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Pending Resurection

eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Nehalem
Original poster
Aug 31, 2011
30,334
29,985
As some of you may know, my 1Ghz 17" PowerBook G4 died around February. I've been keeping an eye on logicboard prices on eBay, but haven't found anything under $60.

Until last night…I found one for $25 with free shipping. The seller said it was pulled from a working system, which means it worked when they parted the Mac out.

Today, I got an eBay donation of £10 from a guy I helped with QuarkXPress in the UK (I'm a Graphic Designer by profession). That translated to over $16. The guy just paid for two thirds of my logicboard because I went after this fast once I got it!

Here's my new logicboard! I figure next weekend I should be up and running again!

Going to swap out the 100GB HD in there now with the 120GB drive I got from the broken iBook G4 while I'm at it. WoooHooooo!!!!!

Pic to remind you of my Mac…;)

MODS: Not my auction, I just bought this!
 

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Jessica Lares said:
120GB over 100GB... It's something. :p
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LOL LOL, yes.

If my PB was working, I wouldn't do this as it would not be worth it. But since I have to open it up and the 120GB HD is already out of the other iBook it won't be a big deal.

I use this Mac mainly for web surfing and light graphic duty (Adobe CS and CS2) so 100-120GB is ok. My other PB I use for much more so I have a WD 320GB Scorpio Blue in there (which I need to replace as it's on borrowed time).
 
eyoungren said:
LOL LOL, yes.

If my PB was working, I wouldn't do this as it would not be worth it. But since I have to open it up and the 120GB HD is already out of the other iBook it won't be a big deal.

I use this Mac mainly for web surfing and light graphic duty (Adobe CS and CS2) so 100-120GB is ok. My other PB I use for much more so I have a WD 320GB Scorpio Blue in there (which I need to replace as it's on borrowed time).
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What do you mean "on borrowed time"? As a professional graphic designer, what programs do you use most aside from Adobe products?
 
Altemose said:
What do you mean "on borrowed time"? As a professional graphic designer, what programs do you use most aside from Adobe products?
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My second 17" PowerBook has the 320GB drive. It started acting funny a while back. Files wouldn't copy, or would but I'd get a beach ball until the copy completed. I thought maybe a permissions issue, but then I ended up getting the Quicksilver so I put that problem away for awhile.

Then the 17" I use normally died. The QS is in another room so I had to pull this one out to be in the front room and still use a Mac. That's when I noticed other funny things. Certain files won't open in certain apps, beachballs, one app stops working whenever I press a certain keyboard command, etc.

Finally, I noticed that I did not have SMARTReporter running on this Mac. Which I thought was odd, because I usually use it. So I opened it up. I immediated got a red icon and the emails that I set up to warn me fired off. Finally, getting the point I verified that the SMART status was bad by opening Disk Utility.

DU says the drive has failed SMART so bad that it won't even show me the disk to let me repair or repair permissions.

But, interestingly I can now use Time Machine to back up to the QS (to an external USB drive). Since I'm not using this Mac for much other than browsing the web I'm just waiting to see how long this drive has before it fails completely. I have backups. Or, if I manage to get another 320GB drive before this one fails, I will replace it.

As to design apps, other than Adobe.

QuarkXPress, Suitcase Fusion 5 (not really a design app, but a standard), Enfocus Pitstop (for Acrobat). All my experience has been on QuarkXPress. But I converted us to ID at work because I wanted to learn it and get paid to learn it. Mainly we are just using Adobe apps.
 
eyoungren said:
My second 17" PowerBook has the 320GB drive. It started acting funny a while back. Files wouldn't copy, or would but I'd get a beach ball until the copy completed. I thought maybe a permissions issue, but then I ended up getting the Quicksilver so I put that problem away for awhile.

Then the 17" I use normally died. The QS is in another room so I had to pull this one out to be in the front room and still use a Mac. That's when I noticed other funny things. Certain files won't open in certain apps, beachballs, one app stops working whenever I press a certain keyboard command, etc.

Finally, I noticed that I did not have SMARTReporter running on this Mac. Which I thought was odd, because I usually use it. So I opened it up. I immediated got a red icon and the emails that I set up to warn me fired off. Finally, getting the point I verified that the SMART status was bad by opening Disk Utility.

