iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
Hello all, I have my hands on an iBook 300 Blueberry that was running fine. Then it started to shut down randomly. I checked the battery and the AC Adapter and they checked out. Now it will not boot at all. When I power it on, I hear the HD spin, but that is it. It does this when using just the battery or the AC Adapter. Any ideas as to what I should try first? Kyle Lee Charlotte, NC -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
I have my hands on an iBook 300 Blueberry that was running fine. Then it started to shut down randomly. I checked the battery and the AC Adapter and they checked out. Now it will not boot at all. When I power it on, I hear the HD spin, but that is it. It does this when using just the battery or the AC Adapter. Any ideas as to what I should try first? Sounds like an intermittent connection. The most obvious candidate is simply to remove and reinstall any installed RAM expansion card. But it could easily be an opened via or bad solder joint anywhere in the system. -- Lewin A.R.W. Edwards http://www.zws.com/ Learn how to build high-performance embedded systems on a budget! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750676094/zws-20 -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
Sounds like an intermittent connection. I agree. The most obvious candidate is simply to remove and reinstall any installed RAM expansion card. By this, I assume that you mean any extra additions made to the computer? But it could easily be an opened via or bad solder joint anywhere in the system. And by this, I think that you mean a connection on the mother board? Kyle -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
I can't work out with certainty whether you're being supercilious or simply terse, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. The most obvious candidate is simply to remove and reinstall any installed RAM expansion card. By this, I assume that you mean any extra additions made to the computer? Since the most likely user addition is RAM, which is retained only by spring clips and is often user-installed, it's also the most likely culprit for this problem - besides being the easiest candidate for a quick reseat-and-test. TTBOMK there are no other expansion/connectivity options for iBook which connect directly to any of the main internal buses, and hence no other obvious candidates. The flash is surface-mount, not socketed. Given the way AirPort is attached to the system, it's unlikely to be the culprit (since there is no startup chime and the screen never lights, it's probable that the CPU is either not running or has gone into deep space before or during power-on self-test, because of some device only partially connected the A/D buses that is coming on-bus when it's not supposed to, hence interfering with flash read cycles. It's not *likely* that AirPort could do this, though it is *possible*). But it could easily be an opened via or bad solder joint anywhere in the system. And by this, I think that you mean a connection on the mother board? What I said is anywhere in the system, which consists of the planar (what you refer to as the motherboard) and possibly other subassemblies. It's also quite possible that it's an electronic failure; for example, a cap gone bad in one of the SMPSs in the device, or an inductor with a cracked wire that used to be making contact but now isn't, or a ferrite-cored inductor that's cracked and has gradually lost core material and changed value until the SMPS oscillator no longer starts up (though the user would probably hear the pieces rattling around if this was the case). The HDD is powered from a +5V rail, so the fact that it spins up doesn't mean the PSUs are all good. It's perfectly possible that Vcore or Vio aren't being generated correctly. The symptoms are also not inconsistent with ESD to one of the major ICs in the unit. All that is, however, not germane to the issue, which is that the simplest and likeliest fix is to remove and/or reseat installed expansion RAM. No need to look for exotic explanations or detailed fault-finding techniques when a simple procedure is likely to fix the issue, and quite unlikely to cause further harm. -- Lewin A.R.W. Edwards http://www.zws.com/ Learn how to build high-performance embedded systems on a budget! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750676094/zws-20 -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
Lewin, Thanks. And I did not mean to come across as terse. I have a lot of experience with Macs of all kinds, but have never dealt with an iBook on this level. I do appreciate you taking the time to give me some great advice on this subject. Thanks again and sorry if I came across as rude. Kyle Charlotte, NC -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
Kyle, Thanks. And I did not mean to come across as terse. Aha, no problem. I wasn't sure. No offense taken! I kind of got my heckles up, because I design devices like this for a living (see for example http://www.zws.com/capabilities.html). Then I looked at your message again and I wasn't sure if you were being nasty or if I was just reading too much into a very short email. And the latter was obviously true. Sorry if I came off as an unreasonable flamer! -- Lewin A.R.W. Edwards http://www.zws.com/ Learn how to build high-performance embedded systems on a budget! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750676094/zws-20 -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
Re: iBook 300 - Strange Behavior
Lewin, Interesting web site. Makes me want to buy the book. And no offense taken at all. I will spend more time on your website and see what it is all about. I will also let you know what I find out concerning the iBook. Your advice is dead on! Thanks. Kyle -- G-Books is sponsored by http://lowendmac.com/ and... Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html G-Books list info: http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html -- AOL users, remove mailto:; Send list messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For digest mode, email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscription questions: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/ --- The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---
