Problems with a Wallstreet PowerBook, and a Lombard PowerBook

[unxmaal]

I just acquired (under a small amount of duress) both a Wallstreet PowerBook G3, and a Lombard PowerBook G3. Both are in mediocre-to-poor condition, and neither boot to OS.

The Wallstreet is in better condition, only missing its CD-ROM drive. When connected to power, its fans spin up for a second, then stop. Push power button, and it chimes, but has no video. I verified the internal display cable, RAM, HDD were all connected properly. I have <i>not</i> let it sit for 2+ minutes to see if it'd boot, and I'm certain the PRAM battery is dead, so maybe that's the culprit?

The Lombard is fairly beat-up. Its bottom case is cracked, the PCMCIA slot is cracked, the back flap door won't close, and the battery eject handle is broken. With power, it spins its fans for 3 seconds, then stops. It won't boot past that point. 

I'm not at all familiar with laptop diagnostics. Any ideas?

 

[fimbulvetr]

When the PRAM battery is dead, Wallstreets can take a long time to boot unless it has been left plugged in -- mine certainly does. Try letting it sit for a while and see if it works. 

 

[tanaquil]

That is good to know.  I just got a Wallstreet with a dead PRAM battery and I noticed that startup from chime to video lighting up could take over a minute. I assumed it was busy checking RAM. 

BTW that same machine is prone to crashing at the slightest movement while on battery.  It is fairly stable on plug in power as long as the power cord isn't jostled. I am guessing loose connection somewhere. Anyone have good troubleshooting/repair links for this issue? The machine has been set aside for further diagnosis but I hope to get back to it soon. 

 

[unxmaal]

Update:

I had the boot conditions swapped for the two laptops.

The Lombard, in rough condition, chimes on boot, but never displays video. I've left it plugged in for several hours. Its keyboard gets warm, and it seems to be running, but it displays no video, and won't display via external monitor either.

The Wallstreet does not boot at all. Its fans spin momentarily upon receipt of power.

 

[Byrd]

Reset the power manager on both,

http://www.westwind.com/reference/TN/PMReset.html

For the Lombard, flip up the keyboard and disconnect the PRAM battery - you'll see the wire connected

 

[Charadis]

This reminds of the fun times when I first got my PB G3. Trying to remember what was it that got mine to get beyond a black screen....

For starters, mine, a WallStreet PDQ, is very picky with what kind of hard drive you stick into it. If there is one installed that is rated > 500mA, it may start up a few times, but will eventually stop booting up. It is fine with solid state drives, just hard drives that is it picky with.

If Byrd's suggestion doesn't help, might check to see if the hard drive is the issue. 

 

[unxmaal]

Reset the power manager on both,

http://www.westwind.com/reference/TN/PMReset.html

For the Lombard, flip up the keyboard and disconnect the PRAM battery - you'll see the wire connected

Tried this, no joy. I'll remove and reseat the RAM next, but wow, it's a PITA for this laptop.

This reminds of the fun times when I first got my PB G3. Trying to remember what was it that got mine to get beyond a black screen....

For starters, mine, a WallStreet PDQ, is very picky with what kind of hard drive you stick into it. If there is one installed that is rated > 500mA, it may start up a few times, but will eventually stop booting up. It is fine with solid state drives, just hard drives that is it picky with.

If Byrd's suggestion doesn't help, might check to see if the hard drive is the issue. 

HDD is an Apple branded 6GB Fujitsu SCSI drive. 

 

[Unknown_K]

LEM tells you about HD upgrade issues with the Wallstreets I think.

" WallStreet owners have reported problems with IBM/Hitachi Travelstar drives where the computer will not wake up from sleep. This is due to a magnetic sensor that responds to a magnet in the Travelstar drive. This problem does not impact other PowerBook G3 models, only WallStreet. "

Dead PRAM batteries on a Wallstreet will cause the fan to fire up on boot and take a little while for the screen to come up. Broken hinges will shred the video cable going to the screen and those are hard to find these days. Wallstreets are also picky about RAM modules density so use PC100 is you have some (512MB 2x 256MB stick max).

 

[unxmaal]

LEM tells you about HD upgrade issues with the Wallstreets I think.

" WallStreet owners have reported problems with IBM/Hitachi Travelstar drives where the computer will not wake up from sleep. This is due to a magnetic sensor that responds to a magnet in the Travelstar drive. This problem does not impact other PowerBook G3 models, only WallStreet. "

Dead PRAM batteries on a Wallstreet will cause the fan to fire up on boot and take a little while for the screen to come up. Broken hinges will shred the video cable going to the screen and those are hard to find these days. Wallstreets are also picky about RAM modules density so use PC100 is you have some (512MB 2x 256MB stick max).

The hinges appear fine, and the video cable seems to be intact. Video doesn't work from either the display or from the VGA port to a monitor.

At this point I've removed and reseated the RAM, PRAM battery, modem, and CPU. It chimes on boot, but I get no video whatsoever.

 

[Unknown_K]

Try different RAM