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Battery life

Submitted by GEOS on January 16, 2008 - 7:23pm. PowerPC Macs

I've been needing a new battery for my Powerbook G4 for a while now, but I've been doing some thinking and now I'm not sure. My battery has a bizarre way of discharging. Depending on what I'm doing (and maybe the weather?) it will last as long as an hour or as short as 5 min. No joke. If I'm just surfing the web, i can get a decent life out of it sometimes, but as soon as I do something that kicks the processor into gear, its all over. If i try and watch a youtube or other online video the battery will drop to "0%" and go into sleep mode. I can be at 89% capacity, turn on a youtube video and the computer will be dead in a minute. This has me wondering. Does this sound like a battery problem, or could it be a power problem with the Powerbook itself? If its the Powerbook, I don't want to waste $70 on a battery that is no good to me. Let me know what you guys think. Its an original 867MHz Powerbook G4 12.

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GEOS's picture

Wow, nobody has any ideas?

Submitted by GEOS on January 21, 2008 - 4:05pm.

Wow, nobody has any ideas?

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MacBook Pro 2.16 Core 2 Duo, 12" Powerbook G4 867MHz, iMac G3 600, Powermac B&W G3 450, iMac g3 400, iBook 366, B&W G3 350, Beige G3 350, Powerbook G3 233. Plus many more..

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Dr. Webster's picture

Have you zapped the PRAM and

Submitted by Dr. Webster on January 21, 2008 - 5:30pm.

Have you zapped the PRAM and reloaded the OS recently?

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Bolle's picture

maybe you should reset the PM

Submitted by Bolle on January 21, 2008 - 6:50pm.

maybe you should reset the PMU.

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dankephoto's picture

Probably a failing battery

Submitted by dankephoto on January 21, 2008 - 7:50pm.

You've almost certainly got a battery with one of more failing/failed cells. I'd start saving up for a replacement.

However, here's a couple of things to try:
With the battery installed, do a OF reset (reset nvram, reset all), that sometimes can help a battery with a confused 'brain'.

Do a PowerManager reset.

dan k

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GEOS's picture

Thanks guys, but I've already

Submitted by GEOS on January 22, 2008 - 2:08am.

Thanks guys, but I've already done PRAM, OF reset and PMU reset. Guess I'll just get a new battery. At least they're pretty cheap compared to my old clamshell.

» Oh, Hazel, look. The field! It's covered in blood

MacBook Pro 2.16 Core 2 Duo, 12" Powerbook G4 867MHz, iMac G3 600, Powermac B&W G3 450, iMac g3 400, iBook 366, B&W G3 350, Beige G3 350, Powerbook G3 233. Plus many more..

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I get this problem with one o

Submitted by I love apple on January 31, 2008 - 5:52pm.

I get this problem with one of my schools old dell laptops sometimes. It is the battery going. You do not need to throw the battery out yet. You can use that battery for the mac. (You know, like to keep it sleeping longer when you are on that plane?)

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