Hi,
I happened to stumble across this thread when using Google: http://www.computing.net/mac/wwwboard/forum/11028.html
As I belive I have an answer to the question, I wrote a reply, only to recieve this message:
"You are trying to post a reply to a message that was posted quite a long time ago, May 24, 2005 at 17:21:53. Odds are that this reply will not be read by someone that can further help you with your problem. Please go to the appropriate forum by clicking here and post your question at that location."
I haven't been to this forum before, and I admit I don't know around what principles it works, but this appears to be a completely meaningless feature of a forum, and I haven't seen it anywhere else. What in earth would be the problem of sending a reply that I've already written to someone who might benefit from it? Also, there does not seem to be much though behind the message as it first (correctly) states that I'm trying to post a *reply* to a message, and then suggest that I should post my *question* in a new thread.
I suppose my question would be what in earth is the idea behind this.
Now, here is my reply in case the person behind the original message by any chance would read this post:
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Hi!
I presume that the sound you're experiencing at startup is either the 4-tone sequence indicating "Hardware failure" or the 8-tone sequence indicating "RAM failure".
In case of the latter, the problem most likely isn't at bad as it sounds. The RAM expansion card (on models with more than 2 MB of RAM) on this and similar Powerbook models have a tendency to spring loose slightly and loose contact with the board it is connected to, which will result in this error. What you will need to do is this:
1. Using a size 8 and a size 10 torx screwdriver, unscrew the four screws at the bottom of the computer and the small screw on the rear connector panel.
2. With the bottom of the computer facing downwards, lift up the top case and carefully disconnect the cable connecting the display to the motherboard. Be very careful no to touch any of the components inside the computer as many of them are very sensitive to damage from static electricity.
3. Carefully lift up the RAM expansion card (the small card connected to the daughterboard at the top left corner) without touching any of the contacts, and then push it back in place again.
4. Reconnect the display cable and put the top case back in place. Put the screws back in and start the computer. Hopefully it will start up properly.
In case of the 4-tone error sequence, I'm afraid either the hard drive or the floppy drive (or both) will need to be replaced. Eventually, it could also be a problem with the motherboard.
I hope you solve the problem! I own a Powerbook 170 myself, and it's a really nice computer.
Good luck!
Ps. A small tip: there was a problem with the original power adapter of the PowerBook 1XX series which could burn out the fuse on the motherboard, or damage the motherboard itself. In order to prevent this, always connect the power cord to the computer BEFORE the adapter is plugged into the outlet. Ds.
