new motherboard today, it model is PT880 Neo LSR. Well we've got everything plugged in, but when we try to turn on our computer it doesn't turn on.
There is a case switch, but when turn on, the fans work for like 1 second then it stop.
I've tried the Troubleshooting guide on the website, and studying the Manual, but I could not find a way to fix this.
Can anyone help us fix this power supply problem please?
Thanks

Quote
Originally posted by DarkDuelist
yea, it comes with the 4-pin atx1 connector and 20-pin atx2 connector.
But i just exchanged another mainboard, and still not work. the first time i test it, i only plug the 4-pin and 20-pin connector into the mainboard and it worked. i thought the problem was solved. so i put everything else in (cpu, hdd, cd-rom, dvd-rom...) then test it again. I only heard a sound psssst, and nothing run. I tested it many time and it still not work. Then I UNPLUG the 4-pin connector from the power supply to the mainboard, and test again, this time, only all the fan RUN except the the fan in the power supply DID NOT run. Is it because that the power supply got problem? I used another power supply 420w to test but nothing run either.
MATSONIC motherboard MS9087C
DDR 400
Intel celeron 2gh 400 fsb
Macron 350w power supply
The psssst sound----sounds like something shorted out. Pull everything out and put it back in with a different PSU.
Don't put a hard drive or floppy in-----just CPU, RAM mobo, vid card, fans, PSU-----see if it will post.

Ask your question.MC508LL/A power supply problems, Ask your question.MC508LL/A power supply problems, Ask your question.MC508LL/A power supply problems

I have just replaced my older IMac with a new one because of a cronic power supply problem. Now I see this one is doing the same thing. Is anyone else having the same issues with their MC508LL/A.

I'm with babowa there ... I would suspect the power souce, not the PSU. Where you live could be an issue depending on how reliable and 'clean' the electricity is to your home. If that is ok then it could be the wiring in your house ... if it were mine, I'd need an electrician to check it out.
Personally, I've had computers hooked to my electric service since 1995 and no UPS (despite recommendations) and never encountered a problem with the computers ... many electrical issues (brown outs, outages, etc), just been fortunate they didn't affect my machines.

Asus power supply problems

I am considering a new Asus netbook but have been reading a lot of failure issues on their power supplies going clear back to Sept. Even as soon as December I find people saying they cannot get them replaced because Asus says they are still out of stock. Has anyone got any updated information on this?

As I said I am considering purchasing a new Asus netbook. I do not have one yet. If you look at even the Best Buy customer ratings you will see several with the power supply problem. The internet is full of these complaints on other web sites.

Replacing Power Supply Problems

Apple Care had kindly sent me a new power supply. It is a self servicing part, i.e. I have to install it myself. Tried for 2 hours yesterday to get the old one out...didn't work.
The problems:
1. Middle screw on back of power supply does not get loose [the screw close to the power cord connector]. I tried to pull the power supply up while loosening screw...no success. Did anybody run in the same problem...how did you get this screw unstuck?
2. Middle case screw [the one at the bottom of the computer] needs to be turned to the right...which is in contradiction to the downloadable manual...but the front ot the screw still touches the power supply...and possibly holds it in.
How easy should the power supply come out...how much force can I apply without breaking the computer's case?
3. Ambient light sensor connector: comes as separate cable. Since I have not gotten the old power supply out, I do not know how to connect the cable to the new one. There does not appear to be a designated hole on the power supply.
Experiences welcome!
Thanks
Jurgen

hi Jurgen.... i just get a new imac g5 and it presents power supply problems the very first day they bring it... so the retalier took it for a repair..i been wating for two months and no sings of a solution... i am looking for help but i can't reach anyone at apple .... so i need some tips here... what should i do?? i tried the chat agent but they are closed..and the retailer refuse tho give enough info to check out about the repair status..they keep saying that the frabric respond very slow and then that the new part they recieved from apple was defectous... well.. if anyone can give me some tip would be very nice and usefull.. i really don,t now what to do... some email to inform apple the situation ?.... thanks for read this... Fernando

