iBook doesn't recognize iSight

Hello again, tFer

My thoughts on your latest:

I am finding it hard to give up on this problem ...

I understand. I, too, enjoy troubleshooting and solving problems when time permits.

... am wondering if you'd recommend my resetting the PMU, and/or ... camera's light goes on and the whirring sound ... Firewire ... reset it ... Any extra info ... apart from the ones extended so far?

Re-read the previous posts in this thread. Everything you are talking about here has been recommended, explained, suggested, etc., in the earlier posts and the links included in them.

If you have not already done everything already suggested, now is the time.
 
Classic has NOTHING to do with iSight.

It is way too hard to part with my iSight ...

If you can get your money back, you might want to rethink that.

For a couple of years now, my posts have been cautioning about buying used iSights without testing them first.  Click here for a few examples.

External iSight is a good webcam, but you have no idea how the one you bought was used or treated by its previous owner(s).

Moreover, anything people build can fail and need service. I like my external iSight, and I will continue to use it as long as it lasts, but I would not buy another external iSight if I needed a webcam today and Apple could not repair my current iSight at a reasonable cost.
 
Instead, I would choose one of the reasonably-priced, guaranteed, new webcams that work with my Macs. However, that is merely what I would do. You should certainly buy what you want for your purposes.

... new cam (or machine) is way out of my budget ...

If you can get your money back from the iSight that does not work, you may be able to find a useable camera for less money than you paid for an iSight that is not working. (If you bought a used iSight for less than $US40, you should not be surprised that it does not work.) 

Because you use OS X 10.4.11, your iBook G4 can use alternative webcams, including the new "UVC" webcams, some of which are low priced. These current "UVC" cams are widely available, and they will work on your 10.4.11 Mac with iChat and Skype. Just be sure any new webcam you buy meets the "UVC" standards so they work with your Mac's OS without addition of third-party drivers.

Click here for some previous posts about alternatives to the now-discontinued iSight.

... Apple support is virtually non-existent where I live.

Re-read the top of this thread. I have already provided worldwide info on how to contact Apple by telephone, email, and internet for service if you choose to have your used iSight tested and/or repaired.

... I will certainly keep you posted on any miracles!

We will watch for your status update and contributions.



Jim



G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)   iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9)  External iSight

You're welcome, again, tFer

... why be so careful with it, i.e., as in "last resort"...

You may be taking it out of context. There is nothing dangerous about resetting PMU. At worst, it wastes some more of your time and possibly causes you to reset a system preference or two that you might prefer to change from Mac's default values.

... I really wanted the iSight...

Then contact Apple for service. They can tell you whether it is repairable and how much the necessary service will cost you.

Enjoy,
Jim



G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6)
PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)
iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9)&
External iSight

Hi,

So we have an External iSight.
With the Original Cable/lead the camera did not seem to appear in the System Profiler and in fact neither did speed info.
The Speed info did appear when there was no camera attached.

The New cable seems to add the speed info back but still does not identify the camera as being there.

However in both cases the camera makes the whirring/focusing noise and shows the green light for a moment at least.

This makes me wonder about the state of the original lead that came when you acquired the External iSight. (and what this might have done to the Firewire port on your computer).

If you look into the end of the original firewire cable to all 6 copper strips seem to be flat and level ?
If there any obvious damage ?

Are the matching six strips in the port on the computer, sitting down properly on the tongue like middle section of the port ?

Having another firewire device would be handy to 1) compare the cables and ends. 2) test the port on the computer further.

If the cable is damaged and has damaged your computer's port it is going to be difficult to get someone to admit it was like that before you went ahead and tried it.
Despite the cable end being shaped and therefore keyed to the port people do seem to manage to force them in there some how and they will claim this is what you did.

If it is what happened it will be time for an engineer anyway.

Is there a Mac Group near you ?
An iMac is certainly more "portable" then other computers but you could just take the iSight initially to get someone's opinion.

I had great help from my Mac Users groups with an old Performa 400 that the OS seemed to have failed.
A chap had all the Repair utilities you could think of and a copy of the relevant OS (I never knew it was supposed to have disks when I got it).
To me it seemed like magic that he got the OS somehow Reinstalled and saved what I had on there.



9:10 PM Wednesday; April 29, 2009

I take it this is on Trinidad ?
http://www.detrinidadian.com/apple.php

Is that accessible to you ?

I can not see that page has details of meetings.
I started with a search here

If you contact them they may have a member closer to you even if you cannot get to meetings.

I also came across this
http://www.ttcsweb.org/links/sl_mac.htm
There is a contact link top right.



8:24 PM Thursday; April 30, 2009

Hi,

I did know they are separate islands.
But I do not know how far apart they are or what travelling between them would entail.

I did spend some time looking at the forums of the first and they did seem to cover many more areas than just Macs.

I did not study the second in as much detail.

I hope you find someone soon.



10:44 PM Thursday; April 30, 2009

You're welcome again, tFer

Re: PMU reset:  There is still nothing dangerous about resetting PMU. Either it will work, or it will not. The time required to perform the reset and, if desired, to reset any system preferences you might want different from Mac's default values is minimal.

FYI: Early iBooks did not have Firewire, so one of them would not let you test an external iBook. However, if the iBook has a Firewire port, you should be able to test your iSight on that using the "How to test your iSight..." link provided earlier in this topic.

We will watch for your status update after you have tried the test.

Jim



G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)   iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9)  External iSight

Hi,

I was worried when I first read that.
I thought it might mean Internet Ports as opposed to physical ports and Sockets.

I see the blurb makes that clear.

As it is free I can not see that it will hurt.



9:49 PM Thursday; May 14, 2009

tFer wrote:
... thanks again for all your help.
Appreciate your opinions.

You're certainly welcome, tFer

I see that you are still trying to resolve your issue at your end versus your earlier plan:

Well, EZ Jim and Ralph, it looks like my iSight itself is the problem, ...
... I will most likely be asking the previous owner to refund me ...

If a refund has been refused, I think it even more likely that your used iSight is faulty.

Therefore, regarding downloading Port Tester for OS X, I doubt that it will help you, but trying it will be the only way to know.

We will watch for your status update.





EZ Jim



G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)   iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9)  External iSight