I followed the steps to replace the drive and double checked the ribbon cables but when trying to install OS X, the hard drive does not come up. Also, the keyboard and trackpad were not working. I was able to get around this by using a USB mouse.

The second thing I tried was running the Disk Utility to check if there were hardware problems. I ran the extended test and everything was recognized and tested correct.

I read on another answer to check the jumpers, but I do not believe this HD has jumpers..

I intend to go back at it tonight and re-open the laptop to make sure any cables weren't pulled loose.

Any ideas? Let me know if I can explain anything more clearly. Thanks for your help!

Christopher

⟐ Commented March 15, 2013 at 11:08 am -0700

⟐ Commented January 31, 2013 at 7:18 pm -0700

my g4 is not allowing me to get online. Also, I can't copy or burn files, it just says not enough space (even though I have plenty).

The clock resets back to the 60's (why I don't know), and it doesn't save my wireless settings I have to keep entering it. I think it could be my battery, it's only holding it's charge for 15 min without being plugged.

Please help!

⟐ Answer edited January 31, 2013 at 6:38 am -0700

• Sync iPhone 4*

• Surf the Web

• Watch movies/video (Disks and Files (VLC/YouTube))

• Word Processing

Here's the deal - I have had this laptop since it came out in 2004-2005. It has worked like a champ until VERY recently. Now, the MAIN issue is that the fan starts up when the processor is being utilized (..., right?), sounds like the computer is about to take off into the stratosphere, then it will puts itself to sleep.

I have 2 other Macs, but this one is just so compact and portable. I don't need to run CS5 on it or anything, and would really just like a total computer reconfiguration that makes the PB G4 just work like a normal laptop ("normal" meaning = I can surf, watch, sync, and type). I am almost certain that I am going to need to either replace or reseat the heat sync, and do some other things internally to the computer (that's fine - I've taken it apart and put it back together successfully already)...

Here's the end-all-be-all: I know it's an old computer. Nonetheless, if there is ANYONE out there who is well-versed in slimming down Mac OS X Leopard, and maybe some Open Firmware or Terminal commands that will aid the process (I'll even get in to the System Files and Library - I'm not scared), that'd be great! Obviously this is not my "Go-To" computer... But it still works well, and all I want is for it to behave like a regular laptop. I want to be able to take it with me here and there and just jump on the Web... Or sync my iPhone... Blah, Blah... I think you get picture.

ANY AND ALL HELP WILL BE SO GREATLY APPRECIATED THAT YOU MAY GET PAID! That's how serious I am about this. I LOVE the body and profile of the PB G4 12". I am not asking this thing to be an i7... Just want it to perform without too much trouble! Thanks in advance!!!

Cheers,

- J.L.

P.S. If there is any molecule of info that I neglected to inform upon, please let me know! I'll get you the info. I know where to look for all of that.

- J.L.

⟐ Answer accepted January 19, 2013 at 9:00 pm -0700

⟐ Commented January 17, 2013 at 4:47 am -0700

⟐ Answer edited December 19, 2012 at 11:44 am -0700

I recently purchased a 12-inch PB-G4 off eBay, with a known (to the seller) good battery. I found upon initial use that the battery did in fact power the laptop, and charge, and I got it up to 23% before I began having problems with it. The problem was one that I've seen from Google is typical of the PB-G4; and that is, that the battery info from the OS X menu bar shows "battery not charging", even though the power adapter is powering the laptop just fine. I have searched this problem pretty thoroughly online, and have yet to find where anyone actually solved it, even though they've tried new batteries, new power adapters, PRAM resets, PMU resets, NVRAM resets, leaving the laptop plugged in, etc., etc., etc.

I myself have tried the following:

• PRAM reset
• PMU reset (all 3 different ways to do it)
• removing/reinserting the battery
• leaving the laptop plugged in, with battery, for 24 hours
• draining the battery completely, in an attempt at battery calibration
• different power adapters (one 45W & one 65W, both known to be good)
• different operating systems (Leopard and Tiger)

None of the above have made a dent in the problem. In fact, after completely draining the battery (it powered the laptop for a good 20 minutes before finally dying), the battery level info from the menu bar just showed 0%. After a couple days, it just stopped recognizing the battery altogether.

