PowerBook 3400 Question

[rainman::|:|]

Hi all,

I'm considering getting a 3400 powerbook on Ebay, i've always loved the thing and the price is finally right It'd be mostly for my partner's writing career, but i have a couple of questions. Is there a G3 upgrade solution for the little guy? I know there's one for the 1400, but i can't seem to find any info for the 3400. If there was, would it run X? i realize it'd be hellishly slow, but i couldn't remember if X supported upgrade cards or not. The speed improvement is what i'm most concerned about, i just like X a lot... i have no experience with upgrading powerbooks, even where to look...

Thanks!
pnw

 

[Gus]

Newer used to make upgrade cards for all of the x400 series Powerbooks (2400,1400,3400), but I don't think they have them anymore. If you can find one on eBay, then I would say jump on it. The upgrades for the 1400 and the 3400 should work fine with X. The 2400 needed software drivers in 9, but you don't have to worry about that.

Regards,
Gus

 

[rainman::|:|]

Thanks Gus, that's exactly the info i needed i kind of figured they wouldn't be in production anymore, but it shouldn't be too hard to find one for sale somewhere...


pnw

 

[Gus]

By the way, if you find one of the upgrade cards, it will probably be of the 250 and 333Mhz G3 varieties. The First G3 Powerbook, aka, "Kanga", was basically a 3400 with a G3 in it. Basically.

Regards,
Gus

 

[MacBandit]

How much is it be offered for?

I know it's a lot more money but it's a lot more machine the 12" Powerbook that is. A lot lot lot better screen and is actually the smallest Powerbook ever sold.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Well we won the auction for 3400/240, two BookEndz, an Epson 740 printer, external Jazz drive, floppy and CD module, three batteries, charger, carrying case, brand new scanner, new internal 10 gig hard drive, 144 meg ram (maxed), Quicktake 200 digital camera with 4 meg smartcard, and i think some other stuff for $525. Not bad at all, i think, i can sell some of the accessories i don't need and make back a hundred bucks or so. I've found the utility that lets you install X on these guys, now i just need to find the 333 upgrade card. So far i've not found it at any resaler, old equipment seller, or on ebay. One will turn up eventually, i hope...

most of the reason i went with this is because i think RJ will appreciate the customizability-- two batteries, or a CD-ROM, or whatever modules he wants at the time. I actually don't understand why Apple stopped doing this, it was just too cool.

Anyone know if there was a 3rd-party CD-R or CD-RW or even DVD drive made for it? i'm pimpin' the thing out, it'd be nice to have a better optical drive...

Thanks
pnw

 

[idkew]

i used to have a 3400. i do not think they are upgradeable. i know the 1400 was, but i think that the processor is soldered to the motherboard of the 3400.

you might want to part it out. i parted out mine for 175% of what you paid and mine was broken. you may be able to get $900 out of it and buy a better machine.

i think it will separate into 30+ parts. add those to the bundle you got and you could make some good cash.

 

[idkew]

Originally posted by paulwhannel

most of the reason i went with this is because i think RJ will appreciate the customizability-- two batteries, or a CD-ROM, or whatever modules he wants at the time. I actually don't understand why Apple stopped doing this, it was just too cool.

Thanks
pnw

ummm, you can only use one battery at a time.

i know they made an internal zip for it. possibly a cd-rw, but that is the extent. the first PB to have dvd was the wallstreet, and it required a pc card addition.

 

[Gus]

Originally posted by idkew
i used to have a 3400. i do not think they are upgradeable. i know the 1400 was, but i think that the processor is soldered to the motherboard of the 3400.

you might want to part it out. i parted out mine for 175% of what you paid and mine was broken. you may be able to get $900 out of it and buy a better machine.

i think it will separate into 30+ parts. add those to the bundle you got and you could make some good cash.

There was indeed an upgrade, but it was different than the upgrade for the 1400. It was a complete board switch. If you find an auction for a motherbosrd from a "Kanga" (Original PB G3), get it! It is the easiest G3 upgrade from the 3400. Frankly, you may spend forever looking for another solution.

Regards,
Gus

P.S. the 2400 was actually the smallest of the 3 x400 books, not the 3400.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by idkew


ummm, you can only use one battery at a time.

i know they made an internal zip for it. possibly a cd-rw, but that is the extent. the first PB to have dvd was the wallstreet, and it required a pc card addition.

I thought it supported a second battery in the expansion bay... i had a friend that had what i remember as a 3400 and i remember him using both batteries, the control strip adjusted to show power for each one...

perhaps it was a different model, this was a long time ago

pnw

 

[idkew]

Originally posted by paulwhannel


I thought it supported a second battery in the expansion bay... i had a friend that had what i remember as a 3400 and i remember him using both batteries, the control strip adjusted to show power for each one...

perhaps it was a different model, this was a long time ago

pnw

you are thining of the wallstreet/pismo series.

the 3400 series has the battery and expansion bay on the right side, witht the battery in front, expansion in back. it was placed poorly and if you hit the battery just right, it would disengage and turn the computer off abruptly.

 

[idkew]

Originally posted by Gus


There was indeed an upgrade, but it was different than the upgrade for the 1400. It was a complete board switch. If you find an auction for a motherbosrd from a "Kanga" (Original PB G3), get it! It is the easiest G3 upgrade from the 3400. Frankly, you may spend forever looking for another solution.

Regards,
Gus

P.S. the 2400 was actually the smallest of the 3 x400 books, not the 3400.

I understand what you mean, but that is not really an upgrade, it is a switch to a different computer. in my mind the computer is the motherboard, everything else is secondary.

 

[RaNdOm]

Hey, I don't know if you saw this page, but it might be worth a try:
http://www.powerbookguy.com/3400.html

 

[alex_ant]

If you ever decide you want another one of those 3400c's, www.wegenermedia.com is selling them w/ battery, CD-ROM, floppy, & power adapter for $199.

An interesting thing about the 3400 is that it can run OS X, with the help of XPostFacto. I kind of cringe at the thought of Jaguar running on a 180MHz 603e, though.

 

[Gus]

I would stay away from Wegener Media. I never badmouth a company unless there are severe reasons, and those guys are the worst type of businessmen. I ordered a DVD/CD-RW combo drive($250) from them for a Pismo I had in early October after they assured me several times that it was COMPLETELY compatible with OS 9/X and iTunes, etc. When it got here, it could not burn CDs in 9 or X. I e-mailed and called, and never got a response. Finally, 2 weeks later, they told me to download a new driver from them. It didn't work. Then they said to send it back(guess who paid shipping) and they would fix the problem. They had that drive for 10 WEEKS, during which time I e-mailed and called, and never got status reports or updates from them. After threatening some action other than correspondence, they sent my working drive back to me. The whole thing was almost 13 weeks from delivery to a working drive in my machine. Stay away from them.

I never received an explanation as to what the problem had been or an apology for the delay.

Regards,
Gus

P.S. Sorry for the OT