ibook problem has me troubled :/

A

adomino

Registered
model is 14" 1.67ghz the model just before the macbooks came out i think

problem first started last year just once, it started up with a sound thats something
like a hoover/vacum cleaner but not as loud of course, lasting 5 seconds, then you hear the typical mac sound for start up. it didnt reach desktop start up. i unplugged, it removed the battery and tried again - it worked

it didnt happen again until id say 6 months later, same thing happens. when i remove the battery and replace it will work. sometime just disconnecting the main power suppy works, BUT it still starts off with that hoover sound

now its becoming difficult to start it up, even after removing the battery and placing it back in

tonight i couldnt get anything from it, so i pressed the restart button, held it down, got that beep, held down the C key and began starting up BUT it stalled on the apple icon start up.

so, i just pressed it down again let go and let it restart, got that hoover sound again, but finally reached desktop.

i am worried what this is, im thinking it might be a battery near its end

i have this machine almost 3 years

any help, advice or similar experiences greatly appreciated

this is my first post, as i googled 'mac help' and it gave me this site

many thanks in advance

adomino
 
This sounds like it could most likely be caused by a problem with your power management.

First, you'll want to reset the power management unit: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. 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.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.

Then, you could try resetting the PRAM and NVRAM: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

Once you've done both of these steps, start it up. You'll need to set the date and time again as these will have been lost. If it is still giving you trouble, take it to an Apple dealer as they'll be able to try some more things.
 
The humming might be that your hard drive is physically "compressed" -- IE, there's too much pressure on top of it. It's pushing the metal shell down on the internal components and causing it to "rub".

If that's the case, a new hard drive is probably in order.

Also note that Apple's laptop batteries only last about 3 years. So the fact that your battery isn't holding a charge anymore isn't that abnormal.
 
thanks for both you help and advice. i have tried the power management thing since, but still no joy. it may be the hard drive though, i think its a software issue.

i have tried to install memory since, and get a white screen ith ' illegal operation' etc

is this because the memory is incorrect or is not reading and new adjustments since there is still a problem with the laptop, not turning on etc?

right now, it is not booting up at all, the sound is still there. time for the engineers i think

a sad day for me indeed

thanks again
 
Not booting up and a humming/grinding noise is usually the hard drive. Where is the noise coming from? I believe the hard drive in your machine is located under the left-side of the palm rest. If you put your ear there, is that were the unusual noises are coming from? If so, you probably have a failed / failing hard drive.

Are you able to boot up from the original CDs that came with your computer? I'm NOT suggesting that you do anything more than see if the computer boots from the disk -- DO NOT reinstall OS X or any other software until you've resolved the hardware issue(s).
 
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