Powerbook G4 17in Hi-Rez Question

[Falstaff]

Hello Gentle People. I have a question of the noob variety but I'm just looking for a quick down and dirty answer.

Here's the thing. My powerbook G4 17in 1.67 hi-rez has stopped booting. I get the bong but nothing else seems to happen. So my question is, I have a buddy with a spare 17in G4 1.33 logic board in his parts bin(s), he is willing to send me (free). Would the hi-rez display work with this logic board in a standard rez capacity? Thanks in advance.

[ybz90]

I'm not sure if they are the same size and layout, so it may or may not work. Check ifixit or look for pictures to see, but I don't think they are compatible b/c iirc, the heatsinks are very different.

Do you know for sure if it stopped booting, or if it might be a display issue? Plug in an external display; if that works, then either your LCD went out or the connector between them.

[eyoungren]

Honestly I doubt the board would fit. I have both the 1Ghz model and the 1.67 Ghz DLSD-HD model (like you). The difference between those two inside is night and day and the 1.33Ghz model was only one model removed from the 1Ghz.

Even if the board would fit your next problem would probably be the LVCD cable. Your Mac is the HR version so the cable is going to be different. The socket it fits to on the logicboard will probably be different as well.

The fact that you still get the Mac chime is an indicator that your Mac has passed POST and is booting. Something may be interrupting the booting or it could be the display itself. I would test as ybz90 indicated. If it's the display or even the inverter that's a much simpler fix than trying to get a logicboard in there that doesn't fit.

[Falstaff]

Originally Posted by ybz90

I'm not sure if they are the same size and layout, so it may or may not work. Check ifixit or look for pictures to see, but I don't think they are compatible b/c iirc, the heatsinks are very different.

Do you know for sure if it stopped booting, or if it might be a display issue? Plug in an external display; if that works, then either your LCD went out or the connector between them.

Well, here is what happens. I hit the power button, the unit bongs, the sleep/latch light comes on, I hear a couple of clicks from the hard drive and the disc drives makes what seems to be an attempt to eject a disc. The screen never light up...at all. I plug in an external monitor, reboot and still nothing on the screen.

Some back story..my 9 yr old daughter was using it the other day. She says she did not put a disc in the drive but we who are parents know how that can go. Still, that would not stop it from booting to at least a folder with a question mark. So I am thinking the graphics chip may have perished.

Any ideas?

[eyoungren]

Can you boot from an install disk? What about an external bootable drive (if you have one). Target Disk Mode???

[Falstaff]

Thanks for the help guys. I guess I need to strip this thing this weekend and really see what gives with it. I do have bootable firewire drives with both Tiger and Leopard partitions. Your right about the insides of this thing. It is a lot more complicated but it could use a good cleaning anyway. I'll let you know the final outcome.

[ybz90]

Good luck! If the board is dead, a replacement can be had pretty cheaply on the bay and it's just a hour of greasework to get it back up and running.

[justperry]

You should try a PMU reset first.


Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU)