whislting powerbook

[Lynn]

Hi,

I have a powerbook g3 bronze pismo. My computer has been
making whistling sounds over the past two weeks or so. It is
coming from the bakc o the computer and I htknk my hard drive
is going.

Can anyone recommend a good hard drive for replacement?
I am trying to do backups and my cd burner keeps getting
error messages. I am worried I am going to lose valualbe info.

Thanks,
Lynn

[Heather Donahue]

In article <BB507944.934F%llact@optonline.net>,
Lynn <llact@optonline.net> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a powerbook g3 bronze pismo. My computer has been
> making whistling sounds over the past two weeks or so. It is
> coming from the bakc o the computer and I htknk my hard drive
> is going.
>
> Can anyone recommend a good hard drive for replacement?
> I am trying to do backups and my cd burner keeps getting
> error messages. I am worried I am going to lose valualbe info.

It probably is your harddrive, especially if you are starting to see
errors reading it. I have a Pismo and recently replaced my OEM drive
due to excessive noise. It came on slowly but made using the PowerBook
in public embarrassing, at least near the end.

I got my replacement at Other World Computing <http://eshop.macsales.com/>
I bought a 40GB IBM Travelstar 40GNX
<http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=4752&Item=IBM07N9482>
due to a number of reviews at <http://xlr8yourmac.com>

You can use the Drive Compatibility database at XLR8YourMac.com to see
if any other drives might work for you.

If you are going to replace the drive yourself, it's not hard if you can
find the Torx T8 screwdriver, XLR8YourMac has an article on how to go
about replacing it.

<http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/PB_G3/IBM_Travelstar_32GB/index.html>

[Lynn]

in article [email]nospam-51F54D.18443401082003@typhoon.sonic.net[/email], Heather Donahue
at [email]nospam@sonic.net[/email] wrote on 8/1/03 9:44 PM:

> In article <BB507944.934F%llact@optonline.net>,
> Lynn <llact@optonline.net> wrote:
>

>> Hi,
>>
>> I have a powerbook g3 bronze pismo. My computer has been
>> making whistling sounds over the past two weeks or so. It is
>> coming from the bakc o the computer and I htknk my hard drive
>> is going.
>>
>> Can anyone recommend a good hard drive for replacement?
>> I am trying to do backups and my cd burner keeps getting
>> error messages. I am worried I am going to lose valualbe info.

>
> It probably is your harddrive, especially if you are starting to see
> errors reading it. I have a Pismo and recently replaced my OEM drive
> due to excessive noise. It came on slowly but made using the PowerBook
> in public embarrassing, at least near the end.
>
> I got my replacement at Other World Computing <http://eshop.macsales.com/>
> I bought a 40GB IBM Travelstar 40GNX
> <http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=4752&Item=IBM07N9482>
> due to a number of reviews at <http://xlr8yourmac.com>
>
> You can use the Drive Compatibility database at XLR8YourMac.com to see
> if any other drives might work for you.
>
> If you are going to replace the drive yourself, it's not hard if you can
> find the Torx T8 screwdriver, XLR8YourMac has an article on how to go
> about replacing it.
>
> <http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/PB_G3/IBM_Travelstar_32GB/index.html>

Heather,

Thank you so much for your informative response. I have
heard from others about this hard drive.

Just now when I was emailing someone I noticed that my
battery status is going in and out. When I tried
to tighten the connection to the computer, the whistling
stops. Do you know if that means it is just he adapter
or if it's the motherboard or soemthingworse??
I just took the adapter out and it's quiet. I jsut replaced
my yoyo last year after sparking with a brick that I purchased.
I have a spare yo you that I don't trust.

Would appreciate any info you may have on this.
Thanks!
Lynn

[Heather Donahue]

In article <BB51D7D2.948F%llact@optonline.net>,
Lynn <llact@optonline.net> wrote:

> Heather,
>
> Thank you so much for your informative response. I have
> heard from others about this hard drive.
>
> Just now when I was emailing someone I noticed that my
> battery status is going in and out. When I tried
> to tighten the connection to the computer, the whistling
> stops. Do you know if that means it is just he adapter
> or if it's the motherboard or soemthingworse??
> I just took the adapter out and it's quiet. I jsut replaced
> my yoyo last year after sparking with a brick that I purchased.
> I have a spare yo you that I don't trust.

It sounding like the harddrive based on what you said earlier. On my
PowerBook it was pretty obvious that it was the hardrive, it only made
the sound when the drive was spinning.

