Mac Virus - won't wake from sleep for more than a few seconds

[amigadave]

I know this is not the best place to ask for help with Macs, but this group is the most helpful and responsive that I have ever had the privilege of belonging to, so ....

My Powerbook started acting up this morning, I browsed my usual sites, A.org, Amiga on Ebay, Lemon Amiga.  I then had to go out for a few minutes, put the Mac to sleep, and when I got back and opened the Powerbook, it only showed the screen for a few seconds before going black.  I hit some keys to wake it up again and only heard the keyboard sound when you click on an option that is not available.  I closed and reopened the Mac several times, and each time the screen would display for even less time before going black again.  I shut down completely and cold started.  The screen displayed almost long enough to log-in the first cold start, but then went black again.  Each cold start shows less display time.  I am off now to check some Mac sites for help, but will be right back.

Any ideas?          :-?

[amigadave]

Well, changed the battery (which was fully charged) to the spare battery, tried with and without the charger connected, tried to boot from the Tiger 10.4 CD, tried again holding down the "C" key, NO JOY!

I doubt that it is a hardware problem because the display works perfectly for the few moments that it is on.  Sometimes it works long enough for me to log on with my password.  The desktop shows up and is still there when the display flashes for a few seconds or just a fraction of a second when I close and then reopen the laptop.  My suspicion is a virus eventhough everyone knows Macs don't get viruses (common myth).

If anyone knows how to get my Powerbook to boot from the CD please let me know.  The only thing I can think of to do is re-install the OS 10.4 and hope for the best.

[amigadave]

Took the battery out and cold started with the "C" key depressed for over 3 minutes, no change, no boot from CD.

I did replace a faulty SuperDrive DVD-RW over a month ago, but it was an exact replacement.

Can I get to the Mac bios (or equal) to instruct it to boot from the Superdrive somehow?

[amigadave]

Thanks TjLaZer,  Same problem when booted from the Tiger CD.  I am going to continue to try to install 10.4 again if I can see the screen long enough.

[amigadave]

I thought Acill had the answer, but after resetting the PMU the problem returned after a few minutes instead of seconds.  I am really suspecting a virus more now as the PMU reset no longer has any effect and I am afraid that a virus may have found a way to over-write the reset instructions.  When the PMU is reset now, it has no effect and the symptoms are exactly the same as before I tried it.  The first PMU reset I thought had fixed the problem, as the display was working for several minutes after that first reset.  Now it is back to working for just a few seconds or just a flash on the screen.  I found some other posts on the web about PMU problems with OS 10.4.  I wonder if I should go back to 10.3 if I could get the damn screen to display long enough to let me do an install.

Any other ideas?  Starting to worry that this may be something I can't fix myself. Does anyone know how to restore the PMU if it has been corrupted by a virus or by too many resets?

[amigadave]

Dana, your diagnosis seems feasible as the longer I try to run the PB the shorter the screen displays anything.  If I wait several minutes, then reboot, the display will work long enough to maybe make it through the login.  After that, if I close the PB, wait for the sleep indicator light to come on and reopen it will display for a few seconds or just flash the screen.

I'll go looking for a description of inverter board you mentioned and see if it is something I can do or if I have to have a repair facility do it.

P.S. My Power supply is almost new and both batteries still provide power for an average of 2 hours so I don't think power is the problem.

[amigadave]

one of the last Titanium Power Books made.  1gHz G4 w/1gb RAM, SuperDrive and 60 or 80 gb HD.

I have been disabled (back injury) since the end of May and have just realized how much I use my Power Book everyday, now that I can't use it.  It is like I have lost a friend or the use of one of my hands.

[amigadave]

Maybe it's not a virus and it is a hardware issue, but I don't believe the hype that there can't be any OS 10.4 virii out there.  I chose a Mac instead of a cheaper Windows machine because I believe it is superior hardware and software and don't regret that decision.  I wish we had more programmers keeping up the Mac version of UAE to where the WinUAE version is, but other than that, I do appreciate the differences, like a Porsche vs a Kia.

Unfortunately Porsche like design comes with Porsche like purchase and repair prices.

[amigadave]

Back on the Powerbook!!!  I found a site that described how to reset the motherboard and then the PMU, followed those directions exactly and so far so good.  I am so relieved that I don't have to take it in for repairs.

I hope this problem does not return.  I am still tempted to re-install the OS back to  10.3

Spoke to soon.  Damn!!!  I am typing this on a black screen.