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Hard drive upgrade? Sep. 19th, 2008 @ 10:44 am
[info]skreidle
 My 15" Powerbook (Al, 1.25GHz) has a failed HDD. Fortunately, it's backed up to an external via Time Machine, but I'm not sure what my limitations for replacement are. I see that the stock drive is an 80GB 4200rpm, and that the interface in the laptop is Ultra ATA/100. Is Ultra ATA/100 the spec I need to keep in mind when HDD-shopping, or is there a more general specification I can use? (e.g., is anything with a /150 bus speed incompatible?)

Aug. 1st, 2008 @ 01:46 pm
[info]buria_q
  One of the hinges of my Powerbook G4 broke a few weeks ago, and the colors on the screen have gotten worse and worse (right now the screen is totally blank and I cannot use it). Is there no way to fix it? I know it was discontinued last year and the model is known for having weak hinges. The clerk at the macstore called it an "antique" and said I would have to get a new one. I had mine for only three years and was hoping it would last me through college. 


(cross-posted)

Advice on HD replacement... Jul. 7th, 2008 @ 03:35 pm
[info]danakm
 I need advice for buying a new HD to replace my current one. Since I'm gonna go through this trouble I might as well do an upgrade, so I'm looking for a compatible drive that is at least 160GB (better if more), a reliable brand and a reliable (and affordable) online shop to get it.

A reasonably priced firewire/usb drive enclosure for the HD (to use while making the carbon copy) would be great, too :)

Suggestions?


System specs:
Aluminium PowerBook G4 15" with 1.25 GHz PPC, 2GB RAM running Mac OS X 10.5.4

Virtualization software. Jun. 25th, 2008 @ 07:55 pm
[info]tidesong
 I've finally upgraded my PowerBook to a MacBook Pro! Woo!

I would like to take advantage of the ability to run Windows, preferably with virtualization.

I've been told there are two programs to do this within OSX: Parallels, and VMWare.

So, I'm looking for input. What have you guys tried, and what are your thoughts? I'm not going to be running anything too intense...no games, at least not yet. The main purpose is to run some meteorology software that is only available for Windows. I don't want to have to log out of OSX to do it though, hence the desire for virtualization.

Thanks in advance! :)

Powerbook G3 May. 22nd, 2008 @ 12:11 am
[info]shatteredone
 Well, it's finally dead.

My Powerbook G3, which i bought in 1998, looks like it has permanently kicked the bucket.

The 2 Gig Hard drive that originally came with this unit will not hold data anymore. I tried re-installing OS 8 onto it, but when I restart after a successful install, it tells me that the drive is empty.

I bought a 120 gig hard drive on sale for 40 bucks, it didn't work. Tried the smaller 20 gig drive from my old Compaq Armada, but just like the 120, the OS Installer couldn't see it either. Can not find any sort of drivers for hard drives for this OS anymore, its just too old.

What do I do? I could try a hard drive off of ebay, but meh. If I get one that works, who knows how long before it kicks the bucket too?

Any suggestions?

I would buy a pismo, but for all the more I use my laptop for (internet and writing) I can't justify the price. I picked up a Toshiba Satellite for 130 bucks, brand new. Win XP is fine for most of what I want to do, and OS 8 is pretty limited these days. I wouldn't mind getting it working, I feel like a $3,000 machine just shouldn't be left to be a paper weight. But 10 years is a heck of a long time for a computer to last.

Any thoughts?

PowerBook G4 reboot issues May. 21st, 2008 @ 02:20 pm
[info]ljtaylor
 I have an old PowerBook G4 which I installed Leopard to. Leopard messed it up something fierce, so I did an erase and install, wiped the HD, and reinstalled the original version of Panther I had on disk. All's well and fast like it used to be, but since I have the very first release of Panther on there (10.3) I need to upgrade to 10.3.9 to put some of my old apps back on there.

The PowerBook won't connect to my wireless system even though the AirPort itself is just fine, so I couldn't use Software Update. Instead I tracked down 10.3.9 on the Apple website, downloaded it to my iMac and then used a pen drive to shift the disk image over to my PowerBook. I then tried to install the update but it was having none of it, saying my HD wasn't formatted correctly or something similar.

