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iBook not recognizing charger, not getting powered. PLEASE HELP!

M

macJC50640

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2009
188
0
Hi everyone,
I have an snow iBook G3 that I use everyday as my machine for doing schoolwork etc., so it is a very critical machine!

The battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, so I just plug it in. No big deal. However, just a few hours ago the iBook started to not recognize it was plugged in. The prong has always been bent a bit, I think, and it always worked (before MagSafe type). The charger is beat up at the cord going into the power brick from the wall outlet, but it has always worked too and it seems to be a problem with the prong going into the computer. I have to hold it a very certain way for it to even detect power. So, the machine has NO way to get any power!

I was thinking about taking it in to the Apple store to see if they could still get me a non-magsafe charger, but what if its something different then the charger? Do you have any ideas? I really hope its nothing expensive!

The specs are as follows:
12 inch iBook
PowerPC G3
500 mhz
128 gb RAM

I have a Vista laptop I can use until its fixed, but I'd rather not use Windows. No speical prgrams or anything, I just really like Mac OSX. I have files on the iBook, too!

So, thank you very much for reading this whole thing and PLEASE HELP! :(
 
I don't think Apple still sells the old chargers, but it's worth taking it to the Genius Bar and seeing if they have one in the back to try out.
It could be the dc-in adaptor.
 
If you have the original charger, then it's a good chance that it just went bad. You can try rotating the adapter in the machine and/or try, with the adapter fully inserted, pulling it out ever so slightly until the light goes green and you get a charge.

This would only be a temporary fix, so I would suggest either finding a friend with n adapter to test it out with or purchasing a cheap one online just in case it doesn't fix the issue.

MAYBE your local Apple store would have an adapter though it is not likely (although it is a common occurance for those to break down, my town's Apple store had some for a while recently), and would be the same cost as it was when your laptop was released, about $80; or the genius bar might have one to test out though it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't as I think support for the iBook G3's is offically over.

They did have a recall/settlement with some of those adapter in which people could get a refund from Apple of about $60 (I believe) though you would have to check and see if it's still in effect or if you qualify as I'm not sure of its details.

If it's not the logic board, but rather just the DC-IN board, those are relatively cheap (we used to charge $50 which was a bit of a markup) including labor could be ~$200 (a high estimate).
 
Well, I don't have the original charger. The person I bought it from bought a non-apple charger off ebay. I don't think there is any green light on it. I bought the computer for only $40, so I am not really willing to pay $200. If it comes to that I don't really know what I'm going to do. :( I realize this machine is obsolete, and I was worried if the Apple Store would do anything for it. I plan on getting a unibody at the end of February, but I obviously can't wait anywhere near that long as I rely on it every day.

Anyone who is reading this PLEASE don't hesitate to post!

PS it is not the clamshell, it is the snow model if that makes any differance
 
Well, you can't really use the light trick then, but you can try hitting the power button (somewhat) repeatedly while tweaking the adapter and see if you hear it boot up. Still worth a try.
 
madog said:
Well, you can't really use the light trick then, but you can try hitting the power button (somewhat) repeatedly while tweaking the adapter and see if you hear it boot up. Still worth a try.
Click to expand...

Actually, the iBook forced me to try something similar to that. It went into sleep and wouldn't wake up (becuase of no power) so I slowly turned and changed the position of the connector and pressed the spacebar to see if it worked.

i just tried it again, and it is the sme problem. You have to tilt the connector up for it to work. That makes me think its just becuase of the bent prong, even though I think it worked before. Anyone agree? Disagree?
 
iLove Apple said:
Actually, the iBook forced me to try something similar to that. It went into sleep and wouldn't wake up (becuase of no power) so I slowly turned and changed the position of the connector and pressed the spacebar to see if it worked.

i just tried it again, and it is the sme problem. You have to tilt the connector up for it to work. That makes me think its just becuase of the bent prong, even though I think it worked before. Anyone agree? Disagree?
Click to expand...

It's not 100%, but more than likely it is just the charger and not the DC-IN board itself.
 
My friend, I had this exact same problem on my Snow iBook G3. I tried nearly everything to get it to work, and it turns out, the charger was just crapping out.

I would think the Genius Bars have chargers they could use, if only because some iBook G4's still have AppleCare left on them, and they use the same chargers as a G3. So it's worth a shot to go and ask.
 
Cassie said:
My friend, I had this exact same problem on my Snow iBook G3. I tried nearly everything to get it to work, and it turns out, the charger was just crapping out.

I would think the Genius Bars have chargers they could use, if only because some iBook G4's still have AppleCare left on them, and they use the same chargers as a G3. So it's worth a shot to go and ask.
Click to expand...

hopefully they will, becuase I am definatly NOT willing to spend a lot of money on this machine and I dont know what I'll do if its somthing expensive.
 
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