iBook G4 has black screen on boot

Question

I have an old iBook G4 (A1054, 1.2 GHz) which has issues when it loses power or is shut off. If the battery drains—which happens quickly, as its remaining capacity is very low—it enters some sort of weird mode where it's not really awake (the screen is black, can't do anything) but it has no pulsing light indicating it's asleep either. The only way to exit this mode is to hold down the power button for ten seconds until it shuts off, and attempt rebooting it.

Almost always, however, it makes the sound of the optical drive starting up, and then doesn't continue past that point. The screen doesn't come on, and things like resetting PRAM don't work. Occasionally a fan comes on loudly for a second or two. This sometimes seems to correspond with my pressing down on the rear-right casing, above the power jack.

In the past, shutting it off, disconnecting it from power, removing the battery and waiting for 30 minutes would do the trick, but this time I have done that several times, letting it sit for up to several hours before retrying, to no avail.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I think it's dead, Jim. (Sorry, Jonathan; had to do my best Star Trek there.)

Your best bet at this point is to make an appointment with your local Apple Store's Genius Bar, or call Apple's support. Either way, you'll be paying for service if you're out of warranty (which based on it being a G4, I'm guessing is the case).

Answer 2

I think that can be ram or HD problems. If you have the chance try changing those parts with new ones. If it's impossible to do that you are stuck with Apple support.

I am just refering to this post / document here.

Answer 3

I started getting the exact same problem about 4 months ago on my 12" G4 1.33. It still happens intermittently, but not as often as before (touch wood).

One of the more prominent hypotheses I've found is that the problem lies with the GPU coming loose over time - flexing the case with pressure on the GPU (basically sticking the iBook base on a crooked knee and pushing down on the sides of the unit) during boot can help to alleviate the problem . This has certainly worked for me on occasion. Try this after resetting the PRAM (alt, apple, p and r at the same time) three times.

Failing that it could be a DC board if you're having problems with charging/ power. Replacement DC boards can be had for around £25 and are easy to fit yourself (check out the iFixit guide).