If the whistling only happens on your's when you plug in your adapter,
it sounds much more likely to be something to do with the charging
circuitry. I'm not familiar with the Pismo enough to know what could
cause that noise. Hopefully someone else in the newsgroup might have
heard of this.

[John Johnson]

In article <nospam-761FE0.18345102082003@typhoon.sonic.net>,
Heather Donahue <nospam@sonic.net> wrote:

> In article <BB51D7D2.948F%llact@optonline.net>,
> Lynn <llact@optonline.net> wrote:
>

> > Heather,
> >
> > Thank you so much for your informative response. I have
> > heard from others about this hard drive.
> >
> > Just now when I was emailing someone I noticed that my
> > battery status is going in and out. When I tried
> > to tighten the connection to the computer, the whistling
> > stops. Do you know if that means it is just he adapter
> > or if it's the motherboard or soemthingworse??
> > I just took the adapter out and it's quiet. I jsut replaced
> > my yoyo last year after sparking with a brick that I purchased.
> > I have a spare yo you that I don't trust.

>
> It sounding like the harddrive based on what you said earlier. On my
> PowerBook it was pretty obvious that it was the hardrive, it only made
> the sound when the drive was spinning.
>
> If the whistling only happens on your's when you plug in your adapter,
> it sounds much more likely to be something to do with the charging
> circuitry. I'm not familiar with the Pismo enough to know what could
> cause that noise. Hopefully someone else in the newsgroup might have
> heard of this.

This symptomology makes me suspect a grounding issue (I know, no ground
wire on the PB yo-yo). If you have a ground-loop or other feedback loop
being generated by your AC connection, you can get noises of many
different sorts, and they can be affected by the level of power being
drawn (e.g. when you are writing to disc or memory). Such conditions do
not always make noise through the speakers (as other components can
resonate as a result of this condition).

Why you should hear the whine only for secure sites if this were the
cause, I can't tell you.

However, diagnosis is not difficult. If you can isolate that AC circuit
(a good UPS will do the job, high end "surge protectors" might, there
are a couple of other ways), and the whine goes away, you have your
answer. If not, the most sure method is to find out exactly what
component is making the noise. Of course, this will likely be difficult
unless you are willing to remove the case from the computer.

IMO, if it's not the HD or the speakers making the noise, it's likely
not a serious problem at the moment. Based on the assumption that it is
a power issue, I would look into some sort of power conditioning, either
for the entire premises (much cheaper than it sounds, and some quite
informative threads appeared in the comp.sys.mac groups about this
subject a year or two ago. I contributed to them, so you can search for
my name in conjunction with "grounding" or "whole-house grounding" and
likely find them) or just for the computer.

HTH

--
later.

johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu

Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.

[Lynn]

in article [email]read_the_sig-313ED3.02162303082003@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com[/email],
John Johnson at [email]read_the_sig@the_bottom.edu[/email] wrote on 8/3/03 3:15 AM:

>
> This symptomology makes me suspect a grounding issue (I know, no ground
> wire on the PB yo-yo). If you have a ground-loop or other feedback loop
> being generated by your AC connection, you can get noises of many
> different sorts, and they can be affected by the level of power being
> drawn (e.g. when you are writing to disc or memory). Such conditions do
> not always make noise through the speakers (as other components can
> resonate as a result of this condition).
>
> Why you should hear the whine only for secure sites if this were the
> cause, I can't tell you.
>
> However, diagnosis is not difficult. If you can isolate that AC circuit
> (a good UPS will do the job, high end "surge protectors" might, there
> are a couple of other ways), and the whine goes away, you have your
> answer. If not, the most sure method is to find out exactly what
> component is making the noise. Of course, this will likely be difficult
> unless you are willing to remove the case from the computer.
>
> IMO, if it's not the HD or the speakers making the noise, it's likely
> not a serious problem at the moment. Based on the assumption that it is
> a power issue, I would look into some sort of power conditioning, either
> for the entire premises (much cheaper than it sounds, and some quite
> informative threads appeared in the comp.sys.mac groups about this
> subject a year or two ago. I contributed to them, so you can search for
> my name in conjunction with "grounding" or "whole-house grounding" and
> likely find them) or just for the computer.
>
> HTH
>
> --
> later.
>
> johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu
>
> Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.

