Clamshell iBook Is "Killing Off" Power Cords

Knucklesmac,

I'm at the library now, using a library computer. I do have an "official" iBook battery. It is a replacement battery, and I don't recall how old it is. I didn't know that you could run the laptop without the battery in, I thought that, even if the battery is dead, it needs to be in to make the iBook work.

I do have a couple of "dead" batteries that I keep forgetting to recycle. I could put one of the "dead" batteries in to see if the power cord works.

I do have a gray (I forget the official color) iBook that was given to me a few years ago. It doesn't have an airport card, and has a small harddrive. I was using it for my "writing" computer, and bought the tangerine iBook with an airport card to take to the library to use their WiFi. I stopped using the gray iBook because the keyboard seemed to go bad. There are several keys up in one corner of the keyboard that no longer work.

If I can't get the tangerine iBook power problem resolved I suppose I could use it as a "donor" model, replace the gray iBook's keyboard, add the airport card, and put in a bigger hard drive. (I actually replaced the hard drive in the tangerine iBook, so I know that's within my power.) The gray iBook won't charge a battery, but it works if you plug it in.

I'll see what happens when I put a different battery into the tangerine iBook.

Knucklesmac,

Your ideas are great, but I need my computer to look for work (in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits I must apply for at least 3 jobs a week) so I wimped out and took my iBook to a repair person for a diagnostic. It will be a couple of days before I get it back, and if she isn't able to fix it I'll start on your ideas.

I'm having a lot of emergencies in my life lately, so yesterday my stress level reached it's limit & I couldn't take one more computer challenge.

Thanks for all your help. I did try switching batteries around. I'll post the results of my latest iBook crisis.

Here is an update on my sick tangerine iBook.

1) I have been in the habit of using the power cord with my computer, rarely running it off the battery.

2) Most days I'd walk to the local public library to use their WiFi for job searching. I'd take both my iBook and power cord with me.

3) A few months ago I slipped and fell, and my iBook was slammed against a cement sidewalk. The laptop continued to work, so I thought it was okay.

4) When I started having trouble with the battery draining while my iBook was plugged into the power cord I took my tangerine iBook to a computer repair person. She told me that my motherboard was damaged, and repairing the damage would cost a fortune. I don't recall all the proper terms, but there is a connection that isn't as it should be.

If my "best" power cord is plugged in all the way, and then slightly pulled out, the battery will charge. If the power cord is moved at all the connection is broken. I was told to only plug the power cord in while the battery is charging, and I'm not to use the computer, or move it it around, when charging the battery. I am to run the iBook off the battery, and not have the power cord in when the iBook is turned off.

I'm told that, with the exception of a nasty damaged motherboard, my tangerine iBook is in great shape.

So it does not appear that my tangerine iBook will ever be usable for all day writing bouts -- usage is limited to how long the battery charge lasts.

I have a graphite iBook that I had used as my "writing" computer. It has no airport card, and won't hold a battery charge, but it runs off a power cord, and can be used all day. Awhile ago one section of the keyboard stopped working. In a what-can-it-hurt move I removed the graphite iBook's keyboard, sprayed it from all angles with canned air, reinstalled it, and it's now working. So I'll use the graphite iBook as my long-project computer, and only use my tangerine iBook for internet use.

Dear Knucklesmac,

I paid $60 to have someone tell me if my iBook could be repaired. Perhaps the information I was given is incorrect, or perhaps it is correct, but I'm not paying for a second opinion. My computer fund is tapped out.

I've thought about putting the airport card into the graphite iBook, but in order to get the tangerine iBook to work on the internet I had to install a larger hard drive, and I'm not quite up to dealing with switching things around. Perhaps someday I'll put the airport card into the graphite and see if it will work with the memory it has. (I'm currently 10 miles away from my computer, and I don't have the information on what anything currently has.)

Thank you for your interest. Right now I'm job hunting and still trying to recover from an accident back in March (having your car broadsided by a semi is a nasty experience) so I'm not really up to computer projects.