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The WUXGA PowerBook G4 17"

netsrot39

netsrot39

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2018
361
507
Austria
Hello guys, I've recently fulfilled one of my vintage Mac dreams which was to own a full HD PowerBook G4 17". You may be asking yourself how is this even possible when the PowerBook G4 17" A1139 aka the HiRes and DLSD model is the one with the highest resolution available (1680x1050). Well, you're right, this would be the PowerBook G4 17" with the highest resolution you can get officially but with a little tinkering you can even put in a 1920x1200 (full HD / 1080p) panel in a wide variety of PowerBook G4s 17". The one I had on hand and was willing to do this upgrade on is an A1085 (2004 model) but it should work with pretty much all PowerBook G4 17" models. Below you will find a picture of the finished product.

IMG_2591.JPG


A screenshot of "About this Mac", "System Profiler" and "System Settings" (in German but you get the idea)

Bild 1.png


Why is this possible? It is due to the fact that all PowerBook G4s 17" use a standard 30pin LVDS connection which make them compatible with many 17" panels out there. I put an LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(A1) in mine and it is a perfect fit. Brightness controls work and the panel runs at full resolution. From a previous test I know that the LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(B2) would also work without any problems. Below another picture showing the panel screwed into the frame of the display assembly.

IMG_2580.JPG


Would I advise anyone to do this kind of upgrade? Yes, I would but a word of caution here, it is time-consuming and not too straight forward if you have never swapped the panel in a PowerBook G4 17". The display assembly is tightly held together with metal clips that are difficult to unlatch. Moreover the panel is glued to the frame of the display assembly so you have to cut out the old panel very carefully. Once you managed to take apart the display assembly I'd suggest this modification so that further panel upgrades / repairs / swaps are a breeze. Another thing to keep in mind is that the CCFL cable of most of the panels will not line up perfectly with the display assembly. Don't get me wrong it can still be done but pay attention to route the CCFL carefully so it won't get pinched. Also never forget to transfer the sleep magnet which I almost did haha. In short, if you also want to do this make sure you do it on your day off as the upgrade will take many hours of work.

Was it worth it? In my opinion yes, I now have a 2004 PowerBook G4 17" with a full HD display which allows me to do way more stuff at once on the screen. It is a pretty significant upgrade from the previous 1440x900 panel and I love the glossy display on a PowerBook G4 which by the way is also something that Apple never offered if I recall correctly. For watching movies it is probably overkill since the G4 is too weak to properly play 1080p videos but whatever ... I'm very content with the end result and perhaps I am even the first one to have done a upgrade like this on a PowerBook G4 17" (at least I haven't found anything similar to this on the web). Kindly tell me what you think :D
 
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netsrot39 said:
Hello guys, I've recently fulfilled one of my vintage Mac dreams which was to own a full HD PowerBook G4 17". You may be asking yourself how is this even possible when the PowerBook G4 17" A1139 aka the HiRes and DLSD model is the one with the highest resolution available (1680x1050). Well, you're right, this would be the PowerBook G4 17" with the highest resolution you can get officially but with a little tinkering you can even put in a 1920x1200 (full HD / 1080p) panel in a wide variety of PowerBook G4s 17". The one I had on hand and was willing to do this upgrade on is an A1085 (2004 model) but it should work with pretty much all PowerBook G4 17" models. Below you will find a picture of the finished product.

View attachment 1963724

A screenshot of "About this Mac", "System Profiler" and "System Settings" (in German but you get the idea)

View attachment 1963733

Why is this possible? It is due to the fact that all PowerBook G4s 17" use a standard 30pin LVDS connection which make them compatible with many 17" panels out there. I put an LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(A1) in mine and it is a perfect fit. Brightness controls work and the panel runs at full resolution. From a previous test I know that the LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(B2) would also work without any problems. Below another picture showing the panel screwed into the frame of the display assembly.

View attachment 1963725

Would I advise anyone to do this kind of upgrade? Yes, I would but a word of caution here, it is time-consuming and not too straight forward if you have never swapped the panel in a PowerBook G4 17". The display assembly is tightly held together with metal clips that are difficult to unlatch. Moreover the panel is glued to the frame of the display assembly so you have to cut out the old panel very carefully. Once you managed to take apart the display assembly I'd suggest this modification so that further panel upgrades / repairs / swaps are a breeze. Another thing to keep in mind is that the CCFL cable of most of the panels will not line up perfectly with the display assembly. Don't get me wrong it can still be done but pay attention to route the CCFL carefully so it won't get pinched. Also never forget to transfer the sleep magnet which I almost did haha. In short, if you also want to do this make sure you do it on your day off as the upgrade will take many hours of work.

