Okay, well check this guide out as to how you can test your RAM in the meantime. Just be warned that if everything comes back with a big tick that doesn't mean it's still all peachy. As for backup, I do mine all manually. 
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OS X Disaster
- Thread starter bigboy99
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It's a G4 Power Book. The Airport card is not user removable.
Ram testing has not found any issues yet. I'm doing multiple passes to see if anything changes.
Ram testing has not found any issues yet. I'm doing multiple passes to see if anything changes.
They were optional (removable) on the early models. I have heard, but can't verify from personal experience, that even the non-user installed cards can work themselves loose. I believe they plug into a riser on the motherboard. Might be worth a bit of research.
My G4 Powerbook didn't come with an airport. When I originally installed one, it caused kernel panics. I had to go get another one at the apple store. The first one was just defective.
I'm sure they were standard on the newer ones, but I bet they can be removed...Might be more complicated than getting at the RAM, but I would be very surprised if it was a fixed chip on the mobo. very surprised.
In fact, I think you can buy replacement airport cards in even the newest PowerBooks...
here's a link:
http://www.pbparts.com/shop.php//a17aec.html
If that's the connection type in your PB, then it's not a big deal to unplug, and it also could have dislodged itself pretty easily...
I'm sure they were standard on the newer ones, but I bet they can be removed...Might be more complicated than getting at the RAM, but I would be very surprised if it was a fixed chip on the mobo. very surprised.
In fact, I think you can buy replacement airport cards in even the newest PowerBooks...
here's a link:
http://www.pbparts.com/shop.php//a17aec.html
If that's the connection type in your PB, then it's not a big deal to unplug, and it also could have dislodged itself pretty easily...
Update...
The ram has passed multiple test passes in single user mode (no OS X). Everything continues to be extremely fast and stable.
The only remaining issue, which recent posts are drifting back to, is the random failure of Airport (never ending spinning wheel) from the Sleep state. If I restart immediately it all recovers upon reboot. If I don't restart immediately (use network assistant), the OS completely locks up, requiring a hard shutdown. This is how the OS got trashed at the top of this thread.
In another thread some months ago MJ suggested it might be a hardware (external FW drive or USB hub) related issue. When travelling without these peripherals I don't experience the problem. Network/Airport perform 100%.
In my office it's another story. It's totally random, but I've been able to rule out the FW port. It only seems to happen when I have more Apps open than Firefox, Mail and Finder. Maybe...
I could not find a 15" 1.67GHz Airport Card at the suggested part site. How is the card accessed in a G4?
The ram has passed multiple test passes in single user mode (no OS X). Everything continues to be extremely fast and stable.
The only remaining issue, which recent posts are drifting back to, is the random failure of Airport (never ending spinning wheel) from the Sleep state. If I restart immediately it all recovers upon reboot. If I don't restart immediately (use network assistant), the OS completely locks up, requiring a hard shutdown. This is how the OS got trashed at the top of this thread.
In another thread some months ago MJ suggested it might be a hardware (external FW drive or USB hub) related issue. When travelling without these peripherals I don't experience the problem. Network/Airport perform 100%.
In my office it's another story. It's totally random, but I've been able to rule out the FW port. It only seems to happen when I have more Apps open than Firefox, Mail and Finder. Maybe...
I could not find a 15" 1.67GHz Airport Card at the suggested part site. How is the card accessed in a G4?
I doesn't sound as if you've nailed the underlying problem yet. Access to the Airport card is going to differ depending on the PowerBook model. On later-issue models, lacking a user-accessable slot, I presume it's going to necessitate the disassembly of the case. If you can find the instructions for doing this, I would not automatically assume that you need a new Airport card (though this is certainly possible). I'd start with re-seating it. Have you Googled around for instructions?
Exactly. Besided the randomness, it's still completely random. I've Googled the diassembly issue, and it's beyond my skills. Additionally, I'm still under warranty. Without a better handle on the problem I'm hesitant to send the PB to Apple. If they can't get it to replicate the issue it will probably come back in the same state as I send it.
I'm still wide open to all suggestions.
I'm still wide open to all suggestions.
You're still under warranty? Cancel my suggestions for cracking the case yourself. Send this Mac back to Apple!
try going a week without connecting any external things to the PB.
A friend of mine with a MBP had a similar problem (wouldn't wake from sleep), but only when she was connected to an external usb cable modem and external FW harddrive.
Her SOP was to close the MBP (sleep it), then disconnect the HDD and cable. It then would not wake...
A friend of mine with a MBP had a similar problem (wouldn't wake from sleep), but only when she was connected to an external usb cable modem and external FW harddrive.
Her SOP was to close the MBP (sleep it), then disconnect the HDD and cable. It then would not wake...
I have always had better luck with TechTool Pro for troubleshooting. Disk Warrior used to only repair the directory. Tech Tool looks at everything including hardware and viruses.
Are several WiFi routers operating where you are using the powerbook? Your Mac may not be sure which router to choose and you are getting the spinning wheel. You may through one of the airport utilities, be able to put the WiFi router on a specific frequency or make your airport card find a specific WiFi router.
Also when the folder was moved that originally seemed to cause these problems, that folder may become disassociated from the finder. You might try trashing that folder, do a custom install of OSX and reinstall only the utilities folder.
You seemed to indicate that you have external drives. How are these partitioned and formatted? Are any of them a windows format or an OS 9 or before disk. The file systems may be incompatible with your PB G4. Check these drives with disk utility. You may have to backup the data on these drives and see if they can be reformatted. They may have a file system that will not work with system 10.
Since you mention Windows like activity, is there a copy of windows on the PB? What about Virtual PC, Parallels or Boot Camp? Do you have any versions of Windows on your machine? I think Virtual PC installed a folder in the documents folder "All in One Data Folder." This might indicate that Windows was once on you machine and it is having windows problems. These need to be trouble shot through windows methods.
Finally motherboards fail. You may have a hardware problem. If you are under warranty or Apple care take it to a tech.
Are several WiFi routers operating where you are using the powerbook? Your Mac may not be sure which router to choose and you are getting the spinning wheel. You may through one of the airport utilities, be able to put the WiFi router on a specific frequency or make your airport card find a specific WiFi router.
Also when the folder was moved that originally seemed to cause these problems, that folder may become disassociated from the finder. You might try trashing that folder, do a custom install of OSX and reinstall only the utilities folder.
You seemed to indicate that you have external drives. How are these partitioned and formatted? Are any of them a windows format or an OS 9 or before disk. The file systems may be incompatible with your PB G4. Check these drives with disk utility. You may have to backup the data on these drives and see if they can be reformatted. They may have a file system that will not work with system 10.
Since you mention Windows like activity, is there a copy of windows on the PB? What about Virtual PC, Parallels or Boot Camp? Do you have any versions of Windows on your machine? I think Virtual PC installed a folder in the documents folder "All in One Data Folder." This might indicate that Windows was once on you machine and it is having windows problems. These need to be trouble shot through windows methods.
Finally motherboards fail. You may have a hardware problem. If you are under warranty or Apple care take it to a tech.