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Run iBook logic board as server without GPU?

poiihy

poiihy

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 22, 2014
2,303
64
I have the logic board of my Radeongated iBook (I have all parts actually). It has the infamous GPU failure (I call it Radeongate because they are Radeon GPUs, just like the 2011 MBPs and some iMacs).

Can I run this logic board as a server of some sort without the GPU? And can I pry the GPU off the logic board? Or will it refuse to work without a GPU?

And how would I manage it? I think how I would do it, is I would first install an OS on a hard drive using another PPC Mac, then set it up to autologin with screen sharing and SSH, etc, enabled. Then I can remotely connect to it and manage it.
 
poiihy said:
Can I run this logic board as a server of some sort without the GPU? And can I pry the GPU off the logic board? Or will it refuse to work without a GPU?
Click to expand...

This isn't possible. Attempting to remove a chip by force will damage the board irreparably.
 
redheeler said:
No. It will fail to initialize the GPU and refuse to boot.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? When I was fiddling with it I got an image to show a few times and I saw the ? because there was no HDD, so it was working properly. Maybe it would initialize because some pins are connected, but not work because not all pins are connected.
 
poiihy said:
Are you sure? When I was fiddling with it I got an image to show a few times and I saw the ? because there was no HDD, so it was working properly. Maybe it would initialize because some pins are connected, but not work because not all pins are connected.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't be able to see that if the GPU had completely failed. You wouldn't even get a chime.
 
redheeler said:
You wouldn't be able to see that if the GPU had completely failed. You wouldn't even get a chime.
Click to expand...

But I've always gotten a chine when I started it, just no screen. Always a chime. And when fiddling with the chip (pushing it around and stuff) sometimes i would get light and maybe even image. And in that image I would see the ? Icon because there is no HDD.

No the GPU is not completely failed, it's just bad solder joints. Just like the 2011 MBPs.

But I always get a chime.
 
poiihy said:
But I've always gotten a chine when I started it, just no screen. Always a chime. And when fiddling with the chip (pushing it around and stuff) sometimes i would get light and maybe even image. And in that image I would see the ? Icon because there is no HDD.

No the GPU is not completely failed, it's just bad solder joints. Just like the 2011 MBPs.

But I always get a chime.
Click to expand...

Does it behave the same way with an external display, to rule out an issue with the display cable?
 
In that case what you want to do may be possible, since when OS X boots up without a display attached it tends to bypass the GPU and emulate a GPU using the CPU when Screen Sharing (which of course also makes the refresh rate much slower). No guarantees though.

----------

In any case, an iBook wouldn't make a great server due to its 10/100BASE-T Ethernet port.
 
Can an iBook boot from USB stick?

This one has two USB ports so I suppose I can...

On Mactracker it looks like all iBook G3s have USB 1.1 ports. That sucks :(
 
Last edited:
poiihy said:
Can an iBook boot from USB stick?

This one has two USB ports so I suppose I can...

On Mactracker it looks like all iBook G3s have USB 1.1 ports. That sucks :(
Click to expand...

Although I've never tried it, I'm sure a white iBook G3 would, and would probably even show up in boot manager(although admittedly that doesn't help you any).

Be patient...

I've booted my TiBook in Leopard a few times with an external hard drive via USB. It takes probably 10-15 minutes for it to get to a functioning desktop.
 
bunnspecial said:
Although I've never tried it, I'm sure a white iBook G3 would, and would probably even show up in boot manager(although admittedly that doesn't help you any).

Be patient...

I've booted my TiBook in Leopard a few times with an external hard drive via USB. It takes probably 10-15 minutes for it to get to a functioning desktop.
Click to expand...

It helps because then I can install OS X and set it up on USB stick and boot from it on the iBook. Then connect to it with screen sharing.
But the problem is... how do I connect to it? I need to know the IP... actually that is no problem. I can just connect to the router and see what the IP of the iBook is.
 
desantii said:
IF it's really solder joints and you are adventurous you could "bake" the motherboard to try and reflow the solder...
Click to expand...

yeah I know that but it would just fail again, and also if I do that then I have to put it back together, and hell no, I don't want to put it back together!! :eek:

I am just going to sell the good parts and try to make use of the board.
 
Do something similar :D

ibookg4-lb-070503-1.jpg


It also slows down thiefs when they are trying to steal your server and prevents you accidentally knocking it down from table etc. :rolleyes:

But yes, solder joints would need to be rejoined for the machine to be reliable, which I assume is very important for a server.
 
redheeler said:

In any case, an iBook wouldn't make a great server due to its 10/100BASE-T Ethernet port.
Click to expand...

If it has USB 2.0 then a USB-Ethernet adapter should double the theoretical throughput. That should be enough for a simple file server.
 
Zotaccian said:
Do something similar :D

Image

It also slows down thiefs when they are trying to steal your server and prevents you accidentally knocking it down from table etc. :rolleyes:

But yes, solder joints would need to be rejoined for the machine to be reliable, which I assume is very important for a server.
Click to expand...

Clamping down an iBook like that is a very very bad idea. That is where the hard drive is and if you clamp it too hard you can crush the hard drive.
 
While it is possible to run a Mac without a GPU (like an Xserve), it is not going to be reliable. I am going to assume you mean a G3, which was limited to 10/100, USB 1.1, and FW 400. Couple that with the fact that the CPU must do all GPU work when remotely connected, the slow and rather small hard drives, and heat issues and you have a lackluster server.
 
Altemose said:
While it is possible to run a Mac without a GPU (like an Xserve), it is not going to be reliable. I am going to assume you mean a G3, which was limited to 10/100, USB 1.1, and FW 400. Couple that with the fact that the CPU must do all GPU work when remotely connected, the slow and rather small hard drives, and heat issues and you have a lackluster server.
Click to expand...


What do you mean it would not be "reliable"? You mean it would be slow, because of all the limitations you stated, but it would be reliable, as long as the system is not depended on the GPU.
There would be no heat issues as this is just a bare logic board and I can put any heatsink/fan arrangement.
This logic board has no hard drive with it so you can't determine anything about the hard drives.
The only problem with this is that it has it's limitations like you mentioned, but it still would be a good server to tinker with and for light tasks, like a file server. But it's not gonna run a Minecraft server, that's for sure. (I could try though :D )
 
poiihy said:
What do you mean it would not be "reliable"? You mean it would be slow, because of all the limitations you stated, but it would be reliable, as long as the system is not depended on the GPU.
There would be no heat issues as this is just a bare logic board and I can put any heatsink/fan arrangement.
This logic board has no hard drive with it so you can't determine anything about the hard drives.
The only problem with this is that it has it's limitations like you mentioned, but it still would be a good server to tinker with and for light tasks, like a file server. But it's not gonna run a Minecraft server, that's for sure. (I could try though :D )
Click to expand...

I have seen some Radeongated logic boards simply fail to boot overall after a while...

It will be slow and at most would be a toy of a server.
 
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