Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Sick 'Book

Z

z970

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 2, 2017
3,592
4,546
My 15" DLSD came in (or rather its battery, which allowed me to finally boot it up), and there are some hardware issues.

The DL SuperDrive won't accept any discs. It takes them, makes two noises, then spits them out. Would it be possible to replace it with a modern one, of the same or similar form factor, with a compatible interface to plug into the logic board? And would this current drive absolutely be dead, given its behavior?

Although headphones work, there is nothing from the built-in speakers, because the system thinks it's locked in digital out mode, which is evidenced by a red light emanating from the headphone port. I haven't had any luck with toothpicks or the like to try flipping its tiny switch. Is there a .kext somewhere we can delete to turn off optical audio functionality? If it is a genuine hardware issue, what are my options? Replacing the logic board is not viable, especially when most everything else is working.

Both fans are not very loud (tested with G4FanControl), and by default come on at thresholds way too hot. So hot, I had to get out the frozen peas and spare heatsinks while installing Leopard (although it hasn't yet been repasted). Can anyone with a DLSD verify how noticeable their fans are at full speed? My 12" was louder, and it had only one. If a good clean and blow do not work, I'm probably going to have to invest in replacement assemblies. When the thresholds are lowered via G4FanControl, they do a much better job at cooling the system, but I still think something's off.

There are other issues, but those are the most pressing for now.

Thanks, all. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Traace
z970mp said:
My 15" DLSD came in (or rather its battery, which allowed me to finally boot it up), and there are some hardware issues.

The DL SuperDrive won't accept any discs. It takes them, makes two noises, then spits them out. Would it be possible to replace it with a modern one, of the same or similar form factor, with a compatible interface to plug into the logic board? And would this current drive absolutely be dead, given its behavior?

Although headphones work, there is nothing from the built-in speakers, because the system thinks it's locked in digital out mode, which is evidenced by a red light emanating from the headphone port. I haven't had any luck with toothpicks or the like to try flipping its tiny switch. Is there a .kext somewhere we can delete to turn off optical audio functionality? If it is a genuine hardware issue, what are my options? Replacing the logic board is not viable, especially when most everything else is working.

Both fans are not very loud (tested with G4FanControl), and by default come on at thresholds way too hot. So hot, I had to get out the frozen peas and spare heatsinks while installing Leopard (although it hasn't yet been repasted). Can anyone with a DLSD verify how noticeable their fans are at full speed? My 12" was louder, and it had only one. If a good clean and blow do not work, I'm probably going to have to invest in replacement assemblies. When the thresholds are lowered via G4FanControl, they do a much better job at cooling the system, but I still think something's off.

There are other issues, but those are the most pressing for now.

Thanks, all. :)
Click to expand...
Find a dead PowerBook on eBay for parts.

The optical drives have two connections: power and data. Easy just to swap out the unit.

As to the sound issues, if you can't get the thing to switch then you probably want a new sound board. On the 15" that's integrated with the DC-In. Here's the part number: 922-6963.

Neither of these parts should cost you more than $25.

As to the fans, I'd guess that they may be plugged up. But you're going to need to open the Mac to see.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Traace and z970
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-OEM-Ap...664164?hash=item5d6d79e764:g:e6EAAOSwxYxUvShl

These guys are selling a DC-In for the A1138, but it's not 922-6963. I would imagine it to work out just fine regardless.

Another thing, I put 667 MHz PC2-5300 chips from a MacBook Pro into this machine, and they downclocked OK. But instead of stopping at 4200-333, they went down to 3200-288. If the DLSDs can take PC2-4200-333 RAM, then why is it downclocking to a level below that?

Also what kind of difference would there be going from the downclocked 3200-288 to the actual 4200-333 chips intended for this machine, if anyone knows?

Thanks again.
 
z970mp said:
My 15" DLSD came in (or rather its battery, which allowed me to finally boot it up), and there are some hardware issues.

The DL SuperDrive won't accept any discs. It takes them, makes two noises, then spits them out. Would it be possible to replace it with a modern one, of the same or similar form factor, with a compatible interface to plug into the logic board? And would this current drive absolutely be dead, given its behavior?

Although headphones work, there is nothing from the built-in speakers, because the system thinks it's locked in digital out mode, which is evidenced by a red light emanating from the headphone port. I haven't had any luck with toothpicks or the like to try flipping its tiny switch. Is there a .kext somewhere we can delete to turn off optical audio functionality? If it is a genuine hardware issue, what are my options? Replacing the logic board is not viable, especially when most everything else is working.

