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Powerbook G4 TI bluetooth icon gray, it doesn't start up

aurora72

aurora72

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
190
90
Türkiye
I've been using my 2002 Powerbook G4 Titanium with a PCMCIA Bluetooth card. The make of the card is 3Com version 3 ie the one which is compatible with the Powerbook and has drivers/kexts written for OS X 10.4 and 10.5. My OSX version is 10.5.8. The drivers and documentation for this card can be found at http://www.traud.de/bluetooth

I've been using this BT cards for a long time without any trouble. The only caveat is that (as far as I can remember) card must be inserted after the OSX starts up, preferably after the desktop image is seen, in order for Bluetooth to work perfectly.

For the last couple of days, when I insert the card the BT icon on the upper bar comes up but by the time it appears it turns gray so I can't use it. To fix it, I've uninstalled and reinstalled the kexts using the instructions in README. No change. I did a cache clean using Onyx, no change. I'm out of ideas. What should I do?
 
Last edited:
Reset PRAM?

Do you have a back up pre-BT weirdness that you can restore to?
 
I haven't done any PRAM reset as I dont know it for this specific model.And I have no backup :(
 
The card may have died. If you can't get it to work, an alternative is a Belkin F8T013. This is one in a series of model numbers that are USB adapters. No drivers needed, they plug right in to your USB port and work.
 
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Just forgot to mention: the card is not defect. I have installed it on a 2002 IBM thinkpad and it did work perfectly.
 
eyoungren said:
The card may have died. If you can't get it to work, an alternative is a Belkin F8T013. This is one in a series of model numbers that are USB adapters. No drivers needed, they plug right in to your USB port and work.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestion. Belkin sounds good and it's sure to work on a Powerbook but unfortunately it's a USB A PCMCIA card is completely hidden inside the notebook. Actually that 's why I bought 3Com's PCMCIA BT card.
 
The only thing I can think of is to look under System Profiler (in Utilities) and see if the bluetooth kexts are loading under Extensions in the left hand pane. If they aren't then something has gone wrong.

A fairly safe thing might be to run the Combo 10.5.8 updater to fix messed up system files.
 
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I've just taken a look at the Extensions section in System Profiler and there were no CardBluesSuite.kext and CardBluesEnabler.kext files which are the installation files in /System/Library/Extensions.

The only thing happening when I insert the PCMICA card is that under the Hardware section of System Prefrences Bluetooth app comes up . when I click on it, the "on" checkbox is grayed ie I cant turn the card on.

The OS X is already 10.5.8 so I dont think it will help on it.
 
If you bring up Console.app, does the system.log give you any clues? Filter for "Bluetooth" and then insert the expansion card and see what kind of activity is reported.

A couple of ideas come to mind;
  • Boot into Safe Mode by holding Shift at startup and test the expansion card.
  • Rebuild Extension cache by using Terminal.app to: sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions.mkext and then reboot.
  • If you have another PowerPC Mac with Firewire, I would try putting that Mac into Target Disk Mode and booting the PowerBook using that as an external drive to see if your current OS installation is at fault.
  • If the external drive loads the BT card as expected, then the next step will to reinstall Mac OS X 10.5, followed by all of the updates and security patches.
EDIT: @weckart's advice to reinstall 10.5.8 Combo Updater is to renew all of the components installed with that update. So even if you are already on 10.5.8, the procedure to re-run the update is common practice for resolving system issues.
 
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@AphoticD

I ve copied the Console logs related to card insert and have tried the the first 2 options, safe boot and Extension.mkext rebuild. No change in situation. The logs are:

Code: 
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard: shutting down socket 0.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard info:   cs: memory probe 0x90000000-0x9fffffff: clean.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device: binding socket 0 function 0 to card services.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "HP"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR243 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR241 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR24x PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:40 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "HP"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR243 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR241 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR24x PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "HP"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR243 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR241 PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device::matchPropertyTable entered.
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCardDevice: VersionOneInfo[0], "SCR24x PCMCIA"(match string) != "3Com"(CIS string).
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel pccard101,41: family specific matching fails
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50PCCard0: Card Vendor is "3Com"
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50PCCard0: Card Name is "3CRWB6096B Bluetooth PC Card"
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50PCCard0: Card Vendor is "3Com"
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50PCCard0: Card Name is "3CRWB6096B Bluetooth PC Card"
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel IOPCCard info:   IOPCCard16Enabler::configure using index 0x01: Vcc 3.3, irq 255, io 0x0000-0x000f
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50PCCard0: Identified Serial Port in PCCard Socket=0
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50UARTSync0: Detected 16C750 FIFO=128 MaxBaud=115200
3/14/20 11:16:41 AM kernel Apple16X50UARTSync0: Detected 16C750 FIFO=128 MaxBaud=115200
3/14/20 11:16:42 AM kernel [HCIController][configurePM] power parent ready after 1 tries
3/14/20 11:16:42 AM kernel Bluetooth: Adaptive Frequency Hopping is not supported.
3/14/20 11:16:42 AM kernel Bluetooth: Adaptive Frequency Hopping is not supported.
3/14/20 11:16:43 AM com.apple.UserEventAgent-Aqua[176] <CFArray 0x118980 [0xa0b2f174]>{type = mutable-small, count = 3, values = (
3/14/20 11:16:43 AM com.apple.UserEventAgent-Aqua[176]  0 : <CFString 0x159260 [0xa0b2f174]>{contents = "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TimeMachine.menu"}
3/14/20 11:16:43 AM com.apple.UserEventAgent-Aqua[176]  1 : <CFString 0x1592b0 [0xa0b2f174]>{contents = "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu"}
3/14/20 11:16:43 AM com.apple.UserEventAgent-Aqua[176]  2 : <CFString 0x11bc60 [0xa0b2f174]>{contents = "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/PPPoE.menu"}
3/14/20 11:16:43 AM com.apple.UserEventAgent-Aqua[176] )}
3/14/20 11:16:45 AM kernel IOBluetoothBNEPDriver: Ethernet address 00:0a:5e:49:00:a2
3/14/20 11:16:45 AM configd[14] bootp_session_transmit: bpf_write(en2) failed: Operation not permitted (1)
3/14/20 11:16:45 AM kernel dlil_output: output error retval = 1
3/14/20 11:16:45 AM configd[14] DHCP en2: INIT transmit failed

