Cat knocked my iBook off the desk, broken screen, how much are repairs w/out warranty

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

So my cat jumped from my window right onto my 14 inch iBook G4 that was setting on an iCurve.......knocked it right off the desk and onto my basement room floor. Now the screen is warped a bit, and down near the botton of the screen where the plastic and LCD screen meet its coming apart when you flex the screen. Also now that the screen is a bit missaligned the open latch button doesnt work very well.

Unfortunately I have had my iBook over a year and did not have the money to get the extended warranty, so now I'm SOL with a busted up iBook. It still operates fine it just has taken some physical damage, If I keep using it like this its just going to continue to break apart.

How much do you think a repair on that would cost? I also have white spots on my screen that were there all along that I should mention to apple when I call.

🙁 I wanna burry my face in a pillow and cry!

iGary · May 16, 2005

Monoxide said:
So my cat jumped from my window right onto my 14 inch iBook G4 that was setting on an iCurve.......knocked it right off the desk and onto my basement room floor. Now the screen is warped a bit, and down near the botton of the screen where the plastic and LCD screen meet its coming apart when you flex the screen. Also now that the screen is a bit missaligned the open latch button doesnt work very well.

Unfortunately I have had my iBook over a year and did not have the money to get the extended warranty, so now I'm SOL with a busted up iBook. It still operates fine it just has taken some physical damage, If I keep using it like this its just going to continue to break apart.

How much do you think a repair on that would cost? I also have white spots on my screen that were there all along that I should mention to apple when I call.

🙁 I wanna burry my face in a pillow and cry!

$600-$800 installed. 😱

therevolution · May 16, 2005

Well, the "good" news is that the warranty would not have helped you in this situation anyway. Applecare doesn't cover accidental damage. Homeowner/renter insurance policies are what you would want to look at for covering accidents like this one.

mkrishnan · May 16, 2005

Can you post a picture of what your damage is, out of curiosity? It doesn't sound like a broken LCD in the traditional sense -- which is very expensive, sadly, to repair. What you have might be quite a different story, because it sounds more like your case is damaged than your LCD? I'm confused, anyway. So lalala, if I'm a dork, just ignore me. 😉

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

Hmm, that stinks, how much do you think it will go for on Ebay? Its still fully functional and anyone with a little bit o handy man skills could fix her up a bit.

Its 1ghz, 14 inches, 60gb, 640mb ram, and airport extreme.

If i can get enough I'll just replace it with a mac mini, im all done living at the dorms so a lap top is not a must.

EDIT*****
Couldnt get a picture of how the screen is misaligned cause I was using my iSight and couldnt shut the screen, however these show how the screen is coming apart. Other than the white spots the LCD's picture is still fine.

mkrishnan · May 16, 2005

Hmmm, yeah, this might not actually be so hard to fix. Aside from the white spots, your LCD isn't really broken.... It seems like the part of the plastic sticking out at the bottom could just be popped back into place if done with care, and the alignment could probably be fixed too....No clue on an eBay price though. Without the issues, one with your configuration seems to go for about $800....

Sun Baked · May 16, 2005

Take it apart and put it back together, and hope that it's 100% a pressure related problem due to misalignment.

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

Ive been carefully messing with it and nothing really wants to pop back into place, and I'm afraid If I keep using it damaged like this is just going to get worse because you can see its putting pressure on the screen when you flex it because it gets that gooey LCD effect. If I can get at least 600 dollars for it on ebay *AS IS* I'm gonna just get myself a new 1.42ghz Mac Mini. I have a mac keyboard , mouse, and a spare monitor so I'm all set there.

Sun Baked · May 16, 2005

Monoxide said:
Ive been carefully messing with it and nothing really wants to pop back into place, and I'm afraid If I keep using it damaged like this is just going to get worse because you can see its putting pressure on the screen when you flex it because it gets that gooey LCD effect. If I can get at least 600 dollars for it on ebay *AS IS* I'm gonna just get myself a new 1.42ghz Mac Mini. I have a mac keyboard , mouse, and a spare monitor so I'm all set there.

Jamming back into place could cause more damage, take it apart and put it back together.

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

Ok, ill try taking it apart, I build computers all the time so I think I can trust myself, i hope

Link · May 16, 2005

Well, I have actually the exact same problem, and my friend tells me that the bezel simply snapped. So, you would have to open up the computer and replace the bezel, which you can buy for about $40 on eBay. I have not gotten around to trying this, though....

Mord · May 16, 2005

this happened to me, my ibook had a cisco router droped on it by some **** in my cisco class.

the problem is cause by a breakage in the magnesium alloy frame in the bezel, if you buy a replacement bezel of ebay (mine was $40) and replace ti yourself it will fix it.

rainman::|:| · May 16, 2005

and before you punish him, remember your cat loves you.

in his own unique way.

7254278 · May 16, 2005

Doesnt look to bad, but how are you planning to take the plastic case aprt from the LCD? It looks complicated.

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

I'm working with the service manual.

I got the back casing off the LCD and near the bottom I notice a metal-ish piece is snapped that runs along the bottom. Not sure if thats the problem though because if I hold it in place the screen still comes apart when i flex it.

TheMasin9 · May 16, 2005

hmm

Monoxide said:
Ive been carefully messing with it and nothing really wants to pop back into place, and I'm afraid If I keep using it damaged like this is just going to get worse because you can see its putting pressure on the screen when you flex it because it gets that gooey LCD effect. If I can get at least 600 dollars for it on ebay *AS IS* I'm gonna just get myself a new 1.42ghz Mac Mini. I have a mac keyboard , mouse, and a spare monitor so I'm all set there.

Seems like you could just use it as a close laptop computer. Plug in a display, keyboard adn mouse and you should be good to go, you still got a decent computer there, no need to go sell it and buy a something else.

maxterpiece · May 16, 2005

If the LCD is busted and it's not some other part you can have it fixed (that is replaced AND installed) by someone other than apple for $370 here. It is even cheaper if you just buy the LCD and install it yourself.

If, in fact, it is just the bezel that is broken and that is just a $40 repair, and you take some photographs to confirm that this is the problem and the LCD is still good, then you will probably get closer to $1000 for this machine. About 1 months ago I sold my ibook 800mhz G3 on eBay with a completely busted/cracked LCD, the case was in bad shape, it had only 384mb RAM, regular airport and a 30GB drive, AND was only a 12" display, and I got $500 for it.

Apple's have great resale value, particularly iBooks, and people who buy these busted iBooks are smart. They know when a problem is easy/cheap to repair and when it is not. If you don't take advantage of your iBook's portability and would rather have a more powerful Mac Mini, or you just don't feel up to making the repair, you will probably at least break even by eBaying your iBook. Plus you will then have a computer completely under warranty.

Monoxide · May 16, 2005

Well after playing for it a bit I have come to conclusion that it is indeed that snapped part that is causing the problem, I may repair it, I also might put it on ebay sell it as is saying it needs minor repair and then buy a 1.42ghz mac mini.

Mord · May 17, 2005

the repair is pretty straight forward i did it, just watch ebay for a while, now they only have a couple of 12" bezels, but when i bought one there were more 14" ones than 12" ones, you dont have to replace the whole lot just the magneseium bit that broke.

Lacero · May 17, 2005

Monoxide said:
So my cat jumped from my window right onto my 14 inch iBook G4 that was setting on an iCurve.......knocked it right off the desk and onto my basement room floor.

I have a hankering for some delicious stir fry kitty.

Cat knocked my iBook off the desk, broken screen, how much are repairs w/out warranty

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