Start Up Problems on a PB G4 1,33GHz 17"

[TomTomMac]

Help!!!
My good old Powerbook won´t start up unless I keep pressing the Apple-key all the way untill the screen lights up. Other than that, it´ll sound off normally after I´ve pushed the on-button and starts up, but suddenly stops before the screen turns on. I tried almost everything up to PRAM and NVRAM reset. I´ve already send the PB to a technician, who stated al "logic board failure". But I really don´t think that this is the problem, ´cause besides that the Mac works fine.
Grrrrreetings to the US from Germany
Tom

 

[Muirdach]

It could very likely be a logic board issue. The reasoning is that with older Mac notebooks, the solder joints on the logic board become loose over time, resulting in bad connections. By pressing down on the keyboard/palmrest area, you are essentially creating a better connection as this in turn pushes down on the logic board, closing any gaps etc. Normal use of the Powerbook e.g. typing or even just resting your wrists on that area will do the same thing, as a result you may not notice the issue once the PB has started up fully.

If it is the logic board, the only full fix is to get it replaced. It is not recommended to try re-soldering the joints yourself unless you are a professional in that kind of field! Alternatively, if you feel comfortable in opening up your PB's insides, people have had success with iBooks by inserting some mounting squares, cork blocks or even folded up business cards in order to create more pressure within the lower case of the machine.

Whatever you do, you should probably never, ever do this.

 

[TomTomMac]

Hi, thanks for your answer!!
This is an idea I haven´t thought about. The funny thing is, as soon as I release the Apple-button - after the screen has lit - the PB continues starting up as normal?! Besides, the mailfunction appeared very shortly after I bought it, like 4 weeks later. As I recall, the mailfunction showed up after I had performed a hot-unplug of a video beamer. Perhaps I "smashed" my firm ware?!

 

[Muirdach]

How old is your Powerbook? Did you purchase it from a professional reseller/refurbisher or did you get it from a regular user e.g. on eBay? I think it would be quite unlikely that a hot-unplug would cause serious damage to it. Have you tried re-installing everything from scratch?

 

[TomTomMac]

Yes, sir!! The whole deal, new OS yadeyadeyade. I even changed the HD prior to reinstalling! Funny thing is, that this startup procedure works on both Apple-keys, which does not sound like a joint problem?! Oh, sorry, I bought zhe PB in San Diego at the local Apple store January 2003....