POWERBOOK G4 A1025 no audio, optical drive, trackpad

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POWERBOOK G4 A1025 no audio, optical drive, trackpad

Hi everybody! This is my first posting.

As the title says: "powerbook ti g4 no audio or optical drive or trackpad". Im running OSX Tiger. The unit powers on, runs great on battery [almost 3 hours]. But trackpad, audio and drive are not working. I cant boot to a cd to wipe it amd i only have OSX Leopard anyway.

I got it for $35 at a yard sale in excellent condition.

I have worked on and owned macs before but i've been 98% Windows since 2001. since buying this unit this past sunday i have bought an ibook A1133, an Ibook G4 14" and a Macbook pro core duo. I'm done with windows and so are my 13 year old twins. Only wifey hasn't been turmed lol.

I would also like to know about the chargers. I have a 45 watt and a 65 watt. im using the 45 watter for the smaller 12" mid-2005 ibook. I believe the powerbook has to use the 65 watter. all the websites say that they all use 65 but then why would i have gotten the 45?

Thanks in advance. i have a few more topics i'd like to run by you geniuses.

I Love my MAC.

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Aug 11, 2015 7:25 PM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,870 points

Aug 12, 2015 12:23 PM in response to bronxguitar

Welcome!

Here are a couple of things to try:

1) Audio: look in the headphone port. Can you see a red light glowing inside? If so the jack is jammed in the mute position. This is a relatively easy at-home fix.

2) Optical Drive: get a drive-cleaning disk and use it. Those slot-loading drives get pretty dirty and can act dead. It's amazing how many are resurrected to full function by a cleaning disk.

3) Trackpad: This one is harder. First thing to check is the battery. A swollen battery can take down the trackpad. If the battery is not swollen, then we have more work to do.

AS for the other questions, let me recommend you download the free MacTracker database. It has detailed specs on every Mac ever made and can be very helpful to your learning about these Macs you are finding. Power supply information is included. It is in the App store but I've had better results getting it from the developers's site:

http://mactracker.ca/

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Answer 2

bronxguitar Author

Level 1

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Aug 13, 2015 7:35 PM in response to Allan Jones

hey Allan Jones thanx so much for the quick response.

the jack is fine.i tried using earphones, nothing, doesnt output sound.

the disk drive does not work. if you insert a cd in the slot you can push it all the way but it never pulls the disk in. almost as though it has no power.

battery is fine. for a 14 year old laptop the battery still runs for almost 3 hours. a usb wireless mouse works great.

not for nothing, this powerbook is very clean. i do own a repair business on the side. im no stranger to macs, its just been quite a whille since ive owned one. in less than 3 days im the proud owner of FOUR!!! two of which, a mid-2005 ibook g4 1.33 and a core duo macbook pro, have recieved a complete makeover and fresh installs of the OS'es and full upgrades to the max ram, etc. they are running 100%. i know this powerbook has what in windows terms would be a bios battery. its connected to a circuit board next to the optical drive. i know it may be bad because with the a/c cord connected and a full battery, turning it on defaults to the year 1969! do you think replacing that item would be a cure for my woes? i've successfully converted myself and my 13 year old twins to MAC

on another note i have a buddy who owns a 21.9 inch iMAC. its the first one to have the intel core 2 duo. i beleive its very upgradeable. its running 2 gigs of ram and OSX lion. he wants 250 for it. is that a fair price?

thank you so much in advance for your help and patience with my loooong post.

i look forward to your advice.

GOD bless

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,870 points

Aug 13, 2015 9:20 PM in response to bronxguitar

i know this powerbook has what in windows terms would be a bios battery.

Indeed it does. However, new replacements are no longer available. The only PowerBook internal backup batteries still available are for the 1.67ghz 17-inch Powerbook, and those are third party. So that's hard unless you can figure a way to create a battery pack that will work.

Sometimes, leaving the PB connected to wall power with the main battery removed will pump a little life back into a dead PRAM battery, but it is a temporary situation at best.

on another note i have a buddy who owns a 21.9 inch iMAC. its the first one to have the intel core 2 duo. i beleive its very upgradeable. its running 2 gigs of ram and OSX lion. he wants 250 for it. is that a fair price?

