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General discussion

DIY ibook repair?

May 30, 2007 8:59PM PDT

Hello everyone,ive just received an apple ibook which has had the pin from the yoyo power adapter stuck in the plug hole (sorry about the terminology im a bit of a novice). We are going to buy another adapter soon but there seems to be something else stuck in there too. After tweezers failed to pull it out we took it to pc world who suggested taking the whole laptop apart & getting it out from that end which we did. The pin from the adapter was quite easy to pull out once we were inside but there is what looks like a copper type of pin securely attached to the inside of the hole (where the charger goes). Iv trawled the internet for more information about whether it should be there or not but cant find anything specific to this problem. Im not sure if the previous owner soldered it there in an attempt to fix it or if it is supposed to be there? Also i was wondering if i could replace that whole part & if so what is its proper name? Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated,thankyou..

Discussion is locked

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Find a person with a background in electronics repair.
May 30, 2007 9:20PM PDT

What you seem to describe is a common connector. What you find is spare parts may be tough to find on their own but you can find the board that connector is on. Then I find said board (ebay, electronic junk dealers) then take the entire board and de-solder the connectors (both boards) and put the good connector on the board I want to fix. If it's some power brick that it's connector has failed I no longer fix those. I get a new brick.

Drop a line to ikenfixit.com or notefix.com to see if they fix this model.

Bob

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Thanks Bob that helps a lot
May 30, 2007 9:34PM PDT

Il do some more research on finding the board on ebay etc & i will get in touch with ikenfixit & notefix (thanks for the tip) One question though,what is the 'power brick' part?

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Power "brick"
May 30, 2007 9:39PM PDT

Most laptops have a power supply with one cord to the wall (AC) and another going to the laptop. In the middle is a "brick".

I bet you know why some call it a "power brick."

Bob

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I do now!
May 30, 2007 9:46PM PDT

cheers for that Bob..Ok now that i know the name of these parts im hoping to get somewhere,il post back & let you know the outcome.
Thanks again..

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and if the "brick" part plugs directly
May 30, 2007 11:04PM PDT

into the wall, it has been called a "wall wart".

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A wall wart???ha
May 31, 2007 12:01AM PDT

Ive got a lot futher since your replies telling me what the part was called. From that info i managed to find out the part i needed was the 'ibook g3 12" DC-Inboard & cable'. Over here in the uk these retail at around

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Since a (working) laptop is worth a few hundred
May 31, 2007 12:15AM PDT

And a dead one nearly nothing, I always feel it's worth up to about 200USD to repair a laptop. Past that and in the PC laptops we start to consider replacements and ebay'ing off the failed unit.

Bob

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I completely agree there
May 31, 2007 12:24AM PDT

I have told the my daughters boyfriend who has just bought it (as damaged for

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(NT) What type of iBook is it?
May 31, 2007 1:37AM PDT
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Good question?
May 31, 2007 1:52AM PDT

I think its an ibook powerpc g3. Its white & very small,only a 12" screen. The specs are.
128mb of pc100 sdram
10gb ultra ata hard disk drive
8x-speed dvd rom
I really like the look of it & how small & portable it is,just hope i can get it going again. Why do you have an apple?

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Does a bear..........?
May 31, 2007 4:43AM PDT

"Why do you have an apple?"
Not sure what you are asking here. Either you are asking the reason for me owning a Mac or, with a suitably placed comma, you are asking if I own a Mac.
Not enough space to answer the first version but for the second version the answer is yes. I own a few of them and currently they are all working.

This machine of yours is capable of running OS X, not higher than 10.3.9 though, but the memory is a little low. The single memory slot means that you will have to replace sticks, rather than add to them.
Firewire and two USB ports made this machine a decent worker when it was new.

The price of the parts you have found make this machine worth resurrecting.

P

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#### in the woods?
May 31, 2007 7:27AM PDT

Sorry about my grammar. I was asking "why,do you have an apple?". I would be interested in the "why do you have an apple?" though as i don't know anyone who has one & have never had the chance to use one myself. But with a bit of luck that might change. I do have a very old apple desktop in the shed which runs the very early operating system,but iv been too busy to get it out & have a look. I thinks it could be as old as 1995 or something.

I'm really happy that i shopped around for a couple of days for the parts & managed to get them pretty cheap. All i can do now is to wait for them & see if this 'fallen apple' can be resurrected..
cheers
Bev

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Gotta Mac!
May 31, 2007 10:53AM PDT

I've been using a Mac since '84, (last century!) but had used an Apple II before that.
Windows, as such, did not exist, DOS was king and from the first time I used a Mac I realized that this was the way things should work.
Click a button, drag stuff around, create folders and store stuff in them, all without having to type in lines of DOS commands. That and the cool graphics.

Once you get one, you will find that there a plenty of people who have one. You just never moved in the same circle.
Don't try anything with the one in the shed, it's too long in the tooth now and will not run OS X of any flavor.
Stick around and see how this iBook does and you may be pleasantly surprised.

P

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A Mac?
May 31, 2007 8:08PM PDT

Apologies for my ignorance,but is a Mac not an Apple then? I thought that an Apple was a mac & vice versa and that Apple or Mac was just short term of the name?
One thing that i have noticed over the years of browsing the shops is that the Apple/Macs are beautifully designed,very appealing to the eye. But they have always seemed that bit more expensive,even the used ones,hence iv never owned one. i just really hope i can get this one going. My main concern at this point is whether or not the previous attempt at fixing this power problem has fried the laptop,because iv heard either rightly or wrongly that it is an expensive job to correct & sometime not worth while. Infact i think that is what my lodger has done to his lovely little widescreen Medion. He tripped over the adapter cable which loosened the pin. Then a couple of weeks later when he tried to turn it on it was just dead. The shops around here are saying it could be

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In the beginning, there was Apple Computer Inc.
May 31, 2007 9:59PM PDT

The company produced the Apple I, II, III and Lisa. Only I & II were a commercial success. Toward the end of that period, Apple formed a Macintosh division to produce a completely different sort of computer. One with Graphics, with a Graphic User Interface (GUI) and a whole bunch of other stuff that was not on the DOS side of the world.
These machines were known variously as Apple Macintosh, Apple Mac or Mac. As far as I recall, the name Apple did not appear in the name from that point. I could be wrong on that one.
So, technically, a Mac is what you have in the shed and on your workbench, but you will still hear it referred to as an Apple, the company that makes them.

