I got a question from one of our readers tonight and I thought it would be a good subject for you guys to weigh in on as I don’t think I’m fully capable of answering his questions and solving the issue(s). So that said, here’s Robert’s question:

“All of the sudden, my Mac is freaking out. First, I noticed that it was slowing down an awful lot. Now, I can’t even restart or shut it down normally. Disk Utility isn’t working and I can’t even eject my CD. Any ideas how I can troubleshoot this issue and get my Mac back?”

Thanks in advance!

Ok, I’m having some real frustrating issues with my new MBP, the Dual link DVI adapter and my 30″ Dell external monitor. Maybe you can help me with a workaround for my issue. Here’s the story…

I run my external Dell @ 2560×1600 resolution. Most of the time everything is great, but when I leave the computer for a while, the screensaver comes on and eventually the MBP shuts off the monitor. This is where my issue takes place. SOMETIMES when I come back and move my mouse, everything turns on as expected but more often than not, I am thrown into this really wacked display. It’s as though the screen image is doubled on itself. There are vertical bands of rainbow color and scatter pixels across the whole width and it’s nearly impossible to see anything on the screen. I have found 2 ways to resolve the issue.

1. Unplug the mini-DVI for a couple seconds and plug it back in. This (as you probably know) isn’t the best solution because unplugging a monitor from your computer while it is on isn’t “advised”. So…

2. Struggle to find my mouse’s way up to the resolution/monitor icon in the taskbar and switch the resolution to 1280×800. This flickers the screen and comes back visible where I can then change the resolution to 2560×1600 with no issue. Then, however, I have to un-resize and un-rearrange all the windows I had open. This is really a pain.

So here’s my question… Is there a way to 1. completely avoid this issue all together? or 2. is there an easier way than method 2 above that doesn’t involve switching resolutions and OS X resizing and rearranging all my windows?

You guys are the smartest mega Mac brain I know. I trust and believe we can find the answer. Can you help me? Please!!!

My Noisy Fan from Brent Spore on Vimeo.

3 years of owning my Mac with no major issues. JUST after it’s AppleCare expires, it decides to start freaking out.

Fellow iBAM community member Ken, is having some issues with his Powerbook battery and sent me a quiestion for Ask iBAM. Here’s his question:

I have a powerbook G4, info below, and wanted to see if there was something I’m doing wrong to cause my battery problems. I bought a new battery because I thought the last one was getting old and causing the symptoms: no matter how many times I calibrate, it won’t charge past 43 or so percent. So, I’m having the exact same issues with the new battery. I’ve tried to reset the pram and the power management thing, but no luck.

Any ideas???

Thanks for any help.

Model Name: PowerBook G4 12″
Model Identifier: PowerBook6,8
Processor Name: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Processor Speed: 1.5 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 1
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1.25 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.0f0
Serial Number: 4H5151A2RJ7

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled
Version: 1.0

Battery Information:

Charge Information:

Charge remaining (mAh): 1576
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4209

Health Information:

Cycle count: 2
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1296
Voltage (mV): 11661

System Power Settings:

AC Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 30
Dynamic Power Step: Yes
Reduce Processor Speed: No
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Wake On Modem Ring: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

Battery Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Dynamic Power Step: No
Reduce Processor Speed: Yes
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On Modem Ring: No
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

Clamshell Closed: No
UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

AC Charger (Watts): 0
Connected: No
Charging: No

I figured this was a good one for the mega iBAM community mind to tackle. Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

Thanks in advance

- Brent

Our friend and fellow reader John, writes:

So, I bought my iMac *maybe* 4 months ago. The day after I got it, the SuperDrive crapped out on me. I bought it refurbished, but they guaranteed it to be like new. Anyways, my question is this: I fixed it about 4 times after a disc kept getting stuck in there. It was a DVD. Brand new each time. I cannot afford to be without my Mac and cannot send it in. I have an external CD/DVD drive that was originally built for PC but it’s runs on my Mac. I would like to know what would be an affordable Mac friendly external drive that would play DVDs too. I don’t want to buy a SuperDrive for fear it will do the same thing again. Any help would be fantastic!

This one’s out of my league so I thought I’d throw it up the greater minds out on the tubes. Anyone out there got some advice for our pal John? I’m sure he as well as I and most likely many others will be eternally grateful. As always, I thank you in advance.

Brent