DU says the drive has failed SMART so bad that it won't even show me the disk to let me repair or repair permissions.

But, interestingly I can now use Time Machine to back up to the QS (to an external USB drive). Since I'm not using this Mac for much other than browsing the web I'm just waiting to see how long this drive has before it fails completely. I have backups. Or, if I manage to get another 320GB drive before this one fails, I will replace it.

As to design apps, other than Adobe.

QuarkXPress, Suitcase Fusion 5 (not really a design app, but a standard), Enfocus Pitstop (for Acrobat). All my experience has been on QuarkXPress. But I converted us to ID at work because I wanted to learn it and get paid to learn it. Mainly we are just using Adobe apps.
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I was absolutely astonished how much new hard drives for PowerBooks and iBooks cost. Whenever I buy a hard drive, I try to get a new one if I can afford it. I hope it lasts a long time for you though!
 
Altemose said:
I was absolutely astonished how much new hard drives for PowerBooks and iBooks cost. Whenever I buy a hard drive, I try to get a new one if I can afford it. I hope it lasts a long time for you though!
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Yeah, me too. Here's the problem with new drives now though. According to Intell, the drive manufacturers stopped making PATA drives (both laptop and desktop) a while back.

Western Digital held out the longest, but they stopped some time ago. So…any stock you find online or at a store is coming from the pool of unsold drives that are still out there. Eventually, that pool will deplete as older drives fail. And then it's going to be down to used and refurb drives.
 
eyoungren said:
Yeah, me too. Here's the problem with new drives now though. According to Intell, the drive manufacturers stopped making PATA drives (both laptop and desktop) a while back.

Western Digital held out the longest, but they stopped some time ago. So…any stock you find online or at a store is coming from the pool of unsold drives that are still out there. Eventually, that pool will deplete as older drives fail. And then it's going to be down to used and refurb drives.
Click to expand...

Just another nail in the coffin of not only PowerPC era Macs but also PCs of the era. Fortunately, SATA adapters are rather cheap in most cases and you can use a 1.8" drive in most portables with the adapter without issues.
 
Altemose said:
Just another nail in the coffin of not only PowerPC era Macs but also PCs of the era. Fortunately, SATA adapters are rather cheap in most cases and you can use a 1.8" drive in most portables with the adapter without issues.
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The adapter is a better option to sort of "future proof" our older macs. With the ssd there is no need to find old HDDs. I have on in my 17" pb and it works quite well I haven't been using very often unfortunately.
 
boneskid1 said:
The adapter is a better option to sort of "future proof" our older macs. With the ssd there is no need to find old HDDs. I have on in my 17" pb and it works quite well I haven't been using very often unfortunately.
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On a PowerBook or iBook using an adapter isn't a problem. However, many PC users where the hard drive is slid through a door in the side it will be a problem getting it mounted. For once, Apple users got the long end of the stick on this one!
 
Any suggestions for a ibook 12" G4 harddrive replacement? Has stock 40 g drive right now and would like to put a ssd in there,but (no way adapter to ssd will fit,and ide/ssd's are very $$$)

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tom vilsack said:
Any suggestions for a ibook 12" G4 harddrive replacement? Has stock 40 g drive right now and would like to put a ssd in there,but (no way adapter to ssd will fit,and ide/ssd's are very $$$)

Image
Click to expand...

If you don't need much space, you can get a Transcend 32 GB SSD here for around $63. I got the same one for my PowerBook and am very happy with it. It runs a little cooler than the HDD, boots and runs faster, and added some extra battery life.

IDE laptop HDDs are also very expensive compared to SATA, so you might find the price difference between an IDE SSD and a HDD negligible.
 
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fhall1 said:
How about an mSATA drive with IDE/SATA adapter?
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I had this in one of my ibooks for testing purposes. A 1,8" SATA-III SSD with a small profile mSATA-IDE adapter. (The adpater is not much bigger than the adpater).

I have a 160GB Samsung HDD and a 320GB WD in other ibooks. The 320GB WD in my main one. I have the same issues like Eyoungren with that drive (it was good for a long time, though).
Beachballing
documents, that will not open with the application that it was created with (I have to always do "open with" and can't just click on it. Even, if I do "cmd+i" and reasign the right application, the document/file will forget it next time.
I have sleep issues with it, too.
It may be somethign with the logicboard.

