Well, my problem is slightly different from the post by Emma - my
PowerBook (Pismo/2000/FireWire) battery suddenly will not hold any
charge. It started when the power went off here few days ago during a
storm. Forgetful/foolish me, I kept going instead of immediately
unplugging the AC adapter/charger. Well, a little later I get the
"shutting down" message and it _immediately_ goes down (split second)! I
unplugged the adapter and the plug to the PB, and went to a local
bookstore for a bit, to await power coming back on.
After the power got back on and I had plugged things in and started the
system back up, there was no red in the battery indicator on the menu bar
(OS 9.2.2), none of the bars in the Battery Control Strip (for showing
the battery charge) were filled, but it did show the unit plugged in. Had
to use the Date/Time CP to call up Apple's clock server and reset the
time.
I'm still trying to piece together exactly what happened and why. Given
that the date went screwy after the power was shut off to the unit, I'd
say the PRAM battery has no charge (maybe even is toast). But I'm not
certain - was that why the exp. bay batter went down, or did the exp. bay
battery cause the PRAM battery to fail? I did the PMU reset (shut down,
press the reset button on the back, wait 5 seconds, start back up), but
no change. The rechargeable battery in left exp. bay is a BTI I got just
over a year ago (July 1, 2002), but pressing its button doesn't even give
me one lit LED on it. Right after the power went out, I tried and only
the first LED flashed, briefly.
So short of having another PRAM battery to swap in and check (meaning
I'll have to buy one for - it looks like - $50/60), should I expect that
I will have to shell out another $150 (give or take, depending on the
make) for another battery, possibly *plus* get another PRAM battery? I'm
going to send a copy of this to BTI and MacConnection (where I bought the
battery) and see what they suggest, too. I'd hoped for about two years
life out of the battery, since my original Apple battery lasted about
that long. But if I have to buy another battery *every* year, that's
gonna get really old...
Or are there other things I need to try first (I'm not counting the
apocryphal "bang the battery on the side of the dumpster" routine I
recall helped one person a while back on this list)?
Seeking Help,
Jim Rohde
A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in
human history....
with the possible exception of handguns and Irish whiskey.
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