Titanium PowerBook G4 - Renewal of Thermal Paste

[AphoticD]

Titanium PowerBook G4

I have been putting it off for a while now, but decided to pull apart my 867Mhz Titanium PowerBook G4 for a cleanup, SSD installation and thermal paste renewal.

I followed the iFixit guide for replacing the Logic Board (DVI+ models) to tear it down. All was smooth until I had to physically pull the logic board out from the chassis.

The thermal compound Apple used on this model is a black stick-on pad which, like tar is rock hard when cold and oozes when hot. Needless to say, this super substance had set like glue and my firm, but careful attempt to nudge the board out looked like it was going to cause the internal frame to bend and/or snap or bend the logic board before the thermal compound would let go.

Reading through the notes on the guide, they recommended to use a heat gun to warm up the compound from the heatsink down. I don't have a heatgun, so I decided it would be safe to re-connect the DC-in board and the black and grey power button connector next to it back in, connect to AC and press the power button. I left it like this for a few minutes (no display, or anything else was connected to the logic board). Once the heatsink became hot, I pulled the power and then continued.

The tar like substance gave way and stretched out like toffee. The rear ports were then tricky, but after some gentle nudging, I simply pushed the Ethernet port forward from the back of the 'book and it let go.

I began cleaning it up when I thought it would be good to get some photos. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken any before shots or temperature readings, but here are some internal, post-cleanup shots none-the-less.


1. The underside of the heatsink, which is attached to the top case and internal frame. The flat areas to the right of the pink pad are for the GPU, the bus controller and then on the right is the CPU contact. I used a razor blade to lift the old, black thermal compound pad and two silicone heat pads, then cleaned it all up with Isopropyl Alcohol on a cotton tip.



2. The evidence of the cleanup. As you can imagine from the state of the cotton tips, there was quite a bit to clean off the CPU itself, which was smothered in this black sticky compound. (My ears aren't normally this dirty!)



3. New silicone heat pads cut to shape and applied to the underside of the heatsink. These sit atop the bus controller (larger) and the ATi Radeon Mobility 9000 GPU and VRAM (smaller). As with my PowerBook G4 12" and Pismo thermal reconditioning, I used the same 2mm product, which is much thicker than the original. It took a bit of convincing to fit back together again without bulging, but it's all locked in tight now.



4. A beauty shot of the logic board after a clean up. I also took the opportunity to clean all the dust out of the fans and from all the nooks and crannies.



5. Up close and personal with the 7450 CPU for @LightBulbFun (What do you make of it?)



6. The not-so-bad Radeon Mobility 9000 w/32MB VRAM.



7. Love this design!


While having the TiBook open, I replaced the 80GB 5400 RPM HDD with a 32GB KingSpec mSATA SSD installed within a cheap ($9) mSATA->2.5" IDE adapter, which appears to be working well.

I'll update my "Post Your SSD/CF SATA/PATA Benchmark Results" thread once it has finished restoring.

I scheduled a few more repairs for this lazy Sunday.. more to come!

-AphoticD

 

[CooperBox]

Nice job!
I've done a similar task twice on different TiBooks. Believe I used 1mm silicon heat pad material cut to suit, which may explain why the underside of the laptop appeared to feel as hot as before the rework. I should have taken some before & after temp readings.
Recently received in the mail a 10cm x10cm sheet of 2mm pad material (grey-colour), so when time permits I may just re-do my TiBooks again.
Could you please provide a link to the mSata-IDE adapter you used. In the past I've used the quite expensive (34USdollar) but excellent Lindy adapter, but ready to try a cheepo if it's good enough for the job.

 

[AphoticD]

Nice job!
I've done a similar task twice on different TiBooks. Believe I used 1mm silicon heat pad material cut to suit, which may explain why the underside of the laptop appeared to feel as hot as before the rework. I should have taken some before & after temp readings.
Recently received in the mail a 10cm x10cm sheet of 2mm pad material (grey-colour), so when time permits I may just re-do my TiBooks again.
Could you please provide a link to the mSata-IDE adapter you used. In the past I've used the quite expensive (34USdollar) but excellent Lindy adapter, but ready to try a cheepo if it's good enough for the job.

Thanks CooperBox.

I can also confirm that despite the new thermal paste and heat pads, it still runs hot and the bottom case feels hot just like it did before putting the time into it. Plus, just as before, the fan(s) are running most of the time. I was really hoping to reduce the running noise/temps, but I guess it is just the thermal design of the TiBook. I don't think it would be worth stripping it down again just to put in thicker heat pads. At least I have the peace of mind knowing that the job has been done I guess.

