Problem i nya iBooken: AirPort dör och omstart krävs

Adding RAM causes problems for iBook owners

Several owners of new iBooks complain that installing extra ram causes problems with Airport. Dozens of iBook owners have reported the issue for over a month without a response from Apple. Users also report system lag after installing RAM. Although the majority of affected users report problems with Airport, a small number say their wireless networking continues to function, display overall system slowness. One user writes, "I've got a new ibook 12" (refurbished, by the way) with recent airport problems. It shipped with 512mb ram and was just fine. Immediately after new 1gb stick of Crucial memory airport has become buggy. I can only get airport to go down when using a super high bandwidth networking task - running torrents seems to make airport quit within minutes."

Another user writes, "After spending time on the phone with AppleCare, to no avail, I took it into my local Apple Store. As soon as the guy fired up the iBook, he said there was a problem because (1) the signal was not 100% (which it should be in the store) and (2) my iBook could not see all of the available networks (the mall has about 5 or 6 available). They sent it off on Friday and it was back in the store on Tuesday. I picked it up Wednesday and found that the 'cure' was to 'reconnect antenna to airport'. I am not convinced it was that simple, but that is what the ticket said - perhaps the entire antenna was replaced, perhaps it was the card."

Sudden loss of AirPort connectivity for iBook G4 mid-2005 series

A growing number of iBook G4 mid-2005 series owners are reporting sudden loss of Airport functionality, accompanied by trackpad behavior becoming choppy and the kernel_task process using inordinate amounts of processor time.

MacFixIt reader David Burbank writes:

"I have been experiencing this issue since purchasing my Mid-2005 iBook G4 in early September. (100 GB Hard Drive, 1.5 GB RAM). We have to be careful not to confuse this issue with other problems.

"Airport connectivity stops completely without explanation after minutes, hours or days. Also, trackpad movement becomes choppy and kernel_task process starts consuming large amount of CPU, pinning CPU usage at 100%. (Mid-2005 iBooks only.)

"Also, it looks like it only happens when:

plugged into wall (problem doesn't happen running on battery power)
heavy airport usage (via internet downloads or moving files on a network)
having 1.5 GB ram installed. (1 GB doesn't seem to be a problem)
"When the problem occurs, the AirPort signal indicator in the menu bar turns gray and clicking on it reveals that there are no AirPort signals in range. Again, the trackpad behavior becomes choppy and the kernel_task process runs away with the CPU. Simply restarting the iBook restores normal functionality.

Ferdinand Klinzer corroborates:

"With some Mid-2005 iBooks, AirPort connectivity stops completely without explanation after hours or days. Seems to happen after downloading a large amount of information via the Airport connection. Seems to happen with users with more than the stock 512MB of RAM. The only solution thus far is to restart the machine."

Another reader adds:

"I have an iBook mid-2005 edition which has the problem of the airport card failing under heavy network usage. This problem seems to occur more in users with more than the 512 of default RAM. "

Potential workaround Some users have reported that changing the IPv6 configuration setting can help alleviate this issue.

Open the Network pane of System Preferences, select "AirPort," then click "Configure." Next, click on the TCP/IP tab, and click "Configure IPv6." If this setting is turned to "Off," try switching it to "Automatically."

Sudden loss of AirPort connectivity for iBook G4 mid-2005 series (#2)

Yesterday we began coverage of an issue where iBook G4 mid-2005 series owners experience sudden loss of Airport functionality, accompanied by trackpad behavior becoming choppy and the kernel_task process using inordinate amounts of processor time.

We received dozens of follow-up responses from users experiencing the same problem.

One reader writes:

"A note to say, me too! Using Transmit FTP to download a FreeBSD iso file wirelessly, I saw all the symptoms: high CPU usage by the kernel_task process, erratic cursor movement, and the connection went from all bars to no connection (with the wireless router 6 or 7 feet from the iBook)."

Another reader, Randy Norwood, adds:

"I too have been having this problem. The symptoms and fix (restarting the iBook) are almost exactly as described by the users mentioned in your article.

"My iBook is a midyear 2005 (purchased late August 2005) with 1.5 GB RAM. The extra 1 GB of RAM is third-party (Crucial/Micron) purchased separately and installed by me when the iBook was brand new.

"I have noticed the choppy trackpad behavior when this happens, but not the high CPU usage (it may not be high enough to draw my attention). The problem is often (but not always) triggered by large file transfers over the wireless connection.The wireless base station is an Airport Extreme that's about 2 years old.

"The problem seems to be getting worse recently. I am having to reboot every day or two."

Another reader, Sven, reports:

"I am seeing the same problem on my iBook (but I've also seen it when running off the battery) and it definitely seems to be related to the memory extension (I explicitly checked with removing the memory)."

Response from Apple? One poster to a Sven-S. Porst's blog reports receiving a response from Apple on this issue. He writs:

"I also got feedback from Apple regarding my bug report: 'After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering.'

Possible workarounds

Restarting So far, the most reliable workaround for this issue is to simply restart your iBook when the behavior starts occurring. Though obviously inconvenient, this has proven to be the only sure-fire way to resume normal operation.

Turning AirPort card off then back on Some users are able to avert the issue's full severity by turning off their AirPort cards (via the AirPort menubar item or through the Internet Connect application. When you start noticing choppy trackpad behavior, immediately turn your AirPort card off then back on and check for persistence of the issue.

No go here. Just installed the 10.4.3 update and put the machine thru its paces. Airport didn't last five minutes. So at this point, doesn't look like 10.4.3 did the trick.

That being said, when there's been issues like this in the past, there was usually a string of updates, once of which fixed the problem. For example, they were probably already working on the 10.4.3 update before they even knew this problem existed. Now that it's out, I wouldn't doubt if we see a fix to our problem within the next day or so.