Bought a 12" Powerbook G4

[MisterKeeks]

Good luck. It's pretty impressive what has happened so far.

[rabidz7]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

I bought a 12" Powerbook G4 for $100. It's in fair condition, but there are quite a lot of case deformities/bumps. It came with the original boxes/packaging, a case, iWork disk, Leopard disk, and Office Mac disk. Do you guys think this was a good deal?

1.5 GHz G4
1.25 GB RAM
12" screen

There were some issues I was having, however.

First of all, it didn't come with the OEM Apple AC adapter, it came with a Newertechnology 3rd party adapter, and I noticed that the power would constantly become disconnected with the shifting of the notebook if the cord was all the way inside the slot. I'm wondering if this is because the power slot is deformed or whether the power adapter is just won't stay in the slot/is there a way to fix this? Pics are attached.

Also, the keyboard works, but the delete key doesn't. Is there any solution to this or am I going to have to buy a $30 replacement keyboard?

Thanks guys.

You have a great notebook it is actually the same one I have. The power cable is probably crushed, that is a very common issue with power adapters. Can you attach a picture of the power cable's tip?

[DarkSel]

Originally Posted by MisterKeeks

Good luck. It's pretty impressive what has happened so far.

Alright, so the Powerbook is reassembled with a new DC-In module and keyboard. Unfortunately, a piece of the frame fell off because of the fall the Powerbook experienced earlier in its life. No biggie though.

As for the screws, I was forced to mismatch some screws, but at least everything is up and running

Now I'm experiencing a sound distortion at startup and any other system sounds. However, music sounds normal (with very little distortion). I'm guessing there's a wire that's pushing against the speaker. The fan is almost slightly distorted. I'm gonna open her up again and fix this issue before it becomes any more serious.

As for the good news: the DC-In module was the culprit

[MisterKeeks]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

As for the good news: the DC-In module was the culprit

Yay!

[skateny]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

As for the good news: the DC-In module was the culprit

It very often is.

Happy you got it up and running.

[DarkSel]

Okay, I've fixed the fan problem and sound distortions. I've lost many screws, however. Not a biggie though; at least eveeything works now.

I also broke the latch on the F12 key by accident... whoops.

I'll post pictures later.

[eyoungren]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

As for the good news: the DC-In module was the culprit

I thought that might be the case. Usually when it's that loose that's where the problem is. I've had to (as I mentioned) replace a few, one of which was because I was stupid and tripped over the power cord.

I ended up doing the same as you, at least with one screw anyway. Fortunately, I was lucky that it didn't go through the logic board. I did have to tear the thing down like four times before I got it right though, the first time because I didn't connect the connector under the logic board correctly when I put things back together. I ended up messing up the bottom case finish and trim some, broke the wire to the sleep light and broke the clip on one of the keys.

It will likely go much smoother and faster the second time you open this up.

----------

Originally Posted by DarkSel

Okay, I've fixed the fan problem and sound distortions. I've lost many screws, however. Not a biggie though; at least eveeything works now.

I also broke the latch on the F12 key by accident... whoops.

I'll post pictures later.

Yeah. That's the key I broke. You can find one on eBay for $1-3 or do a Google search. There's a company in Scottsdale, AZ that sells individual keys for $5 including shipping.

[DarkSel]

I'll definitely order another latch.

The new thermal paste on the fan is doing wonders. Now the fan only comes on during the most intensive tasks for about 10-20 seconds.

Cosmetically, the machine looks awful, but at least everything works properly.

[DarkSel]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

I'll definitely order another latch.

The new thermal paste on the fan is doing wonders. Now the fan only comes on during the most intensive tasks for about 10-20 seconds.

Cosmetically, the machine looks awful, but at least everything works properly.

Crap, now my temperatures while watching a Youtube video are getting as high as 66 C. That dang thermal paste...

I can only hope that it does not get any higher because I'm sure as hell not opening her up again.

[eyoungren]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

Crap, now my temperatures while watching a Youtube video are getting as high as 66 C. That dang thermal paste...

I can only hope that it does not get any higher because I'm sure as hell not opening her up again.

The fans on my 17" PowerBooks usually kick in around 140ºF, but I've had as high as yours before. Don't worry too much. If the temp exceeds the design limits the PB will automatically shut off. That's thermal shutdown and it's built in to protect the Mac.

I had it happen a few times when working on my wife's 12" PB. Didn't think the Mac needed the heat sink when I put it back together.

A few thermal shutdowns later and I had opened it back up to put it back in.

Youtube is intensive for G4 processors. You may get a better experience with Mactubes, which is an app for Youtube video.