Hi,
Thanks for the info. I am a bit confused. Not only do I have
the whistling sound when the adapter is pushed into the jack
, but my additional 300 plus ram is not showing up in the system
profiler. It shows up under about acomputer, but that is it.
I have been getting memory problems for awhile and wasn't
aware that the computer wasn't acknowledging all of the ram.
It stops whistling if I hold the plug and push it into the jack
tighter. I am using a brick. I have a backup yo yo but am
not too thrilled with it. THe last two have sparked on just
one use.

I can't record to a cd firewire backup. I get errors or else
it hangs during finishing session. I can get backup to my swappable
zip drive though.

Disk first aid fixed a volume error the other night.
I am not sure where to go with all of this.
At first I htought it was the drive, now it looks like it could
be adapter or both and why the trouble with the firewire?

A mac guy will charge 50 to come to my house (am disabled
and can't drive), 85 per hour for labor, and 200 for a new
Toshiba drive. I have heard the ibm travelstars are better
and cheaper.

Not sure how much I should spend on this if the money
could go toward a newer model.

Thanks so much for any advice.
Lynn

[Lynn]

x

> Let's start by attacking one problem at a time. Troubleshooting gets
> much easier then.
>
> So far we've got:
>
> 1. "whistling sound" when plugged into wall power. The sound goes away
> when you fiddle with the connection at the back of the PB.

It is more like a hissing sound at this point. Less annoying than the
whistle,but still bothersome. Suspect the hard drive.
x

> 2. RAM not showing up under system profiler. How much RAM should you
> have in total? 384MB? How many DIMMs do you have installed, and which
> one is in which slot?

I had my neighbor remove my keyboard and the ram was not unseated or
anything. I have 320 total. 64 shows up, the rest says incompatible. Was
fine all along. I called the company I bought it from and they are going to
replace it so that is one thing out of the way! I bought good ram from a
reputable company recommended online. Yes, it is simpler this way!
x

> 3. Can't record to a FireWire CD-R device. Were you able to back up to
> the FW CE-R before and now cannot? What software do you use to back up
> your system? For that matter, what system version are you using? Some
> types of back up software (e.g. Retrospect Express) have limitations on
> what sort of device you can back up to. You might check to see whether
> FW CD-R's or FW devices in general are supported, or possibly whether
> they need additional drivers/software patches installed to work.
> I am using Toast 5.02 and O S 9.2.1 I am wondering now if it was not working

because of the Ram issue. Not sure. I am just dragging my files to Toast
for backing up. I checked and got all of the updated programs for
everything involved. I am unable to use Toast Titanium 5.2. I don't know
what thecd key is. Maybe it is on my Toast disk that came with the Que
Firewire Drive.

> 4. Volume error fixed by Disk First Aid. I don't really know whether
> this is significant. If you have good back-ups and have not noticed any
> other problems with the HD, I wouldn't worry about this just now.

Diskwarrior also found another one of these errors

> If you are considering a replacement HD, I installed an IBM TravelStar
> GNX (5400rpm vs the GN line's 4200rpm), and am quite happy with it.
> There have been many discussions about HD recommendations in this group
> over the past year, and a search of the archives should easily dig up
> more information than you really care to know.

This is the most frequently suggested hard drive and the one that I will
most likely get. Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it!

[matt neuburg]

In <BB55E039.9694%llact@optonline.net> Lynn wrote:

> I have 320 total. 64 shows up, the rest says incompatible. Was
> fine all along.

It wasn't fine all along. It was incompatible. I mean, it didn't
suddenly have a change of heart and *become* incompatible! m.

--
matt neuburg, phd = [email]matt@tidbits.com[/email], [url]http://www.tidbits.com/matt[/url]
REALbasic: The Definitive Guide! 2nd edition!
[url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596001770/somethingsbymatt[/url]
Subscribe to TidBITS. It's free and smart.

[Lynn]

in article [email]20030805203154653-0700@news.la.sbcglobal.net[/email], matt neuburg at
[email]matt@tidbits.com[/email] wrote on 8/5/03 11:31 PM:

> In <BB55E039.9694%llact@optonline.net> Lynn wrote:

>> I have 320 total. 64 shows up, the rest says incompatible. Was
>> fine all along.

>
> It wasn't fine all along. It was incompatible. I mean, it didn't
> suddenly have a change of heart and *become* incompatible! m.

How come it was working and showing up in profiler from the very
beginning?This is a new problem and it did seem to show up all of a sudden.
I bought good ram and it was working all along until now.