PowerBook G3 Wallstreet/PDQ battery pinout

I recently got a nice 266Mhz PDQ off of ebay for $150 USD but it did not come with a battery (though it did come with a Duo power adapter :P ), and because I am unwilling to pay $100-$150 for a battery I was thinking that I might be able to rig up a battery pack or two of my own and strap 'em to the outside of the case with just the wires running to the battery terminals so I could use both of my expansion bays for drives.
Now, problem is, I don't have a dead battery to disembowel and I also don't have any info on the pinout of the connector. I have done quite a bit of searching for the pinout info but I can't seem to find it.
Do any of you know where I might be able to find the pinout or a dead battery?

Thanks Niel. So, you are saying that I will be able to boot in Classic while in OS 10.2 and no partition is neccesary? Sorry, I feel kind of dumb about this. I was imagining if I installed OS X over OS 9 it would just eliminate OS 9. I'm not familiar with swithching to Classic.

Similar Messages

Powerbook G3 Wallstreet Wifi Card?

Hi,
I have a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet PDQ running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.7 via Xpostfacto. What wifi PC Cards will work with it? I heard that there were some issues using certain PC Cards with the Powerbook G3 when using Xpostfacto. Can anyone tell me some that will work for sure?
Thanks

Apple Rules,
I have had both 10.3.9 and 10.4.7 on my Wallstreet and the Buffalo WLI-CB-AG54 AirStation 802.11 b/g/a 54MBps Wireless PC-Card has worked perfectly using AirPort software.
The Sonnet Aria Extreme 54G Wireless CardBus Card will also work. Both cards are available here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/wireless/
The AeroCard Extreme 802.11g 54Mbps Wireless Cardbus Card is also compatible. All of these cards use the Broadcom chipset.
http://www.macsense.com/product/networking/wpe800.html
Just make sure you update to the latest versions of AirPort.

PowerBook G3 Wallstreet Won't Power up

Hi, I have a PowerBook g3 Wallstreet with a 266 MHz processor and 640 mb memory. I had is x 10.4.9 installed via xpostfacto and I used software update to get 10.4.11, and it installed but got stuck booting, although os 9 still worked. I backed up and installed a fresh copy of 10.2. After that the fan would randomly spin up and the computer would shut down. While it was off, the fan spun up really loudly and the light on the hinge lit up. If I put pressure near the trackpad it would stop temporarily. Now nothing happens upon pressing the power button. Please help me!!

I maintain three G3 Wallstreets for a friend, and found that a dead PRAM battery can created some bizarre symptoms in that model. One would not recognize the main battery until I changed the PRAM battery. Another would not boot OSX with a dead PRAM battery.
I have all three running 10.3.9 via XPostFacto becasue I figured 10.4 was pushing it. All have upgraded RAM and hard drives.
Which brings me to gawk at this statement:
...with a 266 MHz processor and 640 mb memory.
The absolute Max RAM for a Wallstreet is 512MB with two 256MB modules. If you have more than that, it would imply that you have at least one module that is likely not happy in a WS. Try reducing the RAM and see if things start working
You can still get PRAM batteries here:
Replacement PRAM / Clock battery for the PowerBook G3 WallStreet Models
Instructions for getting to and replacing the PRAM batery are here:
PRAM Battery
The PRAM batt is one of the last things out, so it's a long but not too challenging takeapart.
I'm tied up most of the day today but I'll check back this evening to see if you figured out how to get 640 MB RAM in that computer.
Allan

I have a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet and want to upgrade the Ram.

I recently bought an old Powerbook G3 Wallstreet. But it has some issues with booting up.
It doesn't boot up everytime... I can hear the start sound, but only sometimes the harddrive starts spinning.
So my idea was that maybe one ram module is broken...
But I don't know if the Ram I want to use is compatible with my Powerbook model.
There were 2 Ram modules installed:
And this is the one I want to insert. I took it out of an old Microsoft machine (gericom).
Maybe anyone can help me... or has an other solution for this booting problem.