I believe this to have been a good battery; when the problems began I checked the "Power" info in System Profiler, and it showed that the battery was good. I cannot remember the numbers that were displayed for cycles and such, however I do remember that there wasn't anything ridiculous showing there (such as cycle counts in the tens of thousands, which would tend to indicate a bad battery).

So, here's my question: could the problem here (assuming of course that the battery really is good) possibly be a bad DC-to-DC board? I don't know exactly what the DC-to-DC board does, but it's name leads me to suspect that it has something to do with regulating power to & from the battery.

The reason I ask is that in all my googling, I have yet to find anyone who has suggested the DC-to-DC board as the culprit, or anyone who has tried to solve the problem by replacing that part. I have seen numerous suggestions for other things, like replacing the DC-in board, getting a new battery, new AC adapter, etc.; none of which have seemed to work for anybody.

So, before I plunk down $$ for a DC-to-DC board, or a new battery, I thought it might be worth asking the question. Answers?

⟐ Commented December 15, 2012 at 4:50 pm -0700

⟐ Answer deleted October 29, 2012 at 6:03 am -0700

⟐ Commented October 8, 2012 at 5:34 am -0700

⟐ Answer accepted August 11, 2012 at 9:22 pm -0700

The DC part is now not charging the battery.

Other than replacing the DC port, is there a way to directly connect my laptop to a desktop or power source?

At this point I am hoping to at least retrieve data from the laptop.

Thanks!

⟐ Answered August 7, 2012 at 9:06 am -0700

⟐ Answer accepted July 9, 2012 at 1:11 pm -0700

I have a PowerBook G4 12" with a 1.33 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, that freezes one or two minutes after booting. I can't move the pointer or do anything and I have to shut it down pressing the Power Button. I'm not afraid of opening it because I've got nothing to lose on it.

I think it could be the Hard Drive, or the battery, but it does freeze when it doesn´t have battery, and it's plugged in.

And if the problem is the Hard Drive, how can I be sure of it?

(because I don't want to buy an HDD if I don't need it)

I don't know what could it be, but I've seen on the Internet one or two similar cases that couldn't be solved.

Thanks for the help (and sorry for my English, I'm from Spain).

Rodrigo

⟐ Commented July 6, 2012 at 11:11 am -0700

The closest problem I can find here is at http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/16730... but my line does not grow or change colour (yet?) and what I've read elsewhere suggests the vertical line issue affecting 15/17" models is not meant to be a problem in 12" models.

The problem is not affected by moving the display. It persists when booted from CD. The extended hardware test shows no problems. Resetting the PRAM did not help.

I would be grateful for any insights but am especially keen to know whether the problem is likely to get worse; what the likely causes are; and whether it is possible to establish the cause for certain.

Thank you.

PowerBook Aluminium 12" 1.5 GHz

Mac OS X 10.4.11

[I tried to post this question earlier but the site just threw it away and I'm not sure if I have now left out anything crucial but hope not.]

⟐ Answered June 28, 2012 at 11:54 am -0700

I bought a barely used PB G4 1.5 GHz (touching the keyboard, it still appears "rough") with a display that won't spring up when the release button is pressed.

If the PB if held vertically (release button up) or also diagonally, the spring actually works but there is no upright movement if the PB lies on the table.

I am going to try the Glide film from Radtech though I have only few hopes.

Any suggestion on what to do or what part I should target? Yes, I know: opening the PB 12" is like opening the doors of Evil.

Thanks!

Giulio

⟐ Answer deleted June 2, 2012 at 2:05 am -0700

⟐ Answered May 23, 2012 at 11:52 am -0700

Please help, I cannot afford a new computer. Since computer runs with power cord, I am thinking this is not the problem.

⟐ Answer deleted May 14, 2012 at 6:17 am -0700

⟐ Commented April 25, 2012 at 8:33 am -0700

I am now looking for a replacement.

I found it extremely useful.

I noted some other devices have the guides, what happened to the 12 inch PowerBook one?

⟐ Answer accepted April 19, 2012 at 3:05 pm -0700

⟐ Answer deleted April 19, 2012 at 1:59 pm -0700

Is it needed, or not? If re-application of the paste is required, then please do add it to the list of required tools.

