[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Sudden Power Loss (Resolution?)

In case this is still an unresolved issue, I can provide what I think may be relevant information that might help. I believe this is an issue having to do with the power manager's interaction with Linux. I have noticed that on two of the powerbooks (one Lombard and one Wallstreet) I have running Ubuntu Breezy on that this sudden power down also occurs when I run on battery power quickly and repeatably and the battery I am using is not a very good battery. If I exchange for a really good battery, then it doesn't happen, at least as quickly. If I run OS X or OS 9 the issue doesn't occur, even with the bad batteries. The really annoying thing is that it also occurs (though much less often) when I am running of the AC supply. 

Rob

Rob Frohne wrote:


Hi Everyone,
Has there been any resolution of this issue? I am having these sudden power downs on a Lombard powerbook. It only happens when I'm active at the computer. The power just shuts off. I'm using Breezy with the latest updates. I'm hoping the Debian people here have figured it out so I can fix it. Linux is supposed to be stable, and this certainly isn't. 

Thanks,

Rob

   I recently dist-upgraded from Ubuntu Hoary to Ubuntu Breezy (5.10)
   and then began experiencing the sudden random power losses. Since
   I'm running a 1998 PowerBook G3 Series (aka "Wallstreet II" or
   "PDQ") my first thoughts were aging hardware, or the nearly dead
   PRAM battery. (I'd LIKE to replace it, but what an ordeal!)

   Ubuntu 5.10's kernel is 2.6.12-10-powerpc.

   As others in this thread have mentioned, the machine NEVER powers
   itself down when idle -- it's always when it's being actively used,
   like composing a gmail message. (Thank goodness Google added
   autosaves!) Mine has not (yet) powered down during a CPU-intensive
   activity such as a compile. I removed the PCMCIA network card and
   switched power supply bricks, but it still shuts down. No relevant
   messages in any log, but I keep the hard drive idle most of the time
   so it may just be losing the final messages most of the time.

   Pbbuttonsd reports version 0.7.1 (and I have been having some other
   trouble with it) so I stopped it now to see whether the reliability
   is better. I'm not running any of the other daemons mentioned in the
   thread -- no pmud, no mouseemu, no powernowd.

   cat /proc/cpuinfo
   processor       : 0
   cpu             : 740/750
   temperature     : 55-57 C (uncalibrated)
   clock           : 264MHz
   revision        : 2.2 (pvr 0008 0202)
   bogomips        : 530.43
   machine         : PowerBook
   motherboard     : AAPL,PowerBook1998 MacRISC
   detected as     : 50 (PowerBook Wallstreet)
   pmac flags      : 00000009
   L2 cache        : 1024K unified pipelined-syncro-burst
   memory          : 384MB
   l2cr override   : 0xb9110000
   pmac-generation : OldWorld





--

Rob Frohne, Ph.D., P.E.
E. F. Cross School of Engineering
Walla Walla College
100 SW 4th Street
College Place, WA 99324

(509) 527-2075
http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro


begin:vcard
fn:Rob Frohne
n:Frohne;Rob
org:Walla Walla College;E.F. Cross School of Engineering
adr:;;100 SW 4th Street;College Place;WA;99324;USA
email;internet:frohro@wwc.edu
title:Professor
tel;work:(509) 527-2075
tel;fax:(509) 527-2867
tel;home:(509) 529-3585
url:http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro
version:2.1
end:vcard
Reply to: