Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

peterto11

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 5, 2020
31
23
Hey guys i got a 15 inch g4 yesterday and it worked perfectly at the seller's house, but doesn't show any sign of life now at home. Can someone try and power a g4 15 inch with no battery and a A1036 45watt adapter? I tested it with a 65 watt at the seller that's the only variable i can think of.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9211.jpeg
    IMG_9211.jpeg
    300.9 KB · Views: 75
It should. Any of the white PowerBook\iBook adapters should work. I have like 20 of them, and I always just grab a random one. No idea what the wattage on any of them are.
 
Hey guys i got a 15 inch g4 yesterday and it worked perfectly at the seller's house, but doesn't show any sign of life now at home. Can someone try and power a g4 15 inch with no battery and a A1036 45watt adapter? I tested it with a 65 watt at the seller that's the only variable i can think of.
I looked up the power adapter requirements for a random 15" PowerBook G4 and it specifies a 65-watt adapter. Can you provide the specific model you're inquiring about?

I would try it for you but the only 45-watt adapter I have is my newly acquired PowerBook G3 but I am hesitant to try that power adapter as it is an original adapter to that computer and I don't want to risk damaging it if the laptop should draw too much power. It also has an output voltage of 24 volts compared to my PowerBook G4 adapters 24.5 volts (it should be fine but I wouldn't want that to may skew the results).

I'll be heading to a place on Sunday where I can borrow a 45-watt adapter and test (if no one has done the test beforehand).

My thought is if the specs specify a 65-watt adapter and it worked at the sellers with a 65-watt adapter and is not working with a 45-watt adapter there's a good chance the 45-watt adapter is inadequate.

It should. Any of the white PowerBook\iBook adapters should work. I have like 20 of them, and I always just grab a random one. No idea what the wattage on any of them are.
Perhaps you have been grabbing 65-watt adapters or the battery is supplementing the power?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: peterto11
I looked up the power adapter requirements for a random 15" PowerBook G4 and it specifies a 65-watt adapter. Can you provide the specific model you're inquiring about?

I would try it for you but the only 45-watt adapter I have is my newly acquired PowerBook G3 but I am hesitant to try that power adapter as it is an original adapter to that computer and I don't want to risk damaging it if the laptop should draw too much power. It also has an output voltage of 24 volts compared to my PowerBook G4 adapters 24.5 volts (it should be fine but I wouldn't want that to may skew the results).

I'll be heading to a place on Sunday where I can borrow a 45-watt adapter and test (if no one has done the test beforehand).

My thought is if the specs specify a 65-watt adapter and it worked at the sellers with a 65-watt adapter and is not working with a 45-watt adapter there's a good chance the 45-watt adapter is inadequate.


Perhaps you have been grabbing 65-watt adapters or the battery is supplementing the power?
My laptop is a A1138. It came originally with a 65w adapter. It hasn't damaged my 45w adapter because it power up my ibook fine after many attempts at using my powerbook 15 inch. But i don't have a 65 adapter to test if there's a problem with my g4 powerbook. I'd appreciate it if you can test sunday.
 
Oh that gives me hope. There is a working powerbook with charger for sale at similar price to buying a charger, just waiting for the seller to respond and hopefully ship it.
 
Last edited:
My laptop is a A1138. It came originally with a 65w adapter. It hasn't damaged my 45w adapter because it power up my ibook fine after many attempts at using my powerbook 15 inch. But i don't have a 65 adapter to test if there's a problem with my g4 powerbook. I'd appreciate it if you can test sunday.
It looks as if Amethyst1 confirmed the issue and you're going to pick up a 65-watt supply. Given this let me know if you want me to test on Sunday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: peterto11
My A1107 (65W required) powers on using a 45W adapter if, and only if, a battery holding a charge is present. Without the battery... nothing at all.
Most of mine are probably 65W then. Maybe I should label them.
Now that this came up I vaguely remember reading a few years ago (probably on here) that the 65W adapters work on all of them, but the 45W ones don't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
It looks as if Amethyst1 confirmed the issue and you're going to pick up a 65-watt supply. Given this let me know if you want me to test on Sunday.
Amethyst1's laptop is 17 inches, so its more likely not to work. I'd appreciate if you can test it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Project Alice
It's been awhile since working with PowerBooks and at some point I just decided to stop dealing with the 45W/65W thing by just buying 65W chargers. The Macs that use 45W just step down.

At the time I was having/needing to buy chargers the difference between the two was maybe $5-10. Lots of third party vendors selling them, but I have not looked in years. Unfortunately, very few of them realized there was a difference and I had to send many 45W chargers back because they were advertised as 65W.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Project Alice
It's been awhile since working with PowerBooks and at some point I just decided to stop dealing with the 45W/65W thing by just buying 65W chargers. The Macs that use 45W just step down.

At the time I was having/needing to buy chargers the difference between the two was maybe $5-10. Lots of third party vendors selling them, but I have not looked in years. Unfortunately, very few of them realized there was a difference and I had to send many 45W chargers back because they were advertised as 65W.
Yeah this is making me think one of my TiBooks that was working fine at one point, has lately been intermittently not turning on, or will power on for a second. It has no battery. Apparently, all the TiBooks used 65W adapters, so I must have grabbed a 45W one the last couple times I tried turning it on.
I swear the moment I turned 30 my memory just stopped working.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
Yeah this is making me think one of my TiBooks that was working fine at one point, has lately been intermittently not turning on, or will power on for a second. It has no battery. Apparently, all the TiBooks used 65W adapters, so I must have grabbed a 45W one the last couple times I tried turning it on.
I swear the moment I turned 30 my memory just stopped working.
IIRC, the 400mhz TiBook (which I had) used a 45W charger. This caused me no end of frustration in late 2009 when I had to replace the Mac because I'd (stupidly) assumed that newer Macs would function on a charger I didn't even realize was 45W at the time.

But two 17" Macs in late 2009 and 2010 forced me to start considering.

I think it just might be a matter of when other more 'important' things start occupying the memory space in our heads. And when you start using certain things less you start forgetting because your brain is focusing on those other more 'important' things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
I just confirmed that this laptop will not power on with a 45-watt power adapter and no battery and that it powers on just fine with a 65-watt adapter and no battery.
 
  • Like
Reactions: peterto11
I just confirmed that this laptop will not power on with a 45-watt power adapter and no battery and that it powers on just fine with a 65-watt adapter and no battery.
Thank you very much for testing.🍻 You relieved my anxiety while I wait for an adapter. Because I live in Europe, vintage apple products are rare and I order abroad and wait long often.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m1maverick
Hey guys, the adapter arrived and i can also confirm that a 45w adapter won't power up a g4 powerbook 15 inch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m1maverick
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.