Because, interestingly SMART does show no sign of prblems, other than, that it is very old (has 18.000 power on hours). I got a bunch of 9 of these a few years ago for 35,-EUR each (pulled from a server, if I am correct it had 9000 power on hours then). I sold every piece, but the one I kept.
Now, used ones cost 100,-EUR on EBay. My 256GB SSD did cost 130,-EUR + 15,-EUR for the adapter.

@Erik:
I use SMART Utility (trial is free and there is a student discount I used, when I bought it), because I had SMART reporter fail on me warning me about drives that were defective and SMART Utility had warned me. I have both (and also Disk Tool Pro).
I know, that every manufacturer and every SMART tool sets the criteria differently, but I trust SMART Utility more.


Back on the SSD vs HDD thing:
I hestitate using the SSD instad of my 320GB WD HDD. I mean I plan to upgrade with an DL-DVD Superdrive anyway, so I could do that at the same time. Also I will have to do a clean install, to, but I am not fully convinced with my SSD either. I hestitate. I mean a SSD fails sudeenly, but with a HDD you can mostly tell before (clicking starts, or odd behaviour or you see the SMART data).

I am also not sure, if garbage collection works right on my SSD (it is said to have the best GB), because I felt it got slower over time. I also have the not recommended cheaper Marvell adapter, that is actually for SATA-II drives. There is one with Marvell chipset for SATA-III, but if I recall right, it is not mSATA (microSATA), but miniSATA (with two cuts between the pins).

Sorry for writing so much. :eek:
 
Can you please get a picture of the logic board resistors from R731-R738, so that I can figure out how the voltage regulator works? If you could get the picture, it would be an amazing favor from you.
 
PowerPCFanGurl said:
Can you please get a picture of the logic board resistors from R731-R738, so that I can figure out how the voltage regulator works? If you could get the picture, it would be an amazing favor from you.
Click to expand...
Welcome back rabidz7! I wonder how much time before the mods find you - again.

I will most likely be taking photos, but just because that's my thing. And I will probably post a link to them, once this is over. If you happen to see what you need fine, but I'm not focusing on any specific thing.

And I am certainly NOT going to be overclocking anything.
 
eyoungren said:
Welcome back rabidz7! I wonder how much time before the mods find you - again.

I will most likely be taking photos, but just because that's my thing. And I will probably post a link to them, once this is over. If you happen to see what you need fine, but I'm not focusing on any specific thing.

And I am certainly NOT going to be overclocking anything.
Click to expand...

Except your QuickSilver of course!
 
Altemose said:
True. But you still love to squeeze every last bit of juice out of a QS simply because you love the look rather than getting a G5.
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LOL! Part of your last statement is true. :D

Yes, I want to get the most out of it I can and I do love the look. When it came out I wanted one and I have always wanted to take BTO at Apple and get some monster system that runs over $10,000 or so. Of course, without having to pay a dime for it, but anyway.

I have a G5. It's a 1.8Ghz with 4GB of ram. But it's at work. Until the boss gets me a new MP and mine goes to my coworker. When that happens, I get the G5 back.

I'm seriously interested in a Quad G5 though. But that's one of those Macs that I don't want to buy that has issues (I'm not dealing with coolant issues). So, until I can afford to pay for one of those in good condition I have to wait.
 
eyoungren said:
LOL! Part of your last statement is true. :D

Yes, I want to get the most out of it I can and I do love the look. When it came out I wanted one and I have always wanted to take BTO at Apple and get some monster system that runs over $10,000 or so. Of course, without having to pay a dime for it, but anyway.

I have a G5. It's a 1.8Ghz with 4GB of ram. But it's at work. Until the boss gets me a new MP and mine goes to my coworker. When that happens, I get the G5 back.

I'm seriously interested in a Quad G5 though. But that's one of those Macs that I don't want to buy that has issues (I'm not dealing with coolant issues). So, until I can afford to pay for one of those in good condition I have to wait.
Click to expand...

Yes, rebuilding the LCS is a royal pain. It is about $20 in parts, but a decent 2-3 hours of work including disassembly and assembly depending on how fast you work. Some have said 6 hours but I find that to be excessive. I rebuild one and the hose mount failed and shot coolant all over... after the rebuild. :(
 
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