Jawz27

Q: Powerbook G4 not turning on AT ALL.

Hey, I have a Powerbook G4, I think 15", and it will not turn on at all. I feel like I literally tried everything. When its plugged in it wont show any light at all to show its charging, no amber or green, battery is completely dead with no blinking lights, tried reseting the PMU and nothing, Weird thing is when i plug the adapter into the wall and touch the end piece it shows a green light but when I plug it into the laptop fully it wont show any color at all only when its plugged out a little bit and I touch the powerbook it shows a green light but its not charging the battery. Also I'm not sure if its the adapter thats the problem because I have a 45W adapter but I think the powerbook requires a 65W but if any case it still wont power on at all. I have ran out of ideas and is completely stumped. Someone please guied me into fixing this Powerbook.

PowerBook

Posted on Aug 20, 2011 9:14 PM

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Q: Powerbook G4 not turning on AT ALL.

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  • by Texas Mac Man,Helpful

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Aug 21, 2011 7:02 AM in response to Jawz27
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Aug 21, 2011 7:02 AM in response to Jawz27

    Here's what the Service Manual says for my G4 12" PB.

     

    The computer will not power on

    1. Make sure that power adapter connector is fully inserted.

    2. Remove any connected peripherals.

    3. Try known-good power outlet.

    4. Try known-good power adapter and power cord.

    5. Remove battery.

    6. Press Caps Lock key to see if light on key comes on. If it does, hold power button

    down for six seconds to shut down the computer and restart.

    7. Reset the power manager by pressing the key combination Control-Option-Shiftpower.

    Warning: Make sure you do not hold down the "fn" key when resetting the

    power manager.

    8. Remove any additional RAM

    9. Remove AirPort Card.

    10. Try known-good DC board.

    11. Verify power button is connected properly to logic board, if power button is not

    functioning correctly or damaged, replace the top case.

    12. Replace logic board.

     

     Cheers, Tom

  • by old comm guy,Helpful

    old comm guy old comm guy Aug 21, 2011 11:02 AM in response to Jawz27
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Aug 21, 2011 11:02 AM in response to Jawz27

    OK, first we need to identify your PowerBook a little better.  You can do two things to help us in that regard.  Look at the bottom case where somewhere the A### number will appear, such as A1025, for instance.  Go to this link and enter the A number into the search field.  That will narrow things down a little bit. 

     

    Now, you can then narrow things down by taking the battery out and finding the configuration label inside the battery compartment.  One of the things on that label is the serial number of the computer.  You can then input that serial number into the search field at this link to get more detailed build information.

     

    That being said, if your PowerBook is actually a 15 inch model (where the case is about 13-1/2 inches wide) then you should definitely be using a 65 Watt power adapter, like this one.

     

    Really, the only starting point on troubleshooting this type of problem is trying a known good power adapter first to see if the problem is the older power adapter or the DC-in  (with audio on aluminum models) board is the culprit.

     

    The problem could also be a failed battery, though the usual symptom there is that the battery seems to charge, shows four green LEDs, but doesn't last very long.

     

    There is more specific information which depends on model of PowerBook, so we will await your update.

  • by judATL,

    judATL judATL Aug 21, 2011 5:45 PM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 21, 2011 5:45 PM in response to old comm guy

    Similar situation - my power book went black & couldn't start; your information above with links was excellent! Learned alot & solved my problem. Thank you!

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Aug 21, 2011 6:24 PM in response to judATL
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Aug 21, 2011 6:24 PM in response to judATL

    judATL wrote:

     

    Similar situation - my power book went black & couldn't start; your information above with links was excellent! Learned alot & solved my problem. Thank you!

     

    Good to hear that.  You might share a little more on what you did so that others might use your experiences.

  • by Jawz27,

    Jawz27 Jawz27 Aug 21, 2011 11:16 PM in response to Jawz27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 21, 2011 11:16 PM in response to Jawz27

    Hey sorry to reply back so late, the number is A1106, and I ordered a 65W Adapter for it so I'm hoping it is that causing it not to power on at all. And thanks texas but I have tried all of those options and non works, I am really hoping its the adapter that will make things happen. But shouldnt the 45W Adapter still give the powerbook some juice even when its off or it wouldn't?

  • by judATL,

    judATL judATL Aug 22, 2011 5:45 PM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 22, 2011 5:45 PM in response to old comm guy

    After reading you link about the power adapter I tried changing the power cord (using a new one) to the adapter and Powerbook started back up. Guess the power cord was tired out.

  • by Jawz27,

    Jawz27 Jawz27 Aug 24, 2011 11:48 AM in response to Jawz27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 24, 2011 11:48 AM in response to Jawz27

    So my new Adapter came today and I was excited cause I thought this would fix my issue but when I plugged it in nothing started up, not even a noise from computer came on. So I opened it up again, did before, to see if everything was connected proberly and noticed this time that something was missing inside the mac! I don't know what it is but there is a big empty space on the left behind the left fan, pretty much underneath the logic board where the power plug can be plugged in. If there is something missing in this or any mac would it even start up at all or remain off. Because if that's my issue I can probably get this missing piece back.

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Aug 24, 2011 3:37 PM in response to Jawz27
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Aug 24, 2011 3:37 PM in response to Jawz27

    There are many pictures inside that machine at the iFixit pages for repairing that model, and maybe the DC-in/sound board sequence might provide a reference.  So help me, though, I cannot imagine a more convoluted repair process for replacing that board, as it certainly dwarfs the disembowelment required to replace a Titanium model's display.

  • by billy macl,

    billy macl billy macl Nov 22, 2014 10:17 AM in response to Jawz27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2014 10:17 AM in response to Jawz27

    Hello Jawz27! The same thing happened to my Powerbook. What you need is a new logic board, the way that i could tell that you needed a new one was because the light on your charger wasn't turning on. I got this reference from my Powerbook G4 15" Service book. Here is the link to the Powerbook G4 service manual.     http://www.macbook-fr.com/IMG/pdf/pbg4_15_fw800.pdf

  • by billy macl,

    billy macl billy macl Nov 22, 2014 10:21 AM in response to billy macl
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2014 10:21 AM in response to billy macl

    You may notice that the service manual is for a different kind of powerbook, but the powerbooks are basically the same.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Nov 22, 2014 11:34 AM in response to billy macl
    Level 8 (35,022 points)
    iPad
    Nov 22, 2014 11:34 AM in response to billy macl

    Billy,

     

    Did you notice that this post is now over three years old? Not much chance the OP still has the same computer.

     

    With recent changes to the forum software--few were useful--old posts are not getting properly archived and locked so we all have to watch the dates closely. Thanks for wanting to help but a quick date check will save you some keystrokes!

     

    AJ

  • by dfmamea,

    dfmamea dfmamea Nov 1, 2015 5:59 PM in response to Texas Mac Man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 1, 2015 5:59 PM in response to Texas Mac Man

    hi Tom

     

    thank you very much for the checklist: i thought our olde 2004 Powerbook G4 had had enough of being our print server but no, step 7. got it up and running again.

     

    thanks again

     

    david