Easy way to reflow an iBook G3?

[WalnutSpice]

I still have two 700MHz iBook G3s and I'm wanting to use them for something but first need to fix the video issue. Is there an easy ghetto yet safe reflow method? Like the oven trick?

Also, someone a while back linked me to Spotify for G3 Macs but I lost it. If anyone reading this knows where to find it, can you link it for me please?

 

[harrymatic]

Here's the modded version of Spotify: https://www.dropbox.com/s/02dt86o03xhvet8/Spotify G3.zip?dl=0

and here's one of the more comprehensive guides on reflowing iBook G3s: http://blog.mic-b.com/?p=199

Best of luck!

 

[iModFrenzy]

There's really no "easy" way. I am no expert on re-flows but Keaton might be able to help you.

 

[MysticCow]

Maybe try the "towel trick" that works for the XBox?

 

[128keaton]

Maybe try the "towel trick" that works for the XBox?

I'd never recommend doing that. It just heats up every other component too. You want to do something centralized. The oven is a good way. Just do the LB at 400*F for 15 minutes. Let it rest, then do it again. Or, if you want to be ghetto, put a border of something non flammable around the offending component, fill the little 'pool' with Isopropyl alcohol, and put a lighter to it. I did something similar with an old ATI card.

 

[Project Alice]

and here's one of the more comprehensive guides on reflowing iBook G3s: http://blog.mic-b.com/?p=199

Best of luck!

Sorry to revive this thread but, does anyone happen to have saved this page with the pictures?
Web archive has the page but whoever archived it didn’t do it right and only saved the page, no outlinks hence the pictures weren’t saved.

 

[bobesch]

Oh, I'd beware of the towel-trick, or higher temperatures than 140-150°C (270-max.300°F) or even setting the thing on fire!
I have successfully done the oven-trick on early-intel MBP with a defective GPU a few times, but it's only a temporary fix and sometimes doesn't last very long if the machine gets overheated again (one logic-board indeed showed signs of heavy-heating by the previous owner and my oven-fix did only last a day or two ...)
I have no experience about soldering computer-components, but this is, what I think I have understood about the underlying problem:
applying 140-150°C for 10min (same temperatur as for preheating a board prior to replacement-work on the GPU/BPA) is enough, when it comes to the early-intels, because it fixes something within the chip in a process, that is far below the melting point of solder (190-230°C). On the early-intels it's not about fixing the soldered BGA-connections between chip and logic-board (maybe temp about 140-150°C has an effect on kind of flux-like stuff inside of the chip; flux starts to work at 140°C). Putting the whole board on a high temperature above 200°C in order to have an effect on the solder balls of the GPU/BGA would certainly harm other components or soldered joints of the logic-board.
I don't know, if the iBook's problem is similar to the GPU-problem of the early Intels.
If it's a problem within the GPU itself too, then the lower temperatur of 140-150° might help without doing damage.
If it's a problem of "broken" solder between GPU/BGA and the board, then only controlled heating of just the GPU/BGA up to the solders melting-point in order to "reflow"/fix broken solder (alike the process to replace the GPU) might help. (Well, setting a fire in an emptied tea-light's aluminum-cup and place it onto the GPU would be sort of the uncontrolled brute force variation of trying this ...)

 

[1042686]

What about buying a heat gun and using that as a means to apply localized heat to the suspected chip/solder only? Also you don’t expose your oven (future foods) to the metals in the board
. HF has a basic two temp unit for $15.00.

1500 Watt 11 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun

Amazing deals on this 1500 Watt Dual Temp Heat Gun (700°/1000°) at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Conversely if you do need to heat up the entire board at any point, a cheap toaster oven works great. I scored a freebie off CL that lives in my garage workshop for these sorts of uses.

 

[bobesch]

What about buying a heat gun and using that as a means to apply localized heat to the suspected chip/solder only? Also you don’t expose your oven (future foods) to the metals in the board
. HF has a basic two temp unit for $15.00.

