Hi, All

I just reported it to a _desktop_ specialist (since I'm on an iMac G5). Pointed him to both this forum and the one on discussions.apple.com. He said it was the first thing he'd heard, but that was probably because the issue has manifested mostly on the laptop end of things.

I pointed out to him that there were two separate issues (at least) on the iBook situation; i.e., a "flimsy case" issue (hardware) and a [quite likely firmware related] KP issue, both connected to the _non-removable_ Airport Extreme cards of mid-to-late '05 vintage.

I hope it'll add to the urgency at Apple if they realize that it's not only iBook owners who are being affected, and that they'll focus attention on the firmware question. The "flimsy case/failing motherboard" matter may have to be resolved separately as an extended warranty program, or recall (to have those motherboards replaced for free).

For the record
 

I have an 1.8ghz 17" iMac G5 ALS that I purchased in Oct. 2005 one week before the iMac w/iSight came out (grrr.....):mad:

I have the exact same problem as described above.

AirPort = KP

My AirPort can be "on" but as soon as I attempt to connect to a network, share my internet connection or use it in any way: KP

Sometimes I get complete system crashes that require hard resets.

Just clicking on the AirPort status menu on the menu bar will give me that spinning ball of death.

It DID work at one time, and it worked WELL. After about a year or so was about when it started to have problems.

HELP:confused:

It's not just iBooks...........

Well it's been a few days and my ibook is still working.....

Have you installed any updates? AirPort or if on a new install, 10.4.8?

likehella, did Apple reapir tell you what those repair codes really mean?

Is it the airport card on the logic board they have repaired only?
For $293 I find it hard to believe they exchanged your logic board.

And what airport firmware do you have after the exchange? Is it the same as before you sent it to repair?

Well I didn't pick up my ibook personally so I didn't ask what the repair codes meant exactly. I don't know if they repaired the logic board. (I did have the logic board replaced previously though). I haven't installed any updates since I got my ibook returned. (Yes I do have 10.4.8) The wireless firmware is 405.1 (3.90.34.0.p18). I'm not sure what it was before I sent it in. (I do know that I had all the latest software updates before sending it in)

When my computer was returned neither the iChat or Security Update 2007-001 was installed. (and I haven't installed them)

(heres a vid I made before I sent in my ibook) http://youtube.com/watch?v=kUY5cgslP-g

At the Apple store when this first started happening (end of January), I was told that I could send my ibook in for $280 flat fee (plus S/H), and that would cover any necessary repairs, including a new logic board.

nquinnathome1, you sent in your iBook and got it back with the same problems.
Have you asked apple repair what they exchanged in your iBook?

I think it's important to know for us what kind of replacement fixes the
airport panic hassle. At least the knowledge can give us hope.

Is it a change of logic board, airport card only, or put in other firmware for the airport card that makes the airport panic go away? Or a combination of them?

Killergull, Apple refused to tell me what was repaired with my iBook (the person I spoke to claimed they didn't know what had been done), so with my problems still there and having had it repaired for free, I instead used the warranty cover again and this time they sent it off to an authorised repairer, who so far have proved to be far more helpful.

I get it back tomorrow, the technician I've dealt with has phoned me and let me know that the problem was with a single pin on the AirPort card which had come loose; this would explain why when you move your iBooks around you're more likely to get the Kernel panic if you don't get one immediately. He has soldered the pin back for me and has done a bit of 'rough-handling-whilst-browsing the web' testing to make sure that it's not going to come loose again; when he returns it tomorrow (assuming it's him), I will ask him which pin it was and whether it's something that we could all do with a soldering iron ourselves if need be.

Great, this probably explains why it helps to press gently below the control/option keys when booting up.

But still, why did many people get this air port panic problem after updating to 10.4.8? Or is it just a coincindence?

I don't know if it was 10.4.8 or one of the other (security) updates; still, most of the machines were bought around September 05 and started panicking just over a year later. At least, that's my impression.
For me, not being a specialist in these things at all, it sounds like a software-induced hardware problem.

Very interested in what nquinnathome1 will find out...

Look on the Apple discussions thread for this problem and you'll see a guy called Mich has said he found the problem to be his airport module was coming loose so he had to reapply it to the mainboard by opening his iBook up, so it's sounding more and more like the card coming loose rather than the 10.4.8 update.

Laptop should be with me in the next few hours, so hopefully should be able to let you guys know.

Cool!

The thread with mitch's post is here: http://discussions.apple.com/message...009937#4009937

No how-to though...

sounds like apple have invented soldering paste with built-in timer. when warranty has ended it releases the attached components :eek:

this time the soldering paste was set to the same date as the updates were released :mad:

Got my iBook back; so far it's working and i've updated it to 10.4.8 as well, so looks like you need to check the solder on the pins between the AirPort chip and the mainboard.

Well, I went ahead and tore my ibook apart, found the airport card . . not sure what to do next.
All the little pins look intact. Everything is quite well put together . . maybe if i just wedged something on top of it so that there is constant pressure on it :-).
Anyhow, if anyone has any questions or suggestions let me know!
I upped some pics of my exploration if anyone is interested.

That's interesting, imthewa1rus! If you have a look on the picture where you see the grey airportcard still in the iBook case. It's position is approximately in the area of the "gentle press below of ctrl/option" we talked about.

Did the gentle press work for you before, when you tried to boot your machine?

Maybe you just have to clean the pins on the card with electro spray and reseat the card again in the slot!

Sorry...in last message I meant:

electro spray = isopropanol

imthewa1rus are all of the pins on the actual AirPort card looking okay? Are any missing or loosely joined to the card?

Yes, the gentle . . err, not so gentle press had worked for me before.
and all the pins on the card look great, I even went over all of them with a small blade to make sure none were loose.
Kinda disappointed me, I was looking forward to doing a bit of soldering .. and I was also hoping that it would just be an easy fix like that.
I will try cleaning all the pins and seeing how that works; I just want to do everything I can to it while it's open because it was a beast to take apart.