powerbook keeps going to sleep

[Ric]

Hi there Danny,

I personally wouldn't consider that to be a fix...just a temporary measure.

By taking the sensors out of the loop...you run the risk of frying the Mac should it be something more serious than a 'dodgy' sensor.

The only real fix for this problem is to take it to an Apple Authorised repair shop and get them to take a look...

regards

Ric

 

[Ric]

p.s ric I e mailed you , is that an ok way to correspond with you for advice????

Hi Amit and welcome,

I am just playing catch up today...so I will check my email...

Unless it's of a confidential nature it's easier for me to answer questions via the forum...that way it may help someone else.

regards

Ric

 

[Danny.hajicek]

Yes, there is a risk that it could cause some damage and the problem should be diagnosed. For example, if the trackpad reads 150F and the hardrive reads 108F and your fingers aren't being burned, it could be a bad sensor. This is a work-around to save those without a warranty an expensive top-case replacement.

 

[Ric]

...for example, if the trackpad reads 150F and the hardrive reads 108F and your fingers aren't being burned, it could be a bad sensor...

LOL

Hadn't thought of that ! It would probably give the game away ! ;-)

regards

Ric

 

[Ric]

Hi

I deleted the Plist and then reset the sleep settings but my PB still goes to sleep. Any ideas please as I am desperately trying to work and this is becoming oncreasingly annoying!!!!

Thanks

Amit.

Hi Amit,

is your Mac still covered by AppleCare ?

regards

Ric

 

[iryskel]

Hello,

Just wanted to say that when I was having the sleep issues, along with deleting the plist i also reset the pram (commad+option+p+r). I do not know if that helped and why it did if it did..

Although the people at the Apple Shop said they would have to test the different components of my mac to see what was wrong with it, another Apple Shop staff did let slip that if it was the common problem that was being talked about on the internet then the problem was likely to be the logic board.

 

[iryskel]

Hello all,

I got my powerbook back from the apple shop today. They said they had to replace the topcase as there was a faulty switch in/below it that was causing the sleep problems. I've had it on for a few hours and it hasn't gone to sleep yet.

 

[Amit Ummat]

Hi Guys

I think I may have solved th eproblem. Waht I did was remove the AppleLM7x.kext,
IOI2CLM7x.kext, Extensions.mkext, Extensions.kextcache from the extensions folder. I did keep a copy of all these files though in a sepearte folder.

Then I reset the nram and I have not had any problems all day!!

Cheers a very Happy Amit

Ps Ric I do not have registered Apple care, is this something I should get ?????

How much does it cost???

Thanks

 

[Ric]

Hello all,

I got my powerbook back from the apple shop today. They said they had to replace the topcase as there was a faulty switch in/below it that was causing the sleep problems. I've had it on for a few hours and it hasn't gone to sleep yet.

Hi there,

glad you got it fixed ! (touch wood !)

Did you ask them how long the repair is covered for ? Did you extend AppleCare ?

regards

Ric

 

[iryskel]

Hi Ric,

I did not think to ask how long the repairs would be covered for, but I will ask them today when I go to send in my battery for testing.

I have 2 years extended apple care, that's sufficient right? Is it possible to buy apple care for a longer period of time than that?

 

[Ric]

Hi there,

If you have extended it for two years that's fine, you will probably be able to renew it again at the end of that period if you want/need to ! The chances are you may upgrade renew you Mac at the end of that anyway...

The repair will be covered 'within' Applecare so that's fine.

You'll have to give us updates on how long your Mac stay's awake for...

regards

Ric

 

[iryskel]

Hello

That's good to know, because I forgot to ask them that when I was there to send my battery in for testing.

After I had the topcase replaced, I came home and powered up my computer at about 7pm and then left it on all night - I figured that if it would go to sleep, then at least I could send it in for further tests and have the problem solved once and for all. I checked my computer this morning at 9 am, and it was still on! It had not lapsed into sleep!

I remember you guys talking about diagnostic tests that the apple people run and wanted to let you know that the one they used for this is called ASD.

Also, powerbooks with this problem seem to have two possible solutions - replacement of logic board and/or replacement of the topcase. From what I gather, the logic board problem is more common, at least in this region.

Hope all this information is helpful.

 

[Ric]

Thanks for the Info,

so you got a shiney new Keyboard then ! ;-)

regards

Ric

 

[iryskel]

haha... yes, an added bonus

-iryskel

 

[cerebral.flatulation]

Hi guys,

I followed the directions Danny posted a page or two ago, and the narcolepsy is greatly reduced - but not gone. After the "processor/controller bottomside" hits ~134F it will still randomly sleep occasionally. Not every 5 seconds like it used to, but just from time to time.

When it starts (sleeping) now I just shut down and do the "reset-nvram" and "reset-all" commands on the startup and it doesn't usually sleep again till I hit high temperatures again...

Is there anything else I can do? My Applecare is expired (a few months ago). The biggest problem (which I guess isn't the end of the world...) is that I can't play Warcraft 3 or World of Warcraft with this problem, because they're both graphic intensive and consistently keep the processor temp around 140F. I can obviously wordprocess and work on the internet and keep it in the 100-125F range without any problems. Should I abandon hope of using this as a gaming machine?

 

[Ric]

Hi there and welcome !

Yours sounds like it may be a different problem..of actual overheating and not a sensor malfunction !

If it works in 'normal' usage then I would look at getting one of those cooling fan stand things...if you know what I mean ?

Then stand you Powerbook on that and see if it allows you to play WOW !

regards

Ric

 

[cerebral.flatulation]

Ric,

I'm not sure what you mean about the cooling fan stand - do you have a link of one I could take a look at?

About sleeping, today was a bad day. I don't have a sensor for the trackpad, but the processor was only around 110F today when it started sleeping every 10 seconds. After about an hour of fighting with it and restarting and even putting a cold-pack from my freezer on the back for 10 minutes while it was off, I gave up for the afternoon.

This is the worst it's been since I've tried Danny's solution. For the first few days I don't think it ever went into sleep mode without me telling it to.

Tonight it seems more calm... But I'm not sure it's *just* an overheating thing. Are more sensors than the trackpad likely to be malfunctioning?

How exactly does this sleeping thing work? Is it a malfunctioning emergency sleep function? I'm trying to understand what's causing it so I can prevent/stop it, but sometimes it doesn't make any sense why it would go to sleep (like today).

For the record, I wasn't playing any games today. Mostly word processing and emailing. Nothing graphic or (I think) even processor intensive. Kinda confusing.

Anyway, thanks for your help Ric. This forum is great.

PS. I'm curious, because I don't know anyone personally with a PowerBook G4, but what's a "safe" or "normal" temperature range?

 

[DavHen]

Hello I have been following this forum since July when my Powerbook G4 17” also began to fall asleep unexpectedly. I bought it last year in august and was afraid my warranty would run out so I brought it into school where I bought it and they went along with replacing the logic board. I don’t have it back yet but was worried that I might have a lemon myself so I bought the applecare service. Ideally I would like to have my powerbook replaced and am happy to see a few people have been fortunate enough. After having to replace parts 3 times or so. I have a feeling that I will have to be repairing it a lot which is a pain because I am going back to school and I really can’t live without my laptop.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=75004

 

[DavHen]

Here is a nice looking Antec notebook cooler. http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=75004

 

[Ric]

Hi there DavHen and welcome !

It sounds like there are few PowerBook's that are in need of some new parts !

Fortunately, mine has shown no signs, yet !

There are coolers similar to the one that you have linked to (thanks) and ones without fans that just raise the PowerBook so that air can circulate better.

regards

Ric