Powerbook G4 won't power up.

My girlfriend has a 12 inch Powerbook G4. She noticed that the battery life was starting to dwindle. Tonight, she tried using it. It wouldn't power up.

The battery indicator showed one flickering power circle. The adaptor has the green circle on it, indicating the battery has a full charge. However, the computer won't charge up.

I've read the 12 inchers don't have separate PMUs. Could that prevent the machine from starting? She was using it earlier this evening, as she e-mailed me pictures from our vacation.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Reflow said:

Have you tried this article?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300552

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Yep. Zapping the PRAM doesn't do anything. The computer worked earlier in the evening. Like I said, the battery won't hold a charge at all.

She just tried that. Nothing.

We're going to Microcenter this evening to look at laptops for me. We were just going to get a replacement battery to see if that does the trick.

Quint said:

Definitely try what TEG said and also try to rotate or put slight pressure on the power plug where it enters the computer. I've seen a number of bad DC-in boards on pbg4s lately. Also, with the battery attached, try putting pressure on the plug (more often than not gently pushing up on it works) until the led band changes from green to amber. This is a good indicator that the DC-in board is bad.

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My last post was in response to TEG's post.

Would the battery being totally run down make the computer not work? She's had the laptop for 3 years without buying a new battery.

Quint said:

Definitely try what TEG said and also try to rotate or put slight pressure on the power plug where it enters the computer. I've seen a number of bad DC-in boards on pbg4s lately. Also, with the battery attached, try putting pressure on the plug (more often than not gently pushing up on it works) until the led band changes from green to amber. This is a good indicator that the DC-in board is bad.

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TEG said:

Did you do the COPS reset, instead of just the PRAM reset?

TEG

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What is the COPS reset?

-OK, my girlfriend tried the COPS reset. Nothing. The light is still green on the A/C adaptor, and the computer won't power up. The last light on the battery indicator flickers.

Nichod said:

Try taking it to an apple store?

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That's where we're going tonight. I was trying to see if there was anything I missed before making the appointment.