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Help! iBook dead

F

fussball

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 7, 2003
106
0
I think my iBook/700 died today. I was preparing a presentation outline (in Microsoft Word) and the display started cutting out and getting distorted. I decided a restart may remedy the problem. Instead, the computer simply stopped booting up. It makes the startup chime, but nothing happens after that- not even the white screen with the grey apple. any ideas on what the problem may be? I was not connected to anything at the time. Normally the computer is in my dorm room with the following things hooked up:

17" Sony LCD
80 GB Fantom FW400 drive
Macally Mouse/Keyboard
Speakers
USB Hub

I don't think those had anything to do with it though... I have had the same set up for 5 months.

it is an iBook/700 14.1" with 640 MB ram.

anyone have any ideas? I am afraid this sounds like the dreaded logic board failure... and I have a case mod, so I bet the free apple repairs won't be available to me... oh poo.
 
Have you tried booting with it connected to that SONY? It'll let you know if it's the graphics/mobo or *just* the screen on the iBook...

Also, have you made sure the brightness is at full blast (F2 key). Silly, but you never know...
 
Re: Help! iBook dead

Originally posted by fussball
I am afraid this sounds like the dreaded logic board failure... and I have a case mod, so I bet the free apple repairs won't be available to me... oh poo.
Click to expand...
yup it is, ive had that problem twice so far with my iBook. the logic board of death * insert groan :) *
Apple will totally go nuts and refuse to fix it if you did any sort of mod...maybe you might be better off buying a new computer :(
Call AppleCare anyway. See what they can do.
 
Originally posted by whocares
Have you tried booting with it connected to that SONY? It'll let you know if it's the graphics/mobo or *just* the screen on the iBook...

Also, have you made sure the brightness is at full blast (F2 key). Silly, but you never know...
Click to expand...
if it was the screen it would be all staticky and not clear, not completely nonexistant. :)
if the display connector was loose the display would be pink or it would go berzerk whenever you moved the screen around.

and btw, if you've ever restarted an apple laptop when it last had its brightness all the way down you'll discover that at startup the display will be on again at some varying level of brightness BUT not all the way down :) so you can at least make out an apple logo etc.
 
As for the mod question: RAM is specifically considered to be user-upgradeable, so Apple will simply ask you to remove any non-Apple RAM and then check to see if the problem persists. If it does, they'll fix it.
 
i don't get it.... why can't you just restore your mod to the way it was before??? also if they replace the logic board does that mean that you'll get a newer one? as in a faster processor?? that's be cool, i have a 700mhz 12" iBook with a cd rom drive
 
Originally posted by macrlz9
i don't get it.... why can't you just restore your mod to the way it was before??? also if they replace the logic board does that mean that you'll get a newer one? as in a faster processor?? that's be cool, i have a 700mhz 12" iBook with a cd rom drive
Click to expand...
usually not with logic board replacements, but you get it replaced 3x and they send you a new machine, if they dont have one similar to yours they'll give you the next most similar one. like if you got ANY G3 iBook right now and Apple's gonna replace it for you, chances are you're gonna get a G4 iBook :)
and sometimes you cant undo mods.
 
Originally posted by macrlz9
also if they replace the logic board does that mean that you'll get a newer one? as in a faster processor?? that's be cool, i have a 700mhz 12" iBook with a cd rom drive
Click to expand...

No, you get back the same spec computer. My 700mhz iBook was still 700mhz, still a G3, still had a 20GB drive (which they also replaced). They messed up and didn't send my battery back so I got a new one out of them. That was accidental though.
 
