Hi:
I wrote earlier (Friday 13 August!) about a problem I was having with the screen of my newly acquired G4 867 Titanium powerbook and I am sure those of you who own one or are contemplating the purchase of one will want to know the outcome.
Recapping - after a wake-up from sleep (when the battery had become very low unbeknown to me), the screen went acid green. Text was readable but images are corrupted and look "solarised". Impossible to look at browser pages.
I tried various things myself and when I eventually got through to Applecare we tried a stack of other things. I tried re-setting display prefs. I booted from Installation disc, from Techtools and from Applecare Discs. Still green screen. We tried re-setting the PRAM and the PMU. No change.
Now I know that when booting from a CD does not change the green screen, I have a hardware and not a software problem and that is serious. I live and learn even after 16 years of owning Macs.
Applecare told to take the powerbook to an "Apple service provider" (and I live five hours' drive from the nearest one). So I contacted the Apple Centre where I bought it six weeks before. The manager advised me to take it to a new Apple re-seller in Bega, about two hours from me.
I do not undertake lightly a car trip over the mountains in stormy spring weather so I did not make the trip until 13 September. (yes, that magic number again)
I drove home without it and awaited the verdict. A new screen had to be re-ordered (they checked cables and connections on my advice from this list). That took another 48 hours. Then a vital heat screen had been overlooked so that had to be ordered.
When it came time to freight it back to me we discovered there was no freight service :-). I resigned myself to another day's driving to fetch it but the re-seller decided to drive down at the weekend with his family to show them this little coastal town. So, the end of the story is that thanks to the efforts of that re-seller I am re-united with the machine. At last.
What have I learned from this?
1. Mailing lists are a great support in a computer crisis like this. Thank you to all who offered advice.
2. Applecare protection seems worth all the extra you pay. The reps were all very polite and patient.
3. From what I have heard on this list SOME G4 Titaniums may have a problem with their screen. But everything else is fine and it will elicit admiration all its life I think for its design and looks.
4. While the G4 Powerbook was in Bega I went back to using my 3400c. I never thought I would say it, but the difference between the two is remarkable. Speed of course, but also OSX. And the stability. I was very glad to see the G4 home.
If you are wondering whether or not to move up to OSX or to a newer powerbook, hesitate no longer. Buy the most recent you can afford. (I like having the Classic environment on board tho').
Hope this completes the record on this one and helps someone else.
Once more thanks to all who helped
Maria B Australia
-- Outback Mac is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html>
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
Outback Mac list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/obmac.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/outback.mac%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
