Computer difficulties

[jwgh]

I took my Powerbook to practice so I could make recordings, and when I got home again it wouldn't start up -- the startup chime sounded but the screen remained blank and nothing else seemed to happen (although the hard drive did seem to spin up).

At first I thought that the screen had just gone dead, but waiting for it to start up and then doing things that would normally make noise failed to do so, and hitting the power button and then return failed to make it shut down again. It also refused to start up off of a system CD (although it did eject it, and my CD drive has been acting up of late). Unplugging all of the peripherals had no effect.

I tried holding down command-option-p-r to reset the PRAM, but after the initial startup sound nothing happened -- there were no additional startup sounds or anything.

Finally, unplugging the battery and leaving it out for a few minutes seemed to do the job. On starting up it informed me that the system clock had been reset to (I think) 1901.

It seems to be OK now, but I am wondering how dumb it is to continue to rely on this computer, which is a few years old (I believe I bought it in 2001) and out of warranty and is the computer I use for everything (including all work stuff -- I work from home).

I was really hoping to hold off on buying a new computer for another year, too. :-( It isn't impossible for me to buy another one now, but it's an expense I would prefer to avoid.

All comments welcomed ... I hope my little mac starts up in the morning!

Comments

My wife's ThinkPad

[vardissakheli.livejournal.com]

has a similar startup problem. Takes several power cycles to get it to start the BIOS. Sadly, I think the answer to such things is generally "new motherboard."

[grocersfreezer.livejournal.com]

yeah this happened to me and i had to get a new motherboard

[saucypunk.livejournal.com]

yeah, my old ibook was from 2001, and I can't imagine still using it. it was just temperamental and old. i'd say if it comes down to a new motherboard, just go for a new one. although, brian's convinced they're coming out with new powerbooks in june, so you may or may not want to wait for that....

[wisn.livejournal.com]

The date reset is a classic symptom of a dead PRAM battery. Starting without video (it may have only been the backlight) is common too. (This is assuming your PowerBook has one. Some don't. None of the iBooks do.)

If the backup battery's not dead, try resetting the PMU:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

If the backup battery's dead, you can replace it. This is an Apple service job, but if your Mac's out of warranty and you feel like you're up to it, buy your own, DIY and save a hundred or two in bench fees.

Part numbers:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86181

Walkthrough:
http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/54.6.0.html

Then again, it may be something else entirely. But when I was a Mac tech, the majority of dead-mac complaints stemmed from PRAM batteries. Backup/PRAM batteries have a lifespan of about three years; considerably less if the computer spent a long time unused, a little longer if it was used heavily. Fortunately for you, they tend to be socketed; I think it was Apple's 5300-series laptops which soldered the battery leads.

[doctroid.livejournal.com]

You've got everything backed up now, right?

[jwgh]

Yup, backed everything up last night. Which is fortunate, since the powerbook refused to start up at all today and I ended up buying a new one.