Powerbook G4 17" compatibility between models

weckart said:

I have a 17" DLSD HR model that needs some care and attention. Having installed iStat Menus I noticed that while all other temps seem normal, the GPU is hovering around 100ºC at idle while no fans appear to be running. The base of the PB is hot so I believe the temps. This is not good.

There are a few screws missing from the unit here and there so before I pull the thing apart to look at the cooling on the logic board I wondered whether I could mix and match parts from any other 17" PB or am I limited to the same model. iFixit has a separate section for my model and I noticed tiny differences of a mm here and there in screw lengths per the teardowns although the layout of the casing looked pretty much identical

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There are some differences.

The logicboard of course, but I mention that because the LCVD cable connector is different. What that means is that if you replace the screen or the logicboard you need one from the exact model. You can't say, get the low res LCD because the connector will be different.

The DC Inverter board is different, fans are different, the locking bar and connector for the keyboard ribbon is different. So is the trackpad.

I guess, if you're looking to find a part ask here.

I have the A1013 and the A1139 by the way. The first and the last of the 17" models.

eyoungren said:

There are some differences.

The logicboard of course, but I mention that because the LCVD cable connector is different. What that means is that if you replace the screen or the logicboard you need one from the exact model. You can't say, get the low res LCD because the connector will be different.

The DC Inverter board is different, fans are different, the locking bar and connector for the keyboard ribbon is different. So is the trackpad.

I guess, if you're looking to find a part ask here.

I have the A1013 and the A1139 by the way. The first and the last of the 17" models.

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And mine is in the middle of that, design from the first gen but the 1.67 used in the DLHR!

weckart said:

Primarily, I would be interested in the casing. I really don't care about the electronics. The fans work on mine - I got them to run using g4fan thingy and they did lower the gpu temps to the 70s before rising again.

What about the lid and bezel surround. Could I use one to house the innards of the other?

Screws. Are they identical in length or slightly different as per iFixit?

I am hovering over ordering a dead PBG4 on eBay but only want to waste money if I can recover some useful bits from one. I am based in the UK and while bits and pieces are plentiful and cheapish in the US they are a bit harder to come by in the UK and overpriced when available. I will probably need to make a decision soon so any useful info will be gratefully received.

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The bottom case will be different on the HR. Not too much of a change, but the HR version had some stuff redesigned. Screws should be the same, or can be approximated. My A1013 came with a lot of screws missing because the seller was a moron and opened it to check things out (he felt it wasn't working right) and then forgot where all the screws went. I simply bought a pack of screws for $25 (this was 2010). The screws haven't changed so it didn't matter what 17" they had come from.

weckart said:

Sorry to be a pain about this but when you say the bottom case is different does this also extend to the gap for the display mount?

What I am intending to do is to take the HR screen and out of the lid mounting on mine and place it into the lid of the dead PB and mount that in the original bottom case I have using spare screws (both Torx and Philips screws are missing) from the dead PB to secure everything.

I have not stripped the logic board from the bottom case yet but I suspect the damaged lid isn't sitting correctly on the bottom case and is possibly lifting the gpu from its heatsink causing the heat issues. The keyboard/palmrest lid is rising a couple of mm on the corner by the power switch.

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Thats what had happened to mine. I ended up giving it to a friend that wanted to tinker with it and he forgot about it.

weckart said:

Sorry to be a pain about this but when you say the bottom case is different does this also extend to the gap for the display mount?

What I am intending to do is to take the HR screen and out of the lid mounting on mine and place it into the lid of the dead PB and mount that in the original bottom case I have using spare screws (both Torx and Philips screws are missing) from the dead PB to secure everything.

I have not stripped the logic board from the bottom case yet but I suspect the damaged lid isn't sitting correctly on the bottom case and is possibly lifting the gpu from its heatsink causing the heat issues. The keyboard/palmrest lid is rising a couple of mm on the corner by the power switch.

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I'm not quite getting this because we seem to be talking about two different models here.

So let me put it this way…For everything to be right on the HR model, you need the HR bottom case, the HR LCD and the HR logicboard. If you intend to use anything other than those parts it's not going to line up. You cannot take the LCD out of the HR version and place it in the bezel of another model. Well, yes, you can do that (put it in the bezel), but unless you put that bezel with the HR display right back in the HR model you can't attach the LCVD cable of the HR display to anything less than the HR logicboard, which won't fit right in a non HR bottom case.

Does that make sense?

Incidentally, I would absolutely recommend NOT taking apart any LCD. The rear cover is held on by a series of these NASTY little hooks. The one time I tried replacing my LCVD cable ended in a miserable failure because I could never get the cover to hook back up correctly. These damn little hooks are on small thin metal strips inside and if you aren't careful you can also rip the strips off the inside of the rear cover.

On top of it all I bled all over the place while working on the dang thing because of those little hooks.

weckart said:

That was my intention. However, I have managed to find the service manual for my PB online and it says that hardly anything is compatible between the DLSD PB and prior models. The sleep sensor for one thing is positioned elsewhere on on the DLSD PB so you cannot take the LCD and assorted cables and put them in a prior model's housing as they won't fit. Bummer.

Extract from service manual:

Service parts and procedures are different from the previous 17-inch PowerBook computer including:

Top Case
– As the sleep magnet has been relocated to the display bezel, the sleep sensor has moved from the trackpad flex to the edge of the top case. Previous top cases will not with this system.

Keyboard
– The keyboard has a narrower flex than the previous the integrated backlight keyboard used in the PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz). These two keyboards are not interchangeable. This keyboard is the same as the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD).

Mass Storage (Hard drive and optical drive)
– Both devices share a single ATA bus using a cable select addressing scheme. Previously each drive was a master device on separate ATA busses. Although, an older hard drive may work in this system, the optical drive will either not show up as a device or cause the system to not boot-up properly.

AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
– These two functions have been combined on a single card.
– The card has the antenna diversity function built-in, eliminating that card in the clutch barrel.

Main Logic Board
– A new thermal grease is used. It has a greyish color.

Whoever had this was a real bodger. Poorly seated components, missing screws, a real hack job on the display unit. To cop it all he swapped the HD for a lowly 80GB drive and put 533Hz memory in it. I could live with the horror but the logic board won't survive too long at 100ºC and neither will my gonads.

I have the option of returning this tomorrow (deadline) or taking a risk that this is fixable. Dunno if I want the bother. This was meant to be a fun toy not a project.

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I would return it. It's got too many problems to be a fun project. If it was one of those deals where you NEEDED it, I'd say ok, but not in this instance.

FWIW, my own 1.67 was a parts/repair job. The previous owner dropped it on the right front corner. Some banging around and superglue fixed most of that. You can still tell it was dropped, but it's nowhere near as bad. It came with a 100GB HD and max ram. And the surprise was that it WAS an HR. The seller didn't realize what he had so I though I was getting the lo-res version. Had he known I probably never would have won that auction.