I was recently installing more RAM in my Wallstreet's lower slot, and when I restarted the computer, I noticed that it had lost its date settings. I removed the main battery and disconnected the AC to do the installation.
After checking to see if everything was cool with the new RAM, I booted into OS 9.2 (preferring to do an improper shutdown on an operating system that is not my primary one), put the laptop to sleep, and removed the main battery as one would do in a battery swap situation.
The computer immediately lost all power (sleep light stopped blinking) and had to be restarted.
I know the PRAM battery was good when I first bought the computer about a year and a half ago because it had a completely dead main battery and would hold date and time settings for 5-6 hours when I had it disconnected from the AC adapter.
Could resetting the Power Manager help this situation, or does it sound like the PRAM battery is no longer holding a charge and should be replaced?
Thanks, David
David Anderson davida@redacted.invalid wrote:
I was recently installing more RAM in my Wallstreet's lower slot, and when I restarted the computer, I noticed that it had lost its date settings. I removed the main battery and disconnected the AC to do the installation.
After checking to see if everything was cool with the new RAM, I booted into OS 9.2 (preferring to do an improper shutdown on an operating system that is not my primary one), put the laptop to sleep, and removed the main battery as one would do in a battery swap situation.
The computer immediately lost all power (sleep light stopped blinking) and had to be restarted.
I know the PRAM battery was good when I first bought the computer about a year and a half ago because it had a completely dead main battery and would hold date and time settings for 5-6 hours when I had it disconnected from the AC adapter.
Could resetting the Power Manager help this situation, or does it sound like the PRAM battery is no longer holding a charge and should be replaced?
The PRAM battery may have been discharged enough to not keep the PB going especially with additional RAM. It can take as much as 48 hours to fully recharge the PRAM battery. Also, on some PB models, the PRAM battery is not large enough to keep the PB going in sleep if you have close to the maximum amount of RAM installed. I don't recall if the Wallstreet is one of these though. I would recommend a PMU reset and putting the PB on recharge for a couple of days to recharge the PRAM and main batteries. Then see if the PB can maintain its time while off with the main battery out for a bit. If it can the PRAM battery is probably okay. You may or may not be able to sleep swap your battery with the increased RAM, even with a new PRAM battery.
Joe Heimann
On 31/10/03 5:00 am, in article 3fa1ec7d@redacted.invalid, "Joe Heimann" heimann@redacted.invalid wrote:
David Anderson davida@redacted.invalid wrote:
I was recently installing more RAM in my Wallstreet's lower slot, and when I restarted the computer, I noticed that it had lost its date settings. I removed the main battery and disconnected the AC to do the installation.
After checking to see if everything was cool with the new RAM, I booted into OS 9.2 (preferring to do an improper shutdown on an operating system that is not my primary one), put the laptop to sleep, and removed the main battery as one would do in a battery swap situation.
The computer immediately lost all power (sleep light stopped blinking) and had to be restarted.
I know the PRAM battery was good when I first bought the computer about a year and a half ago because it had a completely dead main battery and would hold date and time settings for 5-6 hours when I had it disconnected from the AC adapter.
Could resetting the Power Manager help this situation, or does it sound like the PRAM battery is no longer holding a charge and should be replaced?
The PRAM battery may have been discharged enough to not keep the PB going especially with additional RAM. It can take as much as 48 hours to fully recharge the PRAM battery. Also, on some PB models, the PRAM battery is not large enough to keep the PB going in sleep if you have close to the maximum amount of RAM installed. I don't recall if the Wallstreet is one of these though. I would recommend a PMU reset and putting the PB on recharge for a couple of days to recharge the PRAM and main batteries. Then see if the PB can maintain its time while off with the main battery out for a bit. If it can the PRAM battery is probably okay. You may or may not be able to sleep swap your battery with the increased RAM, even with a new PRAM battery.
Joe Heimann
When this happened to me it took the Apple power reset utility then 48 hours of continuous charging to get the batteries back up to charge.
Hi,
Do PowerBook G3 Wallstreets have PRAM batteries? I have a used one which works great and is in excellent condition. Except when in battery operation it shuts off instantly (with no warning) after about 1 minute. I have tried all the tricks of zapping the PRAM and resetting the PMU but nothing changes. If I unplug the AC and let the PB sit for a day most often it retains the date/time, but sometimes it is set back to 1904.
I have googled for PB G3 PRAM batteries and can't find anything. Do they exist? Should I buy a new Lion Battery?