The SO-DIMM that you want to use shouldn't cause any problems, even though it's the faster PC-133 SDRAM. It should downclock to your PowerBook's slower bus speed. Judging by the shadow (or lack thereof) under each memory module in your photos, the upper SO-DIMM is undoubtedly the original Apple-installed 4-chip, 64 MB module. The "Power Ram" appears to be a 16-chip, 128 MB module, while the Nanya is an 8-chip, 256 MB module. What this means is that each of these SO-DIMMs has a chip density that differs from the other two. The Power Ram's chips have the smallest density, the SEC's chips have slightly greater density, and the Nanya's chips have the greatest density. I always felt that optimal performance in those older Macs was achieved by attempting to match chip densities. I would never have used an original (8-chip) 32 MB DIMM with a newer (16-chip) 256 MB DIMM in one of my desktop or mini-tower G3s. While you'll have 64 or 128 MBs less of total memory installed, I'd prefer to use the Nanya SO-DIMM by itself. If you really need additional memory, you could install the original Apple (SEC) module, but I wouldn't.
As to whether a memory fault is causing the startup problem, I would be more inclined to think that the original (if it is) hard drive is becoming unreliable. A 15 year-old laptop drive has undoubtedly had a lot of use and in an enclosure that doesn't dissipate heat the way a fan-cooled desktop or mini-tower is capable of doing. When the PowerBook does manage to complete startup, how much installed memory is indicated when you select "About this Macintosh" from the Apple Menu — 192 MBs? If so, then both modules are detected and passed the Power-On Self-Test. If memory problems are detected during the POST, you should hear a beep or beeps at startup, indicating a problem.

PowerBook G3 "Wallstreet" freezes when floppy disk is inserted

Hi!
I'm new to the Mac world. I am using a PowerBook G3 "wallstreet" as my entry level mac. I use it more on word processing and uses floppy disk for file sharing on Windows PC.
Recently, my mac freezes whenever I insert a floppy disk. I reinstalled the OS thinking that it might solve the problem.
I need solutions for this problem badly since I am working on my thesis. Thanks in advance

nydge,
Welcome to the Discussions.
You may not have the File Exchange Control Panel properly setup, but I would head over to the MacOS 9 Discussions for some expert advice.
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=669

Powerbook G3 (WallStreet) OSX compatible with PCMCIA Belkin WiFi 802.11G ?

Hello
Do you know it the PCMCIA card Belkin WiFi 802.11G sold on the Apple Store is compatible with an old Powerbook G3 WallStreet (without USB and Firewire)?
I will install the macOsX 10.3 system on it.
Thanks for your help

Michel,
Belkin has had a variety of wifi PC cards with confusing model numbers and version numbers.
The Belkin F5D7010: Supposedly there are three versions(!); v1 and v2 supported Apple's AirPort software (Mac OS X 10.2.8 or newer and AirPort 3.1.1 or newer) since it used the Broadcom chipset. Then v3 was released and it was no longer supported by AirPort. BelKin then released drivers for v3 which apparently solved the problem.
The Belkin F5D7011: This card supposedly uses the Broadcom chipset and is fully supported by AirPort.
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?MerchantId=&ProductId=179466#
Or you could buy one of these cards where there is no question about support:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/aria_extreme.html
http://www.macsense.com/product/broadband/WPE800.html
http://www.asante.com/products/productsLvl3/AL5403_XG.asp
http://www.buffalotech.com/wireless/products/airstation/WLICBG54A.html

