Wallstreet flakiness

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Wallstreet flakiness

I've just inherited a Wallstreet Powerbook (233mhz/14.1"/192mb/4gb). Its been sitting around unused and disconnected from power for 6 months or so. I got it home and used it for a few days, installing software and suchlike, then this morning it refused to boot. I'd get a startup ding, then it would just sit there doing nothing indefinately - the discs wouldn't spin up, the display wouldn't come on. The CPU does seem to get quite warm though. I've done all the usual things - resetting the PMU, leaving it plugged in to charge the PRAM battery, disconnecting the PRAM battery, I've swapped RAM out with other machines, reseated the CPU board etc etc etc. The problem first showed up when it froze halfway through installing the OS 9.2.2 update. Very occasionally it will boot and work fine, but next reboot, its back to its old tricks. I can't see any reason for when it works and when it doesnt.

Any ideas?

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the install might be corrupt

the install might be corrupt if it froze. mine did that when reinstalling to fix a corrupt aplpication, but mine couldnt find the system without it fully updated. try to at least force it to boot enough to reinstall, or at least find some way to force the os onto the hard drive (where scsi disc or putting the drive in another computer). maybe a critical part of the system failed to install.

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the install might be corrupt

the install might be corrupt if it froze. mine did that when reinstalling to fix a corrupt aplpication, but mine couldnt find the system without it fully updated. try to at least force it to boot enough to reinstall, or at least find some way to force the os onto the hard drive (where scsi disc or putting the drive in another computer). maybe a critical part of the system failed to install.

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Still no joy. The symptoms ar

Still no joy. The symptoms aren't quite the same as the "Wallstreet not booting" thread but similar - when I plug in the power cord, I get the sleep light and fan as per usual. One extra thing I've noticed is that nothing seems to be getting power - the screen backlight stays off, and the CD drive will not eject on the button. It also exhibits strange behaviour on the battery (it is near new and is definitely working) - if AC is removed while the computer is frozen, it'll still show signs of life (capslock light, CPU heat etc) but if I try to start up the computer with no AC, I get nothing despite the battery being fully charged.

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The powerboard might be dead.

The powerboard might be dead. Had nearly the same thing happen to mine, after taking it apart and reseating everything it worked fine.

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computer not booting is proba

computer not booting is probalbly symptoms of dead pram battery despite other issues. mine refuses to boot off the battery because its pram is dead.

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I've tried stripping it down

I've tried stripping it down and rebuilding it with the PRAM battery disconnected, with not success

Jon
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PRAM disconnected would just

PRAM disconnected would just about equate a dead one... ISTR ax0n got his Wallstreet going by installing a new PRAM battery. It's been a while since he did it, but I think that was the most major issue with getting it going.

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the other wallstreet issue th

the other wallstreet issue thread is discussing a custom built battery which i'm very interested in. for the sake of not having to disassemble my computer again, i'm relocating my new battery to under the hard drive so i don't have to deal with this issue and disassembling the comptuer again.

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take it from me...

the symptom you described, about the LED and fan staying on, is the symptom of a corrupt PMU (Power Management Unit).

Resetting the PMU can fix the problem. Holding down the 3-kets-plus-power for an extended period will often reset it. This should be done with no main battery and no mains power attached. However I have seen cantankerous PMU boards that needed one or the other plugged in while resetting to work.

Unplugging the internal PRAM battery for a few hours will also reset it. Then you reassemble the PB, let it charge overnight and try again the next morning. The manual says up to 48hrs to fully charge the PRAM battery.

Yes, the PRAM battery might have finally gone, but don't forget the final possibility: bad hardware. The PMU board may have fried, and also there is an orange ribbon cable that plugs in to it that may have a deteriorated rail or two-- in both cases that means finding a spare part and replacing it.

But I hope it's just a crashed PMU board, because that costs $0 to fix!

PS, you *are* doing these tests with the main battery either removed or fully charged aren't you?

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I've just plugged the WallStr

I've just plugged the WallStreet in to try recharging the PRAM battery (I left it disconnected overnight) and have noticed that the area above the PMU board (just below the keyboard, on the right hand side) is getting very warm, while the PRAM battery, which I would expect to warm up when charging, isn't getting warm. Is this normal?

I'm fairly familiar with PC hardware but have only recently 'seen the light' and the WallStreet is my first Apple laptop, so please excuse my ignorance and stupid questions.

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