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DarkSel

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 22, 2012
278
81
So I just discovered that a pin on the modem port on my Powerbook G4 is missing, rendering any modem functions useless. I can buy a new modem jack for about $5.

Do you guys think that replacing it is worth it? The whole laptop needs to be taken apart in order to do this...

I don't really have a use for the modem, but any future resale value will suffer.
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,558
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
So I just discovered that a pin on the modem port on my Powerbook G4 is missing, rendering any modem functions useless. I can buy a new modem jack for about $5.

Do you guys think that replacing it is worth it? The whole laptop needs to be taken apart in order to do this...

I don't really have a use for the modem, but any future resale value will suffer.

Nobody uses a modem port anymore, so I would leave it as is.
 

PowerPCMacMan

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2012
800
1
PowerPC land
Hi, just wanted to add that should you see any type of kernel panic and its because of the modem, then I would get it fixed.. otherwise as the other person in the forum said.. not worth it to fix.

You know how sensitive OS X is when it comes to hardware, especially hardware that doesn't work anymore and some kext tries to access it by accident.

So I just discovered that a pin on the modem port on my Powerbook G4 is missing, rendering any modem functions useless. I can buy a new modem jack for about $5.

Do you guys think that replacing it is worth it? The whole laptop needs to be taken apart in order to do this...

I don't really have a use for the modem, but any future resale value will suffer.
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,558
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
Hi, just wanted to add that should you see any type of kernel panic and its because of the modem, then I would get it fixed.. otherwise as the other person in the forum said.. not worth it to fix.

You know how sensitive OS X is when it comes to hardware, especially hardware that doesn't work anymore and some kext tries to access it by accident.

You don't get a kernel Panic if nothing is connected, a broken pin does not influence the OS at all.
 

Wildy

macrumors 6502
Jan 25, 2011
323
1
A broken connector pin is exactly the same as not having a cable plugged in as far as the OS is concerned. Now if it were broken board-side, that would be a different story.

Unless you actually use the modem for anything - leave it. Should you need it you can get USB modems for very little, which is much more convenient than replacing the modem jack on the board.
 

ybz90

macrumors 6502a
Jul 10, 2009
609
2
You will never, ever use that anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. I actually just left the modem connector unplugged when I rebuilt my PowerBook G4... it was on the underside of the log board and really, really hard to reach to reconnect, so I just decided to leave it as is.
 

DarkSel

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 22, 2012
278
81
A broken connector pin is exactly the same as not having a cable plugged in as far as the OS is concerned. Now if it were broken board-side, that would be a different story.

Unless you actually use the modem for anything - leave it. Should you need it you can get USB modems for very little, which is much more convenient than replacing the modem jack on the board.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I'll probably leave it for now, but when I need to replace anything in the future, I'll replace the modem jack as well.
 
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