PowerBook Upgrade and Repair Guides

kwiens writes "We had such a positive response from Slashdot with our Free-As-In-Beer Mac disassembly instructions last time around, we decided to do it again: We've made six more FixIt Guides, perfect for those intrepid road-warriors who refuse to trust anyone else to work on their 'Book. Now there's nothing stopping you from trying that LNO2 overclock on your PowerBook-- or just a hard drive upgrade. The new Guides have professional photos, a new GUI design, and screw guides (no, not this). Guides are now available for all iBook G3, PowerBook G3, and PowerBook G4 models (including the oft-requested 12, 15, and 17 Aluminum 'Books)."

Comments

This is ridiculous.

[Moofie]

Everybody knows that Macintoshes are hermetically sealed at the factory and can never ever be upgraded.

I'm serious! There's a taser in there that zaps you in the butt if you try!

Considering how Apple treats it's customers

[Anonymous Coward]

Considering how Apple treats it's customers that did not shell out the several hundred bucks for Apple care those guides are badly needed.

At least in Germany you have to pay at least 350 Euros if you want Apple to repair your 'book that is older then one year. Of course it's very well possible that you have to pay even more if something seriouse is broken, but even if just a part costing 5 Cents and taking two minutes to replace is broken you'll still have to pay 350 bucks.

To sum it up, I really like Apple's hardware, I really like OSX but personally I'll never buy anything from Apple again.

That's just wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

I hack PC hardware all the time. Build my own boxes. I have an old "server" hanging on the wall like a painting, with no case (hurry up and die already please so I can throw it away...)

But I ain't taking apart my 17" powerbook. No way. I can't even stand looking at those pictures of somebody's grubby hands taking apart that powerbook, and all the sensitive guts exposed.

I know, it's just a motherboard and a hard drive, and all the stuff that's in my other computers. But no there's got to be something magical in there too, something you can't see, something that escapes when you open it.

And what if I were to get a screwdriver near it and .. it .. SCRATCHED it.. OMG I can't stand this any more, I'm going to go hold my powerbook for a few minutes to make everything better. It's so warm and cuddly.

Stop looking at me like that!

Do NOT follow this guide!

[Anonymous Coward]

I have followed it 100% and I have LOST MY WARRANTY! Please be smarter than I was.

Re:Do NOT follow this guide!

[pyite]

There's a reason they fixed your motherboard without question. They're legally obligated to (at least in the USA). From the Magnuson-Moss act 16 C.F.R. 700.10 section 102(c):

"No warrantor may condition the continued validity of a warranty on the use of only authorized repair service and/or authorized replacement parts for non-warranty service and maintenance. For example, provisions such as, 'This warranty is void if service is performed by anyone other than an authorized "ABC" dealer and all replacement parts must be genuine "ABC" parts,' and the like, are prohibited where the service or parts are not covered by the warranty. These provisions violate the Act in two ways. First, they violate the section 102 (c) ban against tying arrangements. Second, such provisions are deceptive under section 110 of the Act, because a warrantor cannot, as a matter of law, avoid liability under a written warranty where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of "unauthorized" articles or service. This does not preclude a warrantor from expressly excluding liability for defects or damage caused by such "unauthorized" articles or service; nor does it preclude the warrantor from denying liability where the warrantor can demonstrate that the defect or damage was so caused."

Re:Comments on Opening a 15" AlBook

[Anonymous Coward]

We are an Apple Service Specialist and as such can work on just about anything that Apple has ever made.

AFAIK, there isn't a special tool to get that damn tab to pop the Service Source take apart guides don't indicate that there is one either. Even harder is putting it back together.

We took a long, sharp, pushpin and put a 90 degree bend on the last 1/4 " or so of it. Now we can reach in through the CD slot and hook onto the tabs with less cursing, swearing, and yelling.

FWIW, we have a list of people at Apple (like "The guy who designed the 12" PB" and such) that we plan to punch in the face if we ever meet them.

Oops, no mention of CPU thermal transfer tape need

[ankhank]

In the G3 Pismo guide, only one I checked, they tell you how to pull the heatsink OFF, make no mention of the quiet little popping noise you'll hear when you do (it's the double-sticky thermal transfer tape, a tiny little rectangle on top of the CPU that fails when the heatsink is moved even slightly).

And they say to replace the heatsink. just do the reverse.

Well, NO. Apple made it very easy to break the contact between CPU and heatsink, even accidentally, and once that's impaired overheating is going to become a problem.

Look for posts in MacFixit forums, about G3s, Powerlogix, heatsinks, thermal transfer -- best advice I've seen has been put together by a fellow named Bruce Miller.