What spawned my discussion about being surrounded by Macs in my day-to-day environment on campus was a friend of mine in my Compiler class (ECE466 for Statefolk). He had a 12" Powerbook and seeing him switch made me wonder exactly how prevalent these things had become.
Today he finds himself in a bit of a pickle, or more like a jar of pickles with a broken 12" Powerbook. His Powerbook will randomly shut off and not turn back on. A call to Apple results in little more than the following two options:
1) Reset your power management settings, or
2) Reinstall your OS
Now he tried the first option, and being that he was in class at the time the second option well, wasn't really an option. His issue has hardware-problem written all over it (at least the PC diagnostic side of me thinks so, but I claim no expertise in the Mac-arts) despite what Apple says. The problem exists regardless of whether or not the Powerbook is plugged in, so it's not a battery issue.
Any thoughts?
What I've noticed from reading the Apple support messageboards is that Apple's hardware is not flawless as some like to think. It seems to either work perfectly (and I mean perfectly), or have some extremely obscure problem (usually with an even more obscure fix). I'm just hoping I have none of the horrible problems I've read about the G5s; I have this bad habit of tempting fate, maybe I should quit while I'm ahead :)
I still keep my stance on Apple's Powerbooks: they are too bulky for my tastes. Make a thin-and-light notebook and I'll be a mobile convert, but sticking a 90nm PPC 970FX processor in a laptop is not the solution. Intel had the right mentality with Pentium M, a mobile processor has to be designed from the ground up to be a mobile processor - it cannot simply be a underclocked desktop part that can go to sleep every now and then. Until other companies decide to dedicate the resources necessary to implement a similar approach Intel will retain their tight grip on the mobile market. Apple isn't in the business of microprocessor design so I'm not faulting them, but there are others out there who are: they're at fault :) (I know it's not easy to design a chip, much less a good one so I will entertain and accept "easier said than done" responses to my comments). Oh and the same "designed to be a mobile chip first" applies to mobile GPUs as well; mobile gaming will not be a reality unless a similar approach is entertained.
It's bedtime for me, goodnight all :)
Today he finds himself in a bit of a pickle, or more like a jar of pickles with a broken 12" Powerbook. His Powerbook will randomly shut off and not turn back on. A call to Apple results in little more than the following two options:
1) Reset your power management settings, or
2) Reinstall your OS
Now he tried the first option, and being that he was in class at the time the second option well, wasn't really an option. His issue has hardware-problem written all over it (at least the PC diagnostic side of me thinks so, but I claim no expertise in the Mac-arts) despite what Apple says. The problem exists regardless of whether or not the Powerbook is plugged in, so it's not a battery issue.
Any thoughts?
What I've noticed from reading the Apple support messageboards is that Apple's hardware is not flawless as some like to think. It seems to either work perfectly (and I mean perfectly), or have some extremely obscure problem (usually with an even more obscure fix). I'm just hoping I have none of the horrible problems I've read about the G5s; I have this bad habit of tempting fate, maybe I should quit while I'm ahead :)
I still keep my stance on Apple's Powerbooks: they are too bulky for my tastes. Make a thin-and-light notebook and I'll be a mobile convert, but sticking a 90nm PPC 970FX processor in a laptop is not the solution. Intel had the right mentality with Pentium M, a mobile processor has to be designed from the ground up to be a mobile processor - it cannot simply be a underclocked desktop part that can go to sleep every now and then. Until other companies decide to dedicate the resources necessary to implement a similar approach Intel will retain their tight grip on the mobile market. Apple isn't in the business of microprocessor design so I'm not faulting them, but there are others out there who are: they're at fault :) (I know it's not easy to design a chip, much less a good one so I will entertain and accept "easier said than done" responses to my comments). Oh and the same "designed to be a mobile chip first" applies to mobile GPUs as well; mobile gaming will not be a reality unless a similar approach is entertained.
It's bedtime for me, goodnight all :)
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Louis - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
" Is there any way to reinstall the OS without foobarring my home directory"You might want to back up your home directory *anyway* because if you send it back, you'll probably come back with a blank disk!
Right click on your home directory and use the "archive" option, it'll make a zip! Or open /Applications/Utility/Disk Utility and use it to 'create a new archive from folder' and point it to your home folder. That will create a DMG file you can then burn to disk or offload to another machine, like say Anand's!
Scott - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Anand,Maybe an iBook is in your future:
http://www.macosrumors.com/32504E.html
Anonymous - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Give your PowerBook a ride on a pony to see if it cheers up.ViRGE - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Like #22 said, do an archive&install, and then have it keep the user and network preferences(a radio button that's part of the archive&install section of the installion prefs).Anonymous - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Is he covered under AppleCare? He should be able to get it fixed no problem - either by sending it in or bringing it to an authorized Apple technician. The hard disk in my iBook went bad. At the time I wasn't sure if the problem was my hard disk or a fan gone bad (I just heard a noise). I called up Apple and they immediately gave me 5 addresses of local Apple dealers I could bring it to, to get it fixed under warranty. However, this iBook was covered under AppleCare. When an Apple is covered under AppleCare, it seems to be taken care of really well by the company. However, I've seen out-of-warranty folks without AppleCare get a run around from them. Is this the case with your friend? If so, I'd have it sent into an authorized Apple technician after exhausting the only realistic self-help options of resetting the PMU and ensuring a recent OS update didn't cause the problem.NCSUStudent - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
You could try sending an email to the PackMUG list, or email Arman (his address should be on packmug.ncsu.edu ) for some more suggestions...ANd, you can reinstall OS X without borking your home by doing an archive install (your home dir and OS X install is moved to another folder, so you will have to copy everything back after the install)... an Upgrade Install might do it too, without the need for copying everything back, but i'm not sure... i've never had to reinstall OS X :-)
TMoney - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
It's also possible that the fan is broken, which if none of this helps, is probably what is wrong.Terry - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Reinstalling the OS does NOT sound like a solution that will fix anything. It sounds like something a phone monkey would say to get you off the phone. Download the utility Cocktail and run it to clear caches and fix permissions. Run Apples hardware diagnostic CD that came with the Powerbook. Reset the NVRAM and PRAM to reset the hardware settings.Resetting the NVRAM and PRAM is very simple.
1. Restart your Mac holding down the Command, Option, O, and F keys. Wait a few seconds and then you will enter Open Firmware mode.
2. Type: reset-nvram
3. Press Return key (will return to you to the prompt, your nvram settings are now factory default)
4. Then type: reset-all
5. Press Return key (will reset your logic board and PRAM settings)
If your Mac instantly restarts, it means the process was successful.
TMoney - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Sounds to me like the heat sensor isn't working properly, which I doubt a reinstall will help with. Have you tried resetting the nv-ram? To do this, restart the computer and hold the comand(apple) - option - o - f keys down. This will drop you into the open firmware.Type: reset-nvram and hit return
The type: reset-all
the computer should then restart and see if that solves things.
As for reinstalling without fubaring your home directory, there's an option in the installer called install in place or something like that (read the descriptions) it will put all your old system info in a folder on your HDD and do a clean install with your home folder preserved.
Anonymous - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Have you tried Dragster?http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9802
Sometimes on my G4 Quicksilver I lose Sound. The Sound preference fails to recognize the built-in audio controller. After running Dragster everything comes back to normal. It may do a similar magic on the heat sensor problem you are experiencing. Dragster can remove some hidden preference files at the 'home' and 'global' level.
Good luck with getting your Powerbook fixed.