iBook G4 Firewire no longer working

[Moks]

My 1.2 GHz G4 iBooks Firewire stopped working recently. Have tried zapping pram, reloading OSX etc but no luck. Fortunately USB is still working fine so I can still use my external 500GB hard drive, but I can't download video from my aging Sony video cam.

Any suggestions, other than chucking it and getting a new Macbook/Pro? (Which I plan to do sometime anyway, but would rather prolong the life of my iBook for the moment if possible)

 

[techound1]

You actually want to reset the PMU (rather than zap the pram) to try to clear up a port issue.
A PPC's PMU (Power Management Unit) is relevant to:

• sleep/wake issues
• battery issues (such as not charging at all)
• power-on issues
• port issues (USB/FireWire ports appear dead).

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-Power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.

 

[Moks]

Thanks - will try when current DVD backup finishes (H264 encoding is sooo slow on a G4).

 

[Moks]

No luck . I guess that means I have a good excuse to get a new macbook or macbook pro

 

[techound1]

Yeah, since your USB ports were working, I didn't have a lot of faith in the pmu reset working, but it's hard to beat a free attempt at repair

And who doesn't need an excuse to upgrade

(and apple just released a batch of UK promo codes - check the thread in buying tips)

 

[TheReef]

I'm not sure if zapping the PRAM is part of a PMU reset, but I'd try it:

Command-Option-P-R
(Hold on startup, and keep holding until you hear the second startup chime)

I think I remember reading it fixing problematic FireWire ports on G4 cubes.