iBook G3 12'' shows no life

[Megatronous]

Hi!

(English is not my native language so be aware )

I got a 12'' iBook G3(A1005) from a friend of mine for free! The problem is that is almost dead. I want to revive it but I don't really know where to start. I have some experience on hardware(swapping parts in a desktop) but that is it. I thought this was an ideal project to begin developing more knowledge and skills around repairing (old) devices.

So the charger is plugged in the charger, or else it is completely dead. When I press the power button while plugged in, you hear the fan rotate (maybe weak?) for like half a second and then it stops spinning. No image, nothing on the screen. I tried removing the battery, which is 'full' when pressing the button on it(4 green lights), but it doesn't make a difference. Also the charger has a green light indicating the battery is full.

I am ready to learn how to bring this 12'' iBook back to life and I hope you guys could help me where to start!


Edit: I put the iBook away for 45 minutes and when I picked it up the bottom of the laptop was feeling warm on the whole left side. The battery nor the cd-drive (logical) wasn't feeling warm. Does this mean that the iBook is turned on? It does not show any sign (image nor sound) that it is alive though.

 

[Amethyst1]

This may be a dead ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU, an issue not unheard of with iBook G3s.

 

[Megatronous]

This may be a dead ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU, an issue not unheard of with iBook G3s.

But shouldn’t there be any noise coming out of the iBook while the GPU is broken?

I am going to compare it to a desktop with a broken GPU. It will turn on, you maybe hear a boot up sound, you can hear the fans spinning but it won’t show image.

Or is this not the behavior of an iBook with a broken GPU?

 

[Applicator]

Remove battery and PSU, press powerbuton.
Reseat battery, reconnect PSU.
Apply some pressure on the left palm rest and try to start the system. Don't let got for 30 sec.

If this does the trick, you have to add a spacer between the case and the GPU to apply light, permanent pressure.

 

[Megatronous]

Remove battery and PSU, press powerbuton.
Reseat battery, reconnect PSU.
Apply some pressure on the left palm rest and try to start the system. Don't let got for 30 sec.

If this does the trick, you have to add a spacer between the case and the GPU to apply light, permanent pressure.

That didn’t do the trick, although the psu connector now is orange instead of green and the battery light is constantly on, I still heard a single fan spin. Is the device turned on right now without fans spinning nor sound coming from it?

I just removed the psu connector and the battery lights turned off immediately.

 

[Dronecatcher]

That didn’t do the trick, although the psu connector now is orange instead of green and the battery light is constantly on, I still heard a single fan spin. Is the device turned on right now without fans spinning nor sound coming from it?

I just removed the psu connector and the battery lights turned off immediately.

Shine a light at the screen/from behind the Apple logo a few mins after turning on to see whether there's anything on screen - that will tell you whether the backlight has died.

 

[TheShortTimer]

This may be a dead ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU, an issue not unheard of with iBook G3s.

That was my immediate suspicion too, especially as I have a parts iBook G3 with this issue.

Shine a light at the screen/from behind the Apple logo a few mins after turning on to see whether there's anything on screen - that will tell you whether the backlight has died.

I'll have to remember that one.

 

[Megatronous]

Shine a light at the screen/from behind the Apple logo a few mins after turning on to see whether there's anything on screen - that will tell you whether the backlight has died.

I put my flashlight of my phone behind it while in a dark room and nothing showed up on the screen five minutes after booting up.

If it is the GPU, it would still boot up normally right (without image)? Or is it normal with Apple devices that the whole unit is dead when the GPU is broken? I repaired two old desktops some time ago which had a GPU problem but would still turn on and show some life, like constantly fans spinning, maybe a boot up sound. They were not completely dead like this iBook which only gives one fan spin.

 

[TheShortTimer]

If it is the GPU, it would still boot up normally right (without image)?

From my experience with GPU failures on a MacBook Pro and an iBook G3, yes.

 

[Megatronous]

From my experience with GPU failures on a MacBook Pro and an iBook G3, yes.

Then I can conclude that there is something else wrong with the iBook because it does not boot up (besides hearing one weak fan spin)?

Do you guys have other suggestions to diagnose the problem before I take it apart and inspect the board?

 

[TheShortTimer]

Then I can conclude that there is something else wrong with the iBook because it does not boot up (besides hearing one weak fan spin)?

I would strongly suspect so.

Do you guys have other suggestions to diagnose the problem before I take it apart and inspect the board?

Further troubleshooting in this respect is beyond my knowledge but hopefully others will have suggestions.

 

[Megatronous]

So we ruled the GPU out as the problem for not booting up. Could this be a memory problem? Or do I just need to open it up and inspect the board on damage?

I am prepared to do this but if there are still some tests/things I could try to diagnose the problem that would save me a lot of trouble (and time)!

 

[Dronecatcher]

So we ruled the GPU out as the problem for not booting up. Could this be a memory problem? Or do I just need to open it up and inspect the board on damage?

I am prepared to do this but if there are still some tests/things I could try to diagnose the problem that would save me a lot of trouble (and time)!

The only other things I can think of before performing surgery are connecting it to a monitor (you'd need an adaptor) or connecting it to anther Mac in target mode with a Firewire cable.

 

[Megatronous]

The only other things I can think of before performing surgery are connecting it to a monitor (you'd need an adaptor) or connecting it to anther Mac in target mode with a Firewire cable.

What would I be testing when connecting it to another Mac? Can I connect it using a new Mac and some adapters to convert the firewire to thunderbolt or isn’t that possible?

Edit: I searched the last question up and it is possible. So I assume that I could connect it to a newer 21,5'' or 27'' iMac. I will try it tomorrow, if that doesn't work I will open up the iBook.

 

[Amethyst1]

What would I be testing when connecting it to another Mac? Can I connect it using a new Mac and some adapters to convert the firewire to thunderbolt or isn’t that possible?

You’d test if it boots far enough into OpenFirmware to present itself as a FireWire hard drive to another Mac. A Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter is fine — you’d also need a FireWire 800 (9-pin) to FireWire 400 (6-pin) cable.

 

[Applicator]

If it is the GPU, it would still boot up normally right (without image)? Or is it normal with Apple devices that the whole unit is dead when the GPU is broken? I repaired two old desktops some time ago which had a GPU problem but would still turn on and show some life, like constantly fans spinning, maybe a boot up sound. They were not completely dead like this iBook which only gives one fan spin.

Well, on desktops, yes. Usually they just boot straight into the OS, but it's a different story on Laptops and AIOs in general.
The system always performs a POST (power on self test) prior to anything OS related. During this very scan, the Firmware is asking every main hardware component for a positive response to avoid any additional damage. A "kind of broken" GPU might respond, but it might not, as well.
A component that does not respond, or does report any main issues will lead to an abortion of the boot process to avoid further damage

 

[Megatronous]

Well, on desktops, yes. Usually they just boot straight into the OS, but it's a different story on Laptops and AIOs in general.
The system always performs a POST (power on self test) prior to anything OS related. During this very scan, the Firmware is asking every main hardware component for a positive response to avoid any additional damage. A "kind of broken" GPU might respond, but it might not, as well.
A component that does not respond, or does report any main issues will lead to an abortion of the boot process to avoid further damage

That’s something I didn’t know. If I understand everything correctly: with the Target Disk Mode I could test if the iBook is detected as an external HDD thus booting up. If this may be the case the GPU is the most likely thing that is failing? If the iBook isn’t detected then there is a great chance that there is a shortage somewhere on the logic board?