Macbook Battery pinout/ how can it be powered from it's battery connector

Hi everyone,
I've accidentally spilled water on my macbook and damaged it's power supply section. Apple says the logic board has to be replaced costing more than a new computer. The computer however works perfectly fine using a battery, although it can't charge one. So' I've been trying to power it from the battery connector, measuring the actual voltage a fully charged battery provides and applying it to the corresponding pins on the connector.
Unfortunately nothing happens. I know the battery has an internal micro-controller which communicates with the computer exchanging information about battery status/temp, etc. but I never thought that this communication is essential to power the computer from the battery. So, the next step I tried was dismantling a battery pack, disconnecting the battery cells from the tiny circuit board inside the pack and trying to apply an external voltage there, hoping that the laptop will power up. Still nothing. I' m a bit frustrated here. I really believed this last option would work. Has anybody tried to do something similar with a macbook or even perhaps knows the battery pinout on the connector? ( I have searched the entire net for this with no result).
Any help would be much appreciated as the computer is useless this way..
Thank you in advance.

Hello,
I can't answer your question directly, but I think the best solution for you is to buy a new logic board . It is not that expensive if you buy it from here:
(links are for 1st gen macbook)
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-183GHZ-Logic-Board-133-Black-or-White-p-17 001.html
http://www.ifixit.com/Products/MacBook-13-Inch-2-GHz-Logic-Boards/9/68
I mean, it's expensive, but cheaper than a new macbook, and way cheaper than Apple's official replacement price. Since you are skilled enough to take the battery apart, I'm sure you can replace the logic board yourself.
As for the battery, I agree that the macbook must be able to communicate with its battery to boot from it. Are you making sure that all pins are being used?

PowerBook G3 Wallstreet does not recognise battery - what could cause this?

I have recently been trying to revive an old PowerBook Wallstreet G3 that has sat in a cupboard for 5 years. Initially, whilst it did boot on AC, it did not see either old battery in either bay and would not keep the date. I replaced the re-chargeable (PRAM) battery and it will now keep the date but still does not see either battery. I ordered a new battery which arrived today. It to is not seen and so cannot charge.
I have re- set the PMU and tried battery re-set 2.0. The computer was having re-charge problems before I put it away. It would see the batteries but would only re-charge when sleeping. I can believe that the old batteries are shot but would have expected the new one to be ok. The RH media bay will take a DVD drive and does see it when installed.
Any ideas as to what is causing the problem? What boards might I replace to try to fix it. Having done the PRAM battery replacement I am happy to take it appart.
Thanks for your suggestions.

May be a solution on one of these links.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25914?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25940?viewlocale=en_US
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2003071622115360
http://www.ehow.com/about_5389462_powerbook-battery-problems.html
http://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/PowerBook_G3_Lombard_Troubleshooting
 Cheers, Tom

My PowerBook G3 Wallstreet doesn't recognize its battery anymore?

Hello, I already had an answer a few days ago, about odd behaviours of my old PowerBook G3 266 Wallstreet running OS 9.2.2.
While searching for a retail original OS 9.x, in order to be able to reinstall the system correctly, I tried to solve another problem I didn't mention before:
My M4685 battery, which had always worked well, only slowly decreasing its efficiency through the years, suddenly seemed having 'decided' it finally got tired working, 3 months ago. It went on retaining less and less charge, and completely died within a few days.
Since then, the computer regularly worked only if connected to the power, with no indication of the presence of the battery I still left in its slot, just as it wasn't there.
That sounded odd to me, but I believed it could be the normal behaviour.
Now I found out a used M4685 spare battery, inserted it in the slot, got it to a full charge in 2h time, and then disconnected the power to check its efficiency. It showed it allowed a 2.5-3h of work, but after 20 minutes working (the battery still showing full charge in the battery check control), the computer suddenly turned off by itself.
It didn't restart until I connected it to the power again, and restarted only with the reset way (shift-fn-ctrl + power button), loading the system after the Disk First Aid check and repair, as it had been turned off incorrectly. Date and time were completely wrong, and had to be adjusted.
Tried again to disconnect the power, and began to work with the battery again.
After approx. the same time as before, the computer turned off by itself again.
I had to restart it the same way as the first time, and didn't disconnect the power anymore!
What is the problem with it? Is there a serious hardware problem, not only a software resetting need? Is my PowerBook G3 likely to become in good wealth again, and doing what? Or have I to consider it not much reliable anymore?
Thanks to all the people will clarify me this matter.
Filiberto.
Powerbook G3 Mac OS 9.2.x

