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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."
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?
+++ ATH0 +++
The Slashdot Paradox: "100% Overrated"
Dont know about anyone else, but these catch phrases are getting a bit old. Just say it's a free step by step guide.. Free as in beer, air whatever..
Do you really have to ask?
I'm all for people wanting to save money. These seem like great how to guides with clear instructions and great pictures.
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 - it's no less than fraud - because usually someone that messes their unit up after doing something like this doesn't disclose that information.
I have had many a customer tell me that NO ONE has ever opened their computer (including them) - I open it up and there are screws missing, the magnetic sheild has fingerprints on it, etc etc.
The funniest thing, I saw ALL of this on an iBook a while back. The customer said they hadn't touched it. There was a long blonde hair inside and one of "these manuals" on the hard drive.
Pssst: the customer has along haired blonde.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
without meaning to sound like your father, it's the best thing you can do, especially for a valuable investment like an Apple laptop.
They don't go wrong often, but when you pick the thing up and carry it round with you everywhere, inevitably some of the laptops develop issues. And portables can be expensive to fix.
It's what, a couple of hundred dollars? Trust me, you'll make that back many times over if a hinge goes, or a screen dies, or whatever...
-- james
Yes, it will void your warranty. Also if you shelled out the $300 for apple care it will void that. Doing anything besides a RAM upgrade, or possibly an airport/ap extreme card voids your warranty. These are the only consumer supported upgrades apple will support on the powerbook.
do people who ask questions ever read them back to themselves?
this is obviously geared to those who are out of warranty, and want a possible alternative to expensive out of warranty repairs.
but go ahead and think yourself insightful.
These guides are great and all but if you hang around Apple specific hardware hacking forums enough, you'll come across the official Apple repair manuals which feature complete dissasembly guides, exploded views, etc.
That said, I love being an Apple tech.. I get these goodies within a week of the product being released.
> 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.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
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 :)
Reviews with a twist! http://www.sardonicbastard.com
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.
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?)
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.
Or you could just go with CowboyNeal's method of disassembly. http://cowboyneal.org/ex-powerbook.jpg
--
Using GNU/Linux - Windows-free zone!
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..?
Good old Apple... 'yes you bought it, no you can't touch/open/look at it'.
Actually, in many countries/states, you *are* allowed to open/touch your own computer. It won't necessarily void your hardware warranty - you should check up on local laws, which will most likely override any bullshit Apple feed you in their warranty 'agreement'.
For example, I know that in Australia you have a statutory warranty that will NOT be voided by opening up your computer or laptop or indeed installing new parts or removing old ones. After all, if something is kaput it is kaput whether you open your computer after it breaks or not. In fact, computer stores are not supposed to put those little 'warranty void if removed' stickers across the back of computer cases any more - it is an offence to try to deny that a statutory warranty exists.
Of course, nothing you add to your computer will be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
Read Pynchon.
Apple extended warranties are very nice. Apple has this nasty habit of using Airborne Express overnight service for everything; you call them with a problem, and a guy delivers a box the next morning. You put the computer in the box and off it goes. They fix it more or less instantly, and it comes back within two or three days. They're not always like this, of course, but very often. All the more reason not to rip open the innards of your Apple portable!
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
My girlfriend once used my computer for an evening. The next day, when I tried to type, pressing a key would produce something like:
#$F|||||||||||#@#$SSSDGF
instead of, say 'a'. So I find my girlfriend, who has an innocent look of concern on her face, and I ask her: did you download any strange software yesterday? No. Did you scan your floppy disk? Yes, no viruses. Did anything else weird happen while you were using my computer? No, nothing weird.
Hmmm... so after tapping away in frustration and checking the cables I decide there must be something loose inside the keyboard that is producing crazy input signals every time I press a key. I decide to check it out, so I go and get the trusty phillips head and go over to my computer. I pick up the keyboard, and as I turn it on its side, liquid starts pouring out. Lots of liquid... lots and lots of liquid... in fact, an entire cup of tea pours out all over the desk.
Using my Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction, followed by an appropriately Holmesian denoument in which I made my accusations, I discovered the following. She'd knocked her tea over with her hand, and it had fallen neatly and poured directly into the keyboard body. Then, realising how terrible her crime was (it was a nice keyboard), she quietly logged off using the mouse to select Start->Shut Down->Yes, quickly packed up her stuff, and weaseled away into the night without saying a word.
Things I discovered from this incident:
- keyboards are remarkably water-tight
- darjeeling tea with one sugar is very bad for circuit boards and contact-based switches like the ones inside a keyboard
- there is no limit to the optimism and weaseliness of people when they want to get out of trouble
- it will cost you more than the price of a new Logitech keyboard if you call your partner an evil keyboard murdering wench to her face
Read Pynchon.
