iBook G4 freezing problem
Hi, all -
This is my first post here, so thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
I own one of the last revision G4 iBooks ? purchased in February '06. 12 inch, 1.33 Mhz. It's a build-to-order model; I upgraded the HD to 80 GB and the RAM to 1 GB.
A couple of months ago I began having a recurring issue where the computer will totally lock up during use. It won't respond to keystrokes, all graphics freeze, and I can't even move the mouse cursor. The first couple of times this happened I had to turn the computer off with the power button and reboot.
After a while, I realized the computer would respond to pressure on the front-right side of the top, next to the trackpad. Pressing firmly here will unlock the computer, though usually for only a second or two before it freezes up entirely again. It also tends to respond when tilted slightly to the left.
The same issue will occur while the computer is starting up, before booting into the OS. The chime will sound and the grey Apple logo screen appears, but the spinning circle won't appear. When I press or tilt it, it will respond and begin to boot up; then the spinning circle will appear, but freeze. Same thing. Responds to pressure.
Every once in a while, after the freeze, the computer will shut itself off entirely (screen goes black, not sleeping, pressing power button causes chime and boot-up).
Also, recently, the computer took an especially long time to boot up, and the Apple logo turned into a circle with a slash through it. I let it rest and restarted and it's back to normal, albeit with the same old freezes.
This problem comes and goes, which is why I've waited out the semester to get it fixed. Sometimes it goes days without locking up, sometimes it's nearly impossible to use. It seems to work through bad spells and then be okay, and the problem does seem to be triggered by transporting the computer elsewhere.
Is this a faulty hard drive? That seems to be the closest thing to a consensus from the few knowledgable friends I've talked to, but it has passed the SMART status test (not that that's necessarily meaningful), and it seems odd to me that the hard drive would cause even the mouse to stop responding. I've tried zapping PRAM and even done a reformat and clean install on the hard drive, to no avail.
I plan on taking this into the Apple store next week but I wanted to get some sense of what I might be dealing with first. I haven't found anyone in my internet searches that seems to be having this exact problem.
Thanks!
This is my first post here, so thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
I own one of the last revision G4 iBooks ? purchased in February '06. 12 inch, 1.33 Mhz. It's a build-to-order model; I upgraded the HD to 80 GB and the RAM to 1 GB.
A couple of months ago I began having a recurring issue where the computer will totally lock up during use. It won't respond to keystrokes, all graphics freeze, and I can't even move the mouse cursor. The first couple of times this happened I had to turn the computer off with the power button and reboot.
After a while, I realized the computer would respond to pressure on the front-right side of the top, next to the trackpad. Pressing firmly here will unlock the computer, though usually for only a second or two before it freezes up entirely again. It also tends to respond when tilted slightly to the left.
The same issue will occur while the computer is starting up, before booting into the OS. The chime will sound and the grey Apple logo screen appears, but the spinning circle won't appear. When I press or tilt it, it will respond and begin to boot up; then the spinning circle will appear, but freeze. Same thing. Responds to pressure.
Every once in a while, after the freeze, the computer will shut itself off entirely (screen goes black, not sleeping, pressing power button causes chime and boot-up).
Also, recently, the computer took an especially long time to boot up, and the Apple logo turned into a circle with a slash through it. I let it rest and restarted and it's back to normal, albeit with the same old freezes.
This problem comes and goes, which is why I've waited out the semester to get it fixed. Sometimes it goes days without locking up, sometimes it's nearly impossible to use. It seems to work through bad spells and then be okay, and the problem does seem to be triggered by transporting the computer elsewhere.
Is this a faulty hard drive? That seems to be the closest thing to a consensus from the few knowledgable friends I've talked to, but it has passed the SMART status test (not that that's necessarily meaningful), and it seems odd to me that the hard drive would cause even the mouse to stop responding. I've tried zapping PRAM and even done a reformat and clean install on the hard drive, to no avail.
I plan on taking this into the Apple store next week but I wanted to get some sense of what I might be dealing with first. I haven't found anyone in my internet searches that seems to be having this exact problem.
Thanks!
Comments
A friend's ibook recently had to have the logic board replaced for similar behavior to yours. Seems like maybe it could be any of the three. Taking it in is your best bet, I'd say.
Welcome to the forum. Sorry this is your first post.
Hi, all -
This is my first post here, so thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
I own one of the last revision G4 iBooks ? purchased in February '06. 12 inch, 1.33 Mhz. It's a build-to-order model; I upgraded the HD to 80 GB and the RAM to 1 GB.
A couple of months ago I began having a recurring issue where the computer will totally lock up during use. It won't respond to keystrokes, all graphics freeze, and I can't even move the mouse cursor. The first couple of times this happened I had to turn the computer off with the power button and reboot.
After a while, I realized the computer would respond to pressure on the front-right side of the top, next to the trackpad. Pressing firmly here will unlock the computer, though usually for only a second or two before it freezes up entirely again. It also tends to respond when tilted slightly to the left.
The same issue will occur while the computer is starting up, before booting into the OS. The chime will sound and the grey Apple logo screen appears, but the spinning circle won't appear. When I press or tilt it, it will respond and begin to boot up; then the spinning circle will appear, but freeze. Same thing. Responds to pressure.
Every once in a while, after the freeze, the computer will shut itself off entirely (screen goes black, not sleeping, pressing power button causes chime and boot-up).
Also, recently, the computer took an especially long time to boot up, and the Apple logo turned into a circle with a slash through it. I let it rest and restarted and it's back to normal, albeit with the same old freezes.
This problem comes and goes, which is why I've waited out the semester to get it fixed. Sometimes it goes days without locking up, sometimes it's nearly impossible to use. It seems to work through bad spells and then be okay, and the problem does seem to be triggered by transporting the computer elsewhere.
Is this a faulty hard drive? That seems to be the closest thing to a consensus from the few knowledgable friends I've talked to, but it has passed the SMART status test (not that that's necessarily meaningful), and it seems odd to me that the hard drive would cause even the mouse to stop responding. I've tried zapping PRAM and even done a reformat and clean install on the hard drive, to no avail.
I plan on taking this into the Apple store next week but I wanted to get some sense of what I might be dealing with first. I haven't found anyone in my internet searches that seems to be having this exact problem.
Thanks!
k where you are decribing the problem is right where the reed switch is (inbetween the battery and cd drive) the reed switch is responsable for putting the computer to sleep when you close it. if you run a metal object along the right side of the screen you should find a magnetin pull. it sounds like the wires are touching eachother. what you can do is go to ifixit.com and click on teardowns. they dont have a guide for 1.33 ibooks (except the 14 inch) but dont click that. click on the 1.24 12 inch guide and you gonna want to go as far as getting the tin sheilding of of the top (where the keyboard would be) and you should see a tiny board glued to the cd drive. now you can either remove it and fix it(if you can), buy a new one anywhere from 10 to 20$ (if you do that make sur it is one for the 12" 1.33) because they are all different, or you can leave it out but then you would have to manually sleep it. be carefull when you are removing it, these plugs are very easy to pull right off of the board. hope this helps