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My PowerBook G4 doesn't turn on.

Hello, I've recently bought a PowerBook G4 (A1046 with SuperDrive) that showed the folder with question mark icon since the seller most likely already took out the hard drive and bought a universal 96W charger that outputs 24V and my multimeter does show that it outputs the correct voltage, however trying to plug in the PSU with an adapter for the PowerBook's power plug, it doesn't boot, I checked if anything was unplugged apart from the IDE connector but still nothing. I then tried a PMU reset, still doesn't boot and still makes no noise, then I tried to reseat the RAM sticks (the seller put an extra 1GB stick and tried them seperately but nothing changed) still stuck at the same issue. What could even be the issue here?

Update (12/14/25)

To clarify : I'm not getting a folder with question mark icon, this was some extra context from photos of the seller that showed it working, not the current issue.

My actual current issue here is that the laptop shows no signs of life at all. No boot, no chime, no display, absolutely nothing.

I already tried :

- resetting the PMU (didn't work)

- reseating the RAM (still didn't work)

- checked the voltage (showed 24V)

- checked if anything was unplugged (everything was plugged in correctly)

Normally if this was just a simple Hard Drive issue, it would've been already fixed and wouldn't even make this post. All I want to know is if :

- The Universal PSU is the issue

- Or any internal components are potentially broken

Update (12/14/25)

I found the issue! The universal PSU's polarity was inverted! Thanks @danj !

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Without a drive which has the needed OS the system won't boot. The fact you see the folder with a blinking question mark is telling you there's no OS to boot from (likely no drive).

This series uses a ATA/IDE drive review this guide PowerBook G4 Aluminum 15" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement for the drive then you'll need to locate an original Mavericks CD disk to install the needed OS.

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@ponklu1 - Disconnect the drive both internal and/or external as well as the external power source.

Now disconnect the battery and press and hold the power button for a good 15 secs. Now plug the charger back in, did you see/hear any response?

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@danj I already tried it before but it didn't do anything, it doesn't have any hard drives connected and it was sold without a battery, i tried plugging in my own SATA hard drive using an adapter but it didn't help, having a hard drive or not does not change the fact that it's still unresponsive. In the case that the PSU I bought is the reason behind this issue, I bought a replacement PSU because the universal PSU may be the problem since the actual laptop was seen to be working before buying it.

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@ponklu1 - I guess that could be the issue, the polarity of the socket and plug need to be correct. The pin of the charger is positive so the power cord wiring my be backwards.

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@danj Honestly that might be the issue but even though the one I bought apparently allows to switch the polarity since it uses a 2 pin connector to the plug in the actual tip but they shaped it in a way that makes it nearly impossible to even do that.

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Ponklu1 will be eternally grateful.
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