HT3964 Mac pro 8 core early 2008 problem is you have to unplug it for 2-3hrs when you finish work so it will turn on effortlessly again

Mac pro 8 core early 2008 problem is you have to unplug it for 2-3hrs when you finish work so it will turn on effortlessly again. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Thanks,
Lou

Overheating? Install a temperature monitor like iStat Pro, iStat Menus, Temperature Monitor, Hardware Monitor, etc. and see if you are overheating.
When was the last time you blew out the dust from inside your machine?
I don't understant the "unplug" statement. Do yo mean just turn off?

Macbook Battery and/or Power Supply Problem(?)

Hello everybody.
New to these forums but been a Mac user and software developer for many many years.
I've detailed the problem on my blog here: http://vanirsystems.com/danielsblog/?p=209
Basically my battery isn't charging on my Macbook but the power supply is still able to run the laptop - laptop still recognises whether the battery is in/out, have tried all of the usual things:
* leaving it to charge when its off
* leaving the power supply unplugged to get rid of static
* resetting the PSU
Battery has been working fine up until this point, was able to fully charge and run the laptop for hours... then all of a sudden there was nothing.
Battery Model is A1185.
If anyone could get back to me on the forum, or my blog or by email then I would be very thankful.
Many thanks in advance,
Daniel
[ edit ] p.s. really looking forward to trying Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard [/ edit ]
Message was edited by: danieljohnlewis
Message was edited by: danieljohnlewis

As of yesterday, I am experiencing a similar battery problem. The battery shows up in the menu bar as fully charged, and the battery indicator lights also indicate that the battery is charged.
However, my Macbook shuts off about one second after I unplug the power supply. When I try to turn it on again, it begins to boot up (the disc drive makes it's usual racket!), but before the startup sound would occur, it shuts off completely. The screen powers up but doesn't get to the grey screen before everything shuts down.
But interestingly, the battery will keep the Macbook running if I put it to sleep first. (I can unplug it while it's sleeping without a problem, as long as I plug it in again before I turn it on.)
The battery model is also A1185. I've done the battery update. My Macbook's SN starts with 4H6386N and is from Sept. 2006. Am I eligible for the two-year warranty?
Thanks so much for your help.

IMac G5 20" power supply problem

The power supply on my 20" G5 recently fried. Somehow I had the activity monitor showing that the "FaxJobMgr" was using about 70% of my cpu. I had had that problem before and the computer was very warm. I quit that process but shortly after that there was an acrid smell that I ultimately found was coming from the power supply. When I re-started everything came up to the desktop but then it shut down just as if the plug were pulled. I see that there were many issues with the power supply on this first generation G5. I took it to the Apple Store and they say it is the power supply AND there appears to also be damage to the logic board. $734. I'm wondering if maybe its only the power supply and they are just being cautious that there might be damage to the logic board so just replace it or buy a new computer. I thought I might try to replace the power supply only, but then that seems to be about a $120 that might be gone. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Generally speaking, the defects which affect a logic board and power supply in that family of products are similar, but there typically exists no causal link between them. It is possible to have a logic board affected by the defective electrolytic capacitor issue, a defective power supply, or both.
You can readily determine if the logic board is defective by examining the clusters of capacitors on the logic board for bloating, distended tops or leakage. If they exhibit such symptoms, your logic board can be repaired for $ 189.00 by contacting this company.
You may also need to replace the power supply, thought that determination is best made once the logic board as been verified as good or bad, and replaced, if you elect to do so. Power supplies for this product family generally cost roughly $ 139.00, and are user replaceable. Replacing the supply in a unit which exhibits the defective capacitor issue will not correct the logic board related problem, and may—under relatively rare circumstances—cause the eventual failure of the replacement supply.
*I may receive compensation as a result of parts or services being ordered by users specified at the link shown in this message.

