Strangest iBook power issue

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

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

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IBook G4 + Power issues = No support from Applecare?

This post is going to be kind of a rant plus an actual question:
I've noticed on-going power issues with my iBook G4 for a while, and have called Apple about it. Despite having an AppleCare plan on my iBook, they said there was nothing I could do besides buy a new battery and see how that goes. I said that being a hardware technician, I didn't think the issue was with the battery, but we'd see how it goes.
Last night, my iBook powered itself off for no reason. Worked fine when I had it on the AC adapter, but powered off as soon as I unplugged the power cable. The battery indicator on the battery did show three bars of power.
I called Apple this morning, and they said to check the battery at the closest Apple Store to me. I told her that the closest one is two hours away. She gave me the number to a local service center, who upon calling, has been closing for 5 years.
I called Apple back and spoke with another technician. Told him that I was sure that the problem was with the system itself, as other people have been having this issue according to the forum. The response I got was a little...well, not good.
Even though I have an AppleCare Protection Plan on my iBook, even if the problem is not with the battery, and with the system itself, I was told I would need to pay for all repairs. I was like "Isn't the point of an extended warranty is that I wouldn't need to pay?" The tech explained to me that "AppleCare isn't an extended warranty, it just guarantees support through them if you call in." Needless to say, I got off the phone with him after that sentence and thanked him for his time.
Long story short: I'm stuck. From experience, do other people on here think its the battery or the board? Apple seems to be of no help at all, despite having a three-year "protection plan" on the device.
What does anyone else think?

Do you by any chance have a friend with a battery that is known to be good? If you could determine that your computer has the same problems even with a battery that is known to be good, then you have a good argument for the problem being with the board. If the problems disappear, then they might be due to a failing battery.
If you aren't satisfied with whoever you talk to at tech support, you can request to talk to a product specialist--these guys have a higher level of knowledge and experience and you might get further with them than you can with the first level support person.
I agree that problems with the board should be covered by your warranty. If you are at all close to the end of your warranty, be sure and get a case number. If you can establish that the problem initially occurred while you were under warranty, Apple should honor it even if it takes a little time to resolve.
Good luck!

IBook payment issue

Hi, guys. I'm new to this forum and I'm from Mongolia. I gotta question regarding payment for books in iBooks. To put it simple, i want to sell my book via ibook, the question is, Is it possible for itunes users from Mongolia, where there is no app store, to buy this book? B'coz i heard that itunes payment is possible only in those country where official app store is available. If its true. Do i have any other option in order to sell my book on iBook?
Thank you in advance.
Erdem

Have you tried resetting the PMU?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431
Resetting the PMU (Power Management Unit) has the potential of eliminating many power issues with an iBook.

A well covered power issue post....

Hi!
Well, here goes again. I've read alot on the forum about power issues and the iBook...and now it's happened to me. I've posted to see if there's any 'fresh' advice.
Basically, my HD was totally screwed, so on Monday i had it replaced with a new 80g Western Digital jobbie. Brilliant little drive, so quiet and quick compared to the original Toshiba... Anyway, it was replaced by an authorised Apple retailer, got it home, re-installed everything, all was fine and dandy.
This evening, i came to use the computer. It powered up and everything. I'm on it now, so it's still functioning ok. The only problem now is the power supply.
My battery has been at 91% all evening, with the charger plugged in. The little light ring glowed orange when i first plugged the adaptor in...well, actually, when i teased it around the charger hole. When fully inserted, the battery icon detcts the power supply, but doesn't charge. I took the battery out and powered up the Mac with charger plugged in and it worked fine-but still no glowing ring.
Now, it was fine yesterday when i was doing all my install's, but tonight nothing. I've reset the PMU (or whatever it is), but thats not helped. I think the battery number is something like A1046...could that be at fault? Or is it possible that the engineers disturbed something when they had it apart? I've just spent £180 on the HD replacement, i can't afford any more, so if it's possible the engineers are at fault they can repair it!
Any advice or ideas gratefully welcomed-i love my Mac but the last week or so i've started to lose a little faith...
Dan

