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eBay bargains - what's your latest conquest?
- Thread starter Hughmac
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I'm afraid I do have to, yesYou've got to get that cable!
That was an otherwise decent Sony DSC-WX350, paired with my absolutely ****** photo-taking skillzYeah, it makes quite shaky pictures.
Haha, yeah.That was an otherwise decent Sony DSC-WX350, paired with my absolutely ****** photo-taking skillz
I was just making fun. Sorry.Hey, no need to apologise!Haha, yeah.
I knew and was going along with it.You've got to get that cable!
I'm afraid I do have to, yes
So... here it is.
Another acquisition... Gameboy Pocket goes IPS
This is so good.
Apple MacBook Pro 17" A1229 defekt | eBay
Entdecken Sie Apple MacBook Pro 17" A1229 defekt in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
What the heck have I just done? I guess the lure of 17 inches is too strong to resist permanently, and it does have the green dot indicating a revised GPU.
Apple MacBook Pro 17" A1229 defekt | eBay
Entdecken Sie Apple MacBook Pro 17" A1229 defekt in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!www.ebay.de
What the heck have I just done? I guess the lure of 17 inches is too strong to resist permanently, and it does have the green dot indicating a revised GPU.
The lure of the 17 is simply too great to resist for even the most haggard of vintage Mac folk. Congratulations!
This is actually the fifth time I'm buying a 17 (long story LOL) but if this one works fine it's a keeper.
This is actually the fifth time I'm buying a 17 (long story LOL) but if this one works fine it's a keeper.
Fingers crossed for you that fifth time's a charm.
My 07 17" with revised GPU still running perfectly. Fingers crossed for you. 🤞This is actually the fifth time I'm buying a 17 (long story LOL) but if this one works fine it's a keeper.
Picked up some neat things this weekend.
FW DIGI002 - $20
Some pro speakers for $5 and 512mb pc133 for $1.
A goofy bondi colored two button mouse for $2 - couldn’t resist
And a acard ultraATA OS8/9 friendly pci card for $10. Kinda overpaid a bit on this but Gunna stick it in a performa.
FW DIGI002 - $20
Some pro speakers for $5 and 512mb pc133 for $1.
And a acard ultraATA OS8/9 friendly pci card for $10. Kinda overpaid a bit on this but Gunna stick it in a performa.
I bought this 12" iBook G3 (Late '01) for only 5,55€ on eBay.
The missing scissor piece was already salvaged from a for-parts-A1286,
I glued the broken pieces back together and added the shimp (GPU precaution).
Next up will be a polishing job and a downgrade to OS9
It's running 10.2.3 atm.
60GB HDD, 640MB RAM and 600MHz G3.
The missing scissor piece was already salvaged from a for-parts-A1286,
I glued the broken pieces back together and added the shimp (GPU precaution).
Next up will be a polishing job and a downgrade to OS9
It's running 10.2.3 atm.
60GB HDD, 640MB RAM and 600MHz G3.
I was never expecting to get a really great deal on eBay up until last Sunday. My experience so far has been that sellers on second-hand marketplaces offer stuff for better prices since many auctions on eBay end up in bidding wars where you usually overpay. Well, my latest conquest on eBay is this PowerBook G4 17". It was listed for 1€ and besides me, only a single other person bidded. It is a 1085 model from 2004 with a 1.5 GHz G4 processor. Not the greatest and latest of the PowerPC era but still one of the top tier models. It came with the original charger and software restore DVDs. Funny enough, it also included also 2 software restore DVDs from an iMac (with OS X 10.5.6). As a plus I guess I now have the OG restore DVDs for my 2008 iMac
The only problem that this PowerBook in particular has (and the seller clearly stated this) is that you have to shine a light against the LCD in order to use it. I guess it is a backlight issue (pretty easy to fix if you have a functional spare part). Other than that everything is fully functional, the machine is in great condition in comparision to other second-hand PowerBook G4s (no dents and only a few minor scratches/scuffs that don't really bother me) and even the battery seems to be functional (charging it right now). So why did I buy this PowerBook? These 3 were my main reasons:
The only problem that this PowerBook in particular has (and the seller clearly stated this) is that you have to shine a light against the LCD in order to use it. I guess it is a backlight issue (pretty easy to fix if you have a functional spare part). Other than that everything is fully functional, the machine is in great condition in comparision to other second-hand PowerBook G4s (no dents and only a few minor scratches/scuffs that don't really bother me) and even the battery seems to be functional (charging it right now). So why did I buy this PowerBook? These 3 were my main reasons:
- bargain (who can resist an Apple laptop for 9€, let alone a 17" one?)
