This is taking the biscuit.

Way into work: unplug Powerbook from PSU, bundle up PSU. Work on train a bit. Get to work. Plug PSU into power socket. Plug PSU into Powerbook.

No light on charger ring; no indication of a charging battery.

Change the fuse, same problem. I think, after two and a half years, the PSU is dead. Investigate buying a new one. A new power supply will be

£55.

I give up.

So after a few hours of backing stuff up to the external HD, I’m ready to go. No, really, I am. I’m going to take a whole-disk image as further precaution (in case I forgot anything), but other than that, I think I’m ready to go.

I’m going to reformat the disk and give this computer a nice clean start. With any luck, all my iPhoto and iTunes libraries can be restored in a flash, and then I can go about the boring process of patching the computer and reinstalling applications. My mail database seems up-to-date, even if the program itself is stuffed.

Erk. Nerves. Here we go…

Update: slowly, we’re getting somewhere. Just recovering Mail now…