Hello,
I am in the USA, trying to sort out a PB G3 Wallstreet problem for my son in Kenya (Africa). He is a Peace Corps volunteer, and has been given the use of this old laptop for his work in the village of Oyugis.
I have sent him a PCM-CIA to USB converter, so that he can use a small thumb drive to store things and transfer long email messages and other data to computers in the local post office.
The USB converter came with a software CD, but when he tries to install it, it pops up with a "Type 3" error message.
I found your name and postings on the Apple discussions board, and since you have the same computer as my sons, and your postings were recent, I wondered if you could help me out.
I have posted my question to the general discussion board as well.
Thank you!
You may directly email me at [email protected]

Fix & follow up on Topic: Powerbook G3 Wallstreet Battery issues

My answer was VERY simple! I too had a Wallstreet G3 that the battery suddenly stopped charging. Bought two new batteries, still the red X through the menu icon. Read forum after forum about logic boards, PRAM battery replacement (mine is dead)Battery Reset v 2.0, resetting power manager,loose contacts inside bay, copper (I think) interferring with A/C port, faulty power adapter, etc. & addressed the easy ideas putting off any inside hardware fixes.
Today decided to revisit a fix so I could break down and order whatever parts I thought I needed & put a battery in & the red X on the battery icon appeared, but then went away - so very briefly - then back to the red X. So having read today again about faulty power cords & remembering the copper touching the port problem, reached back & wiggled power cord to be sure it was pushed in OK & suddently the screen dimmed & I got the message window that I am running on reserve power & unless I plug into A/C right away the computer will shut down...words to that effect which meant that I had lost A/C power to the port just by a simple wiggle; so I pushed it a bit and held it in & the screen brightened so I knew it was back on A/C! After experimenting with pushing it in & around some more & having it dim, get the message & then come back on, when I left it on I noticed the battery icon had the lightening flash on it and the power strip showed the right bay battery was charging!! I WAS THRILLED!
Got to the root of the problem & did not spend a dime or replace any hardware! It has been an hour now (I haven't touched the power cord since)& it is still charging with the icon 1/3 filled with red and the first of the 5 blank indicators for the right bay in the power strip filled gray.
Hallelujah!

Thank YOU so very much for taking the time to tell me about the DC power inlet because I found your answer after troubleshooting whether or not I thought I needed a new power cord or had a faulty port because I discovered when applying pressure to just the power cord housing right at the point of entry being careful to not disturb the actual cord it still caused the computer to behave erratically so I think you are absolutely right.
I purchased this from e-Bay a couple of years ago and am thrilled with it (am a Mac user from its very beginning and have had several open to swap harddrives, upgrade memory, etc.) so have been researching replacing the PRAM battery since a new one came with the computer which former owner didn't put on and since I have discovered it IS a TOTAL teardown I know why, but if my husband is comfortable soldering a electronic, I'll have him follow your directions when I get to the PRAM battery.
How would I recognize what needs soldered and any tips I should know on type of solder, etc? Any online fixit photos you can point me to? I'm all set on the tear down.
Thanks again!!!

Powerbook G3 Woes - PDQ 266 - Installation Headaches...

Hello people.
I have just acquired a PB G3 "PDQ" which has a 20GB HDD along with 512MB of RAM, Model M5473.
I cannot install an OS on it to save myself and I'm pulling my hair out.
I've reset the machine with the key combo stated at the rear, along with also PRAM and PMU using the key combos. I've also tried several tried and tested versions (on New World machines at least) of Mac OS 8 and 9 that I have, without success.
The ones I've tried:
- An original 'standalone' 9.2.2 installer that I can boot from, partition up the 20GB HDD into 4, then start the installation, only to get a a read error with 'the system extras folder'. (I've seen conflicting reports of what this machine can actually be upgraded to, perhaps it's 9.1 only?)
- I have a 'standalone' Mac OS8 original plain white CD that reports at boot something to the effect of 'you can use this, wrong version' and prompts to restart.
- Does this machine have a battery?
- How do you turn it off from the grey-question-mark-in-the-box screen?
- Does the OS9 (white-background orange 9) work with this machine?
- Do I need the original 8.1 disc that came with the machine?
Lost, dazed and quite confused...
Cheers,
R.

