As some of you may know now, I was recently gifted a 15" PowerBook G4, 1.25GHz, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD with AP/BT! After evaluating the machine and doing a fresh install of Leopard, I have discovered that it needs a new PRAM battery, a new battery, more RAM, and possibly a new power adapter since I don't really like using replacement versions. The superdrive seems to be working normally in so far as it reads CDs and DVDs.
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I have my first PowerBook!
- Thread starter RedCroissant
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Seeing as how you have to open the unit right up to get into the internals for the PRAM battery, if it was me I'd also consider replacing the HDD with a SATA drive.
There are several threads on using mSATA units, when I did my 15" I used an OWC IDE SATA unit.
Which ever one chooses the performance boost is nice.
There are several threads on using mSATA units, when I did my 15" I used an OWC IDE SATA unit.
Which ever one chooses the performance boost is nice.
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Well I think there is a more major issue with my powerbook!! It doesn't wake from sleep!
I've tried a couple of things as far as trying the fn keys and even forcing a shut down with the power button, but those don't work. It seems that once the computer goes to sleep, the computer is just not usable. The superdrive does not accept a disc and will not wake the machine, the keyboard and trackpad don't work and even the power button is sometimes unresponsive. So far the only solution is to remove the power adapter and then wait and then restart.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do here? I know what I have to upgrade or replace but not sure if this is either a logicboard issue or a GPU issue.
It has the ATI Radeon 9600 in it.
I've tried a couple of things as far as trying the fn keys and even forcing a shut down with the power button, but those don't work. It seems that once the computer goes to sleep, the computer is just not usable. The superdrive does not accept a disc and will not wake the machine, the keyboard and trackpad don't work and even the power button is sometimes unresponsive. So far the only solution is to remove the power adapter and then wait and then restart.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do here? I know what I have to upgrade or replace but not sure if this is either a logicboard issue or a GPU issue.
It has the ATI Radeon 9600 in it.
The sleep issue is a PRAM problem. My DLSD did it until I got the new main battery and the PRAM charged up again.
Oh, ok then great!!!! At least it's not anything else that would require additional costs other than what I already planned for. Thank you very much!
No problem! I'm not too sure whether or not the PRAM charges on the pre-DLSD PowerBooks
Yeah there isn't a PRAM in those, the time and date is saved in the main battery and a cap on the logic board.
I have made my transition tot he powerbook and now it is my main machine and I absolutely notice the difference in capabilities and power (of course).
The machine works fine overall and I've decided to forego the PRAM replacement for now and just use ethernet like I did on my Quad. I have my keyboard and mouse connected via USB and the machine is always plugged in.
This machine is great in general but a RAM upgrade is a necessity because I'm getting way too many page outs and the machine is slow with 512 but I didn't want to use Tiger.
The machine works fine overall and I've decided to forego the PRAM replacement for now and just use ethernet like I did on my Quad. I have my keyboard and mouse connected via USB and the machine is always plugged in.
This machine is great in general but a RAM upgrade is a necessity because I'm getting way too many page outs and the machine is slow with 512 but I didn't want to use Tiger.
No I'm not actually. I cannot afford to considering how much energy is used with it just being on. The fact that it idles at higher energy usage than my wife's iMac at its max CPU consumption is one of the reasons why I just can't do that any more. The first Mac Pro used half as much energy and put out half as many BTUs.
When it was new I'm sure that most things didn't overtask the CPU, but with it being 10 years old now AND the increased demand is making this machine perform less efficiently ( as far as energy consumption is concerned) so I don't know if I will ever actually use it any more. I miss the power behind it and the difference between the Quad and my Powerbook is amazing.
So if you know anyone that wants one, here are the specs:
Late 2005 PowerMac G5
2 x 2.5GHz Dual Core CPU (4 CPUs total)
250GB HDD (Apple original)
8GB RAM
NVIDIA GE Force 6600
***No Bluetooth or Airport installed***
I will pre-install either Tiger(10.4.11) or Leopard (10.5.8) if requested.
