I recently recieved a used 400 MHz Pismo from a friend at school. He said that it wouldn't start, so he sold it to me for $20. Not bad, eh? Well, after examining it, I've determined that the power/sound card is fried. However, I'm not absolutely positive that that is the problem. I just need a second opinion before I spend any money.
The general area around power card smells...odd. Almost like burnt electronics, but enough like the rest of the computer to throw me off.
I'm sure that it's getting power, as I'm using my Wallstreet's power supply, and I've tried every wall socket in my house.
Thanks in advance. I hope I can get Tycho, as I've decided to call it, running.
Guess what! I had Tycho's PRAM battery unplugged in a last attempt to start it up. I just plugged it back in and Tycho booted right up! I'm dancing around the house because I'm so impossibly happy!
Sorry for the wasted post.
Darn. I was going to offer you $25 for it.
$20 for a dead Pismo is an awesome deal! Just don't get too excited when you tell your friend about it, he'll be jealous. Had the machine sat unused for a long time? If so, then the PRAM was drained, and it wouldn't boot until it had been plugged in long enough to charge it. If you left it plugged in for at least a few hours, that'd probably be enough to cause it to work, as it seems to have happened. Great find!
I'm not sure what exactly happened to it, but the PRAM battery was fine, charge-wise. However, I've discovered another problem: It refuses to charge the regular battery. When I plug the battery in, it tells me it's charging and it will take 0 hours and 0 minutes, but when I do something that requires the system to call the battery such as adjusting power options, the battery icon on the menu bar suddenly has an X in it, indicating no battery at all. Is this a problem with the battery itself or the battery charging card?
Other than that, it works great! 256 megs of RAM, DVD-ROM drive, the works. I'm watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail on it right now.
Your battery is toast.
The Pismo's battery is made by BTI and replaced the OEM Apple battery only a few years ago. Technically, it shouldn't have died as fast as it did. If only Battery Reset 2 worked on Pismos...