Hi Brody...
Thanks for the link to your page-very useful, with just the links alone.
I've made a little progress...well, not progress-i've managed to get light out of the ring on the charger barrel. When fully pushed in to the Mac, there is no light. HOWEVER, if i get the pin and touch it against the socket on the Mac (by socket, i mean where you plug the charger in) on the side, it glow's a faint orange. If i semi insert the pin/barrel slow enough i can get the ring to go Green, but it is microscopic movements to get this. This doesn't however, get the battery charging. As soon as the barrel is pushed home, it's just back to how it was-holding the battery's charge and thats it!
So, i've established that the charger ring still works, i've seen it orange and green. I've wiggled wires etc, changed plugs but it's still going out when fully inserted.
How bad does that sound?? Eeep!

G3 Graphite 500mhz slot loader power issue

My building has a 500 mhz graphite slot-loader that started to have issues....
Namely, the display would start to 'twitch' after it was on for a little while. These twicthes would continuee every few minutes until eventually it would twitch and shut off....but the machine would always turn right back on. The twitches almost remind me of the degauss button on old monitors. Now it twitched and turned off, but it won't turn back on this time. It seems to me to be a power issue as it is completely dead now and I cannot boot it in target mode, nor do I get a chime or any reaction at all when I try to power up etc etc.
I have access to a a pretty good supply of old parts (I have a 'skid row' of old iMacs that my school district will not repair anymore due to their age) so what do you guys think the issue may be? I've pulled apart a good number of iBooks, but this will be my first iMac.....

'Sorry to be so spleeney about the "plugO'death" there IS a way to slip a grounded screw driver under the plug and discharge the capacator. (It's the plug you can see right on the top of the tube with the large rubber flange around it) I just hate to see folks get in there.
The flyback circuit consists of mainly a high-voltage transformer and a capacator that stores the charge. This charge applied to the tube attracts the electrons from the back of the tube and encourages them to jump the vacuum and smash into the screen phosphors in a somewhat orderly manner.
If you just pull the drive, there's no problem with high voltage, high current components.
The Apple site Apple's Knowledge Base has links to .pdf technical manuals if you should decide to live life on the electrical edge.
David

I just updated the software on my iPad and now I cannot update my Aps or install new ones. I ran a diagnostic and that resulted in "power issue." It wouldn't let me select what my options were. Any ideas?

Don't know where to get help. I just updated the software and I am having issues with not being able to update Aps or install new ones. The circles just spin and Aps just say "waiting." I tried running a diagnostic with the apple store and it came back with "power issues" (?) as a result. It wouldn't let me select an option to see what steps I could take to fix it, it just backed out of the page. I just don't know what to do.....

Hi,
Thank you for your reply, I did go to my general settings, but for some odd reason I don't have a restrictions setting, or a reset setting. I thought I could reset all the setting to see if it could be that, but as I said there aren't any.
My husband also has the iPad 2, and also did the software update and hasn't had any problems at all. I took both iPad's and compared the settings thinking maybe there could be a setting that could have been changed when the update was done.

TS4088 I have a MacBook pro that has power issues and will not start but the hardrive is fine. I do not want to lose all of my files so I was wondering if it's possible to transfer my hardrive from a older Macbook pro to a new one if I were to purchase o

I have a MacBook pro that has power issues and will not start but the hardrive is fine. I do not want to lose all of my files so I was wondering if it's possible to transfer my hardrive from a older Macbook pro to a new one if I were to purchase a new one? Also, the software is not updated as the computer hasn't worked for about 2 months.
Also, if it is possible to transfer the hardrive, would my iTunes music transfer as well? It is not saved in the cloud.
Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.