IMac G5 bluetooth + airport + power supply problems - oh and the dvd drive

Yeah, seems like a lot is going wrong with my mac lately. I bought the iMac G5(no isight) model last year around july. I had some power issues (i.e. leaving the house with it turned on to come home and find it off) For the last year though that was all that was wrong. Once I had to reinstall OS X because it would not find the OS X harddrive during one of these power losses, but that was it.
Then about two weeks ago, I came home to a turned off iMac. I thought the power had gone out in my apartment, but the clocks were all right, and to my surprise the iMac would not turned on. Because I am not under warranty I searched online and found an extended exchange program for my emc model. (http://www.apple.com/support/imac/powersupply/repairextension/) I made an appt at the apple store and they replaced the power supply.
I got the machine back two nights ago and my bluetooth hardware wasn't recognized. And I now had a new "ink" system preference panel in the hardware section which aparently is some sort of handwriting recognition tablet. It ticked me off, but I just wanted to use my computer.
Well today I came home from work and my computer was acting funny. Everywhere I clicked brought up dashboard. This had never happened before and I had no choice but to force a shutdown. Powered it back up and poof, there goes my airport card. No hardware recognized. Now I have a 25 ft cable running the floor of my apartment. This was cause enough to call apple. I was told to make another apointment to bring the computer in. The guy made it sound like it was no big deal to lug a 30 lb bulky computer 40 miles and through a crowded mall. He also made no promises that the repairs would be covered under the exchange program.
I just wanted to hear any suggestions before I decide whether or not its worth it to bring in the computer. Nothing shows up in system profiler under bluetooth or airport. Should I just lie to the "genius" and tell them that my computer still shuts down randomly? I think that way they would at least replace the logic board (which I think is the problem) before telling me to sell my kidney and pay for repairs. I've tried reseting the SMU, and I looked at the bluetooth and airport cards to see if they had been accidently disconnected during the PS replacement. They are actually screwed into the logic board so I think their connections are efficient.
Oh and about the DVD drive. I have to use two cd's in order to burn a single disc. The first disc I put in the drive NEVER works. It spins for about 30 seconds then starts buzzing like blender and spits the cd back out. The second blank disc I put in USUALLY works, but sometimes it takes three discs. This problem has always been there since day 1, but I don't burn enough cd's for it to be an issue.
Thank you for listening to my gripes. I really don't think I'll make the mistake of buying the first issue of a model.
iBook G4 900mghz, iMac G5 20" 2.0 ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

OK, first thing -to restore your bluetooth, shut down, unplug for a few minutes and then reboot. Thay usually brings the BT back. You should also repair permissions. Reset your SMU nd your PRAM as well.
Try those four things and please post back,
Miriam

Help with kernel and possible power supply problem

From 2 days after getting my imac I had my first Kernel restart. Since then I have done everything apple has asked. Ram resets and removing everything from the imac itself To find that it still had a kernel problem. The error messages are Plugnplay or spinlock usually but have also been various ones such as Kerneltask. I have done a full reinstall of the operating system and only installed official apps from apple store, adobe flash and silverlight and next day was a kernel error for plugnplay.
The imac is currently in the shop for a look at but 2 phonecalls back saying they have had no evidence of errors. In fact its perfect for them. The kernel is usually a few hours from turning it on but can go all day fine But they have had the imac almost a week.
So the only thing I can think of is if it works great for them is either they are really lucky or have a different electricity supply/cable. So this leaves me thinking as stupidly as if it is working perfect for them then could it be a surge protector or power supply causing the random crashes? Even something to do with the power lead itself? I am really pulling at strings and going crazy because the only other thing I have been told to do is spend a week at a time just adding one thing at a time till the error shows itself so could be months and months.
i know kernel issues are historically hard to diagnose but any help would be great. At the moment i have a £3000 paperweight on my desk thats only turned on a few hours a day because I have no faith in it.