Am I doing something wrong here? I really just want to make my PowerBook serviceable again, and I don't know what to do!

Thanks in advance!

Mac OS X Leopard...serious problems Apr. 12th, 2008 @ 02:54 pm
[info]ljtaylor
 Hi y'all, I need help because I installed the Combi update last night for OS X 10.5.2 and it's completely screwed up my PowerBook G4. I've been on the Mac OS X Leopard support discussions over at Apple, and it seems that nobody has had the same problems as I'm having. I haven't modified my OS in any way, except for installing any updates that have been provided since I bought the system way back in November. My complimentary AppleCare has now expired. I've tried restarting my laptop's PRAM, rebooted in Safe Mode...everything.

After I installed the Combi update, none of my applications would load (instead telling me that any app I tried to load did not exist and was 'null'). After a few hours of frustration, I decided to reinstall the original Leopard from the disk. This solved the 'no apps' problem but previous ones remained and some new ones appeared just to spite me. These are listed below.

I have no programming language/UNIX prowess and some of the topics I found on Apple Discussions which vaguely related to the multitude of problems I was having were just way too deep for my level of understanding. Seriously, I've had m laptop 4-5 years and I've never had problems like this.

Basically:
1). Finder seizes up on login. I can open it from Stacks but it won't open any other way.
2). I don't have anything displaying on my top menu bar except what app I'm running and the Spotlight tool.
3). Because I installed the iTunes update along with the Combi update, and my reinstallation of Leopard reset that, I now cannot open iTunes.
4). I have no desktop icons.
5). Software Update freezes if I try to download any updates.

Any help would be VERY much appreciated: I'm at my wits end here!

Cross-posted.
Current Location: UK

Apr. 9th, 2008 @ 04:17 pm
[info]kissmeimjewish
 Hey everyone!!

I just bought myself a macbook. But I had just bought some things for my powerbook, I didn't use them at all, but took them out of the packaging. I have a brand new battery for Apple PowerBook G4 15'' A1078, and a Macally PS-AC4 AC Power Adapter for Apple G4, and another power adapter. I am wondering if anyone is interested in buying them, for the same prices that I paid. I will link to the sales (from my buying them) below, let me know if your interested.


Apr. 8th, 2008 @ 10:40 am
[info]kissmeimjewish
 For those of you who had the powerbook and now a mac book, How do you feel about the powercord on the macbook? I've had tons of problems with my powercord connection on my powerbook, and i'm thinking of getting a macbook now.

x-posted

deactivating the caps lock key on my Powerbook Mar. 23rd, 2008 @ 08:23 am
[info]chuckvideo
 A few years back there was an application called uControl which allowed one to remap one's Mac keyboard, which I used in my case to defeat the caps lock key (which I seem to hit constantly when I reach for the A key).
uControl appears to be gone, but does anyone know of another application or solution to deactivate the caps lock key?

Running a 1.67GHz G4 non-Intel Powerbook, OSX v.10.5.2

crossposted to [info]macosx
Other entries
» Magnetic Clasp?
I have a beautiful, executive bag that I recently purchased at Goodwill. I was thrilled to discover that my MacBook fits in it! Yea!

The bag has a folder-over magnetic clasp. Anyone know if this will be an issue?

- x-posted -
Feb. 27th, 2008 @ 05:20 am
» Restore? Erase?
For some reason I can't find what I'm looking for on Apple's support page or else I'm just searching for the wrong thing. I want to restore my powerbook to it's original settings (empty the hard drive etc) because it's gotten sluggish lately and I don't really know what I'm doing. I carelessly left my OS X install disc at home but my friend has the same computer and got it at the same time. Can I use his? Mostly I just need to know the steps. In the disc utility there's "erase" and "restore" and neither of them are clear on what they actually do. I just want to re-set it with a clean slate.
Oct. 22nd, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
» Macs and Palm TXs
I just purchased a used Palm TX, and am trying to learn how to sync with my PowerBook, running OSX 10.4.9, and Entourage 2004.

Anyone else have success figuring this all out? Or does anyone know of decent resources (people, sites, etc.) for this information?