You computer is probably perfectly repairable, but if you want a new one anyway, it is perfectly possible to transfer the data from the faulty one.
But it would be a mistake to simply put the old HD in the new computer.
These are the steps:
Remove Hard drive from faulty computer. (very easy on Unibody MBPs, do-able but not so easy on older MBPs)
Put it in a cheap enclosure
Connect it the new computer
Boot up new computer.
If the new computer has never been run before the Setup Assistant will ask if you want to import your apps, data, settings etc from either another mac, another HD connected to the Mac or a Time Machine back up.
Obviously chose the second option (another HD connected to this Mac) and follow prompts.
If the new computer has already been run (so Setup Assistant doesn't run when you boot it up), you will need to use Migration Assistant...or run the installer again so that Setup Assistant runs again.
Message was edited by: Mike Boreham...added sec on line

Unable to Troubleshoot Power Issues on Mac mini 2011

I have been having odd and intermittent power issues with my Mac mini 2011 and could really use some help before I resign myself to taking it into an Apple Store. It's under warranty, but I now live in another country so I hope I don't need to ship it should it come down to that.
However, I have searched this topic a lot, and not only have I tried troubleshooting it, I haven't seen any power issues with other owners of this model. That leads me to think that the power supply itself is probably OK.
First of all, I live in China and the building I live in seems to have a questionable power supply. The air conditioner for example simply would not work and the repairman spent two hours messing around with wires inside the outlet and in the breakers. That did the trick, so I wonder if I'm simply not getting enough juice?
Main symptoms:
- My monitor recognizes an analog signal but will not light up (black monitor). Unplugging and replugging adaptor doesn't do anything.
- Startup Keyboard Commands (e.g. Cmmd-R) may work, but I can't tell because the monitor won't light up. Letting the computer boot up though I can hear keyboard volume keys and such making the standard sounds. I can usually restart using the keyboard too.
- My 2T external HD more often than not dismounts as well.
- I can't hear any computer activity after the chime (hard drive, etc.).
- Since I can hear the chime and there is audio feedback through the keyboard, I think that eliminates hardware problems such as logic board failure or bad RAM.
- I can't boot even if I unplug all USB peripherals.
- Holding down the power button (I have it set to make the computer sleep as well as shut down) often won't shut down the computer, but it seems to stay in sleep no matter how long I hold it. Unplugging the computer finally shuts it down, obviously.
- Unplugging and waiting 5 minutes or so and powering up again doesn't seem to make any difference, nor does switching sockets, plugging directly into the wall, etc.
Problems began about two weeks ago, got better, and then worse again. Now I'm just keeping the computer and monitor on (never sleep 24/7).
Miraculously, after much frustration and countless restarts, suddenly the screen will turn on to reveal a fully booted system that was running all along in the background. No startup screen- the monitor just magically comes on again. Often I find that my external has unmounted, but it's no big deal to get to remount. At this stage, the Mac is still very quiet and for a while the system is sluggish, though it hops back into action in 5 or 10 minutes.
At first I thought it was just my monitor, and though that's possible I suppose, it seems I'm just not getting enough juice. Once the monitor is on though, everything is fine: I can power it off and on with no problems. But I can't just leave my computer on forever though.
Any help appreciated.

Well, with the other monitor (which did not work with the mini either but worked fine on a laptop), I was able to narrow the trouble spot down to either a faulty Mini Display to VGA adaptor or a damaged port. I could determine that all the other ports (incld. the USB drive, programs, internet, etc., were all working fine behind the big black GUI all through sound feedback, so I seriously doubted it could be a supply problem or a residential electric problem.
I took my mini and adaptor to a "Mac Shop" (reseller) here in China, and found it quite professional, just like a Mac Store. They tested my machine, and although they didn't have VGA monitors, they said I could return the new $30 USD adaptor if it didn't work. But as I'm writing this on the monitor now, the new adaptor did the trick.
The long and short of all this is that I've read a lot about display problems with the mini and I suspect that most of these problems are adaptor related. I myself tried to save some bucks by buying a third party plug and lived and learned. I hope the Apple adaptor works like a champ, and if it doesn't, I'll know the first thing to eliiminate next time.