Reyne,
Nice work!
Just to answer your earlier questions...
-The Powerbook G3 Series "Wallstreet" M4753 requires a minimum of MacOS 8.1; this 8.1 is a special version that includes a Powerbook G3 System Enabler file, so a retail MacOS 8.1 CD will not work.
-Your MacOS 9 CD (white background, orange '9') is a retail disk and should work just fine on any Mac that supports that version.
-Your Wallstreet does have main battery; look for "Powerbook G3 - User Manual".
http://support.apple.com/manuals/#powerbook
-When installing OSX on the Wallstreet, you need to partition the HD in a specific way:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106235

Serious boot issues with Powerbook G3 (Wallstreet II, OS 9.2.2)

Hello,
I have major issues with a Powerbook Wallstreet II I got recently. When it's finally running, it works just as well as Wallstreet Powerbooks usually do, no errors, no crashing, smooth performance, everything fine.
But booting it up is, to put it mildy, a bloody pain. First off, it does not power up, when it's only connected to batteries. I have two of them, both working fine for several hours when put in after bootup, but no matter if I place one or both of them in any bays, nothing happens when pressing or holding the power button (apart from screen flickering and speaker crackling). I'm always forced to connect the power adapter, which immediatly (without pressing the power button) causes the power LED to light and the cooling fan insanely spins up for a mere couple of split seconds until everything wents silent again.
Having reached this point, I can disconnect the power supply (if at least one battery is in) and usually hear a nice "BONG" when pressing the power button once again. Thereafter, nothing happens for a oppressive 30 seconds, then, the screen finally lits and shows the Mac OS 9.2.x splash screen on monochrome background. Sadly, this is already the end of most of my first boot up tries, because at this point, I usually get told by a dialogbox that a bus error has just happened. The box also has a nice "Reboot" button, which I cannot click as the trackpad hangs as well.
Pressing ShiftFn+CrtlPower works here in about one out of three time, so in most cases, I have to go through the same procedure. Pull out power sources, give a shot via PSU, have it iddling for 30 secs. In most cases, this second try lets me pass splash screen, loader, yes, it even lets me see the desktop, the taskbar, the HDD icon and... pouf. Success is so close but no, it has to suddenly drop into sleep mode and
a short press on power proves the apprehension true, that it won't be easy to wake it up again. Hrmph. But I don't give that easily. So pulling everthing out for the second time, connect PSU for the third time and look there, it fully boots.
Three tries to successfully boot is about average at first try series. Afterwards, it seems to be "warmed up" and things get easier. I made a log recently with 5 test series, made at very frequent intervals:
Series 1:
1. Bootup: Bus Failure (Hard reboot fails) (bays empty)
2. Bootup: Sleep Mode (bays empty)
3. Bootup: Sleep Mode (bays empty)
4. Bootup: Sleep Mode (both batteries)
5. Bootup: Bus Failure (Hard reboot successful)(both batteries)
6. Bootup: Success (left battery, right bay empty)
Series 2:
1. Bootup: Success(left battery, right bay empty)
Series 3:
1. Bootup: Bus Failure (!!!) (left battery, right bay empty)
2. Bootup: Success (bays empty)
Series 4:
1. Bootup Success (left bay empty, right battery)
Series 5:
1. Bootup Success (both batteries)
Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

