I just got the new ibook.
The battery and power supply are not working right.
Right now - it won't even work with the power supply plugged in.
The battery has drained down to zero.
It has only charged off and on for a couple days. When you plug in the power supply - the charging indicator (lightning bolt) does not always come on.
Does anyone else have this problem?
It is probably - the power supply - the battery - or the power port.
It is very frustrating laying out $1500 for a laptop and it fails in a week.
Any advice from someone that had this problem?
In article everhart-3008011350030001@redacted.invalid, everhart@redacted.invalid (harry) wrote:
I just got the new ibook.
The battery and power supply are not working right.
Right now - it won't even work with the power supply plugged in.
The battery has drained down to zero.
Remove the battery, THEN plug it in and see if it works. I'll bet it does.
It has only charged off and on for a couple days. When you plug in the power supply - the charging indicator (lightning bolt) does not always come on.
Could be a loose connection, or a problem in the wires.
It is probably - the power supply - the battery - or the power port.
You indicate that the machine ran off the battery, therefore it is not the battery.
It is very frustrating laying out $1500 for a laptop and it fails in a week.
Yes, I'm sure it is, but the laptop DID NOT FAIL. You might have a bad powersupply, or you MIGHT have a bad electrical outlet.
Any advice from someone that had this problem?
Do what I recommended above, and in addition:
Try plugging the unit into different electrical outlets in your home. Will the unit charge okay then?
Twist the power cord around a half-turn. Any more stable that way?
Are you sure it's in all the way?
If none of the above works, call Apple. That's why you have a warranty.
In article everhart-3008011350030001@redacted.invalid, harry everhart@redacted.invalid wrote:
I just got the new ibook.
[...]
It is probably - the power supply - the battery - or the power port.
It is very frustrating laying out $1500 for a laptop and it fails in a week.
Any advice from someone that had this problem?
"Infant mortality" is probably the most common sort of computer failure. Get it replaced or repaired under warranty.
"harry" everhart@redacted.invalid wrote in message news:everhart-3008011350030001@redacted.invalid
It has only charged off and on for a couple days. When you plug in the power supply - the charging indicator (lightning bolt) does not always come on.
Does anyone else have this problem?
A similar post was made a week ago. The author said his iBook power supply connection was interrupted simply by turning the rounded plug a half-twist. Other's seemed to agree it was a common mishap to the new design. Try deja if you're interested in reading the post.
My own iBook doesn't have the charging problems, although the jack seems really loose. Pulling against the weight of the transformer (er, the mothership) is enough to work the plug out.
Original Poster Harry writes -
Thanks for the reply on this problem.
I called Apple. They think it is a bad AC adapter. It is supposed to be putting out 24 volts DC. My meter says it is putting out 5 volts DC. They are fedexing a new AC adapter for me.
I checked the wall outlet with the meter - it is giving out 120 volts AC.
Someone said the port seems loose. They are right. Mine is loose too. A few times when it did not charge, I twisted it 1/4 turn and it started to charge.
Now - the battery us dead - it will not run at all - even with the battery out and the cord plugged in.
I will try the new AC adapter. If that don't work - I will send it to Apple for repair. I am not the only one - several people have had this problem.
I really hope that the new AC adapter tomorrow fixes it up. I love the new ibook - right now I am using the old ibook which is pretty good too.
In article everhart-3008012240590001@redacted.invalid, everhart@redacted.invalid (harry) wrote:
I called Apple. They think it is a bad AC adapter. It is supposed to be putting out 24 volts DC. My meter says it is putting out 5 volts DC. They are fedexing a new AC adapter for me.
Yep, sounds like a bad power adapter to me.
I checked the wall outlet with the meter - it is giving out 120 volts AC.
Thanks for double-checking.
Someone said the port seems loose. They are right. Mine is loose too. A few times when it did not charge, I twisted it 1/4 turn and it started to charge.
But if it's only putting out 5V, then it would take forever to charge.
Now - the battery us dead - it will not run at all - even with the battery out and the cord plugged in.
That's because 5V isn't enough to even start the iBook.
I will try the new AC adapter. If that don't work - I will send it to Apple for repair.
Exactly right. As you'll (hopefully not) see, they are mighty fast on turnaround.
I really hope that the new AC adapter tomorrow fixes it up. I love the new ibook - right now I am using the old ibook which is pretty good too.
Good luck to you. Please keep us updated. Sorry you had this problem.
In the last exciting episode of comp.sys.mac.system, rubbish@redacted.invalid wrote:
In article everhart-3008011350030001@redacted.invalid, everhart@redacted.invalid (harry) wrote:
I just got the new ibook.
The battery and power supply are not working right.
Right now - it won't even work with the power supply plugged in.
The battery has drained down to zero.
Remove the battery, THEN plug it in and see if it works. I'll bet it does.
It has only charged off and on for a couple days. When you plug in the power supply - the charging indicator (lightning bolt) does not always come on.
Could be a loose connection, or a problem in the wires.
It is probably - the power supply - the battery - or the power port.
You indicate that the machine ran off the battery, therefore it is not the battery.
It is very frustrating laying out $1500 for a laptop and it fails in a week.