Was it worth it? In my opinion yes, I now have a 2004 PowerBook G4 17" with a full HD display which allows me to do way more stuff at once on the screen. It is a pretty significant upgrade from the previous 1440x900 panel and I love the glossy display on a PowerBook G4 which by the way is also something that Apple never offered if I recall correctly. For watching movies it is probably overkill since the G4 is too weak to properly play 1080p videos but whatever ... I'm very content with the end result and perhaps I am even the first one to have done a upgrade like this on a PowerBook G4 17" (at least I haven't found anything similar to this on the web). Kindly tell me what you think :D
Click to expand...

I have plans to try something like this with my A1139. Thank you for showing the proof-of-concept that it is certainly doable.

But you ought to really reconsider titling this thread as “the 1200p PowerBool G4”. :)
 
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Amethyst1 said:
Awesome — but why do you keep calling it Full HD or 1080p? 1920×1200 is WUXGA :)
Click to expand...

You are right, I got a little confused there with the aspect ratio, I should call it the WUXGA PowerBook G4 which is even radder considering that laptop in particular is from 2004 and has a slightly better display than 1080p and full HD offer. To say 1080p or full HD is in fact an understatement 😅 I've adapted the title to reflect the actual upgrade.

barbu said:
amazing work. Would you consider writing up a detailed how-to? Did you take loads of photos of the process?
Click to expand...

iFixit have a wonderful guide on their website. So I basically followed this guide and some logical thinking for the upgrade ;). What this guide doesn't tell you however is that unscrewing / detaching the display assembly from the top case prior to swapping the LCD makes life so much easier although it is more involved and time-consuming. At least I couldn't unlatch those nasty metal clips when the display assembly was still attached to the top case.
 
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I wonder if there is a new screen that can replace a PowerBook G3 Lombard or Pismo screen. I think the issue will be finding a new, better quality screen in the 4:3 aspect ratio.

I have been keeping a lookout for a screen assembly, essentially the entire lid of a PB G3, that I can experiment/practice with. The ones that come up on eBay are too expensive though.

Do you happen to know the G3 uses the same type of 30-pin connector?

This website is selling a replacement screen but my guess is it is no better than the stock screen-https://www.blisscomputers.net/apple-powerbook-g3-pismo-m7572-laptop-screen-display-panel-719994/
 
ww2_1943 said:
I wonder if there is a new screen that can replace a PowerBook G3 Lombard or Pismo screen. I think the issue will be finding a new, better quality screen in the 4:3 aspect ratio.

I have been keeping a lookout for a screen assembly, essentially the entire lid of a PB G3, that I can experiment/practice with. The ones that come up on eBay are too expensive though.

Do you happen to know the G3 uses the same type of 30-pin connector?

This website is selling a replacement screen but my guess is it is no better than the stock screen-https://www.blisscomputers.net/apple-powerbook-g3-pismo-m7572-laptop-screen-display-panel-719994/
Click to expand...

I would hazard a guess that the Lombard and Pismo displays use some variation on a 20-pin connector, much as most of the 4:3 iBook displays (in both the 12- and 14-inch form factor, between 1999 and 2005) do. Likewise, the same is the case for all the 12-inch PowerBook G4 displays.

Earlier on in the LCD world, different LCD vendors employed different sockets/pin-outs — which is a reason why one Apple product line, the clamshell iBooks, used three different Apple cables for the three different LCD vendors supplying displays for that line (LG, Samsung, and IBM). The LG variant, as far as I know, employed the conventional 20-pin LVDS socket, as I’ve successfully sourced later LG displays with higher resolutions for use in a clamshell iBook with a cable custom-adapted to LG specs.

I don’t know vendor(s) what the Lombard and Pismo models used.

As for what’s available in 14/14.1-inch sizes, as far as resolution, most of what you’re going to find out there will be XGA, though later displays may have much brighter lumen/candlepower output than what was shipping in 1999 and 2000. Plus, I know there were both anti-glare and glossy variants produced later on for many major displays — again, seeing this most often with LG panels. Unlike the glossy modification I’ve done with mine (all of which started out with antiglare film sheets), the OEM glossy displays have a clear film sheet to protect the LCD layer and polarizer.
 
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B S Magnet said:
I would hazard a guess that the Lombard and Pismo displays use some variation on a 20-pin connector, much as most of the 4:3 iBook displays (in both the 12- and 14-inch form factor, between 1999 and 2005) do. Likewise, the same is the case for all the 12-inch PowerBook G4 displays.

Earlier on in the LCD world, different LCD vendors employed different sockets/pin-outs — which is a reason why one Apple product line, the clamshell iBooks, used three different Apple cables for the three different LCD vendors supplying displays for that line (LG, Samsung, and IBM). The LG variant, as far as I know, employed the conventional 20-pin LVDS socket, as I’ve successfully sourced later LG displays with higher resolutions for use in a clamshell iBook with a cable custom-adapted to LG specs.