In safe mode:
Code: 
3/14/20 11:28:43 AM kernel IOPCCard info:   cs: memory probe 0x90000000-0x9fffffff: clean.
3/14/20 11:28:43 AM kernel IOPCCard16Device: binding socket 0 function 0 to card services.

For the time I can t do update nor can I install OS from scratch.
 
weckart said:
Looks like a permissions issue on starting up. Try repairing those.
Click to expand...
Using Disk Utility I've done a permissions repair for the volume. The problem persists ie when I insert the card, the Bluetooth icon instantly blinks from black (on) to gray (off).
 
weckart said:
That site mentions support up to 10.4.11 and does not appear to have been updated since. You are running 10.5.8. Are there any newer drivers with Leopard support? Have you tried running Tiger on your PB with the card?
Click to expand...
That's right it mentions support up to 10.4.11 and I'm running 10.5.8 but I've been using those drivers on 10.5.8 for a long time without any problem. That rules out the 10.5.8 incompatibility. BTW AFAIK Tiger and Leopard are compatible on the hardware ground.
 
Last edited:
I've solved the issue using this post
superuser.com

How to enable Bluetooth in Mac with shortcut or command line?

I accidentally disabled the Bluetooth on Mac OS. I can't enable it because my Bluetooth based keyboard and mouse are now disabled. I found a USB based keyboard I can use, so how can I enable Bluet...
superuser.com superuser.com
Ive installed a command-line tool named 'blueutil' whose only purpose is to turn on and off the bluetooth device because (at least on Leopard and possibly when using non-Apple BT devices) when BT is once turned off, one cannot turn it back on as there are no GUI options on desktop or on System Preferences or anywhere else. That tricked me into thinking that there was something wrong with the kext files. Luckily it's not related to them.

Now the BT works fine and I can use my BT mouse again.
 
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aurora72 said:
I've solved the issue using this post
superuser.com

How to enable Bluetooth in Mac with shortcut or command line?

I accidentally disabled the Bluetooth on Mac OS. I can't enable it because my Bluetooth based keyboard and mouse are now disabled. I found a USB based keyboard I can use, so how can I enable Bluet...
superuser.com superuser.com
Ive installed a command-line tool named 'blueutil' whose only purpose is to turn on and off the bluetooth device because (at least on Leopard and possibly when using non-Apple BT devices) when BT is once turned off, one cannot turn it back on as there are no GUI options on desktop or on System Preferences or anywhere else. That tricked me into thinking that there was something wrong with the kext files. Luckily it's not related to them.

Now the BT works fine and I can use my BT mouse again.
Click to expand...

Nice work. So booting from another system over FireWire TDM or a clean install as recommended could have revealed it was a system configuration issue. Or even setting up another admin account as a test.

Well done on putting the time into resolving it yourself and documenting the fix for anyone stuck with the same issue in the future.
 
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AphoticD said:
Nice work. So booting from another system over FireWire TDM or a clean install as recommended could have revealed it was a system configuration issue. Or even setting up another admin account as a test.

Well done on putting the time into resolving it yourself and documenting the fix for anyone stuck with the same issue in the future.
Click to expand...

Yep. It's a system config issue. There's simply no GUI "on" button for the BT (at least on Leopard)

The only way to enable BT using a GUI dialog is to delete all BT devices on the BT dialog box and add new device and okey the prompt "BT is disabled, do you want to enable it now"
 
aurora72 said:
The only way to enable BT using a GUI dialog is to delete all BT devices on the BT dialog box and add new device and okey the prompt "BT is disabled, do you want to enable it now"
Click to expand...
That would get boring fast. I don't suppose there are any cardbus BT cards that don't require drivers other than those baked into Leopard? Otherwise, setting up a script to toggle on blueutil with Quicksilver might give you the button or menu item you were lacking.
 
weckart said:
That would get boring fast. I don't suppose there are any cardbus BT cards that don't require drivers other than those baked into Leopard? Otherwise, setting up a script to toggle on blueutil with Quicksilver might give you the button or menu item you were lacking.
Click to expand...
This one's the only BT card which is known to work on PB G4 TI. Yes it sometimes causes its own set of problems but it's worth the effort because when it's used, no USB sticks, antennas, etc stick around.

As for the script, I wrote a very simple command-line script (the blueutil must be installed)

blueutil off && blueutil on

this enables the BT but I have to open a terminal window to run it. Currently I can't set up a Quicksilver script as I don't know it :)
 
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