My PowerBook G4 12" Journal - Full tear down, SSD upgrade and CPU Fan.

[AphoticD]

Is it normal behavior for the 12" to lose date/time after several days' worth of complete battery depletion?

Yes.

 

[z970]

Yes.

Thanks.

 

[z970]

One more question. What would be a good suggestion for replacement feet? Super glue is a no-go.

In the meantime, I've got rolled up Scotch tape wads taped to the underside to act as makeshift "feet".

Much appreciated.

 

[Dronecatcher]

One more question. What would be a good suggestion for replacement feet? Super glue is a no-go.

In the meantime, I've got rolled up Scotch tape wads taped to the underside to act as makeshift "feet".

Much appreciated.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Adhesi...hash=item3d578b5e7d:m:maDFTKjlvuRhyXfDkAtV4fQ

 

[z970]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Adhesi...hash=item3d578b5e7d:m:maDFTKjlvuRhyXfDkAtV4fQ

Thanks.

 

[1042686]

Upon opening up the pb12” to swap in an Msata, I heard something rattling around - assumed it was a loose screw. Turns out it was two screw/springs putting pressure on what I assume is the cpu.

Looks like they just popped off. Wonder if someone tried to repaste it & broke these- seems like a weird spot to just fall off by themselves.

What a drag. Any ideas on a fix?

Then again all the surrounding tape seemed to be intact so no obvious evidence of heavy handed stupidity going on. Any ideas?
[doublepost=1528478132][/doublepost]So settling on a plan of action, I just used what I had around which was some superglue. Buffed the surfaces & stuck the screws back into their seats on the lobo. I’ll let the bond cure for a few hours (have to go to the doc for a sh*t case of strep) so things should be solid by the time I get back.

On second though as the cpu is right there, I might as well repaste it. Looks to be only two other screws holding the heatsink on.

Not the experience I was looking for on a sick day but what the hay, Can’t sleep anyway

 

[z970]

I'll have to try supergluing those in as well. (Actually, that might be a bad idea thanks to the constant intense heat output in that very area. It could melt and damage some components.) Or I could just try some other way to secure them. I wonder if during manufacturing, the bases were simply placed in their positions? It would certainly explain all this trouble surrounding the stupid things.

But either way...

Here's everything, all ready to go for tomorrow. Feet, thermal padding, 32 GB mSATA + Adapter...

Think I'm missing anything?

 

[1042686]

I'll have to try supergluing those in as well. (Actually, that might be a bad idea thanks to the constant intense heat output in that very area. It could melt and damage some components.) Or I could just try some other way to secure them. I wonder if during manufacturing, the bases were simply placed in their positions? It would certainly explain all this trouble surrounding the stupid things.

But either way...

View attachment 765420

Here's everything, all ready to go for tomorrow. Feet, thermal padding, 32 GB mSATA + Adapter...

Think I'm missing anything?

Just make sure you have an assortment of screw drivers sized right (both tip & length) for the job. The ifixit guide will list what you need but I can tell you the only screws that gave me problems going back in were the three in the battery compartment. That took a long thin screwdriver to get the screws to behave & go in decently straight. Good luck with those lol. As far as the plugs on the lobo, those were actually quite easy. No worries about the job actually - just take your time (especially if you superglue the HS tension screws back on-give it a good couple hours to set AT LEAST. 3-4 is better.) take your time, be methodical & it’ll go together as easily as it came apart.

Anyhow, the bonding glue I used is alcohol based so once it’s dried, nothing is left other than the bond (a white transparent staining of sorts) so nothing is left to melt. How well it will hold after prolonged use & temp swings? No idea, but I can tell you the screws once set, we’re solid enough to maintain the tension of the springs (see pic).

With that being said, I went ahead & removed the heatsink outright & there are 5 or 6 other screws holding the thing on albeit not at tension - so if over time one of these were to fail again, I’m not too worried about sudden failure due to heat. I mean both had failed before this, I never knew it, and got no major heat issues/failures etc. FYI someone had indeed been into the machine to repaste & pad the heatsink. Probably why they sold it to me for a song. Kinda pisses me off but hey, thems the breaks

Anyhoo TDMn a leopard image on it as we speak so I’ll run some benchmarks when done.

