Ti Powerbook G4 just randomly goes to sleep while using it...

wlauwlau
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi,



Has anyone else experienced this problem? I own a Titanium Powerbook G4 (1GHz) and for the last few weeks, the machine has just randomly gone to sleep on me while I've been using it. In a span of 2 hours on the machine, it may go to sleep 2-5 times. I just wake it again and continue using each time...



Sometimes it's while I'm just surfing the net with the mouse, other times, I'm using the keyboard but it just seems to completely random and not something I trigger through keyboard\\mouse.



Any suggestions? Thank you for reading.



Wayne

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    Not sure what causing the sudden sleep, but:



    Live near an Apple repair specialist? If so, go get it looked at.



    Apple support boards are an also good place to for answers.



    Oh yeah...back up often.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    drumsticksdrumsticks Posts: 315member
    I had this problem with my 550MHz TiBook. Turns out that the problem was a loose screw on the inside. The trigger was initially unpredictable like yours. But after a while, I found a spot on the case that would always trigger a sleep when pressed. And this spot was not a button or anything, it was just some position on the case.



    When this spot was pressed, it must make/break a contact somewhere and this causes the protection circuitry to kick in and put the machine to sleep.



    Try turning on the computer and see if you can find a spot that does this. Crack open the case and tighten all the screws you see. Works wonders for me...



    Strange, but it worked for me!
  • Reply 3 of 5
    wlauwlau Posts: 5member
    Hey,



    Thanks for the replies so far. Appreciate it.



    I should clarify the scenario a bit more with regards to the above reply.



    I use an external keyboard\\mouse (corded usb apple keyboard and a logitech mx1000 mouse). I have my TiBook plugged into a 20" Apple Cinema display. So I never actually interact with my powerbook physically other than through the external keyboard\\mouse.



    Could the battery be an issue? Maybe I should try removing the battery and see how that goes. I have it plugged in like a desktop 24/7. I checked to see if there were keyboard shortcuts bound to sleep perhaps in the OS but I don't recall ever doing so or installing any app (recently) that could cause such a change.



    Thanks again for reading.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    crookedspooncrookedspoon Posts: 19member
    I just had the same problem with my Aluminum PowerBook. Turned out to be a faulty heat-sensor near the trackpad. This heat-sensor would report unrealistic temperatures (ranging from -200 C to +200 C). Each sensor has a 'max value' above which the computer automatically goes to sleep to prevent overheating the unit. You can check versiontracker for some (free) tools that give readouts of the heat-sensors. If anything out-of-spec is showing there, all you can do is return the computer to have the faulty sensor replaced. In my case, replacing the heat-sensor next to the trackpad, means the whole top case needs to be replaced. Count on coughing up serious $$$.

    Hope this helps,
  • Reply 5 of 5
    mymacpbmymacpb Posts: 1member
    hi,

    have the same problem and just dowloaded the heatsensor programm -thanks to your advice- and found out that its registereing 206°C on the trackpad temperature :-((((!

    Is there anyway to disable this sensor? or any other way to avoid an expensive repair by apple itself?

    thanks.
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