Ailing 12" G4 PowerBook

[kbeartx]

No, not mine.  This one belongs to a client, but it's the same basic machine as mine [this one has a SuperDrive and a larger HD than mine, which has a ComboDrive].

At first I suspected HD failure, but now I'm starting to think it might even be something worse [logic board?].

I got it to boot to the HD once [in several attempts] and it has started to boot to TechTool Deluxe and DiskWarrior CDs, but it hangs before it gets all the way into either app.

I reset the PMU, and tried to zap the PRAM but heard no chimes whilst I held down the appropriate keys.

One mo' data point: it seems to run a lot warmer than mine [judging by the temp of the case below the kybd] but I don't know what this means.

The things I can think of remaining to try:

- see if it will boot to the Panther CD
- remove any extra RAM installed

After that, I'm out of ideas.

Any others from the peanut gallery?

TIA,

KB

[DaveF]

I purchased a refurbished PB like your client's.  On receipt, it had similar problems.  I finally tried booting from an external firewire HD, and it worked perfectly.  I replaced the internal HD using instructions available on the OWC site (macsales.com).  No problems since.  Hope your problem is as simple and easy to solve.

Wish I could be of more help.  Good luck.

Dave

[Mayo]

Not to be flip, but I have one word to offer: AppleCare.

Apple's portables seem to have declined in quality in recent years and iBooks appear to have more problems than the PowerBooks/MacBook Pros. When figuring the cost of an Apple portable Mac AppleCare is a required part of the equation because you will either spend it now or spend it later, and it may cost a lot more if you wait until later...

The best online price that I have found for AppleCare over the past few years is at the L.A. Computer Company. They tend to charge the educational discount price for all retail AppleCare warranties.  If you shop at Apple you will pay the full retail price, which I think is a rip-off.

Apple's problems with portable Macs reminds me of the time when General Motors put faulty transmissions in hundreds of thousands of vehicles, knowing that they would likely develop problems in a relatively short period of time.

OK, time for all the Apple stalwarts to start defending Apple or flaming me, or both!

 

[kbeartx]

As I indicated in the title of this post, Extended AppleCare just expired on this puppy, and I don't have a Firewire external.

Any other ideas?

[RobW]

Mayo, last year you gave the same tip about L.A. Computer Company. When my dad bought his Mac mini last year, I pushed him to get AppleCare--and we got it from them at a nice price. He's used it twice--most recently a week ago to replace what seemed to be a failing hard drive according to the guys at the genius bar. Two words for you from my dad and me. "THANK YOU!!"

BTW, if the AppleCare just expired, might it be worth a shot to see if they can "do something" for your client? Long shot, but worth it. I had an auto company go the extra mile after a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty had just expired. My mechanic (who is private and not with the auto dealer) suggested that I push them on it--which is why he's been my mechanic for a very long time. He saved me a lot of money at his expense.

[krissel]

Rob is right about trying Apple anyway. Someone (here at TS?) recently posted about an expired warranty but they took care of the problem anyway.

Dave's idea of trying an external drive is also good, especially if you have one with utilities on it.

[RobW]

Kris, the more I thought about this last night, the more I was thinking that if it was my dad's Mac or mine, and the AppleCare had very recently expired, I'd be "going up the ladder" to his royal Steveness, if necessary. (I know that RHP would do that! )

[sandbox]

QUOTE

One mo' data point: it seems to run a lot warmer than mine [judging by the temp of the case below the kybd] but I don't know what this means.

Fan?

External FW drives are almost a must-have item for me. Talk to Santa!

[Mayo]

KBear, your topic title just said that it was "out of warranty" and your post didn't mention anything about "extended AppleCare" so I assumed that you were referring to the standard one-year warranty period...

The initial symptoms point to a drive failure. Assuming that the iBook is over three years old, that sounds about right for the lifespan of a standard portable Mac harddrive.  Your friend is actually rather fortunate because more than a few G4 iBook drives fail before the end of three years. (My G4 iBook drive died after 22 months; my G3 iBook drive failed just days shy of three years.)  I would be Very Surprised Indeed if Apple were to replace an internal drive after three years of use, whether or not the iBook's extended AppleCare had just expired.

Expanding on DaveF's suggestion... I would try booting from an external Firewire drive and see how things go.  If it is just a drive failure, booting from the external drive will work most of the time.  If it is something else like the logic board then the problems will likely persist. If your friend lacks an external drive and you have one then try booting from yours and running it for awhile.  Booting from a system CD and running Disk Utility is also an option. It isn't clear to me whether you had problems actually booting from the DW and TTP CDs or the problems started when you were running the utilities on the CDs. If you could not boot from the CDs (assuming that they have compatible system folders) then I would start getting concerned that the drive might not be the main problem. But if the problems came while running DW and TTP then that indicates a bad drive that cannot be repaired using software.

If you decide that it may be a logic board failure, then I would check with Apple to see if the iBook is covered under an extended warranty program for G4 iBook logic board problems. And if the iBook happens to fall just outside the coverage period for such a program (not to mention the extended AppleCare) then I would begin to make some polite noise about getting the iBook repaired by Apple as a "goodwil gesture."

And to RobW: You're Very Welcome!