1500 Watt 11 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun

Amazing deals on this 1500 Watt Dual Temp Heat Gun (700°/1000°) at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Conversely if you do need to heat up the entire board at any point, a cheap toaster oven works great. I scored a freebie off CL that lives in my garage workshop for these sorts of uses.

If the "oven-trick" at 140°C get's the GPU-problem temporarily fixed, then it's the faulty GPU itself and applying more heat has no more benefit, but may harm the board or other soldered on components, e.g. RAM-benches etc by melting plastic parts or make sensitive plastic brittle.
So 10 min at 140°C would be the first approach. It wouldn't set off toxic fumes: 140°C is below melting point of even lead-based solder and also below the temperature, where fumes were set of from "boiling" flux. So I'm sure, there are no hazards to use an oven for that procedure.
If the oven-trick should fix the problem: enjoy! and take care to avoid future exceeding system-temperatures. (As for the Early-intel MBP's only a GPU upgrade is ultimately solving the problem.)
If the oven-trick at 140°C fails, then it might be a problem of "broken" solder between GPU/BGA and logic-board and you'll need same procedures as for a full-GPU-replacement: pre-heating the board to 150°C, then applying well dosed "heat" to the GPU (combined with flux, to treat oxidation) up to the melting point of the solder-balls of the BGA to "reflow" the solder.
I wouldn't recommend to do that with a heat-gun and without pre-heating the board, because the result is a gamble.

(Honestly, I haven't done any soldering yet - but I'm keen to give it a try, as soon, as there will be spare time ...)

 

[Akulareb]

Sorry to revive this thread but, does anyone happen to have saved this page with the pictures?
Web archive has the page but whoever archived it didn’t do it right and only saved the page, no outlinks hence the pictures weren’t saved.

As @RhianB suggested a heat gun, I agree that will do the job but keep it on the lowest setting (should be around 300/350•C).

I’m personally not a fan of oven cooking boards as it’s unnecessary stress to components

If you follow this guide from ifixit it will bring you to the stage where you can see the yellow thermal pad. Under there it’s the gpu.

To do a cleaner job and not to disturb other parts you should take the logic board out and cover slightly the sides around the chip with kapton tape leaving a square open for the gpu itself, remove the thermal pad and warm up the area in circular movement from a fair distance to “pre-warm” the pcb rather than giving it a thermal shock.
As the board gets warmer you can get closer (approx 5cm max) and more centric with the airflow but not too close because either you’ll overcook it or components will fly away as cheap heatguns don’t have controls for fan speed usually. The whole process should take you no more than 4/5 minutes to minimise adverse effect on excessive heat.

Good luck on either method you decide, i do hope the bake it’s gonna be successful

 

[jmilan0302]

What about buying a heat gun and using that as a means to apply localized heat to the suspected chip/solder only? Also you don’t expose your oven (future foods) to the metals in the board
. HF has a basic two temp unit for $15.00.

1500 Watt 11 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun

Amazing deals on this 1500 Watt Dual Temp Heat Gun (700°/1000°) at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Conversely if you do need to heat up the entire board at any point, a cheap toaster oven works great. I scored a freebie off CL that lives in my garage workshop for these sorts of uses.

Using hot air can destroy the GPU chip by boiling the small amount of water that it has sucked up over time and causing what is called "popcorning." Though I have seen someone replace a BGA CPU with nothing but a heatgun pointed at the bottom of the motherboard.

 

[Akulareb]

Using hot air can destroy the GPU chip by boiling the small amount of water that it has sucked up over time and causing what is called "popcorning." Though I have seen someone replace a BGA CPU with nothing but a heatgun pointed at the bottom of the motherboard.

it’s true that the substrates of a cpu/gpu can absorb moisture from the air but that’s more
a scenario when the chip is stored in a plastic tray unused from factory for a long period of time or the board containing the chip is stored in a humid environment unused rather than a laptop that stops working, as the usage itself prevents the ingress. If concerned about popcorning, the chip can be slowly warmed up from 30 to 90 celsius degrees over a period of time