Today I decided to upgarde the RAM in my PowerBook, only to find that the RAM cover's screws are totally threaded. I managed to get one screw off but now I'm totaly stuck. I've tried every screwdriver in the box (getting on 50 of them) with no luck. So I'm wondering is there another way in?
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Can't Upgrade RAM (PowerBook G4)
- Thread starter Goftrey
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You need a special type of screwdriver that is for stripped screws. Not sure if they have a specific name but they exist and are for exactly the issue you have.
Another idea... try taking a pencil and pushing the eraser end down on the screw with reasonable force and with your fingers turning it within 2-3cm of the screw.
Another idea... try taking a pencil and pushing the eraser end down on the screw with reasonable force and with your fingers turning it within 2-3cm of the screw.
No luck. I tried the eraser method, which didn't really work. I found a screw extractor in the shed but again that didn't work either. I guess I'm stuck with the 1.128gb that's in there now for good.
A bit of out the box but an idea.
While I have never done this with a PB, It was an extreme experiment I did with a thinkpad T20 back in the day with striped out screws.
Here's the skinny: The screws are tiny, so you need to find a tiny drill bit that you are willing to sacrifice. With a steady hand, drill a small hole into the screw deep enough to get bit into it. Now you can go two ways, a bit of lock tight or super glue to secure the bit in the hole. Hold the bit until the chemical process is done. Reattach to drill and slowly remove the screw. If you use super glue you can get the bit back with a bit of WD40 or gas and repeat until the plate is off. You will have to find new screws to of course, but it was in instance where the owner was insistent on a memory upgrade no matter what.
While I have never done this with a PB, It was an extreme experiment I did with a thinkpad T20 back in the day with striped out screws.
Here's the skinny: The screws are tiny, so you need to find a tiny drill bit that you are willing to sacrifice. With a steady hand, drill a small hole into the screw deep enough to get bit into it. Now you can go two ways, a bit of lock tight or super glue to secure the bit in the hole. Hold the bit until the chemical process is done. Reattach to drill and slowly remove the screw. If you use super glue you can get the bit back with a bit of WD40 or gas and repeat until the plate is off. You will have to find new screws to of course, but it was in instance where the owner was insistent on a memory upgrade no matter what.
I think I've done this before, without the superglue, though, I used a pair of surgical needle nosed pliers.
Or you could bend the heck out of the memory cover and try to pry it off and get a new memory cover.
Sounds like you need to ditch your hyper-vintage equipment and get yourself something new.
Why? The old stuff is still very capable. Just because something is old, doesn't mean it should be gotten rid of. The Powerbook G4 is hardly something I'd call "hyper-vintage". The Powerbook 180 I have, yes. That is "hyper-vintage", but still really cool to use.
The PowerBook G4 is a product that was discontinued in January of 2006. *That's over 6 years ago. In computer time, that's an eternity. The fact that the starter of this thread feels the need to upgrade his RAM is a clear indication that this computer isn't working for him anymore. Why invest extra money in something that's over 6 years old? It just doesn't make sense.
I'm not debating that the old machines are cool. They're cool in the way that vintage cars are cool. Pretty to look at and interact with on a very limited basis. For daily computing however, a 6 year old PowerBook G4 doesn't make much sense.
I happen to know the starter of this thread, Goftrey, quite well. He loves his older machines, as do many others in this thread. The shear fact that he can upgrade his ram is part of his determination to keep it alive for a few more years. His Powerbook is currently running Leopard with 512Mb of ram. Leopard is still a modern operating system that is still very able. While it runs with 512Mb of ram, it runs much better with 1.5Gb. At the time Leopard came out, 1GB of ram was the average for Macs.
Even if he will never get the ram cover off, he'll still use that Powerbook as his main portable. Many people in this thread use 6+ year old Macs as their main/only machines. zen.state's PowerMacs are over 12 years old and they get daily use as his main machines. The extra money Goftrey is investing into his machine is peanuts compared to a new one. If he can get two more years out of it for ~£20, he'll be extremely happy.
