Inherited an old Powerbook G4...Problems with wireless

[chimi]

Hi everyone,

I am a Macbook owner and love it.

I just inherited an old Powerbook G4 867Mhz to use as a second/backup computer. I am having problems connecting to the internet however. Then it dawned on me that that model had Airport as an *option*. Thus, I am trying to even figure out if I have the wireless card. In System Profiler I don't see any mention of an Airport Card. However when I go to the Networks in the Control Panel it has a pull down option for Airport and also gives an Airport ID (so I'm assuming if there is an ID, there must be a card??)

When I do the pull-down Airport menu from the menu bar in Finder, I see my home network, but when I enter the password it brings up a message that there was an error connecting to the network.

Anyone have any ideas? I set all the network/TCP settings to be the same as on my Macbook but it still doesn't work.

 

[TEG]

First Question: Is this the Titanium or Aluminium PowerBook G4? The former has a black keyboard, the latter a silver.

If it is a Titanium use the tabs on the keyboard to open it up and see if you can see the AirPort Card (it will be below the cage for the PC Card slot, but you should see the word AirPort). If it is there, it is likely that the card had died. Go onto eBay and see if you can find one for cheap (hard) or Craigslist (easier) and replace it. Otherwise, remove it and use a PC Card WiFi Card or USB Adapter.

I had this happen to me last year and found out that there was a short in my tranciever causing it to overheat, so it work for a few minutes, then die. All because of Tin Whiskers.

TEG