I don’t know vendor(s) what the Lombard and Pismo models used.

As for what’s available in 14/14.1-inch sizes, as far as resolution, most of what you’re going to find out there will be XGA, though later displays may have much brighter lumen/candlepower output than what was shipping in 1999 and 2000. Plus, I know there were both anti-glare and glossy variants produced later on for many major displays — again, seeing this most often with LG panels. Unlike the glossy modification I’ve done with mine (all of which started out with antiglare film sheets), the OEM glossy displays have a clear film sheet to protect the LCD layer and polarizer.
Click to expand...
Great info! It looks like the Pismo used LG and Samsung and each had different connectors 😫. I assume it was the same thing for the Lombard.

As far as I know, there is no way to tell which screen you have until you start to dissemble it. I wonder though if interchangeability is as simple as swapping in the correct cable. 🤔
 
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ww2_1943 said:
Great info! It looks like the Pismo used LG and Samsung and each had different connectors 😫. I assume it was the same thing for the Lombard.

As far as I know, there is no way to tell which screen you have until you start to dissemble it. I wonder though if interchangeability is as simple as swapping in the correct cable. 🤔
Click to expand...

Offhand, it’s possible an EDID report made in SwitchResX might point to vendor information in the results. Granted, that vendor info might be a hexadecimal code, but those codes tend to stay the same per vendor.
 
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Now if only there were any 1920x1280 displays for the 15"ers like my Henry Benbridge... this is a mod I'm also interested in doing if I ever spring for a Dell Inspiron 8500.​
 
lepidotós said:
Now if only there were any 1920x1280 displays for the 15"ers like my Henry Benbridge... this is a mod I'm also interested in doing if I ever spring for a Dell Inspiron 8500.
Click to expand...
There's a greyscale 15.4" 1920×1280 e-Ink display :) Too large though.
If you fancy replacing the lid, you can get a 15.4" 1920×1200 LCD in there.
There's also 15.0" 2496×1664 and 3240×2160 eDP LCDs but hooking them up would require LVDS to eDP conversion (at least) and they're too small.
 
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Hello everyone, hoping all of us is doing fine, I found a LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(A7) 17 at a very good price, in the description he says that it is LP171WU1(TL)(A1) 17, furthermore, when investigating the screen on google it says that there isn’t much difference between the different A part numbers, so, I guess the question is wether or not a LP171WU1(TL)(A7) could work for this mod and if someone has already tried it.

Thanks beforehand for your time.
 
Amazing work - well done! I have a 12" 1280x1024 (or is it 960? can't remember) on my shelf to do the same thing on my PB G4 12" but have not taken the plunge yet.
 
hopfenholz said:
Yep, well aware of that! The panel I bought is a 12.1" 1400x1050 - same physical size, 40% more real estate. Thought it would make a cool upgrade, especially as OS X seems to suck in so much real estate
Click to expand...
Nice. 1024x768 is about the lowest for me before it feels squashed. Would definitely want an upgrade for my 800x600 Clamshell, for instance.
 
Already ordered a LG Philips LP171WU1(TL)(A1), what im looking for now is the clips that are on the screen that go on the palmrest and hold the Powerbook G4 closed, that and the CCFL lamp that gives light to the apple logo, anyone here knows where to find these parts?
 
Amethyst1 said:
The logo is lit by the display’s backlight — there’s no separate lamp for that.
Click to expand...
for this said:

NEW CCFL Backlight PreWired With Wire Harness for APPLE PowerBook G4 M9689LL/A Laptop With 17" Wide LCD Screen - LCDPARTSDIRECT

SPECIFICATIONS: Brightness: 42000cdm2 Color Temperature: 7800 Kelvin (X=0.301 and Y=0.295) Life Rating: About 50,000 hours CCFL Connector: BHSR-02VS-01 Wire Length long enough for the related LCD Screen.
lcdpartsdirect.com
Click to expand...
As @for this was saying in the CCFL lamp thread, it is replaceable, it goes with screen assembly of course but replaceable nonetheless.

In any case the last remaining thing that I need (save the battery which is a madness..) to find to restore my PB close to mint condition is the latch clips that are in the LCD assembly that keep the screen closed to the palmrest, I have no idea where to find that…
 
JohnKCG said:
In any case the last remaining thing that I need (save the battery which is a madness..) to find to restore my PB close to mint condition is the latch clips that are in the LCD assembly that keep the screen closed to the palmrest, I have no idea where to find that…
Click to expand...

If they are missing or broken off, you may have buy the whole bezel to get them.
Looks like the keyword to find this thing is "hook".

(for example)

PowerBook G4 Aluminium 17" display bezel- 1.67DL 661-3764

www.thebookyard.com

But if they're intact but don't do the job. Then this troubleshooting info may help.

