Resetting The PMU On 12" Powerbook G4 (1.33GHz) ?

Wendell III wrote on 1 July 2005:

Hey folks,

I've been having this problem with my Powerbook lately -- basically when I unplug the power cable the power totally dies within 5 minutes of use. The battery says that it is fully charged, however. I called Apple and they sent me an article about resetting the PMU. I tried the recommended keystroke upon being powered down (SHIFT+CTRL+OPTION+POWER) and nothing happened. Should I hear a sound or something while this is happening? Am I doing something wrong? Is this a really horrible sign? :-)

Any and all help appreciated! -Wendell

Fred McKenzie replied on 2 July 2005:

In article 2005070119595316807%wendell@redacted.invalid, Wendell III wendell@redacted.invalid wrote:

I called Apple and they sent me an article about resetting the PMU. I tried the recommended keystroke upon being powered down (SHIFT+CTRL+OPTION+POWER) and nothing happened.

Wendell-

The article I have says to power-off, press the key combination being careful NOT to press the fn key, release the keys, wait five seconds and press the power button to restart the computer. If you did that, the only action you should observe would be the "bong" when you restart the computer.

This isn't one of the batteries that Apple recalled, is it?

Fred

Wendell III replied on 2 July 2005:

Hi Fred,

I followed the instructions exactly, doing what you said. Unfortunately it did not seem to solve the problem of my computer dying after 5 minutes of being unplugged. I suppose I'll have to take it in...

No, the battery is not on the recall list.

Thanks for your help, -Wendell

Fred McKenzie wrote:

In article 2005070119595316807%wendell@redacted.invalid, Wendell III wendell@redacted.invalid wrote:
I called Apple and they sent me an article about resetting the PMU. I tried the recommended keystroke upon being powered down (SHIFT+CTRL+OPTION+POWER) and nothing happened.
Wendell-
The article I have says to power-off, press the key combination being careful NOT to press the fn key, release the keys, wait five seconds and press the power button to restart the computer. If you did that, the only action you should observe would be the "bong" when you restart the computer.
This isn't one of the batteries that Apple recalled, is it?
Fred

pailface88 replied on 3 July 2005:

Wendell, how old is the battery? This is very typical of a battery that is on its last leg. Just because the indicator on the menu bar (or the lights on the battery) says the battery is full does not really mean anything if the battery is getting old. It may well be 'full' but a full battery of low capacity (old) does not hold very much. The indicator uses the batteries voltage to indicate amount of charge and this is only meaningful if the battery is in good condition.

Wendell III replied on 11 July 2005:

It's as old as the system - around a year and a half old? I guess in that I should go to the Apple Store and try to get them to swap in a new battery and see if that cures what ails me... Unless something is fried internally, I don't know what else it could be.

Wendell III replied on 15 July 2005:

When batteries "die", do they just go in one day like that? I imagined it to be a more gradual process...