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is my Powerbook sending me warning signs?

W

Whigga Spitta

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 21, 2004
256
0
Can you say Chi-City??
my Powerbook has been acting strange lately and it seems to be getting worse...

about 3 weeks ago, my harddrive failed. this happened after about a 2 day period where my machine was acting sluggish, unbearably sluggish at some points, and then it finally bit the dust. i got it replaced, expecting it to fix the problem. nowadays, i'm not 100% sure that a new drive DID fix the problem (clean install and everything), as i've been seeing some signs that my laptop (when perfectly healthy) never exhibited. for example, in the past 12 hours, i've gotten the gray 'you must restart your computer screen.' after the first time this happened, i deleted the new fonts i recently installed. yet it happened again. and again.

is my computer sending me some warning signs that i can act upon?
 
Whigga Spitta said:
my Powerbook has been acting strange lately and it seems to be getting worse...

about 3 weeks ago, my harddrive failed.... in the past 12 hours, i've gotten the gray 'you must restart your computer screen.' after the first time this happened, i deleted the new fonts i recently installed. yet it happened again. and again.

is my computer sending me some warning signs that i can act upon?
Click to expand...

Your grey screens are Kernal panics.

A few questions:

What powerbook is it?

Have you done anything recently to it - added 3rd party software, got a new accessory etc etc?

Also - who did the HDD repair? Is it under warranty?

You might also want to do a hardware test (it will be on your software discs).
 
My machine is a Rev. C G4 15" 1.5 with a gig of RAM (512 factory installed, 512 added when i bought it)

I can't think of anything I had added before the initial HDD failure, but since then I've been using UNO and Transparent Dock (used to use clear dock). I've also switched from Synergy to Sizzling Keys, but that's not really a hack.

Since my PB was out of warranty, it was faster to get it repaired (need it for school) at a 3rd party Apple Authorized Repair Center, ComputerDNA in Cincinnati. There's a 90 day warranty on the drive, 30 days on the labor..but I'm really wondering if this is more of a logic board-type problem?

I can't run the hardware test since my discs are at home and I'm here at school...but I'm thinking I may be able to run the hardware test of my roommate's iBook discs, correct?
 
sorry to keep this thread alive...but it may be the only thing to do to keep my PB alive. kernel panics are becoming more frequent now, they definitely happen each time i try to backup to my external HD using SilverKeeper. could there be a corrupt file i need to trash somewhere or something like that?

please help if possible...
 
Try taking the 512MB Stick of RAM that you added out and see what it does. Kernal Panics are sometimes caused by a bad stick of RAM.
 
Whigga Spitta said:
i figured if the RAM was bad it would be showing only 512 in 'About This Mac,' or is that just me making an assumption?
Click to expand...


Nope - bad RAM could still show up.

I'm not sure on the iBook Hardware test - they could be as machine specific as the software restore OS versions themselves.

Saying that - I do remember someone on here saying they had used iBook software restore on their PB so it could well work. Try it.

Did the kernel panics happen in between your clean install and installing anything?

Have you run permissions repair, fsck, zapped the pram, nvram etc etc ?

Try everything.
 
Whigga Spitta said:
i figured if the RAM was bad it would be showing only 512 in 'About This Mac,' or is that just me making an assumption?
Click to expand...

Bad sticks of RAM can still show up and create havoc with your system until you take it out....They can even create a bad install of Mac OS X. So if it doesn't fix the problem, try leaving it out and installing OS X without that RAM stick installed.
 
This may be one of those problems where you fix one thing, and in the process mess up something else. In the process of replacing the HD it is required to remove the RAM. Perhaps it's a case that the RAM, when replaced, was not seated properly and has a bad contact. Try removing the RAM and reinstalling, perhaps moving it slightly in its seat after snapped in to make a better contact. It would seem like a good idea still to reinstall the OS with the stick out, and keep it out for awhile, just to deduct other factors as the problem.
 
well, the kernel panics have become very repetitve (each and every time i try to do a backup). so i removed the extra stick, VOILA! no more kernel panics. i figured, hey, it could have been seated wrong in its slot...put it in again, try to backup...ohhhh...too bad, kernel panic.

so i'm using it with just 512 right now (which i don't think final cut pro will appreciate), but it could be worse. my question is this...i think i can return this stick to crucial and get an exchange, but should i still do a fresh install of OSX? it may be a slight hassle, but i would rather have a hiccup-free computer.

thanks for the help.
 
Whigga Spitta said:
return this stick to crucial and get an exchange, but should i still do a fresh install of OSX? it may be a slight hassle, but i would rather have a hiccup-free computer.

thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Up to you but if everything's running smoothly then it may be a waste of time. Glad you have it sorted. Bad RAM is a PITA!
 
hmm...after i seemed to have everything sorted out (even got my RMA from crucial) i woke up this morning to another kernel panic (happened again during a silverkeeper backup). is RAM really the only thing that can be causing these kernel panics or may i have another, more serious problem?
 
Whigga Spitta said:
hmm...after i seemed to have everything sorted out (even got my RMA from crucial) i woke up this morning to another kernel panic (happened again during a silverkeeper backup). is RAM really the only thing that can be causing these kernel panics or may i have another, more serious problem?
Click to expand...

Maybe it's Silverkeeper that doesn't agree then?
 
A ha - here you go - it seems Silverkeeper is not compatible with Tiger (is that what you're using?).

here:
macintouch article said:
Update to Version 1.1.3. LaCie note says, "SilverKeeper v1.1.2 is NOT compatible with Tiger, OS X 10.4. A new release is in final stages of testing, and we hope to release soon. If you are using Tiger, and wish to make a backup, please use the Restore capability of Apple Disk Utility."
Click to expand...

Link: http://www.macintouch.com/tigerreview/incompatibility.html
 
Yeah, it's most likely jsut the RAM, and re-installing OS X would probably be a waste of time. RAM I think is the #1 cause of kernal panics. I ahd it happen once, and I sent the RAM back (it had a lifetime warranty) and got the new stick back and everything was happy again.

Glad you got it sorted out, I know when a Mac has issues it can be very hard because they most often do not.
 
Whigga Spitta said:
good find...but i've been using version 1.1.4, which makes SilverKeeper now Tiger compatible.

i'm going to try to run the hardware test to see if i can find out anything.
Click to expand...

Ok, but the point is, the problems keep happening with Silverkeeper.

Why don't you try another back up program? You've basically gotta keep troubleshooting till you find the root cause of the kernal panics.
 
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