The cheap mSATA->2.5" IDE adapters I've used are here:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/mSATA-t...Converter-Adapter-Card-with-Case/401348929064

It uses the JM20330 chipset, which @LightBulbFun has confirmed is suitable for these old Macs. I have been using it in my Pismo with a 32GB KingSpec mSATA SSD for the past few weeks and all appears to run okay (+ it is silent and quite a bit faster than the HDD was).

I have one Lindy adapter (working perfectly) in my PB 12", and I ordered a 2nd one in August out of Poland (£35 free ship to AU), but I waited for two months and it never arrived. The seller was genuine and good enough to refund me. I wasn't able to find the same brand for a decent price, but settled on replacing it with an Addonics branded adapter which is exactly the same (looks the same and uses the same chipset). The Addonics adapter arrived on Friday and I'm going to put it in my PowerBook 17" next along with a KingSpec 64GB mSATA card.

One thing I found when transferring the existing OS partitions across to the new SSDs (using Disk Utility's Restore tab) is that Mac OS 9 became unbootable. Disk First Aid reports BTree errors, which are not repairable. I found a workaround by booting off another OS 9 disk, then copying the non-booting OS 9 volume across to a different drive, erase the OS 9 volume from the Finder, copy everything back in and reboot. This has happened on both the Pismo and the TiBook, so maybe it is just an issue with Disk Utility (Tiger) and OS 9.

 

[Gamer9430]

The process of thermal paste replacement honestly isn’t all that hard... until you actually get to the paste. I don’t know what element of God Apple used to cement the CPU to the heatsinks, but after sitting there for 15 years, it becomes a sold green rock. And because it’s a rock-based element, no normal tools shall suffice. I actually needed to use a flat head screw driver to scrape off the thermal rock. After 15 minutes, I finally got all of it removed and cleaned up, and then put some nice fresh Arctic Silver 5 on it and sealed it back up. I’ve done this process twice now for my GigaTiBook. The first time was actually to fix it from overheating and crashing, which it did. The second time was after getting a replacement logic board for it after my original one burnt out.

In all seriousness, the process isn’t for the faint of heart as removal of the old paste isn’t fun or easy, but getting to that point is quite easy, especially compared to the later 12, 15, and 17in Aluminum PowerBook G4s. That old paste isn’t doing its job at all anymore, which can cause over heating and lock-ups like it did for me.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Very nice rebuild

the CPU is made Week 45 of 2002

that black thermal gunk sounds like fun ill tag @Gamer9430 and let him explain the fun of the Green thermal "rock" the 1Ghz TiBooks use (he beat me too it! LOL)

fun fact about the 867Mhz Ti is there are pads for where the extra 32MB of VRAM goes on the logic-board for the 64MB in the 1Ghz models, I wonder if it would be possible to add those extra ram chips and have it see 64MB of VRAM.

i have just changed the hard drive in an iBook G3 Clamshell in preparation for the G4 stuff it prolly went easier then your TiBook teardown as most of the case screws on my ~victim~ iBook where already missing (This is my 933Mhz post LOL)

 

[AphoticD]

Sounds like I got off easy with my Highway-Grade Bitumen experience

I'm looking forward to seeing the transformation as Dr LightBulbFun's Monster G3 clamshell evolves into the extremely rare "iBook Clamshell G4"!

While you've got it apart, you should go full transparent on the case and stencil in a big and bold "G4" underneath the plastic housing, in honour of the B&W's design.

I'm still waiting for my 1st gen iBook clamshell to arrive.. hopefully Monday! I too will certainly endure the hard drive replacement procedure and put an SSD in it.
[doublepost=1509890178][/doublepost]Just as a follow up to the running temps. The TiBook finished all of its spotlight indexing, etc. Running in Tiger with the better battery life energy saving options, it is no longer whirring and producing excess heat. It actually feels cool to hold.

I imagine this would change once doing any kind of taxing work, but maybe for light purposes, the running temps and noise will improve now with the overhaul.

As far as I can see, there are no temperature probing options for this model and now even the SSD doesn’t report a temp, so I have no gauge other than to feel how hot and loud it runs. (Even Gauge Pro in OS9 fails to report a temp).

 

[AL1630]

I'm thinking about getting some SSDs for my iBooks and TiBook. Is the speed increase worth it for general use?

 

[AphoticD]

I'm thinking about getting some SSDs for my iBooks and TiBook. Is the speed increase worth it for general use? Also, would something like a compact flash adapter work better for something like my clamshell that doesn't get a ton of use?

