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TICKET ARCHIVE -> High Battery Consumption

bylow - Apr 14, 2005 - 9:26 am

Hi:

I have a 5 month old 12 inch ibook G4 with 768mb RAM and the latest 10.3.8. It has been running with no major problems until I installed onyX to run maintenance on the mac. Suddenly, I realised that even though my battery is full, it only shows a max 3.5 hours! I used it until it went to sleep mode and it was 3.5 hours later. Before, I could use it up to 5 hours or more.

I don't think it's the fault of the battery because I switched it with another ibook G4 battery (same age). The other ibook had no problem with my battery.

I have tried pressing command, option, P, R but to no avail. I even tried using the battery until it goes to sleep but no avail. Then I tried pressing shift, control, option, O,F, but still the battery shows a max 3.5 hours...

How can I get back the old power consumption on the battery?

Your help is much appreciated!

bobw - Apr 14, 2005 - 10:38 am

Hi

try this;

If the computer is on, turn it off.
Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-Power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
Wait 5 seconds.
Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.


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Bobw - MacOSX.com Tech Support
bobw@macosx.com

bylow - Apr 14, 2005 - 10:50 am

Hi Bob:

I tried the method u mentioned - twice in fact. How do I know? Once the computer starts, the date/time is off and I have to reset. Still, the problem persists!

I am sure it has to do with some settings in the onyX program. It deals with cleaning hidden .DS files, system logs, disk optimizing, verifying/repairing disk permissions, system cache, core.xxx files, etc.

Any other remedies?

bobw - Apr 14, 2005 - 10:53 am

See if Onyx has an uninstall feature.
Drag that app to the trash and restart and see if it helps.

Download the 10.3.8 Combo Update and run that.


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Bobw - MacOSX.com Tech Support
bobw@macosx.com

bylow - Apr 14, 2005 - 11:04 am

Thanks Bob.. I will try and see what happens! Will update you.

Have a good week!

bylow - Apr 15, 2005 - 1:44 am

Hi:

I have tried your suggestion. It was a happy moment when I saw the battery time shoot up to 6hr20m. Within 15 secs, it dropped down to 5:40, and down to 4:50. It still is fine for me but in a few minutes later, it went down to approx. 3:40 and starts to go down progressively.

I have re-started the computer a few times and charged it a few times but it always comes back to the same. It seems like when the battery is full, it will show more than 5 hours, going down to 4 plus, and to 3:40 within minutes. After that, it will slowly go down from there.

I recall that sometimes the battery time indicator used to spike up 20 mins extra or more, depending on my usage. It doesn't happen anymore. I suppose there's not much to be done. I only hope that it doesn't get too bad too soon!

Thanks again for your help!

Regards,
B.Y. Low

bylow - Apr 15, 2005 - 1:47 am

Hello again:

I have a follow up question in my miind..

Would it work if I reformat the disk and re-install OS X from scratch? Or do you think it's a fruitless exercise?

Thanks,
B.Y. Low

bobw - Apr 15, 2005 - 8:15 am

Run on the battery until the machine stops because the battery is dead, then charge it and see if that helps, if not,
I would call Apple for service before doing anything else.


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Bobw - MacOSX.com Tech Support
bobw@macosx.com

bylow - Apr 15, 2005 - 7:43 pm

I guess it will be Apple Service because i have used it until battery runs flat and charged til full a few times.. i just did it this morning after a night of charging and the battery indicator shows 3:08..

Thanks again!

Regards,
B.Y. Low

bylow - Apr 18, 2005 - 1:18 am

Guess what Bob!

I installed 10.3.9 combo, and not only surfing and and downloading feels faster but my battery seems to go beyond 4.5 hours now! Phew!

Fortunately for me, the latest update is working extremely well for me, unlke so many reports I've seen on Safari crashing.

You have a good week!

Regards,
B.Y. Low