Here are some more links to free disassembly instructions for laptops and notebooks (also links to service manuals), dissectioning HOWTOs for PDAs and handheld PCs (including information and pictures of JTAG ports), take apart notes for mobile (cell) phones and dismantling guides for mobile MP3 music players. ;-)
-- Keep your mobile running
Let me make it a little more clear. The truth is, THERE IS NOT ONE PART ON MOST LAPTOP MOTHERBOARDS YOU THE USER COULD FIX ANYWAY! You need special gear, and even there I would rather work on a desktop system then poke and prod in a laptop given how tight everything is put together and how hard it is to put things back together unless you do this on a regular basis.
And before you ask, Yes I have been inside of a iBook, and even taking care and actually making foam board models for each layer of screws to make sure I got everything back together, I had a lot of trouble doing it and making it all fit. ITs honestly NOT a easy thign to do, they will nine times out of ten KNOW you where messing around in there and given the AppleCare service isnt much more expensive and they will replace everything for you for 3 years, INCULDING your LCD I would rather some guy in Tenn fix my computer than me potentially break it.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
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.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
No disassemble!!!! G4... is alive!
But I believe that it was Cowboyneal who found the most efficient way to disassemble a Powerbook.
He found this method of disassembling the powerbook after a long battle with his failing hardrive, and less than helpful Apple technicians.
Before the disassembly, Cowboyneal was heard to say:
"I got my PowerBook back today, but it's not nearly as nice as I'd hoped. The technician where I brought it failed to image the drive (like he said he would) before shipping it to Apple so now while the hard drive works perfectly again, I've lost all my files. The point of catching the hard drive failure early before losing any data has now been completely negated. Looking at my PowerBook which is now clean as a slate makes me just want to smash it, knowing the hours of work I've lost." (emphasis mine)
I asked pudge about it and his response was:
"It deserved it"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"We are Linux. Resistance is measured in Ohms."
I never see anything about what type of screw goes where. I was taking apart a Pismo 400 the other day and while I thought I could remember where each screw went I later realized that I could not. Of course now I can seeing as how I had to take it apart a few times to make sure everything was seated correctly.
Needless to say, when you feel resistance on a screw and you're not quite sure where it goes, don't keep screwing it in. That goes for laptops and women.
--"It's Bradford Company, slash your last name, dot your first name"
Good old Apple... 'yes you bought it, no you can't touch/open/look at it'.
Dude, this is not like swapping the power supply out of an ATX case..
If you'd ever tried to reassemble the display of a Titanium powerbook, you'd know why Apple doesn't want to deal with machines that have been dismantled by anyone who didn't get the laptop repair certification..
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
What you might be looking for is something like SideTrack, which allows you to use the trackpad tap as a ctrl+click, or many other things. It also lets you use the side of the trackpad as a scroll wheel for both horizontal and vertical.
- Sherman
I recently had a hard drive fail on my Powerbook G4 550 (a 2.5 year old machine), and I found the PDF step-by-step guides on Apple's support pages to be more than adequate for the drive replacement. The guides on PB Fixit's site appear to be less detailed than Apple's guides, but then again, I don't think Apple documents how to remove the logic board. :^)
It was interesting to note how many people attributed my laptop's hard drive failure to the fact that it was a Mac. The Powerbook used an IBM Travelstar (or should that be IBM Travesty?) hard drive, which is also very common in PC laptops (as are Toshiba drives). These people just didn't realize that I was toting it back and forth to school every day, and waking it from sleep a LOT daily. Some days I would tote it on the back of my motorcycle, sitting in my backpack without a case of its own (admittedly not a smart thing to do). One day I accidentally dropped it three feet onto hard ground (thankfully while it was off). I can attest that any machine would die given what I put it through. Thankfully, it was just the hard drive, and it was easy to swap out. Otherwise, it's still chugging along, like a double decker bus packed into a sports car body.
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
I got an AlBook with the white-spots-on-screen problem. (I got it because they had it for $300 off at the Apple store, because of the screen... they told me I could send it in for repair but not bring it back for the money-back guarantee, which suited me fine.)
I called Apple up a couple months later and told them I had to send them my laptop to fix the screen, and it had also (a few times, maybe one time in ten) turned itself off when I unplugged the DVI cable. The next day I got the box. Two weeks later I got a call saying, 'Uh, we don't have your computer yet, are you sure you sent it?' Well, er, actually, I hadn't been able to live without it for long enough to send it in. But it was nice of them to call.
I eventually took a friday and a monday off. On thursday evening at 5:30 I dropped the box off at an Airborne Express location and went home. On monday at 10 AM I got a call from one of my coworkers asking if I wanted to come in and pick up my laptop. So they got it on Friday around noon (according to the tracking number) and sent it back out on Friday sometime later in the day. And not only was the screen flawless, but it has never turned itself off when disconnecting the DVI connector since.
Got to admit, as hard as I am to impress, that impressed me.
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.