This computer has sat for almost two years. Will not start. I get a whir in the hd, but no light, no nothing. This happens when it is plugged in, with or without big battery. I can't afford to just start replacing things. I pulled the internal battery (figure eight). How can I determine if it has enough juice?

Any thoughts here as to how to do this on the cheap? I want it for internet and light writing/spreadsheets etc.

thanks chris

well as i see this is a current problem with the prismo's. I have one here whit a spare motherboard that i bought thinking it was the mother board but now after reading most posts about it here i think it could be either the cpu or the ac/sound board.
I'd like to buy the ac/sound board first since it's only 100$ but were do i buy the 900 mhz procesor ?
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when i first tried it would only do a litle spek in the speakers but no boot
after resetting in in the back many times i got pissed and forgot to unpluge it and went to sleep, in the morning i got up and found it blazing hot, i quickly unpluged it, went to take a shower the n tried resetting it again and i booted!!! then crashed while playing a song.

Got it to boot twice like that but thats it now it wont do it anymore. i realized that when i reset it after plugging it in, it send power to it but does'nt boot thats what cauzed it to heat up, the screen kind glares a little whn it's not booting but on.....

I really want to know which to replace
AC/sound board or processor ?

You want specific answers, this can not be done, it could be a few things!

Does any of the led’s light up on the battery?
Here is the Battery Verification list:
Battery Verification
PowerBook (FireWire) batteries have level-indicator lights that show whether the battery is fully charged, three-fourths charged, one-half charged, or one-fourth charged. To determine the actual battery charge, push in the level indicator button to activate the indicator lights. If more than one light is blinking, there is a problem with the battery. If only one light is blinking, the battery is fully depleted and should be charged soon.
Are you using a known good power supply?

Are there any beeps at the start? Here is a list of the start-up beeps:
Power-On Self Test
There is a power-on self test that resides in the ROM of the PowerBook (FireWire). This test automatically runs whenever the computer is powered on after being fully shut down (the power-on self test does not run if the computer is only restarted).
If a problem is detected during the test, you will not hear a normal startup chime. Instead, the system will beep as explained in the Power-On Self Test Beep Definitions chart.
Power-On Self Test Beep Definitions
Beeps Definition
1 beep No RAM is installed or detected.
2 beeps EDO memory is installed. The PowerBook (FireWire) ships with SDRAM SO-DIMMs and does not accept EDO memory.
3 beeps No RAM banks passed memory testing.
4 or 5 beeps Bad checksum for the remainder of the boot ROM. The ROM (which is located on the microprocessor module) is bad.

As far as Apples repair manual goes the list in order to replace is this:
Power
Computer won’t power up
1. Restart computer by pressing the reset button on the back of the unit. Wait five seconds and press the Power key.
2. Try known-good power adapter.
3. Try known-good, firmly seated, charged battery. Repeat.
4. Connect power adapter and restart computer in 3-4 minutes.
5. Disconnect internal keyboard completely and try powering up unit. If unit powers up, replace keyboard.
6. Verify microprocessor card is firmly seated.
7. Replace sound card.
8. Replace power supply card.
9. Replace microprocessor board.
10. Replace I/O logic board.

Hope this helps, it took a lot of typing so I hope so!

Hi

I just upgraded my Pismo. Now its not turning on. No whirring, no bing, no screen. Only Caps Lock light turns on. Battery has 1 light blinking when pressed. Won't start on power adaptor. Power reset doesn't help.

The processor unit doesn't feel like its seating properly. No "bite". Seems not to "click" into place, although the shape of the "teeth" would suggest some feeling of "grip" when correctly seated.

Any ideas?

If you are still looking at this thread, and are having problems... here is the key:

Your AC/Sound board seems fine, as you get power to the HD. Three possibilities:

Processor needs reseating
Processor is bad
Logic board is bad

The first possibility is free (look at take-apart manuals and the like), the second and thirds are expensive (over 100$), but not impossible.



Sounds like you need to get the AC board replaced, as that is sinking a lot of current and causing it to get hot. If that isn't the problem, the logic board is your next culprit. Doesn't sound like the processor is a problem, although I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't in tip-top shape anymore from that heat bath it got.



You are probably on the right track, press down on the processor twice to make sure it has good seating, clean out both contact points with compressed air, and if that fails, remove the upgrade and put things back the way they were before the upgrade. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the upgrade may have a part in this as well.