Powerbook disassembly - bit-tech.net Forums

WilHarris · 21st Oct 2005, 12:50

http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2005/10...e_apart/1.html

-Xp- · 21st Oct 2005, 13:08

Wow, so it's actually possible to take one of those things apart? Crazy stuff!! It's such an anticlimax to see that there's simply "normal" hardware inside there. I was expecting magical glass tubes filled with blue plasma and lots of shiny round bits everywhere.

Da Dego · 21st Oct 2005, 13:37

It's so sad to think that this actually could qualify as modding for all the work you had to do...to replace a part that should be openly serviceable. Go apple.

That said, good job! Glad it works, and hope you don't keep it on your lap too much...

ElThomsono · 21st Oct 2005, 13:46

This x-ray's pretty cool:

Shows you how basic the battery really is.

RTT · 21st Oct 2005, 14:05

You actually wouldn't believe just how abused that laptop is. The pictures do it no justice

Andy Mc · 21st Oct 2005, 14:11

FYI: the wall paper in the last shot is another from little-gamers.com

Godboy_g · 21st Oct 2005, 14:18

Since you already had the case apart, you should have painted it..... It would look sweet with the Bit-tech logo on there.

xheadinthecloudsx · 21st Oct 2005, 15:14

Disassembly/repair guides for most powerbook/ibook models can be found on: http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide ... and they show you how to open it up without damaging the front of your optical drive.

r00t69 · 21st Oct 2005, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Xp-

I was expecting magical glass tubes filled with blue plasma and lots of shiny round bits everywhere.

Deep-Blue · 21st Oct 2005, 15:33

I feel your pain dude. My Powerbook 12" is starting to get a bit sluggish and occasionally doesn't boot either. Having said this, i think i still have the extended warrenty on this, so i may just have to give em a call.

Oh BTW, kudos on the great choice of wallpaper. Its funny how LG wallpaper and Macs just go hand in hand!

Shadow_101 · 21st Oct 2005, 16:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElThomsono

Shows you how basic the battery really is.

is that just 8 AA batts?

ElThomsono · 21st Oct 2005, 16:07

I don't think so, they're too big (using the HDD as a scale). Just that they've soldered together a load of cylinders and stuck them in a square box, not very space efficient

Gordy · 21st Oct 2005, 16:39

That poor powerbook. Don't know how you can give so much abuse to something that expensive

Arkuden · 21st Oct 2005, 16:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadow_101

is that just 8 AA batts?

no you can see the standard battery plugin the top right of the rectangular area that those tubes or cells cover. 8 cell battery i would imagine. At least ive heard of them being referred to as such becuase you can get an optional 12 cell battery with laptops as an option these days.

phantomxc · 21st Oct 2005, 17:19

If you think it was hard to get that thing open, try taking out a logic board and putting a new one in.

Meanmotion · 21st Oct 2005, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElThomsono

I don't think so, they're too big (using the HDD as a scale). Just that they've soldered together a load of cylinders and stuck them in a square box, not very space efficient

That's what all battery packs are - powertools, laptops, cameras, etc. That's why it's such a swizz when they charge you loads for them - and you know what it's not even the cells that go it's the controller boards on the packs.

DreamTheEndless · 21st Oct 2005, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Xp-

It's such an anticlimax to see that there's simply "normal" hardware inside there. I was expecting magical glass tubes filled with blue plasma and lots of shiny round bits everywhere.

...As I've been saying for years. SDRam, now DDR and DDR2 (ecc or not); scsi, IDE, sata; usb; pci; agp; pci-x; pci express....

My (now gone - donated to a good cause) beige 300mhz g3 powermac took SDram and had a pci video card. I know a long time ago they used different hardware than most of the x86 world, but times have changed.

And yet - you still have people who say you shouldn't buy a mac because you can't upgrade them or can't find parts for them......

I bought new ram for my sisters clamshell (toilet seat cover) iBook in the electronics section of the grocery store!!

Yes - it's the same hardware.

Sorry - just realized this was a rant and didn't mean it to be. It's just that this is a conversation that I have had too many times over the last several years. I have counted to 10. I am calm now. I swear.

(It's the same hardware.)

ElThomsono · 21st Oct 2005, 19:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meanmotion

That's what all battery packs are - powertools, laptops, cameras, etc. That's why it's such a swizz when they charge you loads for them - and you know what it's not even the cells that go it's the controller boards on the packs.

Yeah, but at least on my laptop they've accepted it, the battery pack looks like 2 long cylinders side by side, a sort of 8 shaped prism.

But yeah, batteries are a huge rip off

joshua · 21st Oct 2005, 19:28

Good to see you picked a non-Toshiba drive, crappy crappy drives. Not a lot of joy explaining to a user the benefits of loosing 5-7 years of email/files and to look at the positive benefits of the situation. To see the situation as a kind of data enema cleansing the bowels of their laptops.

I've had to do this today due to the failure of the same exact model drive you had, and replaced 20 over the last year. luckly toshiba's and hp's only have 2 screws holding drives in, makes replacing far easier.