Hi Joel,
For the external drive issue try resetting your firewire ports.
To do this, shutdown and disconnect the firewire devices from your computer and from each other if there is a chain of them. Now disconnect the power cords from both your computer and from the firewire devices. Wait fifteen minutes. Connect up again and see what happens. The FW ports on Macs have a 'self re-setting fuse" that requires all power to be removed for a period of time for re-activation.
You may also want to try a PRAM reset if that doesn't resolve the issue. Sometimes this can also be implicated in FW problems. Shut down. Hold down the command option p r keys. Now start up, keeping the keys mentioned depressed until the chimes have sounded three times.
Cheers
Rod

Mac Pro won't start; power supply problems?

Hi friends, I'm having some very inconvenient hardware problems. My Mac Pro system will not start up. I have done some preliminary searching for similar issues, and it seems there are too many possible outcomes for me to tell directly from their answers. I'm writing in hopes that someone has had the same experience and can offer advice.
Here's my symptoms.
• Mac Pro system, late 2009. Dual Quad-core Intel Xenon, I think. (I usually just go to System Profile, rather than memorise this crap.) Two internal drives (SSD for system, HDD for data); all other hardware standard.
• Power light indicator is solid white. No blinking.
• No startup chime and no audio bleeps
• Display is dark, no activity of any kind.
• This behaviour persists with no network connections, no hardware peripherals outside of Apple Studio display and its associated USB cable (which allows the keyboard)
Do we suspect it's the power supply? It seems to power on, and clicks to life as it does after waking from sleep, but doesn't boot. Pressing the power button again shuts down the machine instantly — no 5-second-hold required.
It could be the RAM, I guess. I have yet to do the diagnosis of removing DIMM pairs one-by-one to see if something is the problem.
Any advice you can offer is great. Thanks

There are LEDs adjacent to the RAM positions that, when lit, indicate a bad DIMM.
The side door is not interlocked, and there are no hazardous Voltages available to your unaided fingers, but components may be HOT.
A Bad DIMM will not preclude Booting. Your Mac will note the defect and attempt to boot without that DIMM. And 2009 DIMMs are independent, so losing one does not take out any others.

DC5750 New Power Supply Problems

I have a DC5750 (mini case). Everything is working fine with it. It comes with a 300W power supply. I am in the process of purchasing a new video card for it but the video card requires at least a 500W power supply. I purchased a Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 550W PSU (http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?act=detail&id=5888).
When I plug in the new power supply and turn on the PC the fans start to spin and then stop and the front power LED goes red and i get 9 continuous beeps followed by a couple of seconds of silence and then the pattern repeats itself. I have checked the HP website documentation for the DC5750 and it says that when you get these beeps to make sure that the correct voltage is set on the back of the PSU. I have made sure of this, it is set to 115V. There was also a long paragraph about the kind of power cord that you should use and I did use the one that came with the PSU and also the one that I was using before hand, but no still dice.
I have unplugged everything except the power to the motherboard when testing it and still nothing. I have sure that the 4-pin connector that goes from the PSU to the mobbo is labeled P3 to match the label on the motherboard. I tried putting in the old power supply and everything works like a charm again.
I read somewhere on these forums last night something about the CPU fan sensor and how some people had to trick their systems into thinking the power supply was putting out the same voltage as the original one. They did this by connecting two pins together but there was something about the fact that the pain had to be rated at 100ohms or something. I couldn't quite understand the solution and since it wasn't my same PC model and it was an old post I decided not to try anything of that sort just yet.
Like i said, the PC was running fine before and it is still running ok right now with the old power supply, I would like to upgrade the PSU though with the new 550W one. After i put the old PSU in i went back into the BIOS to see if there was anything related to the power supply that would stop it from booting but I didnt see anything relevant.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
BD
Edit: I just tested the new PSU on a different system and it works just fine.
Message Edited by BSU Dude on 04-29-2009 08:38 AM

Do you remember that post about creatind a resistor connector to bypass? I have a fan not detected eror with my new PSU on the DC5750.