- no cost to upgrade (I have another 17" donor PowerBook G4 that has all the parts the PowerBook below needs in order to get it working again, namely the backlight inverter), I also still have dozens of DDR1 laptop sticks lying around, IDE to SATA adapter cards, spare SSDs, etc. – there really isn't any cost to upgrade and restore this besides time
- I like to tinker with old tech and it is a great feeling to save these gorgeous devices from landfill, yes they are very much outdated by now but that doesn't mean they aren't useful anymore for light tasks (DVD playback, word processing, games, etc.), also restoring this machine makes a great project for the next lockdown
Thanks. Yes both RAM slots are working. I can't really test the machine thoroughly (not even with an external monitor) because without the backlight you hardly can find the cursor and see anything. Upon connecting an external monitor the main screen is still the internal one (even if unplugged). I will have to swap out the backlight to do some in-depth testing but the spare part is at my other place so it'll take some until I can do that. But the machine booted up with only one memory stick in each slot. So I guess both slots are working. Do 2004 PowerBook also have those lower memory slot failures? I know about the 2005 ones (I own many 2005 ones and none of them has any memory issues btw) but didn't expect 2004 ones to tend to have similar problems.
I already unscrewed the LCD. Can I somehow put it into clamshell mode without the LCD being physically attached? (I think the PowerBook recognizes clamshell mode due to the magnet behind the LCD) If not I just have to put everything together provisionally in order to do some testing.
I'd try putting a magnet where the reed switch that toggles clamshell mode (i.e. indicates "lid is closed") is.
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It was both 2004 and 2005.. and some late 2005 models.. in all my research and having a DLSD 1138 and 1139 I never had a memory slot issue at all, but mostly this issue was on 2004-early 2005 models.
Quick update regarding my ebay conquest. Well, I guess everybody messes up from time to time and this time it was me. Ironically I stated how easy changing out a backlight would be but believe it or not I completely destroyed the display assembly while trying to disassemble it even though I took my time and had the proper tools for the job. I was amazed to see how difficult it is to release the back bezel from the display assembly and let alone trying to remove the LCD itself from the front bezel. I don't know what sadists put and glued that screen together like this but separating it was an impossible job. Eventually the screen developed black stains and cracked lines so at that point I know it can't get any worse. Also, I managed to pierce antennas and damage the plastic rim. Long story short, the entire upper portion of the laptop is pretty much trashed which kind of breaks my heart but what can you do. Please do note that I sucessfully and without any damages did the same job three times with 15" PowerBooks. I even disassembled the LCD sheets from one of my 15" PowerBook in order to get out some dust which I was able to do without any problems. I definitely felt skilled enough to do the same with the 17" PowerBook but as it turned out this is a whole other beast.
Since I literally do not have any display to work with anymore, there is a change of planes. I will keep the rest of the laptop (which is already cleaned and disassembled, without damages and in pretty neat condition that is) as a spare for my A1107 which is a custom semi DLSD (I put a screen from an A1139 onto it). Many parts between the 17" PowerBook line are interchangeable between each other so I at least have spares. Also I have a semi-working battery and another charger. So my 19€ (even without a display) were wisely spent.
Just imagine my mistake in the year 2004, I would probably have thrown 1000€ down the drain by messing up this kind of repair but nowadays considering the price I paid it is more like 5€ of financial loss. Still, I'll keep watching for a 17" display assembly (and yes the entire assembly and not LCD alone, I won't try that surgery again on a 17" machine). I know I'll find a suitable donor display assembly eventually and once I have, I'll build another 17" one.
Since I literally do not have any display to work with anymore, there is a change of planes. I will keep the rest of the laptop (which is already cleaned and disassembled, without damages and in pretty neat condition that is) as a spare for my A1107 which is a custom semi DLSD (I put a screen from an A1139 onto it). Many parts between the 17" PowerBook line are interchangeable between each other so I at least have spares. Also I have a semi-working battery and another charger. So my 19€ (even without a display) were wisely spent.
Just imagine my mistake in the year 2004, I would probably have thrown 1000€ down the drain by messing up this kind of repair but nowadays considering the price I paid it is more like 5€ of financial loss. Still, I'll keep watching for a 17" display assembly (and yes the entire assembly and not LCD alone, I won't try that surgery again on a 17" machine). I know I'll find a suitable donor display assembly eventually and once I have, I'll build another 17" one.