jpl,
Thank you for continuative support.
If you plan on buying a 256MB memory module, the Wallstreet requires
a 256 specifically made for it (and the early iMac
and Lombard). Modules 128MB and smaller can be
generic if they meet the Wallstreet's specs.
Thanks for this information.
You might find it useful to disassemble the 'book to the PMU, carefully remove/reseat the PMU card, then test.
Well, to be honest, I don't have the time to perform this very labour-intensive work. However, I pulled out the large PMU connector (the one that can be reached by lifting the keyboard) and reseated it, without any results. Shouldn't that suffice? Or is there another connection that could need maintenance?
Regarding sleep: There is no display position sensor, only a simple magnet in the right display bezel approximately 4" from the bottom...you can stick a paperclip to it. When the display closes, it triggers a sleep switch located next to the delete key in the side rail.
Ah, okay.
According to Apple, if the powerbook will not run on battery, it could be the charge card or PMU board or power supply card or logic board. However, your 'book apparently runs on battery once started via power adapter.
Actually, it does not allow me to power up, if I attach the adapter right after an unsuccessful try to operate from battery. Even if I remove the batteries (after adapter connection).
It's like it is "crashed" before it's even running. Which means, I have to pull all power sources to be able to perform the resuscitating power up via adaptor.
A normal power manager reset on the Wallstreet is this:
1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Simultaneously press Shift-Fn (function)-Ctrl >(control)-Power.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the Power button to restart the PowerBook >computer.
A successful reset will briefly flash the sleep light plus >spin up the fan for a second. If a reset does not solve the >startup and sleep issues, then you will have to look >elsewhere.
I can see the sleep LED and I do hear the fan, however, this didn't help in most cases. After perfoming this action (in a freeze situation), I usually only got rattling noises out of the speakers or screen flashes when trying to power up.
Be sure the powerbook only freezes when closing the display to sleep it.
Well, I noticed it sometimes also freezes when left idle directly after start up (and power save is activated). Later, it comes right back again.
- Is the sleep light blinking before you open the display?
Yes.
- When the display is opened, does the sleep light continue to blink? (It should.)
Yes.
- When you press the power button, do you hear a 'buzz' or some similar noise? If you do, you may have another issue to explore.
No. I usually only hear speaker noise when trying to power up from battery. But oddly enough, the lenght of the sleep light blinks changes when power button is hold down in "frozen sleep".
I would also go to the System Folder > Preferences folder and drag the Energy Saver Preferences to the Trash, close all windows, then restart...a new preference file will be created on restart. You can reset the Energy Saver to your like, then test sleep.
Done.
-Does sleep/wake always work when NOT closing the display? Try this after resetting the power manager and trashing the pref file mentioned below.
If I initiate sleep, yes. If it suspends automatically, well, usually. But not always (see above).

Powerbook G4 17" 1ghz battery problem?

my powerbook charges fully and when i use it to around 45% it shuts down with no warning and the battery has to be removed completely and ac plugged in before it will boot. It thens resets my date to 1969. I have calibrated, reset PMU/NVRAM. The battery has only 135 cycles. I have ordered another battery hopefully that will fix. any other suggestions?

Welcome back to Apple Discussions!
You have a second non-user accessible battery that may need replacing after 4 years. Have an authorized service technician look at it and see if that is needed.

Does a 12" PowerBook have a PRAM battery on the logic board?

We got an 867MHz 12" Aluminum PowerBook in today that doesn't seem to want to hold PRAM values any longer than 5 minutes. It doesn't seem to matter if it's plugged in and using the AC adapter as the source or the battery (as long as it's charged, of course ).
I've gone through the typical battery of tests, like removing the Airport, add-on RAM, etc. but the problems persist. To get the item to boot, I've been repeatedly resetting the PMU (shift-option-command + power button) followed by a PRAM reset (option-command-P-R + power button) and eventually it will chime and start to boot. I suspect that I can end up isolating this to a specific set of steps. One of the oddities I've noticed is that when doing this, the power isn't actually off. For example, if I do the PRAM reset, the item will appear to be dead, but if I hit the caps lock key it's clear that the power is still on.
Once the item boots, I can power it on and off, and it will reboot, as long as I don't let it sit any more than 5 minutes. If I let it sit 5 minutes or more, then I need to go through this whole reset game again.
I've seen stuff like this happen on PCs that often have ROM/PROM batteries installed (sometimes removable, sometimes soldered to the board) that retain system settings. There seems to be something that looks like one of these batteries installed on this motherboard, but none of Apple's tech repair manuals reference replacing it, and it almost looks like its welded to a connector, but then again I'm not sure it's even a battery.
So the question is: Does this motherboard have a PRAM battery on it that's failing? If there is one, is there a replacement or replacement kit available, or am I barking up the wrong tree all together?
Thanks in advance.

