Member Avatar for bosdmeg

Is there any kind of warning I can turn on so I get an alert when the battery on my PowerBook is about dead. Right now with out any kind of warning my power book just goes to sleep when the battery is dead. My old ibook running OS 9.2.3 would display an alert, warning me that the battery was low. Most likely there is an option somewhere to turn on such an alert, I just don’t know where.

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Short summary: this is a common headache on older PowerBooks — the system sometimes fails to present the low-battery dialog and simply sleeps. solved the symptom with a third-party monitor (useful), and was right to check the Energy Saver/menu-bar battery item first. Before relying on external utilities, try the software + hardware checks below.

Actionable checks (in order)

  • Make sure the battery/status item is shown in the menu bar (that controls the built-in low-battery alert). (support.apple.com)

  • Reset the Power Manager (PMU) for the 12" PowerBook G4: shut down, then press Shift + Control + Option + Power at the same time, release, wait ~5 seconds, then press Power to restart. Some G4 variants instead use a physical reset button under the keyboard or on the rear I/O — follow the model-specific procedure if the key combo does not apply. (scribd.com)

  • Calibrate the removable battery (if applicable): fully charge, let it sit charged for ~2 hours, run on battery until you see the low-battery dialog and the machine sleeps, leave it asleep/off for ~5 hours, then fully recharge. This helps the firmware estimate remaining capacity more accurately. (manualmachine.com)

  • Test hardware: if possible run on AC with the battery removed (or try a known-good battery/adapter). A failing battery or adapter can cause the machine to go to sleep immediately and prevent any software-level warning. (ifixit.com)

Notes and cautions: resetting the PMU/power manager can restore defaults (you may need to reset clock/settings). If these steps do not restore a reliable warning, the problem is likely battery- or logic-board-level; third-party monitors help when the OS reports capacity correctly, but they cannot compensate for a battery that is dropping voltage before the controller reports it.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

I am sure there is. My G3 Lombardi will tell me when the battery is getting low, and I know I can go to a control panel, and enable the battery gauges on the menubar.

Not having a G4 laptop, I do not know what custom settings are available. I would look in the System Preferences control panels under Energy Saver and see what you come up with.

Christian

Member Avatar for bosdmeg

I have looked in every control panel I can find. Nothing it is annoying that I will be in the middle of something and the screen goes blank. GAME OVER

With my old iBook I would get a warning saying there is a few minutes of battery left. The new PowerBook just goes asleep.

Member Avatar for bosdmeg

After some extensive research I have determined this problem is specific to my install. So I found a fix it is called SlimBatteryMonitor. Here is some info.


"Takes up to 70% less space than Apple's monitor.
Monitors laptop batteries and many UPS batteries as well.
Select different views for when powered, charging or on battery.
Monitor can hide itself automatically when desired."

You can ask it to display a warning at 25%, 15%, and 10%. Take a look at the developer’s site.

developer’s site

Anyway,
Bosdmeg :cool:

Member Avatar for Kezz

Thanks for posting your solution :)
I've been looking for something like that too

Member Avatar for windy_week

Hi,
Thanks for posting your solution (I had the same problem on my 12" G4 running 10.2.8). Did you figure out why there was no warning?

After some extensive research I have determined this problem is specific to my install. So I found a fix it is called SlimBatteryMonitor. Here is some info.


"Takes up to 70% less space than Apple's monitor.
Monitors laptop batteries and many UPS batteries as well.
Select different views for when powered, charging or on battery.
Monitor can hide itself automatically when desired."

You can ask it to display a warning at 25%, 15%, and 10%. Take a look at the developer’s site.

developer’s site

Anyway,
Bosdmeg :cool:

Member Avatar for bosdmeg

I don't actually know why the Mac warning never showed, but I have a theory. The slimbattery monitor should popup when I have 25 minutes of battery remaining. It pops up when I have about 25 second remaining. The Mac has already gone to sleep before it’s warning can be displayed. I believe it is a hardware issue because both of the battery meters use the same raw data. As far as I know it is limited to the 12 G4 867 MHz PowerBook.

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