 

[bobesch]

Same happend to me.
Replaced the spinning drive with an mSATA+IDE-Converter.
Got that constantly running fan.
Followed advise to repaste CPU etc.
Broke off one of the spring-attached screws, cause I didn't put pressure onto the heatsink until both screws were loose.
My broken screw obviously had been soldered to the LogicBoard. Maybe someone had been here before too and preferred soldering over glue.
By fortune my fellow neighbor is the best solderer of the world ...
Reassembled the machine, used Arctic Ceramic for repasting, since it's not conductive (for the mere stupid-ones, like me). Attached new thermal pads. (and thought about big things like using a huge copper-plate to conduct heat from the GPU/heatsink into direction of the optical-drive...)
Fired the Book up and - thanks god - without any problem.
The fan still kept running all the time.
Finally G4FanControll could solve my problem by simply raising the temperature-threshold of the drive from 40°C to 65°C since the mSATA-Converter-Combo runs on a higher temperature.
Following Theodor Roosevelt, the best thing to do would have been to use G4FanControl first, the next best thing was to try repasting, brake the screws, learn a lot, meet your fellow neighbor and do better next time. And the worst thing would have been, to do nothing and sit next to your little jet-book.

Had been a great ride ...

 

[1042686]

So the fun continues. TDM finished, rebooted and get a happy bong and white apple screen and then it hangs on the blue screen with active mouse pointer + random pointer artifacts but that's it. Any ideas? FYI the TDM image was from my 17" powerbook. I might just install from the DVD tonight if I can't quickly get this sorted as I don't really need all the apps that are on this image anyways.

 

[weckart]

So the fun continues. TDM finished, rebooted and get a happy bong and white apple screen and then it hangs on the blue screen with active mouse pointer + random pointer artifacts but that's it.

I bought my 12" with the same symptoms. Turned out to be a failing GPU. In your case, I would try a clean install first.

 

[z970]

So the fun continues. TDM finished, rebooted and get a happy bong and white apple screen and then it hangs on the blue screen with active mouse pointer + random pointer artifacts but that's it. Any ideas? FYI the TDM image was from my 17" powerbook. I might just install from the DVD tonight if I can't quickly get this sorted as I don't really need all the apps that are on this image anyways.

I'd reinstall from DVD. You wouldn't be taking proper advantage of the SSD otherwise.

Fresh start into a fresh medium. Perfect.
[doublepost=1528498975][/doublepost]

The ifixit guide will list what you need but I can tell you the only screws that gave me problems going back in were the three in the battery compartment. That took a long thin screwdriver to get the screws to behave & go in decently straight. Good luck with those lol.

Augh, I HATE those. Easily the worst part of the job. It's at such a screwy angle that you have to fiddle with getting them in and out again... Euygh...

As far as the plugs on the lobo, those were actually quite easy. No worries about the job actually - just take your time (especially if you superglue the HS tension screws back on-give it a good couple hours to set AT LEAST. 3-4 is better.) take your time, be methodical & it’ll go together as easily as it came apart.

Aw, really? I was expecting something like 10, maybe 30 minutes at the max. That will take too long. Dust will settle in.

I suppose I'll have to fashion another way...

I've got a burnt loose wire in there from a failed soldering fix, and the air coming out the back of the computer smells burnt as a result, so I'm going to need to take care of that wire too. It's a black one, and I believe it was secured to the lower-ish left side of the logic board. I think it lead to the fan, but I was never too sure. Does anyone have an idea of where that did indeed originate from? I've been hoping it's just ground, but again, I wasn't too sure.

 

[AphoticD]

It's a black one, and I believe it was secured to the lower-ish left side of the logic board.

That is probably the mic cable, which routes up into the display assembly.

In regards to the stand offs for the CPU tension springs. I’ve had these pop off on two out of three PB12”s I’ve worked on, plus two iBooks. It’s a poor design. I believe the first gen 12” PowerBook had hex screws mounted on the underside of the board to secure these.