It's not really working as nicely as I'd like. As in, not at all! :)

Thanks!
Oct. 16th, 2007 @ 05:00 pm
» (No Subject)
I have a Powerbook G4 that is currently running on Jaguar.

I have to change my password/keychain often and I changed it on Monday or Tuesday and promptly forgot it. The computer had previously belonged to my boyfriend so we logged in through his old user account and changed my password which then allowed me to log-in, no problem.

However, when I go onto Safari I get this window



I get the same thing when I go into Keychain Access. When I enter in my current password it tells me I've entered the wrong username or password. I'm assuming it's asking for whatever password it is I changed it to on Monday/Tuesday.

Is there any way to fix this? If I bring it to Apple can they do something?
Oct. 11th, 2007 @ 01:07 pm
» Power supplies
Bah... both new power supplies from LaptopCharge.com failed! One in July, one in August--but not due to cable failure; the bricks themselves are no longer producing 24V! Guess I'll try the MacAlly one that [info]drazgoth suggested, while attempting warranty coverage from LaptopCharge (and/or hacking the growing pile of failed adapters.) :P
Aug. 11th, 2007 @ 02:05 pm
» dial-up
Hey there folks! I have a question about dial up, I'm moving next week and the place I'm going to doesn't have cable/wireless, therefore I will need to resort to a *shudder* dial up method. I know there are cards you can get to use dial-up anywhere, similar to People PC, but I need one thats compatible with my Powerbook.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Jul. 25th, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
» (No Subject)
Hello-

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem before. My Powerbook's search feature isn't working (apple + f). I'll put in a word to search for and it never does anything. It looks and acts as if it's searching, but usually the search will come up immediately after I finish typing- now nothing comes up, even after waiting. I'm kind of worried since I use this feature all the time. Any ideas as to what this could be? Help is very appreciated. Thank you!
Jul. 24th, 2007 @ 10:53 am
» Want a couple vintage Powerbooks?
I have a Powerbook 180, Powerbook 520/c, one power supply, and a Targus bag that holds all of the above, that I figure some vintage-Mac-geek out there wants. Make me an offer? The bag weighs about 20lbs, and I could ship it. :D
Jul. 17th, 2007 @ 04:58 pm
» Wirless router? (And track-pad issues.) x-posted
I'm having another completely unrelated issue with my Linksys router (put in the wrong MAC address for the filter, so now I can't figure out how to fix that).

But the issue I've been having for over a year is this: I have a Linksys Wireless WRT54G v5 router. I'd gotten it when I bought my PowerBook G4 back in December of 2005. The thing is that my wireless internet worked well for a month or two, and then it got to where I have to restart the router on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day, because it just stops working (no internet access because it just drops off). I can get a connection fine via the ethernet cable plugged into my PB (which is what I have to do now that I've filtered myself out, haha). I'd thought it was related to the ISP since my first apartment the issue started. Then I went without internet for a couple months at another apartment and moved into yet another apartment in January and got internet again. Wireless worked fine for a couple months and then recently began doing this again. Before I had TV Max for the ISP, and now I have Comcast.

I looked in the help forums on the Linksys website, and saw this thread. Apparently a lot of other Mac (and also PC) users are having the same issues. I've not tried yet to upgrade the firmware, but will be trying that soon.

But does anyone else have the same problems with a Linksys router? Is there another type of router I can use with a Mac that's a bit more stable, whether it be a different Linksys model or a different brand?





And also, my mouse is sticking as of the past week or so. I'd taken it in to the Genius Bar but couldn't get the mouse to stick. The guy ran some diagnostics and said my computer was showing to be normal and he couldn't find any problems. As soon as I got it home, it started messing up again. I took it to my parents' house yesterday, but the mouse was fine. Get home again, and the mouse acts up. I plugged in an external mouse when I got home and the external mouse is working fine, but the trackpad is still sticking. Any ideas on what's going on?
Jul. 16th, 2007 @ 08:37 am
» Weird Battery Situation
So, my Powerbook is 3.5 years old. I'm trying to hold out until Leopard is released before I buy a Macbook Pro.

It's a 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4, 768 mb of ram, and running OSX version 10.4.9.

