iBook G4 display, troubleshooting help?

[NOsquid]

Hi,

My display started turning black. Restarting fixed it for a little while. Now I turned it on and I get this, so I think it's a more serious problem. I am generally semi-handy, but computer stupid. Anyone have a good idea what this is (ie common problem)?

http://i11.tinypic.com/6ywmnhv.jpg

Feel free to call me dumb, tell me to search etc.. Help? Thank you for your time.

 

[djejrejk]

That looks really bad- like your video card is dead. Might be time to get a new computer, sorry dude.

 

[WildCowboy]

Yeah, that's a dead logic board...expensive repair. What model is it?

 

[NOsquid]

What model is it?

Thank you both for your time It is a 1ghz iBook G4, bought early 04. It has done its time to be sure.

Are you fairly confident it is the logic board? Yes indeed it's pricey I'm seeing used ones in the $400 range. And I found some online install guides, it's not looking like a short job.

New computer I want to avoid if possible, I'd have to take out a loan (student), I can pull off the logic board price though. At this point my plan is to buy a logic board with a return policy and start taking my computer apart following the instructions. If I completely botch taking it apart, break stuff, then eat it and go for the new computer, return the part. Sound reasonable?

Also...I searched and found this. My fan does start blowing on startup as he mentions. Does anyone think this is valid?

http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/

Thanks again.

 

[NOsquid]

Well I went out, came home, turned it on about two hours ago, and have just run it down from 100% until the battery died, with no problems. Shook it a few times just to be sure. I was waiting for it to have the issue again so I could check if pressure on the case solved it like others. I will update.

 

[NOsquid]

Flaked out again this morning, I can tell this is going to be fun.

Has anyone heard anything about Apple stepping up with this sort of thing? I had the same thing happen to my G3 iBook several times, eventually they just gave up and sent me the G4. Now here we go again. It did last a long while this time, but still.

 

[jellomizer]

Flaked out again this morning, I can tell this is going to be fun.

Has anyone heard anything about Apple stepping up with this sort of thing? I had the same thing happen to my G3 iBook several times, eventually they just gave up and sent me the G4. Now here we go again. It did last a long while this time, but still.

It is interesting you had this problem with your G3 iBook as well.... Normally problems like this are isolated. There is a possibility that it is an isolated incident and you are unlucky. But I wonder about the environment your iBook is in. Do you have a lot of power outages or spikes in your area? Do you plug in external displays (I don't think the iBook has external display but I could be wrong) or External USB or Firewire devices to your iBook? You Location is very humid where it could possibly have condensation or very dry where static shocks are current. Cats or something that could clog the cooling fans with fur. Do you run games and such on it that really heat up your system....

Normally What causes things to break in computers are Power Surges or Dips, Buying a UPS (Uninterpretable Power supply) and connecting your iBook when it is charging to that may help. Next thing is static shocks, a Humidifier may help but after your move around on a carpit before you start using your computer touch the metal part of a nearby lamp or something metal that is grounded. When using CDs or DVD you may want to do that while it is plugged in and grounded. Water could cause short circuts so make sure the Laptop is in a dry warm place. If it is was in a cold room for a while then moved into a warm humid room it may have some condinsation on the inside.

 

[WildCowboy]

Well the G3s were notorious for logic board problems...Apple issued a repair program announcement on them many years ago. People had their logic boards replaced as many as half a dozen times.

That repair program has come to an end, and it doesn't apply to your machine anyway. I guess you can try begging and pleading, given that this is a replacement for a machine that had the same problem.

 

[NOsquid]

Yeah I guess I live in tough conditions But the fan hasn't come on much, and not in a long time. Except now, when I start it up. The "fan of death" that is mentioned in all the complaints. I really don't do stuff that is too intensive, mostly work/internet. Maybe humidity and shocks as you say.

But it's not that isolated. With the G3 it happened enough for Apple to do the logic board fix program (they gave up on fixing mine eventually, lol), and a Google search will reveal the same problem on many G4s. This guy on the link that I posted above had two "defective" ones, that's hella bad luck

http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/

Bleh. I hate Windows but this is kind of putting me off. I hope Apple will at least throw me a bone if I have to buy another notebook. 3.5 years isn't terrible life out of a laptop I guess but still I wouldn't expect the logic board to go bad of all things, and it's the same problem AGAIN.

Meanwhile, there are some guys on thiefBay purporting to fix logic boards for $100-$200 w/install...my guess is they buy up used ones cheap, see if they work then install what they have on hand and keep yours to fix. Does that still seem a bit too cheap for anyone?

http://www.hammerheadtech.com/commerce/catalog/spcategory.jsp?category_id=1248&czuid=1195243084276

 

[Jasonbot]

You need to open it up and put a little bit of rubber on the graphics chip.
http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/726/diy-obsolete-ibook-logic-board-repair
^^oh tahts for a g3.

thats ur problem:
http://www.forbrug.dk/presse/nyheder/pressekit/ibookg4/pressefoto/

The fix entails applying pressure to the gfx chip by using a piece of something

the fix:
http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/

teh petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/ibookg4/petition.html

oh, the guy above me posted most of this already XD

 

[NOsquid]

Yeah, I saw the shimming trick. Hopefully it is the same location as everyone else causing the problem because I'd be pretty lost down there. I will probably try to contact Apple cust. relations first and if they tell me to f**k off then I'll try to open it up.

Thanks

 

[Jasonbot]

Im so sad I never found out all this stuff when my iBook died back in teh day...

 

[NOsquid]

Yeah, they told me to piss off 2 hours on the phone, mostly holding. Ah well, expected as much.

It's the shim/eBay, then maybe a PC for me. I hate Windows