⟐ Answer accepted April 19, 2012 at 9:14 am -0700

Disassembled again and put together outside of case (what I could). Noted that after reconnecting power (battery or adapter) when i press the power button the fan will spin breifly (1 to 2 seconds), one time. Also, caps lock light comes on when key pressed.

I have tried 3 "resetting" processes i read about here. I noted that when i left it charge overnight the next day the hard drive was very warm, the battery was not warm but was charged 3 dots. I do not have access to another power adapter to test with. I have never seen anything on the display.

Daughter in law now advises me it was not working "before" it was given to me to fix.

Unit is now disassembled to the point of dc-in board is removed, so replacing whatever is not a problem.

Any help, questions, comments, and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. First time here. Thank you.

Thank you for responding. The rom failed first. I replaced the hard drive last year and had to "copy" my drive to this machine for it to have an OS, since I couldn't use the rom to load the OS. It was shelved shortly thereafter until i got it appr a week ago. The hard drive failure appeared to be the standard worn out / making noise failure. It would not read at all on any machine. I could hear the read/write head clanking around inside.

⟐ Commented April 11, 2012 at 5:20 pm -0700

⟐ Answer accepted April 1, 2012 at 7:02 pm -0700

Recently my 12" 1.33Ghz powerbook went dead as I forgot to plug in the power and the battery is useless. When I turned it back on I get the usual chime fan sounds hard drive read but the monitor does literally nothing, no greyness nothing. So....

I have ordered a display adapter and tested it with an external monitor and it works perfectly so what does this mean? which parts could be broken?

The display is litterally black so even if I shine a light at it I can't see any display at all. Does this mean that its not the monitor inverter.

Any help narrowing down which parts I should try replacing would be much appreciated!!

Thanks Michael

⟐ Commented March 29, 2012 at 9:49 am -0700

The port to plug my ac adapter into is loose. whenever I go to plug it in, the plug always falls out. I've checked why, and it appears that I've broken the foundation it was attached to.

I can still charge, so that's not the issue.

What can I do to reconnect it to the "base" it's attached to, so it won't constantly fall out?

I'm guessing this has to do with opening the case, and getting down to the motherboard. As well as either some soldering, etc....

⟐ Answered March 27, 2012 at 7:12 am -0700

Is there a fix for this that I can do myself? Possibly a loss video cable or something? As for having it repaired, it may not be worth the cost.

thanks

⟐ Answered February 29, 2012 at 6:39 am -0700

Update

The built in track pad is not working. I am checking the connection now. I was hoping to find out which connection is the likely problem.

thanks for the help

⟐ Answered January 17, 2012 at 1:57 pm -0700

A few years ago my powerbook g4's logic board fried and I kept it in a drawer until a few days ago when I bought a used 1.5Ghz Logic Board and replaced it. Now the computer will boot but I only get a grey screen. I've searched a lot around and the best I could find was this: http://hintsforums.macworld.com/showthre...

that guy has my same problem. It seem though that everything is working fine but I'm not getting anything on the display (except for grey). I can get into Open-Firmware but I'm typing blindly. Does anyone know why this happens and how to fix it?

I have tried

- Reset PRAM, NVRAM

- Won't seem to boot off a CD (with c held down)

⟐ Answer deleted January 3, 2012 at 7:19 pm -0700

⟐ Answered November 5, 2011 at 7:57 am -0700

⟐ Commented October 2, 2011 at 12:58 pm -0700

i have PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" that does not work,

and i wonder its PRAM Battery was down.

so, I want to replace the PRAM Battery.

But i can't find a PRAM Battery in PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12".

why? PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" doesn't have a PRAM Battery?

please help me.

thank you.

shige

⟐ Answered September 11, 2011 at 10:04 am -0700

⟐ Marked as duplicate August 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm -0700

⟐ Marked as duplicate August 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm -0700

⟐ Marked as duplicate August 21, 2011 at 8:34 pm -0700

Western Digital Scorpio Blue 80GB 8MB 5400rpm 2.5" to my Powerbook g4.

I then tried to install Leopard from installation disk but it doesn't seem to work.

Install starts if I keep "alt" button on when booting.

Then comes

See fotos from

www.raisanloma.kuvat.fi

Then the cd driver starts to make a crackling noise which don't stop until I shut down power.

