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cambookpro

macrumors 604
Original poster
Feb 3, 2010
7,189
3,321
United Kingdom
Hi,
My TiBook G4 mercury isn't starting up. It's been in my cupboard for a year or two, so didn't really expect it to, but if it can be fixed then it'd be great.

Unfortunately I think it's the logic board, as even with the power cable plugged in and the battery taken out, the light is amber. I think if it's amber and not green it's the DC in board which is soldered to the logic board?

Anyway, apart from that, I've tried holding the power button for 5 seconds with the battery out and holding down the small PMU reset button towards the right of all the ports under the port flap.

Obviously I'm not expecting anything, but if anyone knows how to/has any suggestions of how to fix it, I'd be grateful. Thanks!
 

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
Hi,
My TiBook G4 mercury isn't starting up. It's been in my cupboard for a year or two, so didn't really expect it to, but if it can be fixed then it'd be great.

Unfortunately I think it's the logic board, as even with the power cable plugged in and the battery taken out, the light is amber. I think if it's amber and not green it's the DC in board which is soldered to the logic board?

Anyway, apart from that, I've tried holding the power button for 5 seconds with the battery out and holding down the small PMU reset button towards the right of all the ports under the port flap.

Obviously I'm not expecting anything, but if anyone knows how to/has any suggestions of how to fix it, I'd be grateful. Thanks!

The Tibooks had a problem with power start ups and shut downs when the battery was dead, but there is also an internal battery somewhere on the logic board that will kill the system if it is dead. I remember for some reason when I upgraded from Panther to Tiger on my Mercury 400mhz Tibook, it killed off the onboard battery and I could not start it up. A hundred and fifty bucks later and the thing was good to go; I'm sure you can get a new internal battery for much less than that now. P.S. I sold that Tibook and it worked for another five years.
 

mike457

macrumors 6502
Sep 10, 2010
278
0
Ontario
OWC has the internal battery for $26. I have one on order. I recently bought a TiBook mercury on Ebay for $10, and I've been fixing it up as a hobby. So far, I've replaced the keyboard, the hard drive, the power supply, and added a wireless card. I've found it doesn't start dependably/recharge dependably unless I hit the PMU button, so my next step is the PRAM battery. The installation looks fairly simple.
 

cambookpro

macrumors 604
Original poster
Feb 3, 2010
7,189
3,321
United Kingdom
OK, thanks. Probably won't bother even if it's only $26, will never use it. Just wanted to see if I could get it going.

Cheers
 
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