Sudden Power Supply Problem

Hello. My 17" PowerBook G4 is just over 1 year old. It's been working great until now. Suddenly the battery went dead. When I plugged in the charger, the "charging" light is blinking green. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the charger, plugs, sockets etc. If I "reset" the charger it continues to behave the same. Any ideas?

I'm sorry to say that after playing mix and match with my buddies Powerbook/Battery/PowerSupply for an evening, we pretty much isolated the problem to the PowerBrick. Don't know why it went bad, but it did. I'm going to have to agree with all the reviews/comments that say the PowerBrick is too fragile. On a personal note, I am very dissappointed with Apple for having such a weak link in their chain.
I have replaced the brick with a Kensington A0532 70Watt universal power supply for Apple Laptops and iPods. It works like a charm, and cost the same as a brick, $80. It is white, and comes with 2 different sized laptop plugs, and an adaptor to charge an iPod directly. It has a very long DC cord, but a very very short (1 inch?) AC cord. It works well for my purposes.
A friend of mine has a Targus 90Watt adaptor for the Mac (A14US?) which he loves. His was $120 but came with DC in plugs for the car and airplane.

Power supply problems

I'm currently running a 300W non-branded crappy power supply, the voltages are shown below. The problem is, the fan has pretty much given up the ghost and is making an outrageously load noise, I tried replacing it, firstly with 2 different types of Antec 350W powersupplys, both of which had to be sent back, and cost me loads of money doing so, now I've tried a non-branded 500W powersupply, but all have had the same problem: - They appear to begin to power up the system, the fans start for a second, then they stop, as if the PSU doesn't have enough juice to run things. It runs the system when I unplug the external power on the graphics card, but it won't run the graphics card on its own.
I guess this suggests it is more likely a graphics card problem, but if any of you guys have any ideas I'd be greatful. I don't see why a higher Power PSU would power the system when a much lower one would.
The 500W power supply voltages are:
+5V - 40A
+12V - 17A
+3.3V - 28A

I'm not sure what a D-bracket is mate. I've sent an e-mail to ATI to see if they know of any issues with certain power supplys, in the mean time I solved the problem by taking the fan out of the 500W power supply and putting it in my old 300W one not an ideal solution to the problem but at least I don't have to put up with that horrible grinding noise anymore!
Cheers for the help mate.

Trackpad, warped casing, & power supply problems...

macbook ultimate:
I've been having trouble with the trackpad (and its not software settings such as accidental input etc) but the very centre of the pad is less sensitive and the pointer skips across it. I downloaded sidetrack, and the problem becomes even more pronounced as you can change the velocity curve of the movement.
On top of this, there's a problem with the power supply. When it's been on for a while, there's a high pitched electrical noise coming off it, and sometimes the fan goes into super overdrive for half an hour. (I tried updating firmware, but it tells me I already have the update.
Another ! problem is that the casing isn't fixed onto the laptop properly on the left (it creaks and moves). Anyone else had his problem?
I can live with it for a while as I'm travelling around alot, but was wondering if I can exchange the whole lot for a new one. Its all poorly manufactured in a rush. Quality control is non-apparent.
How long can I leave it before getting it replaced by Apple?
cheers folks
George W.

There is nothing obligating them to replace the machine after whatever initial perid (usually 15-30 days) they specify where you bought it. Their promise is to fix any problems, which they will make good on, eventually. It might take 2 or 3 or 4 trips back to the AppleCare depot, with 1 or 2 or 3 weeks delay each time, but they will take care of any problems. I share your frustration, having waited 3 weeks and gotten my machine back with a new problem (warped/loose bezel).

Power supply problem a little better after unplugging imac for 24 hours

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