What to do

⟐ Commented August 11, 2011 at 8:05 pm -0700

⟐ Commented July 13, 2011 at 7:33 pm -0700

⟐ Answer accepted July 13, 2011 at 3:24 am -0700

⟐ Commented July 8, 2011 at 8:29 am -0700

I wanted to know if it is the logic board's video that is bad. I heard that if you get video from an external device, it isn't the logic board.

I have acquired another logic board for this model and I am wondering if I should swap it or whether it is a waste of time.

thanks in advanced.

⟐ Commented July 7, 2011 at 2:17 pm -0700

My main concern is with the pads: The pads seem about one or two millimeters thick. Would removing the pad and applying thermal paste lead to a gap and therefore a problem with cooling? If I end up reusing the pads afterall, would I then have to put thermal paste on the underside of the pad? Are there any issues with small irregularities in the pads' surface smoothness? What if the pads got a little bit of dust on them, probably during dis-assembly of the laptop? Does this present an issue? If so, would it be best to just get replacement pads or use thermal paste? Thanks for your time and effort answering my question.

⟐ Commented June 27, 2011 at 9:28 am -0700

Is this socket essential to the notebook?

⟐ Answer edited June 3, 2011 at 1:22 am -0700

⟐ Answered June 2, 2011 at 5:23 pm -0700

⟐ Commented April 21, 2011 at 10:43 am -0700

_{,and ive got my new hard drive but i dont know how i will install it , because i just buy it second hand} , and it does not come up with cd restore or cd installation

,,, pls help me

i just buy it coz its virus free it does not hung ....

and last the last time im using it, is when im deleting all my song and files of the owner of the laptop , and i even try to replace his password in his admin accnt ,,, using terminal, /sbin/mount -uw /

then passwd username

then passwd

then after that it appear type new password i think

then when i try to type my new passwrd it does not type no letters to be appear so i try and try but it doesn't change passwrd _{, then i just let it go}

help me pls

⟐ Commented March 22, 2011 at 8:51 am -0700

I went to my local mac fixer and we tried out a new battery and adapter with the same results.

I've tried resetting the SMC and PMU. Nothing changed.

Did I mess something up on the logic board or on the DC-DC board? I tested the continuity of the DC-Inboard, those wires were ok.

Then I took out the DC-DC board, I tested the continuity of the prongs that go into the battery to the prongs that go into the logic board. I only found the first, third, and fourth prong to the battery (left to right) have continuity on the DCDC board. The six prong is the ground.

I'm going to tear this thing apart again to see if it's something on the logic board that I messed up.

Does anyone have a diagram for the circuit board so I know where everything connects?

Any ideas???

⟐ Answer accepted March 9, 2011 at 2:03 am -0700

Size: 256 MB

Type: DDR SDRAM

Speed: PC2700U-25330

Status: OK

I want to swap it with a:

1GB

DDR SDRAM

PC2100U-25330

when i do the swap and restart, profiler says the slot is empty. The 1GB card came from another machine which does recognize it. Why doesn't it work?

⟐ Answered March 4, 2011 at 11:02 am -0700

⟐ Answer accepted February 23, 2011 at 6:08 pm -0700

⟐ Answered February 23, 2011 at 8:31 am -0700

I've been trying to troubleshoot a dead PowerBook g4 12". The machine is dead. Not powering on, and has no signs of any obvious reason for this.

So far I have wittled it down to a logic board replacement, as the DC lights up, and charges the battery.

Before purchasing a new logic board, I have been advised by an friend at the Apple Store to try "jumping" the logic board to bypass any chance of it being a top case power button issue. He explained it was two contact points on the logic board that when connected together, would bypass the power switch, ensuring its nothing obvious. He then reccomended ifixit for teardowns.

I cant find these contact points, or any documents showing where these points are!

Does anyone know where I can find these?

Thanks!

⟐ Answer accepted February 21, 2011 at 8:54 am -0700

The computer fell and landed on the power adapter plug [when plugged into computer], such that the adapter no longer works = no power. I have three adapters and have tried each, to no avail. The damage seems to be to the "plug-in" on the computer[sorry I can't think of the correct term]. There is another question on this site about changing/replacing this part, but it is relative to a different laptop. Plus, while the directions are very thorough and clear, it appears to be quite complicated; scaring me, anyway. Can I replace this part myself?

⟐ Answered February 16, 2011 at 6:42 am -0700