On the PB12” 1.33ghz, I glued them down with a 2 part epoxy then reassembled. On the 1.0ghz model (and the two iBooks since), I’ve glued them on with the 2-part and then anchored them in from underneath with a little flux and a blob of solder.

@RhianB you’re lucky those loose screws didn’t short anything. It doesn’t necessarily mean the previous owner had messed with it though, they could pop off from years of heat and back pressure.

@z970mp did you also get some thermal paste? If so, you should be set. Just regarding the small screws, you’ll want a good quality driver with a sharp point. Cheap and nasty screw drivers will result in messed up screws every time.

 

[z970]

That is probably the mic cable, which routes up into the display assembly.

Oh. Well, that explains the faulty mic I've had since then. Not like I would ever use it, after all.

At least it didn't route to anything important.

@z970mp did you also get some thermal paste? If so, you should be set. Just regarding the small screws, you’ll want a good quality driver with a sharp point. Cheap and nasty screw drivers will result in messed up screws every time.

I have some Arctic Silver 5 left over from 3 years ago, though I should probably get more. Will do when I ever need it again. I already re-pasted it using that back in September, so it should be fine. Only thing to really do now for thermals is to replace the padding. I'll follow your guide posted here. The extra complimentary padding between the heatsink and shell should be an interesting application.

Noted. I'll try to find another screwdriver that better fits that criteria. Thanks a lot!

 

[1042686]

Aw, really? I was expecting something like 10, maybe 30 minutes at the max. That will take too long. Dust will settle in.

I suppose I'll have to fashion another way...

I've got a burnt loose wire in there from a failed soldering fix, and the air coming out the back of the computer smells burnt as a result, so I'm going to need to take care of that wire too. It's a black one, and I believe it was secured to the lower-ish left side of the logic board. I think it lead to the fan, but I was never too sure. Does anyone have an idea of where that did indeed originate from? I've been hoping it's just ground, but again, I wasn't too sure.

If you’re really worried about dust, air dust it, glue & put a bag over it while it cures for a few hours.

I do like the idea of anchoring the screws from the bottom with solder. If these fail again, I’ll be taking the time to do that.

 

[z970]

If you’re really worried about dust, air dust it, glue & put a bag over it while it cures for a few hours.

Ha, I didn't think about that. Good idea.

I might do that if I can't find any other alternatives. I'm still concerned about the long-term effects of super glue around sensitive electronic components, especially when considering the little suckers turning into portable radiators at times.

 

[1042686]

That is certainly a valid concern. Garden variety superglues (what I used) are stable up to about 110C which is 230F at which point the bond begins to fail. Epoxies (What Dan used) do a little better but not much - maybe +10/20C. I've read that generally speaking for most mass produced laptops of this era, the goal operating temperature range (idle to load) for a laptop cpu & HS is 40-70C. So with that in mind, our glued fixes should not destabilize and fail due to heat.

Still, over time I do agree that the constant flux of heating/cooling will weaken the bond somewhat, so I really do like the thought of using a nice dollop of solder on the underside of these anchors. That of course involves a complete disassembly of the laptop. If you have the time however, it seems to me to be a valuable addition to the fix in regards to long-term stability of the anchors.
[doublepost=1528548990][/doublepost]On a completely separate note, the Msata+adapter is not working out on this PB12". Attempts tried and failed include:

CCC Clone - failed on multiple attempts.
TDM - completed but would hang on blue boot screen.
LEOPARD DVD - would hang.
TIGER - completed but would hang on blue boot screen.
PRAM - Reset a few times with no improvment.

So the plan as of right now is to put the old spinner back in until I have the chance to test the Msata enclosure. I figured I would stick it in as a boot drive in my MP and see what it does - see if intel hardware makes any difference. if that fails, I'll probably pop for a higher quality Msata/IDE adapter. FYI, the adapter is the same innolite model I used in the PB17 SLSD which did boot. The msata is samsung which are known for their quality, so I dont suspect it as it shows up, erase, partitions just fine in DU.

 

[AphoticD]

That's a real shame Rhian. Especially after putting in all the work. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but maybe the Samsung SSD is operating too fast for the IDE adapter? Was the mSATA SSD in your PB17 also a Samsung?

