Five Pounds of Flax

Every culture has a burrito.

17" powerbook issues - timing is everything

Tuesday, April 18, 2006posted by Michael Rothwell @ 8:30 PM

I have a 1st generation 17" G4 Powerbook that has developed two issues.

Problem one:
There seems to be a loose connection somewhere that prevents proper charging of the battery. It's currently reporting that a full charge will be achieved in 1014 hours, which seems a little long. Moving the powerbook around results in the green/orange ring around the power connector plug flickering between orange and green, as if the connection is being made and then broken. Pressing the button on the battery causes the lowest LED indicator to flicker. Sometimes, I can get a full charge and use the powerbook away from the AC, but not always -- not even more than half the time.

Problem two:
The "d" key occasionally "sticks", although not physically, and produces multiple "d"s when typing. The apple support guy on the phone tonight suggested this might be "a software problem". He said the battery funkiness might be as well.

According to Apple, my Applecare support expired a month ago. Doh! I thought waiting until the 11th months would result in an extended warranty, but I was wrong. I probably just didn't read something carefully enough.

If you have any suggestions about how to fix these issues, email me or post in the comments.