Back then, you may have paid a professional to do this "dangerous" kind of repair.
I certainly would have.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
eBay bargains - what's your latest conquest?
- Thread starter Hughmac
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I certainly would have.
You have more courage than I do here. I’ve only managed to complete LCD backlight changes with 12-inch displays (and even then, I’ve ruined a couple along the way). Because of their relative scarcity to 12-inch displays and their higher cost of finding replacements, I haven’t attempted to replace the backlight on any LCD larger than the 12-inch form factor. I’m sorry this effort went south for you.
I also recall @eyoungren mentioning how he tried to access the LCD in a 17-inch PowerBook and successfully sliced his fingers on the sharp pieces hidden by the front bezel.
You have more courage than I do here. I’ve only managed to complete LCD backlight changes with 12-inch displays (and even then, I’ve ruined a couple along the way). Because of their relative scarcity to 12-inch displays and their higher cost of finding replacements, I haven’t attempted to replace the backlight on any LCD larger than the 12-inch form factor. I’m sorry this effort went south for you.
I also recall @eyoungren mentioning how he tried to access the LCD in a 17-inch PowerBook and successfully sliced his fingers on the sharp pieces hidden by the front bezel.
I really tried to give that machine a second life. Now that I think about it, it could also have been the backlight lamps itself that were defective and I really wouldn't want to mess with replacing them since positioning them in the ideal way is difficult and breaking them will release toxic substances (from what I've gathered, I've never tried it myself). I also have 2x 12" PowerBook G4 that are thankfully without screen defects. I don't know actually how to take their display assemblies apart but I imagine it is no pleasant job either. I'm really just surprised the whole procedure was so simple with 15" bezels (I'm sure you could take them apart without ruining them as well) and the 17" was such a pain. To be honest I really hate to repair anything that has to do with screens because of the risks of breaking it involved (not counting of course something where you just replace the display without the need to further mess with the LCD, backlight, dead pixels, dirt, sheets, etc. itself). From now on I'll make my life easier and only keep looking for entire display assemblies. In the case of the 17" PowerBook (A1085) I literally could take the screen of any 17" PowerBook ever made (from the OG 1 GHz one up to the DLSD). I'm pretty sure I will come across one soon and if not I'm not in a hurry either (still got enough Macs to keep me occupied
)Another update yet again (I do not intend to overtake this thread but I have good news and a question to throw). The fact that I messed up the display assembly of my recently aquired 17" PowerBook G4 has really been bugging me in the last few days, so much that I had to try the same procedure again with my other spare 17" display assembly (partly defective, one from the early 2005 series, notorious for vertical lines due to LCD failure). As I had been expecting, taking apart the thing was a painful task (seriously who designs this clip mechanism in such a sadistic way?) but I managed to pry off the back bezel after carefully unclipping all the hooks. Many plastic prying tools died along the procedure but the back bazel is now off without any damage to the plastic rim, to antennas or other cables. It can be done if you have time and patience. This time I worked with very bright light so I could see and understand the clip mechanism better and which made a big difference (not sugarcoating the procedure, believe me it is pure hell and much worse than opening an iPod. With the LVDS cable and backlight inverter now accessible, I could in fact determine that the inverter that came with the A1085 was the culprit of no backlight and that the punctured LVDS cable from the A1085 does still work (it only punctured the sheathing from what I could see). Luckily the inverter from A1107 screen itself did still work so I could check out the A1085 in more detail.
The LCD is still good for some quick testing and will serve its purpose before I will throw it out eventually. The test setup looks messy (I haven't yet bothered to remove the old LVDS cable from the old clutch) but does its job as well when it comes to quickly checking some stuff.
Both RAM sticks and slots are working as anticipated. One thing I noticed however while testing is that the left fan is grinding (I will give it a WD40 therapy and see if this will fix it or at least mitigate it to a point where it is not annoying anymore.
