So I just bought an iBook for really cheap off craiglist and it has a little issue. The HDD was just replaced because the original failed. Upon booting it fully booted and then on the desktop it blacked out. Held power button down and booted again. Ran for 5 minutes then went black. I have reset the pram nvram and pmu but hasn't seemed to do it much good. Any ideas? Im thinking the logics on its way out.
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.
Just got a cheap iBook.
- Thread starter pvmacguy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Well, I think I have it settled. The battery seems to be the culprit as to why the screen would just randomly go gray. I have been running it without the battery and it seems to be fine. It has only done it once while running without the battery but I was really taxing this little thing running like 6 or 7 applications see what it could handle.
It was more than likely the GPU - the iBooks had issues with the GPUs actually coming off the lobo.
Brace the cracked case. Internal integrity will prevent things working loose. You're right about the paste, use it sparingly. Also, as I have found from replacing a Toshiba laptop's HDD, double-sided tape does not solve the issue of missing screws.
Also, check the health of the power brick. Make sure it's not getting overly hot. Dad's brick seemed fine, just a little more warm then average, for about a month before it failed.
Also, check the health of the power brick. Make sure it's not getting overly hot. Dad's brick seemed fine, just a little more warm then average, for about a month before it failed.
Thanks for the reply.
I did order a whole new metal chassi so those cracks won't be a problem anymore. And also awhole new screw set for the missing ones. For the thermal paste right
to the bottom of the CPU there is large
black chip, should I put a small amount on and
spread to cover the entire chip or put a small amount on and spread it out a little?
wow! how much is this iBook now costing you? good on you for being dedicated, i hope it performs as you expect.
On the processor, only on the silver bit, it'll be most efficient. Everywhere else, apply cautiously and spread evenly over the chips, being care not to get too much if any paste onto the processor board.
Can you identify which generation of iBook it is?
Models identified as "PowerBook4,3" and earlier cannot run Leopard (that is, iBooks produced before October 2003). "PowerBook6,3" can run Leopard, but only the 933MHz version and it'll run like a horse with no legs.
"PowerBook6,5" (April 2004) and above can run Leopard but again, it won't run amazingly. If I am completely honest, I'd just leave it with Tiger. Tiger was an amazingly advanced OS for it's time, superseded only by the Leopard family and a couple of flavours of Linux. I still don't think W7 comes close to it.
Models identified as "PowerBook4,3" and earlier cannot run Leopard (that is, iBooks produced before October 2003). "PowerBook6,3" can run Leopard, but only the 933MHz version and it'll run like a horse with no legs.
"PowerBook6,5" (April 2004) and above can run Leopard but again, it won't run amazingly. If I am completely honest, I'd just leave it with Tiger. Tiger was an amazingly advanced OS for it's time, superseded only by the Leopard family and a couple of flavours of Linux. I still don't think W7 comes close to it.
If you or anyone has that issue (screen won't turn on) it's most likely the GPU - go here http://coreyarnold.org/ibook/?p=20
Three months later, my iBook is still working. It saved me a few hundred dollars.
Three months later, my iBook is still working. It saved me a few hundred dollars.
It is the later model with the 1.07 processor. And it's a little too late for tiger, I reformated the HD so it's gone... I think leopard will be fine especially just for web browsing, word docs, and iTunes.
I suppose. When you're installing Leopard though remember to customise out all the bits you don't want otherwise you'll loose GBs of space.
If it hangs during install and refuses to do anything then it may be an idea to try to source a Tiger disc. If however it works then I suppose if you're just using it for light recreational use then Leopard should be okay. Top the machine up with RAM to get the best performance, and you should be good to go.
If it hangs during install and refuses to do anything then it may be an idea to try to source a Tiger disc. If however it works then I suppose if you're just using it for light recreational use then Leopard should be okay. Top the machine up with RAM to get the best performance, and you should be good to go.
Aye they should be able to, but apparently the booking process takes forever. If it's hanging all the time, try using the disc to run the AHT and make sure there're no red flags.
Also, I do apologise but the black coffee I just drank is kicking in, and it's about to result in a random point that a disk is a diskette, such as your hard disk or a floppy disk, the platter is held in an enclosure. A CD is a disc, because it is round like, heh, a disc. Ha ha I'm sorry but I become a grammar nazi after coffee
Also, I do apologise but the black coffee I just drank is kicking in, and it's about to result in a random point that a disk is a diskette, such as your hard disk or a floppy disk, the platter is held in an enclosure. A CD is a disc, because it is round like, heh, a disc. Ha ha I'm sorry but I become a grammar nazi after coffee
Haha there is a grammar nazi in all of us... I put the iBook in target mode and used my disk utility on my mini to make sure the HDD was formatted properly which it wasn't. Had to change it to GUID. Then was able to start the install in target mode from the mini and so far so good.
Should work using Target Mode. I hadn't thought of that. Firewire cables are inherently expensive for some reason over here so generally Target Mode is a £15 forage into the unknown ha ha.
GUID partition map is for Intel Macs like your Mini. Format it for APM(Apple Partition Map) for PPC Macs.
You could also "clone" your Mini hard drive to the iBook but will only work if you format it(ibook HDD) to APM first.
You could also "clone" your Mini hard drive to the iBook but will only work if you format it(ibook HDD) to APM first.
Ah thank you! But when I go and re-install os x now ill stick the CD into my mini and run the iBook in target mode, it will ask me to make the format GUID for the ppc.