Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

PowerBook 100

Hello all,

I have had a PowerBook 100 for a while, but I've been studying it recently (because I just found the floppies to start it up). The Lead-Acid main battery is shot (this computer spent 10 years in a basement) and I believe the PRAM batteries are shot. Whenever I plug the AC adapter in, I get the dark screen problem (a bluish screen with the backlight on). I press the two buttons on the side simultaneously and the screen shuts off. I can power on the computer and hear the hard disk spinning and see the cursor (which responds with the trackball), but the PB needs the floppy drive with Disk tools to startup.
Once the PB is started up, it can run pretty well. But when it's loading items from the floppy drive, the screen flickers when the floppy is reading info unless I set the screen to maximum brightness. It's not a big problem to me, but is that supposed to happen?
I would just like to see if there are any ways I can revive the HD and get it recognized to reinstall the OS without having to buy a new HD. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Compaq Presario v2000, Windows XP

Posted on Sep 4, 2009 10:21 AM

Best reply

Niteshooter

Level 2

454 points

Posted on Sep 5, 2009 5:00 AM

Hi, one thing you should check before you do too much is the tip of your AC adaptor. The 100 had a recall on the original AC adaptors because the tip (black plastic piece) was brittle and would crack, this could cause you to blow the fuse on your motherboard! The original PB100 motherboards had the fuse soldiered to the board and this meant you replaced the board or unsoldiered and replaced the fuse.....

Apple did a retrofit of an easier to replace fuse at least on the PB100's we had in Canada as my original 100 and a second I own had this done by a local repair depot.

But back to your problem, the pram batteries are most likely shot. I would replace them, they are the three flat cells under the swing out cover at the rear. Your sealed lead acid main battery is absolutely shot by now, I doubt there are any good ones out there anymore.

What I suspect is happening is you just don't have enough power from your AC adaptor so check it and see what it is rated, at there were slightly more powerful adaptors used on the PowerBook 140/170 or the 165C/180C these also had the revised tips. The floppy drive is using a fair bit of power and that is causing the flicker, nothing to really worry about as I recall as mine do this as well now that their main batteries are shot.

Small SCSI hard drives are getting a lot more difficult to find, so you say you can hear it spinning? Or does it spin up and then stop? Does it make a clicking sound?

Can you see the drive with disk tools? If it is spinning but you can't see the drive my guess is that it has to be replaced.

If it was not spinning up I would try to gently unstick it removing it and gently swishing it from side to side but a drive that is sticking isn't reliable.

Kevin

View in context

21 replies

Sep 8, 2009 12:26 PM in response to Niteshooter

If you want, I can send the sound to the email address on your website.

Sep 8, 2009 3:36 PM in response to PowerBook 100

Sure that would work.

Sep 8, 2009 5:17 PM in response to Niteshooter

Okay, I sent you the email. But after the spinning sound I heard (look in the email for more info) stopped, I opened up the Apple HD SC Setup. Then, for some reason, it said "Unable to locate suitable drive connected to SCSI port." Did the Mac just take a step back from where it used to be? And when I heard the spinning again, I thought I heard like a screech (very quiet) from the drive. Thanks in advance, I hope this problem can be solved.

Sep 9, 2009 6:57 AM in response to PowerBook 100

Heard your file, I sent you an old file that might help. If it can't see your hard drive then based on what I heard it's shot.

Heard it spin up, made the high pitched whine common with really old scsi drives when their bearings go. The fast clicking are the heads searching the platters for data. So if you can't reformat the drive or even see it with formatting sw then you will have to replace the drive.

Kevin

Sep 9, 2009 1:17 PM in response to Niteshooter

Oh, well thanks for telling me.

Sep 11, 2009 6:51 PM in response to PowerBook 100

Sorry about the lack of replies for all who are following this topic. We will post info later.

PowerBook 100