I had a look online and I've seen that generic 17" aren't that scarce but Apple specific ones are to no surprise. I'm eyeballing an LG "LP171WE2(TL)(A2)" panel (the A2 stands for Apple I guess). Now there are many "LP171WE2" sold online but the codes afterwards differ. They all do however have the same pinout and resolution. Also they do look identical. So I'm wondering if those generic ones do also work with Apple laptops or if the Apple specific ones do have some sort of special PCB modification or other stuff that only make it compatible with PowerBooks. I'd appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on this matter.
The LCD is still good for some quick testing and will serve its purpose before I will throw it out eventually. The test setup looks messy (I haven't yet bothered to remove the old LVDS cable from the old clutch) but does its job as well when it comes to quickly checking some stuff.
Both RAM sticks and slots are working as anticipated. One thing I noticed however while testing is that the left fan is grinding (I will give it a WD40 therapy and see if this will fix it or at least mitigate it to a point where it is not annoying anymore.
I had a look online and I've seen that generic 17" aren't that scarce but Apple specific ones are to no surprise. I'm eyeballing an LG "LP171WE2(TL)(A2)" panel (the A2 stands for Apple I guess). Now there are many "LP171WE2" sold online but the codes afterwards differ. They all do however have the same pinout and resolution. Also they do look identical. So I'm wondering if those generic ones do also work with Apple laptops or if the Apple specific ones do have some sort of special PCB modification or other stuff that only make it compatible with PowerBooks. I'd appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on this matter.
You have more courage than I do here. I’ve only managed to complete LCD backlight changes with 12-inch displays (and even then, I’ve ruined a couple along the way). Because of their relative scarcity to 12-inch displays and their higher cost of finding replacements, I haven’t attempted to replace the backlight on any LCD larger than the 12-inch form factor. I’m sorry this effort went south for you.
I also recall @eyoungren mentioning how he tried to access the LCD in a 17-inch PowerBook and successfully sliced his fingers on the sharp pieces hidden by the front bezel.
LCD backlight changes are ridiculous. I actually pulled it off once, by taking one out of a smashed A1181 LCD and transplanting it to a display with a dead backlight. In retrospect it was a cosmic miracle that I happened to have two of the same make/model of LCD panels, since they seemingly varied so much with that model of MacBook. It took me less than an hour to do the transplant.
I got cocky, and decided that for another backlight repair, instead of ordering another LCD panel, I'd just order the LCD backlight itself and replace the backlight...
It really was the worst repair job I'd ever done. It must have taken me six or seven hours to attempt, since the LCD panel was very different in its construction than the one I'd fixed earlier. I ended up snapping the backlight, and I swore I could see the mercury vapour go out in a puff right in front of my face. I wasn't wearing a face mask, so I freaked out a little about inhaling the mercury (Now I know that it presents a low immediate health risk.) And the LCD panel itself was completely destroyed.
Still, it was a horrible experience. I'm not trying that ever again, and I have mad respect for others who've successfully done it.
Not sure I'd describe them as bargains but here are some PowerPC Mac games I have bought on Ebay recently.
Another PowerBook G4 17" that I bought off eBay (I won the auction). This is the fifth 17" PowerBook G4 this year that I've bought but a) one can always use parts and b) a guy like me can't resist a Mac bargain It is an A1107, fully working as seen on screen (tested with ASD) and thankfully no memory slot failure. This is actually the second PowerBook G4 17" I've ever purchased that doesn't have any screen issues (even though A1107 are notorious for developing lines). If it eventually does, I'm covered since I have a replacement screen (even a higher quality and higher resolution one). I'm quite happy with what I got, it does not have any dents, few scratches and was advertised as not working. I took the gamble and found out that the reason it wasn't turning on was because the trackpad/keyboard ZIF cable wasn't properly inserted into the socket. The seller was actually a company and I think they got the machine from someone else (who took the hard disk out) but fortunately that particular person left everything else in place from what I've seen after a quick disassembly. I believe the company didn't actually troubleshoot anything and just listed it as broken. For 32€ (including shipping) I think I can count this as a real bargain (PowerBook G4s are becoming really expensive where I live, especially 17" ones).