15-inch Aluminum PowerBook G4

Due to be released "any day now" for months, the successor to Apple's landmark …
arstechnica.com
 
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for this said:
If they are missing or broken off, you may have buy the whole bezel to get them.
Looks like the keyword to find this thing is "hook".

(for example)

PowerBook G4 Aluminium 17" display bezel- 1.67DL 661-3764

www.thebookyard.com

But if they're intact but don't do the job. Then this troubleshooting info may help.

15-inch Aluminum PowerBook G4

Due to be released "any day now" for months, the successor to Apple's landmark …
arstechnica.com
Click to expand...
It’s a pity that they don’t sell screws and clips only, but I suppose this would do the trick, right?:

ALUMINUM FRONT SCREEN COVER BEZEL TRIM & SCREWS--APPLE POWER BOOK G4 17" A1052 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ALUMINUM FRONT SCREEN COVER BEZEL TRIM & SCREWS--APPLE POWER BOOK G4 17" A1052 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
JohnKCG said:
It’s a pity that they don’t sell screws and clips only, but I suppose this would do the trick, right?:

ALUMINUM FRONT SCREEN COVER BEZEL TRIM & SCREWS--APPLE POWER BOOK G4 17" A1052 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ALUMINUM FRONT SCREEN COVER BEZEL TRIM & SCREWS--APPLE POWER BOOK G4 17" A1052 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...

Sorry, I can't tell if the "clips" are in the pictures or not since I've never owned a PowerBook. You should contact the seller.
 
I bought a PowerBook G4 17" about a year ago, and it whas in rough shape, dented and scratched, but it worked, so i got it for very cheap. I had a working battery with me, and when i whas in the train, i installed this battery in this machine and try to boot it up, it worked, but the screen seemed a bit off, it had a glossy display in it, the hard drive whas dead so i couldn't look any further into it, i came home, directly changed out the hard drive and installed sorbet leopard and yes, the display had been replaced, but they did a terrible job, the wifi cable had been cut, the lid came apart and they forgot to install a bracket that would go around the cables, since i have several dead 17 inches kicking around (this machine is my eleanor if you know what i mean), but i did my best, i opened up the lid (which took me about 2 hours since i had to open up 2 display assemblies) and took the panel out, it looked brand new, i contacted the owner again and yes, he had the display replaced long ago but wasn't happy and moved on to another machine (what i found inside the machine, i understand the owner's complaints). I made a fully working model in as prestime condition as i could get it, about 8 years ago now, i found a new battery for a 17 inch at the than local recycling center, it whas in it's box, shrinkwrapped and everything, sounds weird, i know, but it is. The battery bin whas next to the electronics container, and i found a mangled and bend 17 inch, it whas too far gone, i still wonder what ever happened to this machine, but i took the battery! And this battery, still is alive today, it lives inside the machine i rebuild, it still has about 2 and a half hours of runtime, which is not bad for such an old original replacement battery!
 
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So I recently posted in the eBay bargains - what's your latest conquest? thread where I proudly wrote about my latest conquest which was another inexpensive WUXGA panel, an LP171WU1(TL)(A2) to be specific :D Well, I went to my man cave today in order to install the new panel (you can see the LCD already inside the display assembly on the table on the left). I pretty much removed the old assembly and transferred the spare one I had (which I had prepped like a year ago according to my post from 2021). Putting in the LP171WU1(TL)(A2) wasn't that hard but it is a tight fit nevertheless and I'd say unlike the LP171WU1(TL)(A1) it is only possible if you remove the sheet metal because you can't route the CCFL cable like it is supposed to be, meaning through the small hole where it usually runs through (again, see my post from 2021 linked above on how to prep the display assembly if you want to try it with an LP171WU1(TL)(A2) yourself)

IMG_5402.JPG


I wouldn't say it looks 100% right because, like I mentioned, it is a tight fit. The display assembly is bulging a bit which is only noticeable when you look closely. I'd say it looks more like 98% right. It is important to say that the bulging does not affect the LCD in any way. In other words, here is another fully working WUXGA PowerBook G4 I'd like to show to you (I used my other 17" PowerBook G4 running Lubuntu 16 for this mod, a PowerBook 5,7):

IMG_5403.JPG


I booted up a live install of Leopard and below are 2 screenshots of System Profiler in case anyone is interested in how the panel is reported:

Picture 1.png


Picture 2.png


I still have a third 17" PowerBook G4 which "only" has a 1680x1050 display. So maybe I'll do a third WUXGA next year, who knows (maybe even with another model number, there are many LP171WU variants) :p It is certainly refreshing to see a glossy WUXGA panel on such an old laptop, so if anyone feels like also doing this mod, go for it ;)

To sum up, both LP171WU1(TL)(A1) and LP171WU1(TL)(A2) work in a 17" PowerBook but the latter is harder to fit.
 
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