I would recommend an SSD upgrade to improve general responsiveness, reduce noise and improve battery life. Also, the aging original HDDs tend to become slower, louder and more error prone over time.

The clamshell’s ATA-2 interface isn’t going to rocket with speed, but there will be a general improvement, just don’t spend too much money on fast SSDs here. If you have a CF card on hand which you’d like to use, buy a cheap CF to IDE bridge and put it to use. My understanding is that the ATA-2 and PCMCIA standard which the CF interface is based upon all share the same foundation here, so there is no real adapting of interfaces, but simple pin redirections. (Someone with more knowledge on the subject might like to chime in on this one)

I have seen massive improvements on my ATA/100 capable aluminum PowerBook G4s when upgrading to SSD.
The upgrade makes them respond much more like modern MacBooks in terms of boot and app launch times (especially under Tiger).

 

[AL1630]

Yeah, if I replace the one in the clamshell, I would probably go with CF since I don't need a ton of storage.

 

[LightBulbFun]

I would recommend an SSD upgrade to improve general responsiveness, reduce noise and improve battery life. Also, the aging original HDDs tend to become slower, louder and more error prone over time.

The clamshell’s ATA-2 interface isn’t going to rocket with speed, but there will be a general improvement, just don’t spend too much money on fast SSDs here. If you have a CF card on hand which you’d like to use, buy a cheap CF to IDE bridge and put it to use. My understanding is that the ATA-2 and PCMCIA standard which the CF interface is based upon all share the same foundation here, so there is no real adapting of interfaces, but simple pin redirections. (Someone with more knowledge on the subject might like to chime in on this one)

I have seen massive improvements on my ATA/100 capable aluminum PowerBook G4s when upgrading to SSD.
The upgrade makes them respond much more like modern MacBooks in terms of boot and app launch times (especially under Tiger).

the iBook G3 Clamshells HDD interface is actually Ultra ATA33 remember the iBook G3 clamshell is a Uni-north machine, actually the first uni-north machine to market

 

[YYsMD]

Nice. I did the thermal putty replacement process myself last week with my 1Ghz model, although the thermal pad was green rather than black. Just rubbed and rubbed and rubbed at it with a cloth and isopropyl alcohol until it was all gone.

I thought about switching it with arctic silver bit I wasn't sure as it was a pad before, if it would make contact with the heat sink when put back together, so i used K5-PRO instead which can bridge bigger gaps. Also removed an expired spider from the disk drive's inverter board which shouldn't have been there.



I did this to see if it was the old thermal pad making a god-awful headache inducing chemical/metallic smell whenever the machine heated up. A complete disassembly didn't reveal any obvious issues sans the old pad and the spider. Put it back together and the emission hadn't gone away so i'm a bit at a loss with what to do with it next :/

 

[weckart]

I did this to see if it was the old thermal pad making a god-awful headache inducing chemical/metallic smell whenever the machine heated up.

Possibly the rubber membrane in the keyboard or remnants of a spill on that. iBook G3s are particularly blighted but other notebooks are not immune. Run yours for a bit, switch it off, remove the keyboard and give it a sniff.

 

[CooperBox]

Nice. I did the thermal putty replacement process myself last week with my 1Ghz model, although the thermal pad was green rather than black. Just rubbed and rubbed and rubbed at it with a cloth and isopropyl alcohol until it was all gone.

I thought about switching it with arctic silver bit I wasn't sure as it was a pad before, if it would make contact with the heat sink when put back together, so i used K5-PRO instead which can bridge bigger gaps. Also removed an expired spider from the disk drive's inverter board which shouldn't have been there.



I did this to see if it was the old thermal pad making a god-awful headache inducing chemical/metallic smell whenever the machine heated up. A complete disassembly didn't reveal any obvious issues sans the old pad and the spider. Put it back together and the emission hadn't gone away so i'm a bit at a loss with what to do with it next :/

Interestingly enough the only laptop on which I experienced a dreadfull smell was a TiBook 1Ghz model. This was the case whether it was powered-on or not. During refurbishment I observed nothing that could be the cause. A good internal clean up of all interior components especally the fans, and all was well again.

 

[swamprock]

I think I still have a video of my 667 VGA TiBook running with the OWC SSD and Tiger. I should dig that out...

 

[AphoticD]

Interestingly enough the only laptop on which I experienced a dreadfull smell was a TiBook 1Ghz model. This was the case whether it was powered-on or not. During refurbishment I observed nothing that could be the cause. A good internal clean up of all interior components especally the fans, and all was well again.