I can't restore the mod to normal, as I have painted the case of the computer. I willl call applecare today and try to work things out, I guess. Luckily, I got it to work for an hour last night and I backed up all of my important files to my external drive, so at least that is working for me. I recoevered half of my presentation, which helped to some extent. I called Applecare this morning, but they don't open until 9am eastern. I'll post back here when I find their policy on modded computers. I had originially waited to do the mod until the warranty was up.. then they extended the program... how much does the logic board replair cost w/o apple's paying for it?
 
cant you just strip the paint back off and spray it white again (mines got reflective mirror paint on it :))

or

you can borrow a freinds ibook lid swap it send it to apple get repaired and then swapo back on return
 
this is defintely something i have been considering.. however, I don't know if i have a friend w/ the same computer who would let me disassemble their iBook :-\
 
If you didn't disassemble the iBook they may cover it. To do a good paint job you'd have to disassemble, but who knows if you did a good job. ;)

There is a company that sells painted iPods and iBooks. The iPods are covered under Apple's warranty because they are not disassembled for painting. The iBooks aren't, but they take them apart to paint them. Of course with an iPod there is no ventilation system to spray paint into--you could pretty easily (actually it would be pretty hard not to) get paint on the logic board of the iBook. I'd bet that's not covered.

In any event, it will be interesting to hear what AppleCare says.
 
the only thing with ram....

The only thing with ram is that if you are not apple certified and put ram into a apple comp and kill the comp or the ram it is your fault. If you are apple cert. then they have to give you another stick of ram if it gets killed. If you let a non cert touch the ram and they kill it, it is your fault, and if a cert kills it then it is their fault and they have to buy or get another stick for you *for free*.
 
Originally posted by Spock
You can get a waranty from the company that sells the painted iBooks
Click to expand...
the company is Colorware PC, and they offer their own warranties for the painted computers, but not for the iPod, which Apple will cover, painted or not.
And horrortaxi: sometimes apple doesnt have the same spec computer/parts in stock (but usually parts are..its just that computers arent, its not like Apple keeps a warehouse full of 600mhz iBooks or something :p ) in that case you get upgraded to something better :p
 
When I painted by iBook, I did it right. I totally removed the casing and then completely removed the white paint on the inside of the clear plastic cases, and resprayed it with special spray paint designed for plastic. 7 coats and a day and a half of drying later I reassembled it all, the paint job is completely seamless. If you did not know iBooks only came in white, you would think it came from apple in this color (I have had several people ask if it did come from apple in blue... and one ask if it was a new powerbook G5, but that is another story)

I asked many people I know who have iBooks to swap casings, but I was one of the few who opted for a 14.1" iBook over the 12" (which I now regret, as I hate carrying the larger 'book). Everyone offered to swap for me, but of course, none would fit as all my friends strangely have 12" 'books.

I sent the iBook out today to the apple repair center, and I will await the call tomorrow saying it won't be a free fix. Oh well, I suppose. I'll just eat the repair cost. The funny thing is, I waited until the day my warranty expired to do the paint mod. Who knew, 6 months after that, that my warranty would be suddenly extended. This whole event just makes me more anxious for updated PB's to come out, I am getting a new 12" PB the moment apple upgrades the video cards in them.

<edit> Well, it is at apple right now and the repair status says "In progress" so, we'll see. In the interim I was given an iBook G4/933 by the school, so it's not ALL bad :)
 
Well, it has taken me a while to get around to posting this, but after nearly a month, my iBook was returned to me, free of charge, with a brand new logic board. I was really glad they honored the warranty, and they did not care about my case mod (so there, all you nay-sayers). Also, I was given new software for the computer, including panther, which I already have, but an extra copy is always nice. On top of that, they cleaned up my screen so there are NO keyboard marks on it anymore, and also replaced the missing rubber feet on the bottom of my book! I found the new versions of iPhoto and the other iLife programs on my computer also. So, as much as waiting to have my computer for a month sucked, I am still REALLY happy with the job Apple did. Thanks guys!
 
übergeek said:
the company is Colorware PC, and they offer their own warranties for the painted computers, but not for the iPod, which Apple will cover, painted or not.
And horrortaxi: sometimes apple doesnt have the same spec computer/parts in stock (but usually parts are..its just that computers arent, its not like Apple keeps a warehouse full of 600mhz iBooks or something :p ) in that case you get upgraded to something better :p
Click to expand...

Out of stock stuff just means you have a to wait a whole bunch longer for the stock to return (as in my case)
 
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