[DarkSel]

Originally Posted by eyoungren

The fans on my 17" PowerBooks usually kick in around 140ºF, but I've had as high as yours before. Don't worry too much. If the temp exceeds the design limits the PB will automatically shut off. That's thermal shutdown and it's built in to protect the Mac.

I had it happen a few times when working on my wife's 12" PB. Didn't think the Mac needed the heat sink when I put it back together.

A few thermal shutdowns later and I had opened it back up to put it back in.

Youtube is intensive for G4 processors. You may get a better experience with Mactubes, which is an app for Youtube video.

Do you think it's worth another hour of my time to apply new thermal paste? My biggest concern is that eventually the processor will get damaged.

I've already put 12+ working hours into this computer
My blood and sweat went into it (literally, I cut my finger and bled all over the computer).

[skateny]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

Do you think it's worth another hour of my time to apply new thermal paste? My biggest concern is that eventually the processor will get damaged.

I've already put 12+ working hours into this computer
My blood and sweat went into it (literally, I cut my finger and bled all over the computer).

My iBook shut down this past summer when I was between air conditioners. I got a cooling pad for it and never had the problem again. When I installed new AC, I didn't need the cooling pad.

[eyoungren]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

Do you think it's worth another hour of my time to apply new thermal paste? My biggest concern is that eventually the processor will get damaged.

I've already put 12+ working hours into this computer
My blood and sweat went into it (literally, I cut my finger and bled all over the computer).

I've done that. Any time I work on a computer it always takes a piece of me. I've just come to expect it.

No, I don't think it's worth your time and I don't think you need to worry about the CPU. Especially if it works normally at anything that's not requiring the complete processing power of the CPU. Like I mentioned earlier the Mac is designed to shut down when a certain temp is reached to protect the Mac, thus thermal shutdown is what protects the Mac. Damage would only occur if the Mac stayed on past the time it should have auto turned off.

If your Mac isn't shutting down then you're ok. Unless of course you may have disconnected/damaged that system. But I don't know how you could do that as supposedly that's at a logicboard/cpu level. Maybe someone else knows more or can correct me if I am wrong.

[DarkSel]

Originally Posted by eyoungren

I've done that. Any time I work on a computer it always takes a piece of me. I've just come to expect it.

No, I don't think it's worth your time and I don't think you need to worry about the CPU. Especially if it works normally at anything that's not requiring the complete processing power of the CPU. Like I mentioned earlier the Mac is designed to shut down when a certain temp is reached to protect the Mac, thus thermal shutdown is what protects the Mac. Damage would only occur if the Mac stayed on past the time it should have auto turned off.

If your Mac isn't shutting down then you're ok. Unless of course you may have disconnected/damaged that system. But I don't know how you could do that as supposedly that's at a logicboard/cpu level. Maybe someone else knows more or can correct me if I am wrong.

The average temperature for web browsing is 63 C.

The fan literally never goes off.

What to do, what to do...

[eyoungren]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

The average temperature for web browsing is 63 C.

The fan literally never goes off.

What to do, what to do...

OK. Well, it could then be down to airflow inside the case. You said earlier that there was other issues. Take it apart again, go through each part and make sure each is seated correctly, including the top case. The inside is designed to maximize airflow so if it's not all seated correctly the airflow will be disturbed and you have what you have.

It's frustrating, but it may improve things.

[skateny]

Originally Posted by eyoungren

OK. Well, it could then be down to airflow inside the case. You said earlier that there was other issues. Take it apart again, go through each part and make sure each is seated correctly, including the top case. The inside is designed to maximize airflow so if it's not all seated correctly the airflow will be disturbed and you have what you have.

It's frustrating, but it may improve things.

Good point.

Taking these things apart seems difficult. Until you try putting them back together.

[cocacolakid]

Originally Posted by skateny

Good point.

Taking these things apart seems difficult. Until you try putting them back together.

Exactly. Taking them apart, when you get to the guts, you feel like, "OK, that wasn't so bad." Then you start to find it doesn't all fit back together so smoothly.

[skateny]

Originally Posted by cocacolakid

Exactly. Taking them apart, when you get to the guts, you feel like, "OK, that wasn't so bad." Then you start to find it doesn't all fit back together so smoothly.

Yet there's nothing quite so satisfying as doing both correctly.

Last time I broke down my iBook, I was left with an extra screw. I knew exactly where it belongs as soon as I was finished. But I'd done such a good job putting everything back in place, there was no way I was going back in.

[DarkSel]

Originally Posted by eyoungren

OK. Well, it could then be down to airflow inside the case. You said earlier that there was other issues. Take it apart again, go through each part and make sure each is seated correctly, including the top case. The inside is designed to maximize airflow so if it's not all seated correctly the airflow will be disturbed and you have what you have.