BTW, I think you will find that the DC board is held in place by a single screw and connects to the board via a long cable and plug.

Good luck with the project

P

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Thanks P
Jun 1, 2007 8:37PM PDT

It was very easy to unplug the little plug with all the wires from the plug that is secured to the motherboard.
Im just hoping that i actually receive the part because the seller didn't put the correct address on the envelope. He did get the house number & post code right so hopefully it will make it through my letter box,fingers crossed. It was picked up by USPS and im assuming once it reaches these shore's Royal Mail will take over the delivery. Is that right? Or do they have a USPS here in the UK that deliver the parcels? I don't know how he could have replaced Wakefield with Westfield,but its too late now that it is enroute so i will just have to keep my fingers crossed. I'm also tracking it so i might have some recourse there if it gets lost.

Thanks
Bev

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Parts and coincidences
Jun 1, 2007 11:38PM PDT

No USPS in the UK, the Royal Mail will take over when it arrives. Theoretically, the Post Code is all that is necessary to put that package within 4 houses of you. If the number and street is correct, there should be no problem. Post Codes work better than the 5 figure ZIP code, used over here.

Wakefield! Now there is a coincidence. I lived and worked in Wakefield for a number of years, '63 to '66, before going off to join the Royal Navy.
Started off at the Fairlanes Bowling Centre, then Sharphouse's supply (Behind the bus station) and then for the West Riding Bus Company. (Don't see the Bus Station of Google Maps, just a large blank area. Is it still operating as a Bus Station?)
Had lodgings on Marsland Street, down the Kirkgate end, which I was very surprised to see on Google Maps as still being there. Those houses were old 50 years ago!

Anyway, hope you get the part and all back together again.

P

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Wow! In all of the forums in all of the towns in all of the
Jun 2, 2007 12:23AM PDT

world! Thats pretty amazing! I live a stones throw away from Marsland Street. It still has the stone cobbles,or is that Marsland Terrace? Iv always got confused with the Marsland's. The bus station was leveled a few years back,about 5 or 6 i think but i can't quite remember. The new one is right next door to the old at the end of Provident Street,just off Northgate. Things have changed so much in Wakefield,i doubt you would recognize it now. In my opinion its now a take away & trendy bar lovers dream,ok if you like that kind of thing. I must say though it does have the best indian restaurant for miles around,the Raj ****! To this day i haven't found one that even nearly touches it. Sadly,the only thing i like about Wakefield is that is is convenient for all major motorways!

Back to eagerly awaited package. Thankfully the house number & post code are correct,so im pretty optimistic after you last post,so thankyou for that.
Its just the excitement thats getting to me now,similar to waiting for Christmas but instead of the presents i want the blue light!(if thats what colour it glows when powered up).

Anyway thanks again,
I'll keep you informed..

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We have lift off!
Jun 7, 2007 5:23AM PDT

Hi everyone. Just to let you know that the ibook is now alive & kicking! Well sort of..
The new parts worked a treat but the ibook is password locked. So im going to search for some info on the problem & hopefully i can sort it out. It did come with all the disks so im hoping there is a solution..
Thanks very much for you help Bob & P...
Bev

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And the solution is
Jun 7, 2007 6:58AM PDT

Boot the computer using Disk 1 of the Installation disks and you will find, in the menu bar, the Password Reset Utility.
Change all the passwords that are available to your.

Quit the installer and the machine will reboot. You will now be able to use the passwords that you changed to.

P

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Thankyou P
Jun 8, 2007 7:55PM PDT

the good news is its now unlocked,but i didn't use the right disk unfortunately. I used the first recovery disk of which there are four,so i think i wiped the hard drive & re-installed it. The bad news is i think its now loaded with just the basic ensemble that the factory would load it with. I don't think thats all bad though because it saves erasing all the previous owners bits & bobs.
The lad who bought the ibook had a quick trial on it last night & sadly isn't impressed with the OS. He's basically used to Windows. So am i,but im wanting to get familiar with the Apple software & i would also like a laptop. So im now the proud owner of the little ibook,which suits me fine!
I have just one query left now and i would be grateful for your input. To connect the ibook wirelessly to my router,or anywhere for that fact,do i have to install an airport card? This ibook is airport ready but doesnt have one fitted yet. I have seen usb ones on ebay that say they are compatible with apple's/mac's. Can i not use just any wireless adapter like my linksys?
Thanks
Bev

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No, you cannot use just anyone.
Jun 8, 2007 11:42PM PDT

Depending on the age and model of that iBook, an Airport card could be fairly cheap or very expensive.

I'll check which one of the two Airport cards it takes and get back with you.

There are a couple of USB plugin types that work with the Mac, there was a thread here a little while ago.

Later

P

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Ok thanks..
Jun 9, 2007 5:37AM PDT

Il check out the other threads in meantime. This ibook is i think 5 years old,G3,500-MHz & ready for airport wireless networking. I had it hooked up to the net briefly this morning via the blue ethernet cable and i think that was the first time it had ever been connected to the net,so everything needs updating. So i can't wait to get stuck in & get familiar with the OS..
Thanks P