macbook want power up with alone with new battery

[jammacjam]

Hi,
I just bought this mac

the person i bought the macbook wrote in the ebay auction.
Warning: Before you bid you must know that this computer has a problem with it's power. Whenever you disconnect it from the ac adapter it will turn off. Even with a new battery, i bought the computer would not charge, but if you keep it with the ac adapter hooked on it will function perfectly

i wondered if this is for sure a hardware problem. if it is a hardware problem is this happening with many macbook's. what is the probable part that i need to fix this problem, if it is a hardware problem. is it possible the problem is as simple as the battery not connecting as it should? could the parts i need might exist in an older mac?

as i don't have the mac yet, its maybe a little silly to ask. as i'm based in Europe and the mac is going to be sent via slow post, i thought that I would get started with the problem now.

the last mac i bought had a broken screen, so i bought another mac and was able to change the screen over from that one. changing the mac parts was not as hard as i expected.

ecology, means buying everything you can second hand. when you buy new you inherit the burden of the creation of that object. well thats my point of view for now.

 

[Italchef]

I'm all for recycling, but for me I'd rather buy something new that works than something used that is sub par. If you can only use a laptop when it is plugged in, then what's the point? A portable machine that isn't portable. Spend the extra few $ and get a new one that you will have no problems with. My $0.02.

Mick

 

[GeneKam]

hah i am all for that too, but really you are just throwing away your money. Get something that works, but i guess this item is still cheaper then mac mini, it will be good as a desktop, with external screen and stuff, but otherwise it seems kinda waste, it is great for the price if it was portable, but scence it is not, seems like junk for the money

 

[jammacjam]

desktop walkabout

I hope its not such a hard thing to fix. to get one of these that fully works 100 percent I probably have to pay an extra 200-300 dollars (second hand). Its possible that an older laptop might have the part also. or the part might be for sale at not such a high price. when i opened up the last mac, i was amazed at how easy the parts fit together. so its not a problem for me.

I was looking for some information on the part, not on what a bad deal i bought. I thought i was doing something good buying it second hand and trying to fix it up- or should we all just buy everything new 'cause we are so busy.

I'm based in Europe, an artists not so cashed up. The tax in Europe is also really very high on these machines, the same machine second hand on ebay (.fr .de) in working condition is around 1200 US. All things considered its not so bad. Could be a very minor fault.

 

[eman]

I also saw this macbook on ebay. Here's my questions:
Does the macbook recognize the battery? If not, the macbook processor may only run at half speed.
Is the magsafe charger able to charge the battery when there both installed (battery green lights will blink while charging)?

You may need one of the following to correct this problem:
New battery. Doesn't sound likely. Swap with another known good battery.
New battery connector. Somewhat likely. If the macbook had previous liquid spill or maybe the connector just went bad.
New logic board. Most likely. If macbook had previous liquid spill or maybe the LB is just going south (dying).

The sellers description, sounds like a classic liquid spill or maybe just a bad logic board. Just my 2 cents, good luck!

 

[krye]

The DC controller board / charging circuit is on the logic board. If that's gone south, you may be looking at a new logic board. I would not have spent $550 for a first generation broken laptop. If it had a >100G hdd and at least 2G RAM, then maybe. Maybe $500 for a fully functional 1st gen entry level stripped down MacBook.

 

[jammacjam]

thanks for help

thanks a lot for all this help. maybe i did pay a little to much.

The item has not been sent. I have asked prior to sending two questions.

1)- You did not spill any liquid on the laptop to cause the problem.

2)- The computer is not running at half speed.

So long as the computer is running at full speed, i'm happy to use it as a desktop. The seller did include an extra battery, if the seller had spilled liquid on the computer, i'm not sure he would buy an extra battery.

Thanks for all this feedback. Not sure that you can buy these ones in working condition for 500-550 US. Yet maybe you can, yet thats a lot of time spent looking on ebay.

thanks a lot for your help with this.
jam

 

[jammacjam]

processor not working

You guys were right, the computer processor was running at half speed, have started a paypal dispute. Its sad cause i got the computer sent from the US to Oslo. Think the seller also understood that the computer did not work properly.

 

[UltraNEO*]

You guys were right, the computer processor was running at half speed, have started a paypal dispute. Its sad cause i got the computer sent from the US to Oslo. Think the seller also understood that the computer did not work properly.

Warning: Before you bid you must know that this computer has a problem with it's power. Whenever you disconnect it from the ac adapter it will turn off. Even with a new battery, i bought the computer would not charge, but if you keep it with the ac adapter hooked on it will function perfectly.

Well, his/her advertisement clearly stated the system has a fault. Therefore this system is aimed at experienced Mac users with technical knowledge, or a store for Mac Parts... or a user who needs a new replacement parts.

Good luck with your dispute..