 

[1042686]

That's a real shame Rhian. Especially after putting in all the work. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but maybe the Samsung SSD is operating too fast for the IDE adapter? Was the mSATA SSD in your PB17 also a Samsung?

No it was not. I cant recall the maker off the top of my head but it was not a samsung, I do recall that. My gut tells me the issues stem from the cheap adapter. Par for the course, yanno? Usually these upgrades all work out but occasionally they require a bit more legwork as you certainly can speak to.

 

[z970]

That is a shame indeed. I ended up with a Lenovo mSATA, but I did however get the same white adapter, so I'm hoping the same doesn't apply here. Do you think it could have been a loose-ish connection? Maybe reseat the mSATA and IDE connector?

How about this, could you try installing from USB?

Or maybe it's a dud?

On another note, would office superglue be well advised to use?

 

[1042686]

So theoretically the vast majority of cyanoacrylate adhesives should work fine for this particular application but as I have not done this fix myself before, it’s sciency “in-theory” book advice vs real-world “hey I did this & it lasted 10 years” advice. BUT in the short term, the adhesive has held up fine as predicted by the data.

Don’t let me forget to post a PB12” how’s it held up 2028 update.

In regards to your adapter, I think mine may just be a wonky dud. I used the same model in my PB17 & it works fine for its intended purpose.

 

[z970]

Well, my worst fears have been realized. The Tiger DVD won't display the bootup pinwheel, and Disk Utility in the Leopard installer doesn't see the SSD.

The absolute last thing I want to do now is deal with that ridiculous jungle of screws and angles, and try to blindly troubleshoot, especially when I've been at this the whole day, not to mention I lost one of the teeny tiny keyboard screws for my troubles, and my U key spontaneously broke off and won't attach back properly.

And now my only immediately free computer is at 10% battery.

I'm going to see if Linux sees it, and then I'm going to see if TDM sees it. If neither work, I'm going to shoot myself.

 

[1042686]

Hmm, well if you end up doing yourself in, can I have your computers?



Moving forward, if you’re having trouble keeping tabs on your screws, a magnetized bowl or strip on your workstation is perfect for keeping those little guys from rolling away on you & a set of magnetized driver tips keep you from losing them during removal/reinstallation.

You might try cloning the drive using an enclosure & CCC before looking to replace it.

 

[z970]

First of all, no.

Second, good news. I found the teeny screw, but my U key is still shot.

Even better news, after taking everything back apart again and ferociously blowing & Q-Tip + Rubbing Alcoholing all contacts in the computer leading to the hard drive, then reseating everything with intense vigor, I am extraordinarily pleased to declare that this wasn't a bust, and that the Tiger disc boots up wonderfully, and finally recognizes the SSD. Needless to say, 10.4 is now happily installing without any hiccups.

I can't wait to demo the speeds.

Rhian, you might want to try doing that too before giving up. Clean the mSATA contacts, make a very firm connection to the adapter, clean the adapter pins, clean the G4's IDE cable holes, make a firm connection, clean the hard drive jack to the port on the motherboard, clean the hard drive port on the motherboard, make a firm connection, and hope it sticks. Good luck to you.

I wouldn't bother putting the 2.5" IDE SSD in an enclosure, because I just found out you need special 2.5" IDE connections to do so, otherwise the cables won't fit.

 

[AphoticD]

Well, my worst fears have been realized. The Tiger DVD won't display the bootup pinwheel, and Disk Utility in the Leopard installer doesn't see the SSD.

It could be a loose connection. Remove the keyboard and top case again and double check everything is firmly seated. See if it works before reassembling - Keep the top case connected for the power button and speakers and flip it up to the left, then press the power button and plugin a USB keyboard and mouse.

If you’re sure everything is connected and still no luck then at that point I would try reinstalling the HDD to see if that still works, then connect the SSD into a different Mac to see if Disk Utility recognizes it on a different system.

What brand mSATA did you buy?
[doublepost=1528604323][/doublepost]

Needless to say, 10.4 is now happily installing without any hiccups.

All good then