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Should I buy a Powerbook g4 17 with random shutdown?! Heat? for 300$

B

basement

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 18, 2008
5
0
Hello all!

I am looking at a powerbook G4 17 inch that seems to shutdown after some usage. It could be quickly (5min) it could be 15 min maybe longer. This seems to smack of a heat issue. I believe the ram and hard drive have already been replaced and it still shuts down.

Has anyone else experienced this? If it is a head issue what kind of pertinent damage am i looking at?

Here is the cap to this situation, i'm considering buying the computer... (sorry if this should be posted elsewhere its my first post) Sounds like a bad idea but its being sold for 300$ and if it comes down to it i can sell parts to make it back.

Its a Powerbook G7 17 inch 120gig drive and 1gig of ram.


Any help would be appreciated! Im bringing my thumb drive to look at it on Saturday so i can take a few diagnostic programs if you recommend.

Thanks everyone, best to you all!

Basement
 
C

coconn06

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2003
197
0
King of Prussia, PA
Personally, I wouldn't buy that computer. Even if there were no issues (shutting down after some usage due to heat? Sounds like a deal-breaker to me), a Powerbook G4 (read: several generations of technology and many years behind current models) isn't worth $300.

Save up a little longer and go for an entry-level MacBook.
 
H$R

H$R

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2008
352
0
Switzerland
would you buy a car which randomly stops every 5 to 15 minutes? I wouldn't. How do you expect to really do some work with it? It might shut down the when you didn't safe important info.

Plus yeah it's old (still usable and used of course by others). better check for a refurbished Macbook and safe some money there for a good model.

I don't really have an idea of diagnostic programs for macs because I am a new user myself.
 
CubeHacker

CubeHacker

macrumors 65816
Apr 22, 2003
1,243
251
If you are good at tinkering with computers and are willing to talk him down in the price, it might be worth it. I purchased a cheap Dell laptop that pretty much had the same problem - overheating. I figured the fans were simply clogged with dust. I was right, and after opening it up and cleaning it out it works great. However if its a hardware issue, you might be out of luck.
 
J

jonswan

macrumors regular
Jul 26, 2007
182
0
Only if you really know what you're doing. There are a lot of good Macs out there + why not add a couple of hundred $$ and get something that works? Seems like a no-brainer.
 
Reflow

Reflow

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2005
1,567
0
NJ/PHL
Well if you do buy it and can't figure out. You could sell it for parts. To me it seems like a good deal if you like taking things apart..
 
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