I got a battery status widget a while ago so I could monitor my ever-decreasing battery capacity. It was at 5% and I was dreading the day it went down to zero. As it was, I only had about a minute on my battery, enough time to unplug it and plug it in somewhere else if I needed to.

Then, out of the blue, the battery widget said my battery was at 100% - age 43 months and 138 load cycles.

And it's not just the widget - my computer actually holds a charge for longer. It's not what it was at when I first bought it, by any means, but it's definitely a great improvement. It gets about a half hour, with a lot of apps running (usually AIM, iTunes, Firefox with a ton of tabs, DVD player, and maybe more).

Does anyone have any idea why this would happen?

I've never heard of this happening. Do I have anything to worry about? Obviously it seems like a good thing, but I just think it's so weird. Is it going to slowly degrade again?
Jun. 22nd, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
» Damn power adapters
As we all know all too well, Apple failed to design a good power adapter for their laptops prior to the MacBook line's magnetic version. And, of course, they continue to sell the adapters with fragile cables/plugs/shells for, what, $80?

Now, I know I could hack a suitable 24V 65W power supply with a 2.5mm stereo plug--or get to cutting and soldering on some of our already-repaired-and-taped damaged few--but I don't have one of those lying around either. A bit of web-shopping later, and I found that LaptopCharge.com sells a suitable replacement for a whopping $26! Thus, my wife and I will be getting two, next-business-day FedEx, for $87 total. :D

(MacWizards and TekSale also sell $33 versions which I considered, but in the end, they appear pretty comparable, and LaptopCharge can get them here faster for the same net cost. :)
Jun. 14th, 2007 @ 06:50 pm
» internal speaker issue
Hi all,
I have a PowerBook G4 1.33 GHz 12 inch. Can't figure out what's wrong with my internal speaker- no sound comes out of the left side. When I check the audio balance in system pref it's in the middle, if I move it all the way over to left I don't hear anything. When I plug in external speakers in the headphone jack it's the same deal.

I have a standard Texas Instruments TAS3004 card.

Anyone have this before/know anything about this?

Your help is TOTALLY appreciated !!!
May. 24th, 2007 @ 08:36 pm
» Yo-Yo adapter for Powerbook
Anybody got lucky enough to open up Yo-Yo power adapter which came with Powerbook?
I'm afraid it's almost impossible to achieve, but I still think there is a hope. Am I.... am I wrong?
May. 22nd, 2007 @ 05:46 pm
» Screen/connection failure?
I have a 15" Aluminum 1.25GHz Powerbook, and for the last week or two, the bottom 2" of the screen have gotten flaky, to the tune of horizontal dark lines scattered across it, or almost white and repeating the darkest image colors all the way down. I can always coax it to functional by adjusting the screen angle a time or ten, which seems to say it's a cable/connectivity issue, but I can't find anything via Apple or Google. Help! It's getting worse! :]

Edit: If I gently push on the upper left corner while gently pulling on the upper right corner, it corrects the issue--as long as I hold that pressure.

(I'm thinking a new Display Data Cable may be in order--hopefully not a new Display Assembly.)
May. 21st, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
» A Couple Questions . . .
Firstly, I've been admiring this oh-so-nerdy-awesone bluetooth headset, but without a bluetooth phone I have no need for one. But I thought to-day, has anybody successfully used a bluetooth headset to talk on Skype? Is it easy to do? I know that my mac has bluetooth because I have used it.

Secondly, I tried to-day to use MacTheRipper and Toast 7 to copy a DVD that I own for personal use. It is an Australian DVD (John Safran vs. God, all of my firneds here in America love it), and I wanted to, when copying it, convert it from PAL to NTSC to play on US DVD players. The copy plays on my region-free player perfectly, but not on my American Panasonic player. I had clicked the setting in Toast to record the DVD in NTSC format, but it doesn't seem to have converted it. Does anybody know how to do this conversion while copying a DVD directly (maintaining original menu structure, captions, alternate soundtracks and so on) ?
May. 14th, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
» Third party PowerBook G4 65W power cord?
Can anyone point me in the right direction? My 19 month old power brick died last night (no smoke, no sparks, just died) and I need to get a replacement but after flipping through about 6 or so pages of reviews on the Apple Store I think I'll pass on dropping $80 on a replacement. 1700+ reviews and it's rated 1 and 1/2 stars? Super =/
May. 3rd, 2007 @ 11:55 am
» bad RAM or fried logic board?
I have a 15" Powerbook G4 purchased in December 2004. It's recently started kernel panicking and freezing up quite a bit. I brought it into a local Mac repair shop, and they pulled the third party RAM I had installed a few months after I bought it (sketchy behavior began that long ago, but the RAM theoretically tested fine, so I didn't make the connection - turns out there was crap on it). It worked for a few minutes in the store, so they sent me home to run hardware tests.

