suggest you to upgrade to 10.4 before switching battery, because I have expereinced some Mac's with apparent problem

Actually, lithium batteries can last for up to ten years, though I do not know how long those in Mac's last. Some Mac's with Mac OS 10.0-3 had apparent battery problems that went away after an upgrade to 10.4

[I do not recall creating this article subject, but merely replyiing to another article. Please do not create new article threads in my name.]

Previously, aprestn5 wrote:

I'd read somewhere that there was an apparent battery problem with the earlier versions of OS 10 - 10.2, but didn't think it was of concern since I don't have OS 10, but OS 9.2.2. I'm not sure that I *can* upgrade to 10.4 since there's no DVD drive or Firewire on the machine.

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

It did on a PowerBook G4 from around 2000 with only an internal CD-ROM reader without DVD, and an external LaCie DVD; I cannot recommend LaCie, though, as it is said to overheat with frequent burnings. It might be better putting in a Pioneer DVD, which was said to not overheat, no matter how often one burns.

In any case, first check the Apple site for Firmware updates, and do it if available for your model. Then, it could be that Firewire is required; the easiest way to find out is probably to borrow a DVD-reader and install disk and try - US copyright law admits such use for maintenance purposes.    http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/index.html   http://www.ascap.com/licensing/generalfaq.html If you cannot put in a Firewire card, check for an update of your internal disk reader. If you succeed to install 10.4, you can then put in more RAM and a larger hard disk at need.