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Fixing an old Powerbook G4

N

nmmac_now

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 30, 2017
2
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I found this old Powerbook G4 (17 inch) at home which i tried to power up and start. Somehow found the charger but when it came on the screen seems messed up. I have uploaded the images and put a link below. Was curious to know if any folks can estimate the damage and which parts might need replacement.
https://imgur.com/a/if8S3
https://imgur.com/a/if8S3
 
Looks like serious mold growth from water damage and/or general moisture/humidity. I’d say the LCD panel would need to be replaced first, then test everything else from there. There have been several regular forum members who have upgraded standard res PB17” with hi-res displays, so perhaps someone might offer you a good price on a working standard res display which is no longer in use.

When you dismantle the PowerBook, check for further water ingress, rust, etc in the rest of the machine.
 
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If you can, I'd try plugging it in to an external display before spending any money on a display. If it works on that you're good to replace the display. You have two options with a display replacement, the easy option is to get a whole replacement lid, the second option is to do what I did and replace the LCD panel, the rear of the lid is very difficult to remove. Depending on the model you have you might be able to fit the 1680x1050 panel from an early 17" Macbook pro as a bit of an upgrade. They're more common than the powerbook displays too. You cant do a lid swap with this route though as the 17" Macbook lid is a slightly different size due to the webcam.

I would have offered you my old display but it went to the dump as it was faulty. I may be putting a 1.33GHz 17" powerbook up for sale in the next few weeks with a broken keyboard connector which may be useful for parts but I have no idea on the condition of any of it as I cant power it on. I'm in the UK.
 
Thank you for all your suggestions. I am in the States. I'll try the external display idea before i start attempting to order stuff.
 
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