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Aluminum PowerBook (15-inch) Battery Update 1.0

mrwilly123 said:
Try coconutBattery. It's pretty snazztastic.
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thanks, mr. willy
i ran the cocnut app, and it says my battery is at 1997 mAh, and that the original battery capacity was 4200mAh, so mine is currently at around 45%, which is crap in my opinion.

so i ran that battery utility, and it didn't improve anything. wtf!!!:(

-dornball
 
dornball said:
how do you figure out the percentage you battery is currently, of the original 100%. mine seems like 50% of what it used to be (2 years ago), but i would love to know the actual %, if there is some sort of test.

btw, i ran the updater, and it said it didn't need to be updated. i guess it couldn't already ran itself, like others here are talking about, btu my battery doesn't seem to be lasting any longer than it did before.:(

-dornball
Click to expand...

You should recalibrate it. If you don't know how to do it, you simply charge your battery to 100% and then use it until it dies (forces the powerbook into sleep mode). That should fully recalibrate it, and then see if the update made a difference.
 
dornball said:
thanks, mr. willy
i ran the cocnut app, and it says my battery is at 1997 mAh, and that the original battery capacity was 4200mAh, so mine is currently at around 45%, which is crap in my opinion.

so i ran that battery utility, and it didn't improve anything. wtf!!!:(

-dornball
Click to expand...

I doubt that the updater can physically change your battery capacity, but it can probably change how efficiently it handles what it's got.
 
D3LM3L said:
You should recalibrate it. If you don't know how to do it, you simply charge your battery to 100% and then use it until it dies (forces the powerbook into sleep mode). That should fully recalibrate it, and then see if the update made a difference.
Click to expand...
FWIW, "PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD)" have slightly different calibrating instructions:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
The battery calibration for the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) has been updated because of a new battery released with this computer. With these computers, follow these steps to calibrate your battery:

1. Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook's battery until the light ring on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
2. Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
3. Disconnect the power adapter with the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, you will see the low battery warning dialog on the screen.
4. Continue to keep your computer on until it goes to sleep. Save all your work and close all applications when the battery gets very low, before the computer goes to sleep.
5. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
6. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

Tip: When the battery reaches "empty", the computer is forced into sleep mode. The battery actually keeps back a reserve beyond "empty", to maintain the computer in sleep for a period of time. Once the battery is truly exhausted, the computer is forced to shut down. At this point, with the safe sleep function introduced in the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) computers, the computer's memory contents have been saved to the hard drive. When power is restored, the computer returns itself to its pre-sleep state using the safe sleep image on the hard drive.
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It said no update needed for me--and I have the very first 15" AlBook model.
 
I've got a 15" 1.5GHz Al PB (previous generation), and the update doesn't show up in Software Update :(

Could it be because I'm still running OSX 10.4.2?
 
I believe this update is ONLY for the new 15" DL SuperDrive, 1440 x 960 screen PowerBooks. There seemed to be battery issues with these PowerBooks, and I guess Apple figured a software fix was cheaper than sending new batteries to everyone with the problem. That's the only reason I can see as to why this update doesn't work on all PowerBooks.

On another note, I have experienced this new "super sleep" mode. I thought it was kinda weird, but very useful if you run completely out of power. I haven't seen it on any other model Apple laptop, so I guess it's a new feature with the latest batch...

Now that they've fixed the battery issue, maybe they'll do something about the freakin screen...
 
This updates solves certain problems...

Just used this update to solve the power problems my girlfriend had with her 15" Dual Layer Powerbook. The PB had started having problems like not working without the AC adapter plugged in, not appearing to charge the battery, not waking from sleep, etc.. I had already reset the power manager, reset the NVRAM and PRAM, but none of these solved the problem. I checked for system updates and of course found Battery Update 1.0. I installed it, ran it, removed the battery and reinstalled it. It took a while to update the firmware, and it took a while for the battery to be calibrated after it was reinserted, but now the PB is working properly again, it can sleep and wake correctly, the AC adapter can be removed, etc..

This update may just be for the latest batteries or the latest 15" PB's, I don't know, but it was certainly timely and saved a trip to the Apple store tomorrow.
 
Wrong. I'm on the 2nd last PB 15" revision (bought in June 05) and software update wants me to install it.

Probably not a good idea to do this before work... :D
 
Meh,

I might skip this one for now. Firstly because my PowerBook's battery is fine. Secondly, having to reboot will destroy my 26 day uptime :p


aussie_geek
 
7:28 until full...

I downloaded the fix via SW Update and rebooted.

I had (and have) the power adapter plugged in. Didn't get any message that my PB 1.25GHz didn't need the update.

Everything's running normal, but the menu is telling me that the battery (which was at 0% before running the installer two hrs ago) is now at 54% but still needs 7:28 hrs until full. (When I started typing this message it said 52% and 6:41 hrs). Normally, charging the battery would take around 2 hrs.

Weird, weird, weird
 
G4scott said:
I believe this update is ONLY for the new 15" DL SuperDrive, 1440 x 960 screen PowerBooks. There seemed to be battery issues with these PowerBooks, and I guess Apple figured a software fix was cheaper than sending new batteries to everyone with the problem. That's the only reason I can see as to why this update doesn't work on all PowerBooks.