Even if he will never get the ram cover off, he'll still use that Powerbook as his main portable. Many people in this thread use 6+ year old Macs as their main/only machines. zen.state's PowerMacs are over 12 years old and they get daily use as his main machines. The extra money Goftrey is investing into his machine is peanuts compared to a new one. If he can get two more years out of it for ~£20, he'll be extremely happy.
Hi, I agree with you 300 percent. You are absolutely right. The PowerBook G4, esp the one with the dual layer superdrive running at 1.67 is still a nice machine for everyday use. With all the tweaks I have done and stripping all intel code from Leopard, this thing flies. It might be slow in rendering flash video, but there are ways around that.
My suggestion is to see if the OP can find a good mac repair center that would take the time to get the screw out and to then get for very cheap the needed memory to upgrade fully to 2GB. Leopard without the intel code in it is very quick on my PowerBook G4 and I suspect it would also for most G4 PowerBooks.
Yeah, don't let someone tell you that the machine is worthless because it really isn't so long as it continues to do what you need it to do.
Just my .02
PPCMM
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Sounds like this guy either has a dislike towards old and or outdated tech and feels justified that today's stuff is much better. Yes, Intel macs are much better, but higher end G4 PowerBooks, Processor upgraded G4's and G5's are still useful for web browsing, emailing, and almost anything everyday. Even a G3 Pismo upgraded to a G4 is somewhat useful.
Now, a Mac Performa? Thats not so useful by todays' standards.
My suggestion is to see if the OP can find a good mac repair center that would take the time to get the screw out and to then get for very cheap the needed memory to upgrade fully to 2GB. Leopard without the intel code in it is very quick on my PowerBook G4 and I suspect it would also for most G4 PowerBooks.
Yeah, don't let someone tell you that the machine is worthless because it really isn't so long as it continues to do what you need it to do.
Just my .02
PPCMM
----------
Sounds like this guy either has a dislike towards old and or outdated tech and feels justified that today's stuff is much better. Yes, Intel macs are much better, but higher end G4 PowerBooks, Processor upgraded G4's and G5's are still useful for web browsing, emailing, and almost anything everyday. Even a G3 Pismo upgraded to a G4 is somewhat useful.
Now, a Mac Performa? Thats not so useful by todays' standards.
Mac Pro 1,1 owners would also probably be interested to know that they should ditch their machines
i wonder if Netkas has come out with a way to make the 1,1 Mac Pro support 64-bit, so that Mountain Lion can be easily installed without hacking anything? Its a real shame and I feel for those with 1,1 Mac Pros being cheated out by Apple saying their machines can't support Mountain Lion. The same can be said for 2,1 Mac Pro owners.
I only wish that Snow Leopard and Lion would have been the last versions of OS X for our PowerPC G4's and G5's. I have a feeling Snow Leopard would have made a nice OS X finale for PPC macs.
I only wish that Snow Leopard and Lion would have been the last versions of OS X for our PowerPC G4's and G5's. I have a feeling Snow Leopard would have made a nice OS X finale for PPC macs.
Mac Pro 1,1 owners would also probably be interested to know that they should ditch their machines
Specik
Dually noted, you are a hardware snob. Now get the frak out of the PPC forums and stick to where you can fanboy flame those of us that still use "antiquated technology" to accomplish our daily needs. As it has been stated time and again on here. Some of us use our PPC's because it's what we can afford, what we are comfortable with and simply does everything we need. Don't forget, there are those that lambbast the micro-crack koolaid, but there is a cistern the size of a small country the mac fan boys can drink from as well.
Dually noted, you are a hardware snob. Now get the frak out of the PPC forums and stick to where you can fanboy flame those of us that still use "antiquated technology" to accomplish our daily needs.
As it has been stated time and again on here. Some of us use our PPC's because it's what we can afford, what we are comfortable with and simply does everything we need. Don't forget, there are those that lambbast the micro-crack koolaid, but there is a cistern the size of a small country the mac fan boys can drink from as well.