Thanks, Doug
<< Do PowerBook G3 Wallstreets have PRAM batteries? I have a used one which works great and is in excellent condition. Except when in battery operation it shuts off instantly (with no warning) after about 1 minute >>
Doug-
I understand they do have an internal battery, but it isn't quite the same as the PRAM battery in your desktop. I was told that it was a rechargeable battery that served to keep memory contents alive for a few minutes while you changed the main battery. If you can leave the battery out for an hour or so without losing the date/time, then it is most likely still good.
One thing to try is the Apple Battery Reset program. That may be all you need. You run the reset program with power applied and battery inserted. Then you release the battery and re-insert it to start the recharge cycle.
A problem I had is that the power monitor circuit went bad. I bought a new battery which developed the same problem after a couple of days. When the power monitor circuit was replaced, I found that both batteries were good. With the bad power monitor circuit, resetting didn't make any difference.
Of course the Wallstreet PB G3 is getting old enough for the battery to wear out. I've recently noticed that the original battery isn't holding its charge quite as long as the newer one after being stored for several weeks.
Fred
Fred McKenzie wrote:
<< Do PowerBook G3 Wallstreets have PRAM batteries? I have a used one which works great and is in excellent condition. Except when in battery operation it shuts off instantly (with no warning) after about 1 minute >>
Doug-
I understand they do have an internal battery, but it isn't quite the same as the PRAM battery in your desktop. I was told that it was a rechargeable battery that served to keep memory contents alive for a few minutes while you changed the main battery. If you can leave the battery out for an hour or so without losing the date/time, then it is most likely still good.
One thing to try is the Apple Battery Reset program. That may be all you need. You run the reset program with power applied and battery inserted. Then you release the battery and re-insert it to start the recharge cycle.
A problem I had is that the power monitor circuit went bad. I bought a new battery which developed the same problem after a couple of days. When the power monitor circuit was replaced, I found that both batteries were good. With the bad power monitor circuit, resetting didn't make any difference.
Of course the Wallstreet PB G3 is getting old enough for the battery to wear out. I've recently noticed that the original battery isn't holding its charge quite as long as the newer one after being stored for several weeks.
Fred
Thanks Fred. I've run Battery Reset and am re-charging now. Hopefully that will do the trick!
In article NS9uc.50262$Np3.2175159@redacted.invalid, Doug McComber some@redacted.invalid wrote:
Hi,
Do PowerBook G3 Wallstreets have PRAM batteries?
Yes, it does. One way to test if your PRAM battery is working is to unplug the machine and put it to sleep. Now remove the battery (or batteries). It green LED light should continue blinking for a minute or so (don't remember the specs). When you put the battery (or batteries) back in. You should be able to wake the machine up from sleep. I.e., the machine should not have shut down even though it isn't connected to the AC or batteries. It should be able to sleep with just the PRAM battery for a short while. The purpose of this feature is to allow you to swap batteries without shutting the machine down.
If you need a replacement try (never used these guys):
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/customer/home.php?cat=265 http://www.powerbookguy.com/wallstreet.html#serviceparts http://www.wegenermedia.com/wllstp.htm#
or search for "Wallstreet PRAM" on eBay. Take apart instructions are here:
http://homepage.mac.com/sysop/PhotoAlbum3.html
Good luck.
-R.
Richard Chang wrote:
In article NS9uc.50262$Np3.2175159@redacted.invalid, Doug McComber some@redacted.invalid wrote:
Hi,
Do PowerBook G3 Wallstreets have PRAM batteries?
Yes, it does. One way to test if your PRAM battery is working is to unplug the machine and put it to sleep. Now remove the battery (or batteries). It green LED light should continue blinking for a minute or so (don't remember the specs). When you put the battery (or batteries) back in. You should be able to wake the machine up from sleep. I.e., the machine should not have shut down even though it isn't connected to the AC or batteries. It should be able to sleep with just the PRAM battery for a short while. The purpose of this feature is to allow you to swap batteries without shutting the machine down.
If you need a replacement try (never used these guys):
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/customer/home.php?cat=265 http://www.powerbookguy.com/wallstreet.html#serviceparts http://www.wegenermedia.com/wllstp.htm#
or search for "Wallstreet PRAM" on eBay. Take apart instructions are here:
http://homepage.mac.com/sysop/PhotoAlbum3.html
Good luck.
-R. Thanks for the info. The battery reset didn't solve the problem (although I'm sure it helped the battery) so I'll try and find a new PRAM battery.