My PowerBook G4 17” has a definite bad smell. It’s a chemical/metallic smell somewhere within the range of old fried rice mixed with sweat/B.O. I believe it comes from a glue of some kind as the AlBook 15” and Titanium have a similar, albeit much less pungent smell, but my other MacBooks, Pismo and PB12” don’t have it.

I should note that the stinky 17” is immaculately clean inside and out as are the Titanium (now) and my PB15”. So I don’t think it will clean off.

 

[YYsMD]

I've heard discussions about this the glue on the keyboard possibly being the case, but people said the smell of that is more akin to sweat/B.O as AphoticD has mentioned. I don't think then that it will be the keyboard, definitely something deeper inside

 

[weckart]

The keyboard sits atop the heatsinks acting as an extension thereof. Anything inside the keyboard will get warmed up during use giving the aroma of baked TiBook operation.

Bon appetit!

 

[benwild_33]

My 17" Powerbook smells like crayons, its a really strong smell and strangely its more noticeable when I first open the lid rather than when it's been on for a while.

 

[YYsMD]

The keyboard sits atop the heatsinks acting as an extension thereof.

Hmm, ok. I'll try running it with the keyboard off and see what happens

 

[amagichnich]

I'm thinking about getting some SSDs for my iBooks and TiBook. Is the speed increase worth it for general use?

It's not really the speed that is increased but the responsiveness. Especially if you really want to use it as a daily driver you'll see a big difference in Multitasking. You can open as many applications as your ram allows and still Exposé runs fast and smooth. To have one example...
Or opening heavy applications - spares you a lot of time

the iBook G3 Clamshells HDD interface is actually Ultra ATA33 remember the iBook G3 clamshell is a Uni-north machine, actually the first uni-north machine to market

Would you be so kind to explain what exactly Uni-north is? I've never heard of that

 

[Macbookprodude]

Don’t mean to revive a dead thread, but if I can get a new top case for my 1Ghz TI PB G4 can I pay one of you to install it ??

 

[sqeeezy]

Dunno why people fuss about necroposting: Google brings me here because it contains relevant info about my problem, date is irrelevant here. I've found also that renewing the thermal paste on my TiBook 1GHz DVI has made no difference: still loads of fan noise and what I assume is CPU over-temp throttling, manifested as jerky video playback. This is despite the TiBook sitting on a support tray with 3 USB powered fans runnng all the time. Could it be a heatpipe problem? Opened it up again last night and no fluff inside and unpowered fans rotate freely. Maybe next is check if both are functioning.

 

[Gamer9430]

Dunno why people fuss about necroposting: Google brings me here because it contains relevant info about my problem, date is irrelevant here. I've found also that renewing the thermal paste on my TiBook 1GHz DVI has made no difference: still loads of fan noise and what I assume is CPU over-temp throttling, manifested as jerky video playback. This is despite the TiBook sitting on a support tray with 3 USB powered fans runnng all the time. Could it be a heatpipe problem? Opened it up again last night and no fluff inside and unpowered fans rotate freely. Maybe next is check if both are functioning.

Does your TiBook have a battery installed, and if so is it being detected correctly? The 1GHz models will throttle to 667mhz and disable the L3 cache if it fails to detect a battery, which would result in severely diminished performance. The fans in these things are incredibly noisy just in general and honestly aren’t doing much since they’re rather small and not putting out a lot of cooling power

 

[sqeeezy]

Does your TiBook have a battery installed, and if so is it being detected correctly? The 1GHz models will throttle to 667mhz and disable the L3 cache if it fails to detect a battery, which would result in severely diminished performance. The fans in these things are incredibly noisy just in general and honestly aren’t doing much since they’re rather small and not putting out a lot of cooling power

Thanks for the info, good to know, no the battery died a while back and I haven't fitted a new one, I'll have a look at getting a new one for it. I still like the feel of the keyboard, plus I hate waste. It's been my void linux 32/debian 32/Tiger and Leopard machine in the back room which i power up once a month, now down to Leopard alone.

 

[sqeeezy]

Thanks for the info, good to know, no the battery died a while back and I haven't fitted a new one, I'll have a look at getting a new one for it. I still like the feel of the keyboard, plus I hate waste. It's been my void linux 32/debian 32/Tiger and Leopard machine in the back room which i power up once a month, now down to Leopard alone.

I was thinking about fitting new cells to my old battery but it appears I threw it out. Anyone out there, with a cheap battery/knackered battery that I could repair. Or a schematic/manual that shows the battery connection detail so I could construct a FrankenBattery? I live in Europe.