The world according to Sven-S. Porst
« Random •
Main
• Powerbook Panic »
203 words
on
Apple defects
Uh-oh! The demise of my Powerbook has just seen another step. Yesterday morning it worked just fine but when I returned from lunch, it just kernel panicked. Of coures my spontaneous reaction was to blame Apple’s ever-so-brilliant quality control and the X.4.2 update. But then the computer wouldn’t start up at all, which I found hard to blame on the software it wouldn’t even read from its hard drive.
I hoped that perhaps the hard drive cable had come loose or something, but a bit of disassembling an reassembling proved that idea wrong as well. Instead the Powerbook started working again — for a few minutes. And then it froze / kernel-panicked once more.
My impression at this stage is that the problem (with the 1st generation TiBook) is around the back-left corner of the case. Pressing the little board there, which appears to be the modem a little sometimes brings the machine back to life for a short time. But I’ve got no idea what exactly is wrong there or how to make that change last permanently and what exactly I should be looking for. So if you have any experience with this and can offer hints they’ll be more than welcome.
July 14, 2005, 8:48
Tagged as
apple, apple defect, broken.
Did you make sure the SMART status of the hard drive is fine?
It sounds like a dying hard drive to me, which is what I had in spring ‘04 with my iBook — while on vacation, which turned it into rather annoying circumstances.
July 14, 2005, 9:38
I didn’t get around to checking that. But I assume that my problem is worse.
Even if the hard drive (which is quite new) were broken, the computer should still start up from DVD or display the screen to select the startup device when holding the Option key on startup. Instead the screen remains black, my external keyboard and mouse remain inactive (no lights) and nothing happens.
July 14, 2005, 9:44
I have the same model knocking around, and I fear it’s on its last legs, too. And my hardware knowledge is limited.
If it’s dead, for good, I suggest a Dropcash or Fundable drive. I would certainly consider a donation towards a “Get Sven a Powerbook” fund, for all sorts of good reasons.
July 14, 2005, 12:48
Thanks G, that sounds like a cool offer, but I doubt that it’d do much good.
July 15, 2005, 12:21
