Questions about old PowerBook, friend has one for sale

[wangchunggti337]

My friend has an old PowerBook, the black ones with the apple that is upside down when the screen is open.

It is in very good condition, but it has been sitting around so long that it no longer boots up or anything. When plugged in it doesn't even do anything. Is this something wrong with the charger or the computer? Is there anything he can do?

If he were to sell it, how much is it worth?

Thanks a bunch for any help you can offer. I'm just looking to figure out what this machine is about, as I know little about older Macs.

 

[wangchunggti337]

Anyone?...

 

[dpaanlka]

Every PowerBook ever made before the PowerBook G4 has a black case with an Apple logo that is upside down when you open it. That's 10 years worth of products.

You have to be slightly more specific than that.

 

[mkrishnan]

I think a lot of the older Powerbooks have a second "logic board battery" in addition to the main battery -- it's a small battery that's responsible for things like retaining the system time. I think that with these units, unlike older PCs, if this battery dies, they refuse to run at all, vs. just forgetting the time.

You might try:

1) Plug it in and leave it plugged in for a while to see if the logic board battery is good but dead (i.e. let it charge back up).

2) Go get a replacement. You'll need to know more specifics about this Mac to do that (or else, crack it open, find the battery, pull it out, and go get the same battery and replace it ).