Had the same problem. Turned out to be the 'yo-yo' part (i.e the bit that connects to the Mac.) There was a hairline fracture in the metal ring around the main power spike. Apple were very understnading and sent a new one - all better now.
But large blue sparks still jump out of the yo-yo when I connect the mains to it...
On Fri, 31 Aug 2001 8:02:45 -0600, Rasputin wrote (in message slrn9ov68j.7n5.rasputin@redacted.invalid):
Had the same problem. Turned out to be the 'yo-yo' part (i.e the bit that connects to the Mac.) There was a hairline fracture in the metal ring around the main power spike. Apple were very understnading and sent a new one - all better now.
But large blue sparks still jump out of the yo-yo when I connect the mains to it...
Hmmmmm, I received a letter from Apple saying that my G3 PowerBook bought about 2 years ago had a potential problem with power adaptor (the little back rectangular one) and that I should trade it in for a new one. I filled out the request and got a yo-yo model. When I tried it, it sparked just as you describe, since I'd had no trouble with the little black one, I sent the yo-yo back!
Anyone else had this problem?
Harry
My yo-yo power adapter for my 2 USB iBook (combo drive) gave a ruddy great spark when I plugged it in for the first time this morning. Scared the daylights of out me. Doesn't seemed to have happened again (well, the second time I plugged it in anyways).
This iBook seems to take an age to charge when the machine is in use though. It's been charging for about 3 1/2 hours now and it's still not done. Seems faster when it's off but still, 3 1/2 hours? Does that seem a little long to anyone? If this is just the way it is I can live with it, the machine is sweet otherwise after an upgrade to 9.2.1 to solve an intermittant sound problem.
Tim
In article 01HW.B7B51F1A00295FBC10334F60@redacted.invalid, HarryM HarryM@redacted.invalid wrote:
On Fri, 31 Aug 2001 8:02:45 -0600, Rasputin wrote (in message slrn9ov68j.7n5.rasputin@redacted.invalid):
Had the same problem. Turned out to be the 'yo-yo' part (i.e the bit that connects to the Mac.) There was a hairline fracture in the metal ring around the main power spike. Apple were very understnading and sent a new one - all better now.
But large blue sparks still jump out of the yo-yo when I connect the mains to it...
Hmmmmm, I received a letter from Apple saying that my G3 PowerBook bought about 2 years ago had a potential problem with power adaptor (the little back rectangular one) and that I should trade it in for a new one. I filled out the request and got a yo-yo model. When I tried it, it sparked just as you describe, since I'd had no trouble with the little black one, I sent the yo-yo back!
Anyone else had this problem?
Harry
In article t.calladine-39F054.21341508092001@redacted.invalid, Tim Calladine t.calladine@redacted.invalid wrote:
My yo-yo power adapter for my 2 USB iBook (combo drive) gave a ruddy great spark when I plugged it in for the first time this morning. Scared the daylights of out me. Doesn't seemed to have happened again (well, the second time I plugged it in anyways).
No, this is normal behaviour for the adapter (don't ask me why). To protect your machine, ALWAYS plug it in the following way.
- Plug wire to wall socket.
- Connect wire to yo-yo base BEFORE you connect it to the iBook. Let it spark if it wants to.
- NOW plug it into the iBook.
This iBook seems to take an age to charge when the machine is in use though. It's been charging for about 3 1/2 hours now and it's still not done. Seems faster when it's off but still, 3 1/2 hours?
Yes, that's normal IF you're using it. Maybe a little long, but it'll depend on what you're doing.
It shouldn't take more than an hour or so to charge when NOT in use.
In article IhFm7.59880$aZ.15957232@redacted.invalid, Charles Martin rubbish@redacted.invalid wrote:
In article t.calladine-39F054.21341508092001@redacted.invalid, Tim Calladine t.calladine@redacted.invalid wrote:
My yo-yo power adapter for my 2 USB iBook (combo drive) gave a ruddy great spark when I plugged it in for the first time this morning. Scared the daylights of out me. Doesn't seemed to have happened again (well, the second time I plugged it in anyways).
No, this is normal behaviour for the adapter (don't ask me why). To protect your machine, ALWAYS plug it in the following way.
- Plug wire to wall socket.
- Connect wire to yo-yo base BEFORE you connect it to the iBook. Let it spark if it wants to.
- NOW plug it into the iBook.
That is exactly what I've been doing. I figured if it was going to spark it had better do it when not plugged into the machine :) The other solution is to simple not disconnect the yo-yo and the cord that goes to tbe power socket.
This iBook seems to take an age to charge when the machine is in use though. It's been charging for about 3 1/2 hours now and it's still not done. Seems faster when it's off but still, 3 1/2 hours?
Yes, that's normal IF you're using it. Maybe a little long, but it'll depend on what you're doing.
It shouldn't take more than an hour or so to charge when NOT in use. I tried it out and it does charge much quicker when not in use. I had my expecations a little high I suppose, my old Compaq Amada 1750 charged quickly when both on and off, however the compaq certainly doesn't run for a long as this machine.
One last question, does using Airport take significantly more power than using standard ethernet?
Tim