On another note, I have experienced this new "super sleep" mode. I thought it was kinda weird, but very useful if you run completely out of power. I haven't seen it on any other model Apple laptop, so I guess it's a new feature with the latest batch...
Click to expand...

The super sleep thing is new? Ah, I thought so. It's a fabulous feature. I so frequently forget to plug in the power between the 10 minute warning and the power out (must adjust timings). It rocks.

On to the far more important thing. THANK YOU APPLE! :D I had just convinced myself to call my friend in Apple and arrange my new battery but this fixed it. One day after charging it read as 30 minutes remaining at 100%. Then with each subsequent charge it fell further and further. It hit 8 minutes at one time. Then finally it wouldn't switch on at all even when the battery read as 100%. I'd read it was an issue with some new batteries (some other forum I found from Google). This is perfect though.

I'm not sure I'd call it 'a software fix'. A firmware upgrade is a good deal more than just a typical patch but that's me nitpicking. ;) I was just happy to see my 100% battery in hours, not minutes.
 
jobberwacky said:
I downloaded the fix via SW Update and rebooted.

I had (and have) the power adapter plugged in. Didn't get any message that my PB 1.25GHz didn't need the update.

Everything's running normal, but the menu is telling me that the battery (which was at 0% before running the installer two hrs ago) is now at 54% but still needs 7:28 hrs until full. (When I started typing this message it said 52% and 6:41 hrs). Normally, charging the battery would take around 2 hrs.

Weird, weird, weird
Click to expand...

Did you remove the battery and reinsert it? Mine read 0% during the update. Then I took it out and put it back in again and it needed 5 minutes to fill (I guess there was power hidden in there somewhere and some charge put in during the install etc).
 
halenger said:
Did you remove the battery and reinsert it? Mine read 0% during the update. Then I took it out and put it back in again and it needed 5 minutes to fill (I guess there was power hidden in there somewhere and some charge put in during the install etc).
Click to expand...
No, I didn't remove the battery. But now (i.e. some 10 mins after my previous post) ist says 'battery is charged').

I've just removed the plug to see what capacity the fully charged battery has. I'm getting 1:53, roughly the same (crappy) level as before. Was never really any better than that right from the beginning. I'll let it fully discharge now and then recharge it again to see if things improve in any way.
 
jobberwacky said:
No, I didn't remove the battery. But now (i.e. some 10 mins after my previous post) ist says 'battery is charged').

I've just removed the plug to see what capacity the fully charged battery has. I'm getting 1:53, roughly the same (crappy) level as before. Was never really any better than that right from the beginning. I'll let it fully discharge now and then recharge it again to see if things improve in any way.
Click to expand...

You have to remove and re-insert it to complete the install process. (I'm fairly sure that's what it said)

Calibrating it couldn't really hurt either. Mine was pretty good I've gotta say. It read over 5 hours when I turned the brightness down and wasn't doing much. Idled in 4 hours or so until I hammered it by starting firefox and having it load all my tabs. :p
 
halenger said:
You have to remove and re-insert it to complete the install process. (I'm fairly sure that's what it said)
Click to expand...
I didn't get any dialogue at all, neither one telling me what to do with the battery nor one telling me that a reinstall wasn't necessary for my machine.

What model do you have?
 
jobberwacky said:
I didn't get any dialogue at all, neither one telling me what to do with the battery nor one telling me that a reinstall wasn't necessary for my machine.

What model do you have?
Click to expand...

Well I was the sharp knife in the drawer and forgot to have my battery IN the Powerbook while running the installer. So I dropped it in at the end. After the reboot it said I need to run the tool in /Applications/Utilities and that had all the instructions when I ran it. Took about 15 minutes (as it said) to redo the firmware on it.

I've the latest revision 15" Powerbook.
 
halenger said:
After the reboot it said I need to run the tool in /Applications/Utilities and that had all the instructions when I ran it.
I've the latest revision 15" Powerbook.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I never got that message telling me that I had to start the update manually. Have done that now though, but only to learn that my battery doesn't need to be updated. So I'll have to live with the crappy capacity.

Well, in a few hours I'll know whether to buy a 2nd battery in isolation or whether I should get one surrounded by a brand new PB.
 
Different batteries...

I have two batteries, and one was in that battery recall issue. I'm not sure which one is which, but one of mine has 4400 mAh max charge, and the other is 4200 mAh. Since the 4400 mAh has still has maximum charge, I guess it's the one I bought for a high price as my 2nd battery and the 4200 mAh is from the Apple Recall since I imagine they would try and save some $$$. The 4200 mAh only has a 3432 mAh max charge though. :mad:
 
Not working for me

The Battery Updater is insisting that my power adapter is not plugged in. It is - I can see it lit up and everything. Anyone else seeing this problem, or know a way to persuade the computer of what is bloody obvious to me?
 
marknjones said:
The Battery Updater is insisting that my power adapter is not plugged in. It is - I can see it lit up and everything. Anyone else seeing this problem, or know a way to persuade the computer of what is bloody obvious to me?
Click to expand...


The problem is with a short in the power supply from the plug getting routed to the battery. Dirty connector in the battery housing perhaps? In Apple PBs the juice goes through the battery before getting to the computer, plugged in or not.
 
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