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General discussion

ibookG3 doesnt turn on WHAT PART DO I REPLACE??!?

Nov 17, 2007 5:37AM PST

I hope someone can help me here. I have an ibook G3 that doesn't like to turn on. Very seldomly, if I press the power button 50 or more times it will power on. I'll be able to play a few rounds of snood and it will randomly shut down. I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with it. I've checked other forums and learned that the random shutting down could be attributed to either the logic board, heatsink, or power supply but no one else seems to be having a problem with turning it on. Theres no way i'm shipping it to apple because I only payed a $100 for it to begin with so what I'm looking for is just to buy a part off ebay and slap it in myself. Can anyone give me some opinions as to what part is most likely causing causing the problems or give me any advice/suggestions??
Thank you Happy

Discussion is locked

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Type of iBook
Nov 17, 2007 6:52AM PST

Is this a clamshell iBook or one of the white ones? It makes a difference.

Does it turn on with the battery removed and the power adapter plugged in?

What OS is it running?

Power up problems can be caused by a dead backup battery. Replacing this has been known to bring the machine back to life. (This is not applicable to the Clamshell ibooks)

Given the low cost of purchase, I think you should decide just how much you are willing to spend on this machine.

P

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re
Nov 17, 2007 8:22AM PST

Thanks for replying. Its one of the white ones. I'm not sure if it turns on with the battery removed, I can't turn it on right now...but maybe later it will feel like it. I know the battery holds somewhat of a charge as ive had it running off it for at least 15 minutes before. And it currently has OSX on it.

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iBook G3
Nov 17, 2007 9:23PM PST

Try this:

Shut the machine down.
Remove the battery. (Leave the battery out of the iMac)
Plug the Power Adapter into a known good power source and connect it to the iMac

Reset the power manager by pressing the key combination Control-Option-Shift Power.
Do NOT press the fn key when you do this.

Only do the above ONCE. Doing it more than once can corrupt the power manager and cause more problems than you already have.

Have you decided how much you are willing to spend on this machine?

P

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sdfgdfs
Nov 18, 2007 7:16AM PST

Thanks for the advice. I don't think that key combination did anything, I turned it on afterwards and it just sputtered out before it even booted up all the way. It seems like it keeps getting worse and worse. I'm thinking that I won't need to spend any more than a $100 on it. I looked up all the parts I suspect I need on ebay (logic board, heatsink, power supply) and if I get them all it should come out to be around a $100.
I don't think I would spend any more than that on it since its not in the best condition. One side of it is being held together by tape because there's a large crack in it and battery doesn't fit in very securely. I also believe there was something spilled on it once because when I removed the the bottom of the case there was a stain on the metal that covers the logic board.