Now the Powerbook won't boot - whenever I try to boot it up, it emits that lovely beeping noise, and the sleep light blinks rapidly three times, then a pause, three times, then a pause, etc. A call back to the repair shop says that either the remaining RAM is now broken or the logic board is fried, and that I should bring it in for diagnostics.

I'm upgrading to a MacBook Pro anyway. If it's just the RAM, I'll replace it and get a nice trade in credit at a local Mac store. If it's the logic board, then forget repair, I'll scrap it for parts and wash my hands of the whole thing. But the diagnostic isn't cheap.

My question for the community: What are the odds that it's the logic board? Should I shell out a big chunk of change possibly for nothing to get it tested, or should I just assume it's done for and not bother paying for the test?
May. 2nd, 2007 @ 10:13 am
» replaced optical drive in 12" pb, now won't boot!
Hi all,

helped a friend replace the optical drive in his 12" first gen powerbook with the one from my dead Tibook (they're identical drives). Used the iFixit guide to strip it down and rebuild it. On powering it up, you hear it click, the hard drive spins up and then.... nothing.

It doesn't get through POST by the look, and there's no 'bong'. Everything went back together ok, we've checked all the connections are solid, any suggestions of either where/how to start troubleshooting or of another site I can ask this question.

Taking it to the apple store is probably not cost effective, it's going to cost at least £100 for them to do anything to it and it's an old battered machine. Would be better to put the fixing money and sale of parts money into a new macbook, but right now it would really be handy to have it working for a little while longer as he's out of work.

Any info gratefully received.

Cheers,
May. 1st, 2007 @ 10:17 am
» Apple Powerbook 145
Hello, I was given an old Apple Powerbook 145 yesterday which works great and is running System 7.1. The battery is dead but runs fine on the power adapter. I've been an apple user but only since 2003. So using these older Mac's is a challenge for me. I was reading how some people have downloaded updates to the OS from apple's website? Is this possible? I've been trying to find some updated floppy discs online but no luck. Can't find a manual too.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook/stats/mac_powerbook145b.html

That's the laptop there.

I was thinking of ordering this battery for it too, but it's NiMH. Which is a good update from the Nicad in the thing. I was wondering if anyone knows if it will charge ok using the apple power adapter though? Or if anyone has bought a replacement battery for one of these before. Or any good sites to help me with it?

Thanks

There's a photo of it inside here:

( Read more... )
Apr. 29th, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
» (No Subject)
My Powerbook G4 12" (1 and a half years old) won't boot. Just after the 'Starting Mac OS X" boot screen, which fills up unusually slowly and then disappears just after 2 seconds, it gets stuck at a blue screen and that's about it.

Yesterday (it was working perfectly fine then) I 'renamed' the computer and this morning when I turned it on I'd lost all my files on the Mac OS deault folders, but it was working fine nevertheless. Then I plugged my external harddrive in to do a bit of cleaning, but as it wouldn't recognise it I decided to reboot the computer and it just didn't boot again.

I am at a complete loss because I'd never had any problem with my Powerbook before, and I don't know what to do. All my 'powerbook stuff' (whatever disks you're supposed to have and the operator's manual and whatnot) are back at my parents' house, and I'm not going there until the weekend. Is there anything I can do to get it to boot again without any of those things, or do I need a repair disk or something of that sort? And in that case, what am I supposed to do anyway? God, I'm absolutely confused and know basically fuck all about these things in case you can't tell. Argh.

Thanks so much in advance if anyone can actually help me.
Apr. 25th, 2007 @ 11:27 am

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