Both fans are not very loud (tested with G4FanControl), and by default come on at thresholds way too hot. So hot, I had to get out the frozen peas and spare heatsinks while installing Leopard (although it hasn't yet been repasted). Can anyone with a DLSD verify how noticeable their fans are at full speed? My 12" was louder, and it had only one. If a good clean and blow do not work, I'm probably going to have to invest in replacement assemblies. When the thresholds are lowered via G4FanControl, they do a much better job at cooling the system, but I still think something's off.

There are other issues, but those are the most pressing for now.

Thanks, all. :)
Click to expand...


Every single one of my 15" PowerBooks nearly catch fire before the fans are audible. What you described is par for the course.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Project Alice and z970
sparty411 said:
Every single one of my 15" PowerBooks nearly catch fire before the fans are audible. What you described is par for the course.
Click to expand...

That appears to answer my question then. Perhaps they are just slightly gummed...

What do yours sound like at full blast? I swear, my 12" was much louder.

Can anyone also verify if their 1.67 has a "Highest" or "Reduced" processor performance tab in Energy Saver? Mine does not.
 
Its 65w charger came in, and wouldn't you know it, it's got issues too.

70% of the time, it works fine. Occasionally, after you plug the connector in and it turns green, the light shuts off and it stops charging. You need to unplug it from the wall and then plug it back in again for it to start working once more.

Help?
 
z970mp said:
Its 65w charger came in, and wouldn't you know it, it's got issues too.

70% of the time, it works fine. Occasionally, after you plug the connector in and it turns green, the light shuts off and it stops charging. You need to unplug it from the wall and then plug it back in again for it to start working once more.

Help?
Click to expand...
Replace the DC-In board. That will kill two birds with one stone. Your charging issue and your sound issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: z970
eyoungren said:
Replace the DC-In board. That will kill two birds with one stone. Your charging issue and your sound issue.
Click to expand...

Even given the 'unplug from wall' workaround?

How would the DC-In board do this?
[doublepost=1553447504][/doublepost]https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Powe...000791?hash=item210746cb17:g:u8kAAOSw5IJWdCeQ

Would this one work? All 15" AlBooks have the same power requirements, so there shouldn't be any trouble with power.

Everything else should check out, right?
 
Last edited:
z970mp said:
Even given the 'unplug from wall' workaround?

How would the DC-In board do this?
[doublepost=1553447504][/doublepost]https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Powe...000791?hash=item210746cb17:g:u8kAAOSw5IJWdCeQ

Would this one work? All 15" AlBooks have the same power requirements, so there shouldn't be any trouble with power.

Everything else should check out, right?
Click to expand...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Powerbook-...rge-Sound-Card-Board-820-1820-A-/323017308147

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-OEM-Ap...664164?hash=item5d6d79e764:g:e6EAAOSwxYxUvShl

The second one is cheaper, although by the description in the second one, the one that you linked to should work - and that one is cheaper.

I just try to find model specific parts. Some descriptions say they only work on one model, while other descriptions say they work on a range.

As to how the DC-Inboard would do this…wiggle the connector in the socket of the Mac. If it's loose then that is the issue. If it's pretty solid then I'm wrong and your problem is with the power supply.

MODS!!! AUCTIONS ABOVE ARE NOT MINE!!!!
 
eyoungren said:
As to how the DC-Inboard would do this…wiggle the connector in the socket of the Mac. If it's loose then that is the issue. If it's pretty solid then I'm wrong and your problem is with the power supply.
Click to expand...

Yes, the physical attachment is pretty loose with the 65w adapter, although it's solid with the 45w adapters...

Thanks for the help, man. We'll see how it works out.

EDIT: I should have clarified, it was the physical in/out motion that was smooth with the adapter, not the charging status. Wiggle or not, it was always consistently charging. Until it spontaneously failed and needed to be unplugged from the wall, then plugged back in.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
Well, the replacement optical drive came in.

It's a tray loader.


There was one image in the listing, the title and description never once mentioned the medium, and I guess I didn't look hard enough at the front to notice there was no obvious slot.

As I don't have any other tray-compatible laptops to install this into, I essentially wasted $6.

...I'm not qualified to own these things... :(
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1042686
z970mp said:
Well, the replacement optical drive came in.

It's a tray loader.


There was one image in the listing, the title and description never once mentioned the medium, and I guess I didn't look hard enough at the front to notice there was no obvious slot.

