PowerBook Disassembly Guide

kwiens writes "We've been slaving away for months to create the FixIt Guide Series-- a set of Free-As-In-Beer step by step PowerBook disassembly instructions. Maybe waiting another 6-18 months for those PowerBook G5's will be easier if you fix your old PowerBook now (or just use the Guides as a starting point for that killer PowerBook case mod). Guides are up now for the PowerBook G3 Wallstreet, Lombard, Pismo and Titanium PowerBook G4 Mercury, Onyx, DVI."

Comments

You think this will get shut down?

[caffeineboy]

I think I remember a website that explained how to get to the second DIMM in a flatpanel iMac got shut down because apple didn't want people breaking their computers.

What do you think the odds are that this site will have the same kind of problems?

Or Worse

[mfh]

> That said, what i don't like is novices that "cheapskates" that buy these things, use them, screw up their computer while they are still under warranty, then take them to a service provider (me, others) and then have the units fixed for free.

Likely much worse when they sell them on Ebay after messing with them. Obviously not all powerbooks on Ebay have been modded, but some of them might have been. Caveat Emptor.

Can't get to the site...

[jcostantino]

are these manuals better or worse than Apple's (or the same?)

Apple's manuals are generally OK if you need to disassemble stuff but their diagnosis flow charts SUCK.

Wow, I actually got a little nostalgic :) two months ago I was up to my elbows in broken Macintosh, now I'm sitting in front of a MDD and flanked by a bunch of PC's in my cushy corporate job :)

wallstree pb g3

[zenrandom]

I've used one of the take apart manuals for my wallstreet g3. It had the infamous solder joint on the powerboard problem (solder and superglue fixed that) the hard drive was one of the 8gb ones that had a really low mtbf... which has been replaced with a 20gb 5400 rpm... the processor card wouldn't recognize memory in the top slot so it's been replaced with a sonnet g3/500 and 384 mb of ram now. The take apart guides are nice, common sense is good, patience for that first time you take it apart. Make sure you have all the screws out! The g3 books feel like you are going to break them that first time you pull them open. Fun though, to play around inside your apple.

Danke Danke Danke

[Daemonik CyCow]

Well, i can understand anyone in the service industry hating those "cheapskate" "unkowledgable" "freaky" people that can't even put a lightbulb in a socket, let alone install their own airport card. But, for us out there that at least think we know what we are doing, this is much appreciated. I know that I have questions though... I seem to have the most wonderful luck (NE Sarcasm) buying computer equipment just before it get's outmoded by another update to hardware. Case in point : The IIvx I bought many a year back. One of the worst Road Apples made. It perves me that Apple doesn't release this info, even for the older equipment. I can understand something that is as of yet still covered by them, but to have to dig extremely hard (usually) for the info, well, ERGH. I just hope that i can get some more ram in this baby. I can't wait for that nanograss (someone told me it was self rolling?)

I can't believe it!

[Stud1y]

in a room full of computer dorks, someone says things like "don't open your own case and fix your machine..." ! isn't this what helps to progress the technology? why does everyone need to stand around like they're our mommys (happy mothers-day btw..!) and hold our hand and tell us "no, don't open your 3k laptop you might break something No Shit! If you're dumb enough to open the case, and not know what you're doing its your fault. Most lame-ass n00bie computer users aren't going to be poppin' the case on their machines. argh, i just can't believe all the negitive 'don't do it!' posts Also, why the fuck do you need a guide to take screws out of a computer? I opened my powerbook two days after i bought it.

Compared to Dell

[Xenna]

Dell has clear instructions on taking their laptops apart (and putting back together again) on their website.

When I bought my current X300, I considered a 12" powerbook as well, but the 3 year warranty period on the Dell made the difference.

OTOH, when the hard disk died the on-site engineer that came to fix it was so clumsy that I had to do some of the taking apart myself (that included finding the howto's on the site).

So, what exactly am I trying to say here..? ;-)

Reassembling a PowerBook tip

[adzoox]

Actually that's more common than you think - to have a "reassembly surplus"

Here's a tip:

Draw 4 diagrams of the iBook or PowerBook. Make them neat pictures (maybe even use Photoshop.)

Print them out. Places the screws on the places on the picture where they go.

This is what I've done. When I get a PowerBook or iBook in for repair I just print out the four different sides of screw removal:

Outer shell bottom
Outer shell top/display
Inside logic board/magnetic sheild bottom
Inside logic board/ top

You can also draw places where cables go too.

Once you have it on your computer you can print them out again in the future.