but a) one can always use parts and b) a guy like me can't resist a Mac bargain It is an A1107, fully working as seen on screen (tested with ASD) and thankfully no memory slot failure. This is actually the second PowerBook G4 17" I've ever purchased that doesn't have any screen issues (even though A1107 are notorious for developing lines). If it eventually does, I'm covered since I have a replacement screen (even a higher quality and higher resolution one). I'm quite happy with what I got, it does not have any dents, few scratches and was advertised as not working. I took the gamble and found out that the reason it wasn't turning on was because the trackpad/keyboard ZIF cable wasn't properly inserted into the socket. The seller was actually a company and I think they got the machine from someone else (who took the hard disk out) but fortunately that particular person left everything else in place from what I've seen after a quick disassembly. I believe the company didn't actually troubleshoot anything and just listed it as broken. For 32€ (including shipping) I think I can count this as a real bargain (PowerBook G4s are becoming really expensive where I live, especially 17" ones).Attachments
i bought an ibook g4 12" 1.07ghz, which i believe has never been used (still has the original 256mb ram and hasnt been updated past 10.3.3, appears to be in very good condition), including the charger for only $35 + shipping
i dont have the machine yet but here are some photos from the seller:
i dont have the machine yet but here are some photos from the seller:
i bought it on ebay. just so happened to be looking for one and this one popped up in amazing condition for a great price. very happy
Good morning everyone!
OWC was offering a 2012 mac mini i5, 500, 4gb for $149 monday nite.
this morning the same mac mini is $179.
therefore Ebay (or luke) is my only hope in getting one.
Added
on my way home saw this mini 2012 excellent shape for $125
this was hidden in a pawn shop near my home
an purchased as is
has ? Mark so time to see if there is a drive…..
OWC was offering a 2012 mac mini i5, 500, 4gb for $149 monday nite.
this morning the same mac mini is $179.
therefore Ebay (or luke) is my only hope in getting one.
Added
on my way home saw this mini 2012 excellent shape for $125
this was hidden in a pawn shop near my home
an purchased as is
has ? Mark so time to see if there is a drive…..
Last edited:
Who cares if it has a drive as long as it works? You'll want to shove an SSD in there in any case and at $125 I doubt the seller would have left one of those in there. I bought the additional SATA cable and have two in mine - running Mojave for compatibility with any 32bit application I might need or want on the secondary drive and Monterey on the primary one. These were fetching over $200 before the M1 changed the market as the base 2014 model was worse.
Also, would you really want someone else's former drive? I usually purchase a new one because it's nearly always the case that the existing drive will be too small for your usages, you will not know whether it has been thrashed and is on its last legs and what kinds of data had been stored on it.
I got a sega game gear fully recapped
And delivered for £60
Neil
And delivered for £60
Neil
It's fine for testing stuff out in the short term to see if you have hardware issues and I don't mind too much on really old hardware that isn't going to get a great deal of use. However, for this hardware period, it's a bit like chucking out Apple's default junk earphones that come with your iDevice and getting something that will do the hardware justice.
Could be an adobe software ……or something worth while.
the hard drive shows 2gb total base something, partitioned
so i asked for guidance on a other thread.
seems to me they screwed up partitioning the drive
there are 16 gb of ram so they had some clue.
the hard drive shows 2gb total base something, partitioned
so i asked for guidance on a other thread.
seems to me they screwed up partitioning the drive
there are 16 gb of ram so they had some clue.
I just want to see what the hard drive is, could be a ssd and who knows the size.
should i make a new topic for repartitioning a drive and or finding out the aspects of the mac mini like processor, etc.
thanks in advance
Fair enough.
Might be a good idea… The serial and model numbers will enable you to check online the year of manufacture and the original specification. It's worth taking note of @weckart's observation that a previous owner has dismantled the machine before and that the drive might have been removed.