15-inch aluminum PowerBook battery update

Update to power adapter error message:

Genius bar wanted to send my 15" Powerbook in for repair since we could not get rid of the "power adapter not plugged in" error. This was not an option for me as I already have my brand new 17" in for repair (16 days now!) and this is my backup.

I went to another Apple store and didn't tell them that I had already been to a Genius Bar; I wanted them to look at the issue fresh. The tech looked at the error, went in back, and replaced my battery with a fresh one. He said that it may not fix the problem, but the new battery probably won't need the update anyway so it will get rid of the annoying error telling me to run the update that won't run. Since I don't foresee another battery firmware update requirement in the near future, I had him log the error and date (just in case) and left it at that.

Well after applying the battery update via Software Update my battery is almost completely non-functional! It ran for about 5 minutes and then died. Now it won't charge.

I've since discovered this webpage, and have now tried running the Apple G4 Battery Updater application but this says "Your battery does not need to be updated".

My battery used to last for at least two hours (with Airport in use etc). Now it's completely USELESS!

Does anybody have any suggestions?

Cheers

#11: Same issue. Updater tells me I need to have the power adapter plugged in even though it is. I'm at a genius bar right now for the past hour with no luck. We have reset the PMU and the Logic Board. We have deleted and re-downloaded the updater again. We also downloaded an updater dmg file (instead of the using Software Udate). No resolution.

If we get this resolved, I will post a follow up.

hi, i ran the updater. after the process was finished, i restarted the computer. again, i had the warning that i should run the updater. when i pressed "ok", he said the battery was already up-to-date and that i probably had to take the battery in and out so the powerbook could recognize the battery. i did that. but each time i start the PB i got the same message from updater, and each time he says my PB is already uptodate... what's the point of that?

I also get the updater application saying "You must have a Power Adapter plugged in." I do have it plugged in! I'm using the adapter of my 1.25 Ghz Powerbook! Do anyone knows what's wrong ?

I installed the update and my 15 incher FW800 seems to a little snappier...

Have a look at coconut battery if you want more concise info on your battery

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

From what I understand, when charging it wont reach 100%, the charger dissipates somepower to keep it just below. I read somewhere.

I have a 1.67 Aluminum PowerBook (not the latest revision, the one right before that) and software update is having me download the battery dealamajig right now.

To #2, many computers and electronic devices do that. They consider the battery charged from 95% and up, especially if you unplug it while it's between the 95-100 range. If it were to drop below 95%, it would usually continue charging up through to 100%.