Goodbye, iBook G3...

[breathesrain]

My venerable, 8-year-old iBook G3 finally died today...I'm guessing the graphics card went. I was using it and suddenly the screen turned into snow, like on an analog TV (which was a weird thing to see on an LCD display). When I try to turn it on, the startup chime sounds and the hard drive starts to spin up, but then all is silent. The graphics is my best guess for the source of the problem- is that reasonable? I know it's sodered on, so I'm guessing a replacement would cost more than the computer's worth- am I right?

Long live the iBook...

 

[GGJstudios]

If you can plug it into an external monitor, that would let you know if it was the graphics card or simply the screen.

 

[California]

Shimming the iBook under the video card area --google around -- would give you a lot more life out of the iBook.

 

[breathesrain]

Oh, wow, that totally worked! I did not expect that. Looks like it has a but more life in it after all

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

That's only a "temporary" fix. Who knows, maybe it will work for 1 week or 1 year but you will have problems with it again, even with the shim.

 

[iLog.Genius]

Got to love the old iBooks, they seem to last forever.

 

[iMouse]

Cheap Fix

If you are willing to spare $50 and $12 shipping, here's an easy fix for your issue.

http://www.firstphasetech.com/ibook-repair-g3-g4.html

I guess it all depends on how much you still love your iBook G3

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

If you are willing to spare $50 and $12 shipping, here's an easy fix for your issue.

http://www.firstphasetech.com/ibook-repair-g3-g4.html

I guess it all depends on how much you still love your iBook G3

And they even give you a 1 year warranty. You will have to remove the logic board yourself as they will charge you extra if you mail them the whole laptop.

 

[breathesrain]

This computer actually seriously pisses me off; I'm just waiting for arrandale. I'm glad it's working again, though- sure beats using my ipod touch. And I know it will probably die soon enough, but 8 years is a good run for any laptop. In a few months (assuming it still works) I'll be giving it to a computer-illiterate relative for their first computer, which could be interesting. Not really worth the money for a more permanent fix; I'll just stick a shim in there and see how it goes. Right now, since I don't have the screwdrivers to open it up, I'm resting a heavy glass of water over the CPU which is a recipe for disaster. Not to mention it's difficult to type around.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

You can just firmly press on the bottom and it will work that way for a while. But it IS going to completely fail eventually.