From what I can tell, this device uses a "mega capacitor" to maintain the charge on the memory. It looks almost like a battery that I put into one of my old cameras. This capacitor sits between the trackpad and the optical drive. The owner of this system did a DVD upgrade himself and it appears in the process he actually knocked this capacitor off it's base on the mother board. It superficially APPEARS to be connected because there's a bar on the top end of the capacitor soldered to the motherboard that's holding it in place, but the bottom end broke off the motherboard.
The boss of our company theorizes as follows:
1. The PRAM and NVRAM has a high impedance, and when the mega capacitor is properly connected and without power, the discharge rate based on the RC time constant is very long (probably weeks...maybe months).
2. When power is turned off it's the duty of this effective RC network to maintain PRAM and NVRAM since the discharge rate is so slow.
3. With this capacitor busted off, the only capacitance that exists in the circuit is likely that of RF bypass capacitors and any other capacitors that may be used to filter out the supply. Since these are likely much, much lower in value the RC time constant becomes minutes instead of days/weeks/months.
I think this is a good theory for the following reasons:
1. If the unit sits, powered off, for any amount of time greater than 3-4 minutes and it's powered up, the unit comes on, but the CPU doesn't start processing. The optical media initializes, the caps lock key will light, and if you listen closely to the unit you can hear stuff running....but the CPU doesn't start. The conjecture is that the all PRAM/NVRAM parameters have been lost and when the CPU starts it sees nothing there and hence, does nothing. The unit is actually running, it just doesn't do anything.
2. If the unit sits, powered off, for any amount of time greater than 3-4 minutes, the following process will allow it to start up:
a. Turn the power on and leave it on for about 2-3 minutes. This is the dysfunctional state identified above, but what seems to be happening is that the effective RC network is being charged.
b. After several minutes, turn the unit off and then immediately turn it on.
c. The unit boots successfully.
d. We can turn the unit off, and turn it on again, and it will successfully boot as long as we do it relatively quickly (within a minute or two), but if it's left off more than that then the "game" identified in steps a-c must be repeated.
To me this implies the unit relies completely on the "mega-capacitor" to retain voltage on the PRAM/NVRAM. It sort of makes sense because the equivalent impedance of a battery is low compared to that of the RAM chips and it would have the effect of limiting the RC time constant needed for the unit to retain it's PRAM/NVRAM parameters for a very long period of time. That isn't to say the battery isn't supplying anything to the unit when power is off...it may very well be, but I suspect it simply isn't doing it to this circuit.
Does this theory make sense?

Powerbook no longer recognizes battery

About a week ago, suddenly, when I unplugged my computer while it was sleeping, to move it to another room. It shut itself down. When I rebooted it showed 3% battery, within 5 mins it said 93% battery, then suddenly there was an X inside the battery icon. I have tried cleaning the contacts, removiung the battery and reseating it, etc. It does not see it. This is my second battery having bought it less than a year ago from OWC. My last one stopped holding a charge for any length of time.
I have been told this is dangerous and I should remove the battery from the unit.
ANybody else have this going on?!

Well my OWC battery has not given me an issue, but a battery that is jumpy like that could be a hazard so I would remove it for sure. If it surges or something you would hate for it to take out your powerbook.

PowerBook G3 Wallstreet/PDQ battery pinout

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