Well it'll be in the marketplace shortly!hehe, I think ALL OF US would want the machine!
If I had a monitor I'd be all over that machine.
My iMac is just shy of playing my high bit-rate videos (60FPS @ 1280x720). I've been downconverting them to 30FPS overnight. It's really my only complaint in using it as my main computer. No doubt that PowerMac could chew through them just fine.
Even going from my iMac to my iBook is jarring. I can't imagine going from the Quad down to a PowerBook. That's gotta feel pretty slow.
My iMac is just shy of playing my high bit-rate videos (60FPS @ 1280x720). I've been downconverting them to 30FPS overnight. It's really my only complaint in using it as my main computer. No doubt that PowerMac could chew through them just fine.
Even going from my iMac to my iBook is jarring. I can't imagine going from the Quad down to a PowerBook. That's gotta feel pretty slow.
I will actually include a monitor as well and I'll add that to the ad. I have three displays but only one VGA cable and DVI-VGA adapter which will also be included.
I'm glad that you have experienced the same power decrease between machines but just to articulate it, I have to type up my responses in TextEdit before pasting them into MR because otherwise I can type a whole sentence before the first 3 words appear. I also can't use realplayer to download videos or play them properly and this machine has pretty much limited me to basic websites and email. LAME.
Some stuff to note Red…
If using TenFourFox you might try my tweaks/addons thread. In my signature. Also, know that in any browser, if you have MR's Rich Text Editor on it will slow things down. It's javascript that is processing in the background ALL the time. Turning it off will stop the issue.
Just throwing that out there for your sanity…
If energy costs are your prime concern, then may this would be a good choice.
$$$ Canadian or US?If energy costs are your prime concern, then may this would be a good choice.
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I have the same Powerbook, though with 1Gb RAM - that's your main hurdle whilst running Leopard, 512 is a bare minimum - how about switching to Tiger until you get more memory?
If you do all the standard speed tricks using the Secrets pref pane, you'll squeeze out a bit more performance and ShadowKiller can really speed up the GUI - regarding internet, you have to use various browsers for various tasks and avoid javascript whenever possible. Using Fluid to create custom apps with a mobile device profile is handy for things like Twitter, Facebook etc.
For video playback XBMC is the most efficient (720P h264 Youtube vids play on mine) and Safari Webkit + ClickToPlugin is great for killing Flash and grabbing videos.
Your Powerbook will never feel as slick as a G5 but it is still very useable.
Hello! Oh, I installed that before I even started using the machine seriously since I had the download previously. I didn't even consider the rich text editor and now it is working much better at least for MR! Thanks!
Yeah. Turning it off makes a world of difference. The only downside is that you have to use BBCode from memory if you want certain formatting in a post. The rich text editor just makes it so you don't have to do that - with a corresponding hit in CPU pressure.
Hi DC,
I guess I could switch to Tiger but I just really prefer Leopard. That might be silly though considering I should know that performance is not going to be optimal with this version of OS X. So I might.
Even on my PowerMac I tried not to use Facebook since I didn't like the way it worked so I have resorted to using my phone mostly to do any social media postings.
Oh, don't worry about me knowing this machine is still usable! I had a couple of G3 iBooks that also did fine (of course on Tiger) and iBook G4s as well that were great. This machine was destined for recycling and I was just lucky enough to talk to her first about finding the right printer before my PPC Macness came out and knew what I was talking about and offered it. She hadn't used it for a few years and it had been sitting in the corner of a dusty storage cabinet before she gave it to me.
I love this machine and have always wanted one, but I have to sell things first to make the upgrades/repairs on this machine possible.
And I will look at ShadowKillwer (which I have never used).
Shadowkiller is just a small app that does what it does and terminates. I usually have it as a login item. It does one thing and that is to kill the dropshadows on all windows. Which saves resources and reduces CPU pressure.