Z77A-GD65 power issue/bad system board?

Looking for advice. I am afraid its a bad board, but some symptoms point at power which also makes no sense.
This is what the WHOLE system should look like.
MSI Z77A-GD65 system board
Intel 3770K 3.5Ghz
Anted Kuhler H20 620
G.Skills RipJaws 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 F3-14900CL9Q-16GBXL (on the test list)
Asus nVidia GTX 680 video card
OCX Vertex 3 256MB SSD
Seagate 500GB data drive
Razer Lycosa Keyboard
Razer DeathAdder Mouse
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I am not currently over clocking.
So what the system does look like is:
If I connect the 500GB drive then windows starts rebooting as soon as the Windows logo comes up.
If I place all four sticks of RAM in the system windows starts rebooting as soon as the Windows logo comes up.
If I leave the 500GB standard sata drive off and only use 3 sticks of RAM... well we get a solid system and I am writing this message on it.
3 sticks of ram appear to work in any 3 slots and allow the system to boot, except 1,3,4. That combo also resulted in the reboots at the windows logo.
I first thought it was RAM, originally I was using Corsair Vengeance. I saw some posts here about people having the same problem, and noted that the Corsiar RAM was not tested and switch to a the tested G.Skill instead.
Any ideas? It does not completely seem like a System board issue, but it certainly should not be power. All heat levels are well within normal and as I said the system works great if I leave off the drive and one stick of RAM.
Thanks guys....

System torn down, and put back together. (Found out I was out of Thrermal Compound, so I had to run to the store to get some.)
No long leads, only 9 stand offs matching each mount point on the systemboard.
Back together... problem is the exact same.
However, back to the hard drive issue. I decided to play with that since I was getting no where with 4 sticks of RAM.
What I have discovered is that with NO sata cable connecting the drive to the system board, if I try to power the two 250GB standard sata drives the system reboots just as the Windows logo should come up.
The fact that this behavior is so close to the RAM behavior... I am back to thinking its a power issue, though system board is still a chance... its just easier to buy a new better power supply than the Antec Neo Power 620 that came with the case. (I have not ever had a problem with Antec before, and will likely just buy one of their higher end power supplies to replace it, but I think I will try it next, just in case.)
I am not seeing any strange behavior power wise as far as any monitor shows... but connecting power to a sata drive that is NOT connected with a sata cable and causing a reboot just screams power at me.
Anymore thoughts today. In the mean time off to play Secret World with just the SSD and two sticks of RAM, which still runs rock solid.

My 2007 Macbook pro Intel Core 2 Duo   Processor Speed 2.33 GHz has power issues with one or some of my USB powered devices. Last night I could not back up my Lacie external drives with software SuperDuper, hard drive copier. I also had a message that Tim

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My 2007 Macbook pro Intel Core 2 Duo   Processor Speed 2.33 GHz has power issues with one or some of my USB powered devices. Last night I could not back up my Lacie external drives with software SuperDuper, hard drive copier. I also had a message that Time machine failed. I have two powered 12V USB
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In diagnostics for the iPhone 5, what does "Power Issue" mean? Is it covered by the 1 year limited warranty?

That has to be just about the least helpful response ever recorded by anyone in the history of the Planet Earth. Thanks!

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For power issues anywhere, perform an SMC Reset.

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Hi David,
Welcome to the Discussions.
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Hi,
I have a 2007 iMac. I am getting intermittent power issues with it.
One day it wont power up at all...and might not power up for a number of weeks. And just when I have given up on it, it will power up and work for a wee while without any issues (including being shutdown nightly). It'll work for a while and then it'll stop working and again it may take a couple of weeks before it'll start working again.
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Hi IsMiseAodh - did you ever determine what the cause of intermittent no response to power was? I have a iMac with a similar problem. Thanks!

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Strangest iBook power issue

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