"THE" battery problem, or something even worse???

The same thing happened to me when my battery died and the local Apple Store ended up giving me a new machine. I could not turn the machine on with or without the battery in and the powercord plugged in.

I forgot to ask in my last post- is anyone else with
the battery problem having the problem mentioned in
my last post above (cannot turn computer on with
cable plugged in and no battery)?

Ok, I see that this is a 'normal' issue... mine has only 20 charge cicles and it's giving me 17 minutes of autonomy.. I'm not able even to read and finish the post!! This afternoon I'll check the apple store....

PowerBook 15" Late'05 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

When I first received the Powerbook, I noticed something odd. When I plugged in the power cable it was green, not orange. I continued to set up the computer thinking that the battery had been fully charged prior to shipping. After I set it up I pulled the power adapter to start surfing wirelessly and immediately it died on me. That’s when I knew there was a serious problem. The percentage of the battery charge did not move from 0%. I felt it was not just a bad battery but also a bad circuit somewhere. Otherwise the power adapter would have turned orange when the uncharged battery was plugged in. Anyhow, I called MacMall to inform them of my disappointment. After speaking to their tech department I was convinced to call Apple Care. It was after business hours so I did some troubleshooting myself. I reseated the battery, erased the hard drive, and reinstalled the OS. The next morning I called Apple Care. This needs it’s own paragraph.
Apple Care has lost its flair! What was once a great customer support center has been downgraded to a bunch of minimum wage screen readers who seem to know nothing more than the protocol for fixing a computer by reading information off of a screen. There was no common sense being used. After navigating through the automated operator’s menus and being on hold for 15 min I was asked to provide my serial number. When I did they had a problem recognizing it as a qualified computer. So I was put on hold for 20 minutes while they figured that out. Finally, I explained the diagnosis I made above. I was told to reset the PMU and I did. Immediately after I was rushed off the phone with a case number and told to call back if the problem persist. Duh, I can just look at the percentage now and tell you its still at 0% you did not fix the problem. Not to mention that I will later find out that the problem I have is a known problem and the tech didn’t inform me of that either. So now that I am infuriated. I decided to call MacMall and let them know that I just talked to an idiot and I am taking the computer to an Apple store. They agreed that would be the best thing to do. I also had my sales representative email me all of my rebate forms, as they were not coming up online.
So I drove 10 miles through Miami’s traffic to the Apple Store. When I got to the genius bar I thought I was finally at the end of this journey only to find out 1) it would take at least seven days to fix the problem 2) they would be opening my brand new Mac and replacing a circuit board 3) the problem is a known problem and MacMall sends all of their customers to the Apple Store. So here I am and now the only way I can truly obtain a new computer is to go back to MacMall… You only have to send me in a circle one time for me to feel like an idiot. So I called AMEX and launched an investigation on MacMall. By this time I had already wasted a day and I did not feel like being misdirected again. If MacMall would have informed me that there is a known battery problem with the new Powerbook 15” widescreen in the first place, I would have gladly sent it back for a replacement.

All,
Like most of you know, I was having problems the same battery/power issues as everyone else, performed the infamous "azbigfella manuever" and my battery returned to normal for some weeks, and then when my battery crashed again, I replaced the battery with the one Apple sent me in a quick and professional transaction. Now, we don't hear much from folks after they install the new battery and I'm beginning to understand why: I haven't had any problems at all since installing the new battery about a week ago. I've been testing the unit in various power modes, with DVD's and rapid drain, and longer term with more moderate demands. The battery power duration times are very reasonable, it's recharging quickly and thoroughly, and any quicks and glitchs have disappeared. The only thing I have not done is let the battery fully run down to sleep and/or calibrate the battery. I'm showing a total of five cycles.

So, I guess we'll see, but that's my preliminary report of my 2nd generation battery experience, and .. I'm happy. Had I not told this group I'd report back on the new battery, I might not have. Let's hope that's whats going on with everyone. This is such an awesome machine -- tonight I was at a corporate event and I pulled out the PBook to show some family picts to some friends and before long there was a crowd gathered around mesmerized by the he-res screen and performance as I ended up demoing the computer and Mac OS for them. When I let a few people that had never really seen a Mac up close play with it -- when people believe XP on a ThinkPad is state-of-the-art, it's really fun to watch their reaction.

Anyway, let's hope this solution sticks and works well for everyone else -- best regards, AZB

I also have been playing for a couple of weeks with replacement battery and have not had any problems. So it was definitely a bad battery and all is well now...at least power wise.

The other day I was trying to pay some bills online and my computer out of the blue shutoff and won't turn on. I tried charging the battery and the different key strokes discussed in the manual and none of those work either. Plugging in or just using the battery won't turn on the computer either. Any Idea what the problem is and how it can be fixed? Did my brand new computer already crash?? I'm planning on taking it to the apple store tomorrow to see if it can be fixed.