As I don't have any other tray-compatible laptops to install this into, I essentially wasted $6.

...I'm not qualified to own these things... :(
Click to expand...

If I may ask, which model number is the optical drive?
 
timidpimpin said:
Even if you can't get a superdrive, I'm sure you could get a combo drive and pretty much any PB 15" part here, and for very little money. I'm amazed at how cheap their parts are, and they all seem to come with a 1 year warranty also.

http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/home.php?cat=408&sort=category&sort_direction=0&page=1
Click to expand...

These are in stock.

https://www.powerbookmedic.com/Appl...ner-Drive---Aluminum-or-iBook-G4-p-16592.html

Maybe this could end up working out after all... Though I'll believe it when I see it.

B S Magnet said:
If I may ask, which model number is the optical drive?
Click to expand...

Hitatchi GMA-4080N.
 
z970mp said:
These are in stock.

https://www.powerbookmedic.com/Appl...ner-Drive---Aluminum-or-iBook-G4-p-16592.html

Maybe this could end up working out after all... Though I'll believe it when I see it.



Hitatchi GMA-4080N.
Click to expand...

Ah.

Wherever you end up finding a replacement, it's probably worth sticking with the Matshita/Panasonic models (and numbers, most of which use the "UJ-" prefix). Other makes might probably work, but most of the Apple laptops and iMacs come bundled with Matshita/Panasonic units. The UJ-846, for instance, is the slot-load, dual-layer superdrive OEM model equipped with my DLSD 17".

When in doubt, run an image search on a model number, say, UJ-845, and check whether most of those images, even if stock/placeholder images, is of a slot-load (with or without a bezel showing; bezels can be easily removed). On another project, this is what I did (i.e., adding a superdrive to my clamshell, which not only necessitated a tray-load model, but also one whose bezel mounts matched the 466 SE bezel; I used this approach, along with others, to glean the info I needed to make the right buying decision).

This approach takes a bit more work (as a lot of these models were OEM, not generally marketed to the general public, and often lack tech specs at a glance without some digging), but in the end it's worth it. It also better informs you for the next time you need to find a replacement part.
 
  • Like
Reactions: z970
On the hunt for a A1107 lobo myself but the only one Ive come across is 90 bucks on ebay lol. Unfortunately PBMedic does not have one in stock because at $26.00 that would be a real deal. I guess I do have time on my side.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raging Dufus
Change of plans... I've got a limited budget and didn't check the final price of the above listing until now, which when including surprise tax, is out of my reach.

Just ordered a cheaper one (UJ-846) from an A1208 iMac instead.

Looking forward to arrival. The sooner we can put this thread away, the better. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: B S Magnet
z970mp said:
Change of plans... I've got a limited budget and didn't check the final price of the above listing until now, which when including surprise tax, is out of my reach.

Just ordered a cheaper one (UJ-846) from an A1208 iMac instead.

Looking forward to arrival. The sooner we can put this thread away, the better. :)
Click to expand...

The UJ-846 is what the A1139 17" DLSD shipped with. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: z970
Alright, so, I changed out the SuperDrive with the one from the iMac (manufactured in December '05, so it was from an iMac G5) last night, and aside from being a little loud, OD functionality is now back up and running. :)

On the other hand... The $15 DC-In is for the wrong model, and the only ones I could find legitimately for the A1138 are $35 and up, which means I'm going to have to get used to intermittent charging / no built-in audio for a little while, plus a keyboard missing several keys, and plus a display pixel / cable issue.

In any case, we can put this thread away now, at least until possible further notice.

Thanks a lot, all. Very helpful. :)

For future reference in A1138 repair:

THIS WILL WORK:

s-l1600.jpg

THIS WILL NOT WORK:

s-l1600.jpg

TAKE HEED.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: B S Magnet
Update: After deciding to play around in the headphone jack with an alcohol'd eyelash brush as opposed to a toothpick (this one):

027636-2.jpg


I actually ended up flipping the tiny switch inside and got the built-in speakers working, but the right speaker is higher-pitched than the left. Thankfully, this functionality doesn't seem to reset itself when headphones are repeatedly inserted.

Ah well. $25 PowerBooks, right? :)

Now all that's left is the replacement display and KB assembly. 2/3 of the display boots up in graphical gibberish, then becomes functional when the angle is tweaked. As for the keyboard, it's softer than it can be and I accidentally took off both the Shift keys and the N key while cleaning out mounds of hair from underneath (previous owners...).

Will keep all posted.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Slix
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back