BurntKona · 22nd Oct 2005, 11:13

Nice work disassembling. Got to do the same myself with an Acer Aspire 1500. I guess it isn't only Apple that doesn't believe in making things easy for the techy user to repair.

And it was a Toshiba drive that went Kaputt. 17 months old. At least it hinted at impending doom and back-ups were up to date.

21st Oct 2005, 12:50	#1
WilHarris Just another nobody Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Oxford Posts: 2,671	Powerbook disassembly http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2005/10...e_apart/1.html

21st Oct 2005, 13:37	#3
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	It's so sad to think that this actually could qualify as modding for all the work you had to do...to replace a part that should be openly serviceable. Go apple. That said, good job! Glad it works, and hope you don't keep it on your lap too much... __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

21st Oct 2005, 14:05	#5
RTT bwarp Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Berkshire Posts: 12,987	You actually wouldn't believe just how abused that laptop is. The pictures do it no justice __________________ This post is non-negotiable. All terms and conditions apply. Arguing on the internet is like competing in the special Olympics. Even if you win you're still a retard.

21st Oct 2005, 14:11	#6
Andy Mc Supermodder Join Date: May 2002 Location: Worcester, UK Posts: 489	FYI: the wall paper in the last shot is another from little-gamers.com __________________ "Seemed a harmless little ***........But we unleashed the lion" 'Jeremy' by Pearl Jam Last edited by Andy Mc; 21st Oct 2005 at 14:15. Reason: typo*

21st Oct 2005, 14:18	#7
Godboy_g Supermodder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 396	Since you already had the case apart, you should have painted it..... It would look sweet with the Bit-tech logo on there. __________________ I AM Backwards compatible!

21st Oct 2005, 13:08	#2
-Xp- Supermodder Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 557	Wow, so it's actually possible to take one of those things apart? Crazy stuff!! It's such an anticlimax to see that there's simply "normal" hardware inside there. I was expecting magical glass tubes filled with blue plasma and lots of shiny round bits everywhere.

21st Oct 2005, 13:46	#4
ElThomsono Mod Master Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dorset Posts: 2,254	This x-ray's pretty cool: Shows you how basic the battery really is.

21st Oct 2005, 15:14	#8
xheadinthecloudsx What's a Dremel? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: PA, US Posts: 2	Disassembly/repair guides for most powerbook/ibook models can be found on: http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide ... and they show you how to open it up without damaging the front of your optical drive.

21st Oct 2005, 15:33	#10
Deep-Blue Part-time Overclocker Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London, UK Posts: 106	I feel your pain dude. My Powerbook 12" is starting to get a bit sluggish and occasionally doesn't boot either. Having said this, i think i still have the extended warrenty on this, so i may just have to give em a call. Oh BTW, kudos on the great choice of wallpaper. Its funny how LG wallpaper and Macs just go hand in hand! __________________ [iMac C2D 2.4Ghz - 4Gb Memory 667Mhz - 320Gb HDD - 10.5] [Lenovo M55p Tower - Core2Duo E6300 1.83Ghz - 6GB DDR2 6400 - GeForce 7800GTX]

21st Oct 2005, 16:07	#12
ElThomsono Mod Master Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dorset Posts: 2,254	I don't think so, they're too big (using the HDD as a scale). Just that they've soldered together a load of cylinders and stuck them in a square box, not very space efficient

21st Oct 2005, 16:39	#13
Gordy Evil Teddy Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Bristol Posts: 2,485	That poor powerbook. Don't know how you can give so much abuse to something that expensive __________________ modding.gordyhand.co.uk

21st Oct 2005, 17:19	#15
phantomxc Multimodder Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 219	If you think it was hard to get that thing open, try taking out a logic board and putting a new one in. __________________ ?AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice?Sapphire X800 XT PE ?Abit AV8?1 gig 3200 giel?160 GB Western Digital 7200 ? FRIED EVERYTHING... 3DMark05 = 6306? "Last week, Japanese scientists placed explosive detanators at the bottom of lake Loch Ness, to blow Nessie out of the water..." Napolean Dynamite

21st Oct 2005, 19:28	#19
joshua What's a Dremel? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Omaha Posts: 3	Good to see you picked a non-Toshiba drive, crappy crappy drives. Not a lot of joy explaining to a user the benefits of loosing 5-7 years of email/files and to look at the positive benefits of the situation. To see the situation as a kind of data enema cleansing the bowels of their laptops. I've had to do this today due to the failure of the same exact model drive you had, and replaced 20 over the last year. luckly toshiba's and hp's only have 2 screws holding drives in, makes replacing far easier.

22nd Oct 2005, 11:13	#20
BurntKona What's a Dremel? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 15	Nice work disassembling. Got to do the same myself with an Acer Aspire 1500. I guess it isn't only Apple that doesn't believe in making things easy for the techy user to repair. And it was a Toshiba drive that went Kaputt. 17 months old. At least it hinted at impending doom and back-ups were up to date.