[iBook] (no subject)

[William Jordan]

>Hello,
>
>I have a question. It seems my iBook modem plug is intermittent. Are there
>any known issues with this. Any quick fixes without the need of sending the
>computer in?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Christoph


This is a known issue with iBooks and OS X, but one that Apple 
refuses to acknowledge. I struggled with this a lot. According to 
some Unix gurus I found on another board, the modems in the iBooks 
are USB softmadems--that is they have minimal hardware and most of 
the work is done by the processor. The problem is that the power 
manager on the iBook motherboard puts the modem to sleep and doesn't 
always wake it up. The Unix guys devised drivers that will wake it 
up, but nobody has ported them to the Mac. I reported it to Apple in 
the hope that it can be included in a future upgrade.

There are several things that improve your chances of getting the 
modem to respond:

1. Use the Modem Magic scripts from MaCaRa.  Some people find that 
they solve the problem alone.
2. Place a phone call to the line that your iBook is connected to. Be 
sure to set the preference pane to wake on ring. I found this works 
most of the time to activate the modem. It does not work if there are 
a lot of phones and answering machines sapping the line voltage, 
though.


The "genius" at the Apple store Genius Bar suggested a $240 modem 
replacement via the Apple service dep't. Apple won't admit that they 
have a problem with bad power managers/modems on these 
motherboards,although there is a free repair available on a 
widespread video problem on the same boards. Since it is a 
combination bad software/flaky hardware problem, they take no 
responsibility at all.

I scheduled a modem replacement at the Powerbook Medic for $120, but 
cancelled it after I found a Microtech USB Multimodem for 20 bucks on 
eBay.  It's a little
bigger than a thumb drive, weighs nothing, and connects flawlessly.

Hope this helps.

Bill
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