I have reset the PMU, reset the PRAM, and no change. The battery is new and shows a charge (4 LED's green). The system profiler, under Power, says "There was an error while gathering this information" PowerPC G4, 1.67 GHz, OSX 10.4.11. 15". Runs only on AC power.
Any suggestions from here?
PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 15" notebook
Mine is doing that also. I thought it may be due to the replacement battery. Scott, do you have the original Apple battery? It will not start up from sleep if there is a "X" on the battery indicator and it is unplugged. I've reset the PMU and it still happens. My board needs to be replaced as it has now started to show no ram in lower slot (common problem with this model) and Apple Geniuses say it is too old to have it done. I am running 10.5.8.
The system profiler, under Power, says "There was an error while gathering this information"
That sounds like the battery--whether new or not--is defective. Profiler should be able to read the electronics in the battery without issue.
I know Apple no longer sells batteries for this model, but also know there are some counterfeits out there as well. If the battery Apple branded? If not, from whom did you buy the battery? If it's one of the big suppliers of Mac gear like Other World Computing, return it. If you bought from an auction site---well that's where most of the counterfiets show up and you shouuld report the seller if they cannot make it right by you. There are also batteries on auction sites sold as "new" but arrive with 20-50 cycles on them. That's not "new."
Rudy Montes wrote:
It will not start up from sleep if there is a "X" on the battery indicator and it is unplugged.
I think you have a completely different root cause than the OP. What you observe is a symptom of a dead internal backup battery. Those are now available for 1.67gHz PowerBooks but only if they are 17-inch versions. The backup battery in my 1Ghz PowerBook is, after eight years, DOA yet the computer still works. If the main battery drains to zero, I get nothing when I hit the power button. However, I've learned to walk away after hitting the button and wait--after 1-4 minutes on A/C it will get enough into the main battery to start with no addition action on my part. However I repalced my main batter ywth a genuine Apple one a few months before Apple stopped selling them.
What can help is to remove the main battery and leave the computer plugged into AC for 24-48 hours. The backup battery is rechargeable, and even an old one can pick up enough charge when it's the only battery being serviced to show a little life.
My board needs to be replaced as it has now started to show no ram in lower slot (common problem with this model)
Common indeed and there are suggestions that there are few if any unaffected boards left on the used/pulled market. What a lot of people have done is to get one of the newer 1G RAM modules and install it in the good slot to keep the computer in service a little longer.
Ifixit has backup batteries for many PowerBooks, though it does require a minor amount of soldering to replace them in the little odd shaped card with the charging control electronics. (They show 19 in stock as of this post, for instance.) Replaced the battery in my then eight-year-old TiBook last year cleared up some odd problems. This is a screen capture of the compatible models listed, which would be up to the 1.67 GHz lo-res, but not the hi-res.
THe replacement battery is not official Apple. I got it from Amazon, can't recall the name of the seller. I have the original battery that came with the computer, but it's dead and show no sign of any charge (no LED's lit).
I'm sure the internal battery is dead, because if I unplug the AC while the computer is off, when I start up I have to reset the date and time. Can that battery be replaced easily? Is it a standard battery or another special Apple battery? I will try to "charge" the internal battery per your suggestion of taking out the main battery and keeping AC connected for couple days. But, I leave the AC connected all the time, wouldn't that charge the internal battery?
But, I leave the AC connected all the time, wouldn't that charge the internal battery?
As near as I can tell, when the main battery--even a dead one--is installed it take charging precedence over the internal back-up battery. With the main battery out, the internal gets "all the attention."
OWC has newly-made replacements for the internal in the 17" 1.67g PBs but don't show them for the 15-inchers. iFixit has been said to have batteries but the ones I see there today are either for 17-inch models or are listed as "used." Isn't a used battery like buying used chewing gum?
Replacing the PRAM battery is not a trivial task--requires a certain amount of gutting as the battery shares a home with the right-hand USB port board so It's one unit. You can look at the illustrated instructions here to judge if you are comfortable with the steps involved:
My battery icon has an "x", and the system profiler says there is and error gathering information when i click on "power". New battery, LED's show it's charged. ???
