Powe Book G3

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Powe Book G3

I have a PowerBook G3, it will not startup??? I have tryed= ctrl openapple power botton and the reset botton with the battery out and just the power pluged in. Still no startup?? Dose anyone have an answer. Thank-You Steve

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What happens when on?

Does the machine power on, as in, hard drive spinning, power light lighting fans spinning? Does it make startup bong? A little more information.

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No Power

No! None of these things happen, and yet just an hour before everything seem to be working just fine >>> Steve

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Which PowerBook G3 is this?

Kanga: rainbow Apple logos; 50-pin SCSI, 8-pin serial & 4-pin ADB ports; no USB or FireWire
Wallstreet or Mainstreet: white Apple logos; SCSI, serial & ADB ports; no USB or FireWire
Lombard: white Apple logos; SCSI and USB ports; no serial, ADB or FireWire
Pismo: white Apple logos; USB and FireWire ports; no serial, ADB or SCSI

Knowing precisely which model we're talking about will help us to offer more accurate and helpful suggestions.

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No Power

PISMO 500mhz w/768 of memory

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Try the Reset button on the b

Try the Reset button on the back panel near the VGA port. It should be an indented black button that you'd use a paper clip or ball-point pen to press (so it doesn't get pressed accidentally). This will reset the CUDA, which will in turn reset the PRAM and PMU.

If this is a consistent problem, you may want to replace the PRAM battery, located inside the expansion bay, near the hard drive. It should be fairly simple to remove and replace the battery without disassembling much more than the keyboard.

The difficult part is going to be finding a reliable replacement. I recommend Interstate Battery. There are locally-run stores here in the Midwest -- they're based here in my home town of Des Moines. Take the original into the store and tell them it's the clock battery for a PowerBook G3. Hopefully you'll find someone who's worked there a while and can find or build the replacement.

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Bad PRAM battery

If it's a lombard or a pismo - there's an easy fix that will resolve the issue 90% of the time. Pop out the drive in the bay on the right hand side. Lift up the keyboard with the two pulls (they'll be in with the function keys). Once you do that, you should see what appears to be a battery pack with a wire that connects to the main board of the computer. Unplug this wire from the main board. Plug the computer in, put the drive back in, reseat the keyboard - and try to turn it on. Chances are good that it'll come right back to life.

This fix has brought back countless lombards, pismos, and tibooks. (often they've been given to me as "completely dead", I try this and got a good machine for nothing).

Any good Apple reseller or service provider worth their salt should be able to get you the battery for under $20. (anyone but an Apple store)

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No Power

I guess you did not read my first comment, I said that I had press the reset botton >>>Steve

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re: Bad PRAM battery

Heh, chances are the PRAM battery is still good even, it's just run down and needs to be charged.

Pull the connector as iantm suggests, then once the 'Book has started up, plug the PRAM battery back in and let the machine sit charging for a couple of days.

Just like iantm, I love dead Lombards, Pismos and first-gen TiBooks. Free and nearly free, nearly all have started right up once the PRAM batt is unplugged.

dan k

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