The first Intel iMacs to have Core 2 Duo processors came only with 17- or 20-inch monitors (and a white plastic case) so I'm not sure which one your friend has. Have him find System Profiler or System Information in Applications > Utilities and launch it. Its opening screen will look like this:

Note I placed a red arrow next to a code in the second line. Have your friend read you the code and then post it here. That is a positive identifier that will make is easier to advise you on the viability of that computer for current software.

Those first C2D iMacs can only run a max of 3GB of RAM which is dicey even for OS 10.7 Lion. Lion is as high as some can run. This chart I created to summarize the excellent info for early Intel iMacs in the MacTracker database may help once you have the identifier code:

If you want to run Yosemite (OS 10.10) you need one with a minimum of 4GB RAM--more is better.

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Answer 4

bronxguitar Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 13, 2015 11:05 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks again.

maybe i can get one off ebay. or i could get a battery and swap it out of that little board. idk.

The Imac is a 6,1. i remember googling it. any thoughts?

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Answer 5

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,870 points

Aug 14, 2015 8:34 AM in response to bronxguitar

Your PBG4: Can you find the model identifier on the PB like you had your friend do on the iMac? I want to look up the exact model on iFixit to see how the PRAM battery is handled. Any on eBay will be used or, if never installed, will be about a decade old. Lithium batteries do not store off power for that length of time without serious degradation.

We PBG4 owners are all suffering from this problem. The fact that you have a strong main battery is helping. However my 2003 17-inch 1ghz PB (12-year old PRAM battery) will not start on A/C power alone if the main battery is fully discharged or removed. I hit the power button and nothing happens for from 2 to 5 minutes. Then I hear the good ol' start chime and it runs up normally. Apparently that delay lets just enough charge into the main battery to overcome the PRAM batt issues. An accommodation to be sure, but one of my daughters is using my 17-incher right now, admittedly more as a desktop than a portable computer due to the power issues.

iMac: One man's opinion, ya know. I'd rather see you set your sights on at least a 7,1. Anything older will not give you the current Mac experience due to being stuck a 10.7 (not the best incarnation of OSX, IMHO) and being so RAM-constrained. However a 24-inch monitor will have a nice display. EveryMac.com has approximate used prices for most Macs but Craigslist is a better way to find actually asking pricing in a given area. The everyMac prices tend to be on the high side and assume you get everything including the very important install/restore disks that shipped with the computer.

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Answer 6

bronxguitar Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 14, 2015 4:42 PM in response to Allan Jones

thanx. i tried removing the battery and leaving it plugged up and it no longer gives me the date/time error. i pulled the battery, unplugged the cord and left it for hours. put the battery back in and turned it on and it kept the date correct!!!

im in the process of creating and sending os leopard to a usb flash drive. if i install okay and the audio and trackpad come back then it was programming. i can live with out the optical drive. ive been installing on two windows machines since monday with no flash drive in addition to transferring programs back n forth all week. if all is well when im done there will be no need to get an imac. i concur. ATLEAST a 7,1 or greater!!! ill post back and let you know whats has happened GOD willing.

I LOVE MY MACS!!!

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Answer 7

bronxguitar Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 16, 2015 11:47 AM in response to bronxguitar

well Allan Jones actuall the date/time problem wasnt fixed. it was that i took my attention off the PB long enough for the automatic date/time function to correct it.

on another sorry note, i installed OSX Leopard from a usb stick.. i used my MBP 's disk utility and copied leopard to it. it installed fine, rebooted and i set it up. after my first reboot it stays stuck at the grey apple logo. i cant get it to boot or do anything else. nothing works now. not even the keyboard or usb mouse. i tried booting with option held down. the screen came up but iwas unable to move the cursor or tab anything around with the keyboard. i think im done. maybe ill craigslist it and get a few bucks. its a shame because its extremely clean and runs very well. its just that there's no trackpad, audio, or optical drive functionality. and now i cant even boot it. SMH.

if you have any other ideas i'd like to hear them. thank you for your help and patience

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