It's frustrating, but it may improve things.

I reapplied the thermal paste, and now the temperature never goes higher than 60 C when browsing Facebook. Fan runs, but it's much quieter.

Attached some finalized pics for you guys. In the second one you can see the initial damage from the fall. A piece of the plastic finishing broke off and the bottom half is deformed.

Also, I used a latch for the broken F12 key from my old keyboard (didn't fit), so the key is positioned oddly. At least it works.

Thanks for the advice and help guys!

[skateny]

Originally Posted by DarkSel

I reapplied the thermal paste, and now the temperature never goes higher than 60 C when browsing Facebook. Fan runs, but it's much quieter.

Attached some finalized pics for you guys. In the second one you can see the initial damage from the fall. A piece of the plastic finishing broke off and the bottom half is deformed.

Also, I used a latch for the broken F12 key from my old keyboard (didn't fit), so the key is positioned oddly. At least it works.

Thanks for the advice and help guys!

The more work you do on these babies, the more precious they become.

[eyoungren]

Awesome! Glad it's working! The second pic explains a lot about the DC-In board. Usually a fall like that happens when the Mac is plugged in. Guess which part hits the ground first?

The plug hitting the ground or object first flexes the connector on the DC-In board which weakens/breaks the solder. So, now you have a loose connection. But you fixed that so you're good.

Here's some pics of the left side of my 17" PowerBook. The original owner somehow dropped it in such a way that the card slot area got bent in (bottom case). One of the screw holes in that area is stripped out because of this so I've always had a small gap in the left side and the top case towards the LCD screen. A while back I purchased a USB 2.0 PC card and stuck it in. Stupidly I tried to pull it out. Since the bottom case was bent in I ended up mangling the top case part over the slot in order to get the card out. That's the damage you see on the left side. I managed to get most of it bent back inward, but it's aluminum so of course it's now stretched out of shape. At least the gap isn't so bad anymore though.

[DarkSel]

The aluminum Powerbooks are very high quality, but the aluminum bends so easily, ruining an otherwise great product.

How much did you spend on that 17" Powerbook?

[eyoungren]

$152.50, including shipping. I had a budget of $200 to replace my 400mhz TiBook. That was in December 2009 and it was on eBay for "Parts or Repair." It had a wonky LCD and was missing screws because the seller tried to fix the LCD and could not keep track of the screws when he opened the case. I found out it had a failed cache shortly after getting it.

The first part I replaced was the hard drive with my 320GB hard drive. The next part was the LVDS cable when the LCD finally went. Getting the back of the screen off was so bad I basically ended up trashing the screen. It finally broke at some point so I found a new screen on eBay for $80. I thought that was difficult to replace until my wife's 12" PB screen. Somewhere in there I replaced the DC-In board and the sound ribbon cable (ripped the socket off the sound board). The sound board itself got replaced later on. Doing that required a splice of the speaker power wire and electrical tape because the wire was brittle and split.

Only other stuff was adding the USB 2.0 PC card and an additional 1 GB of ram. I had an intermittent failure of a few keys a couple of times, but that has since fixed itself a long time ago. I also bought screws and put back every one that was missing (you can get sets by model on eBay).

This Mac has been a project with all the stuff I put into it. But I wanted to prove the seller wrong that it was on it's last legs. And I kept finding parts on eBay for cheap. After the first year when I sent a picture of the Mac to the seller, I never heard back.

P.S., my second 17" PB is the 1.67Ghz Dual Layer HD. The seller had no clue what he had and did not list that as a selling point. I scored that Mac for about $250. The seller had dropped it on a corner. Some cosmetic damage but everything (including the screen) was totally fine. Fixed the cosemtic damage as best I could and that Mac has been solid. Only thing I've had to do with it is a couple of DC-In boards and a hard drive swap.

Here's a pic of the Mac you asked about. The scratches and finish issue came with the Mac. I have no idea what the seller did here.

Oh, since it's in the picture. The Mac on the right is a iBook G3 Dual USB. My daughter's Mac (she's 4).

[eyoungren]

My two Macs…

[g4 powerbookboy]

awesome to see you got it up and running, just bought 2 g4 ibooks that were listed as parts or repair on craigslist for $40.00. one the previous owner replaced the logic board and screen but when he put it back together only has sound from the headphone jack forgot to connect the speakers. the other one is in pieces.... after looking at ifixit i think that one may be used for parts for the complete one and i may get walkman speakers instead of going after the disconnected speaker wires. the complete one works perfect other than no audio from speakers.