buying a used ibook, my old powerbook died.

[beatle888]

my 667mhz tibook finally died. now im without a computer but i have to buy something for my general business computing needs. thing is i cant seem to make myself buy anything right now.

the ibooks/powerbooks/mini......jeeze, i dont want to throw down that amount of cash for something that might not even be able to run leopard very well. and what about the dead G4 processor?

so my question is. should i just buy an old G3 ibook off of ebay? this would do fine for my general business needs. until apple can produce something im willing to lose cash on like the ibook with the intel processor i just dont feel comfortable investing in the Gfreaken4.

 

[aquajet]

the ibooks/powerbooks/mini......jeeze, i dont want to throw down that amount of cash for something that might not even be able to run leopard very well. and what about the dead G4 processor?

Honestly I think your fears are completely unwarranted. What makes you think a current machine you can purchase from the Apple Store now won't work very well with Leopard? I'm typing this on my Sawtooth 450 Mhz (from 1999!) I just got for pennies, and it runs Panther remarkably well. This type of thinking will almost always drive you to psychosis, there's always going to be something better tomorrow. Buy for today.

As for an iBook G3...those machines are a lot slower than tha current machines, including the $499 Mac mini. And since the newest iBook G3 is 2 years old, you can count on paying another $100 + for a new battery.

 

[beatle888]

I'm typing this on my Sawtooth 450 Mhz (from 1999!) I just got for pennies, and it runs Panther remarkably well.

what computer are you using? is that a desktop or laptop? see thats what im saying, should i buy a laptop for pennies? its for emailing, surfing, playing itunes, watching dvds (would a G3 laptop play dvds?) and taking care of the "books" for my business.


Edit: just saw your signature.

 

[California]

Apple will replace your logic board on the 667 for 300 plus bucks as I recall. I am a Tibook fan and it may tide you over until we know what the new PBs are like.

Also check your motherboard battery? My old 400 Tibook got fried somehow on a Panther update and it shut down the machine. Fixed it for 60 bucks.

Finally, if your 667 is a DVI machine, you could get a 1gig logic board for like 400 bucks and update your old PB until the new PBs come out.

 

[aquajet]

my 667mhz tibook finally died.

Do you know what's wrong with it? If it's a bad logic board that'll cost $300 and change like California wrote, it's still a better deal to fix it than to find a used iBook.

 

[beatle888]

well....i didnt really want to post WHY it died cause...um, it makes me look like a dumbass.


so anyway, the fan died. i bought another one but then i couldnt find the instruction manual i bought online as a downloadable pdf so i couldnt install the fan...I realized it was still ok to run my powerbook with the external power cord. i would do web surfing mainly and put it to sleep when i wasnt using it. then one day my computer screen flashed like static on a TV and it went black after making screaching sounds and i started to smell something hot...so i pulled the plug and now it wont start at all. when i press the power button the only thing that happens is it starts to smell like smoke with that distinct electrical quality to it.

and the bummer is i was just starting to pay off my bills and my laptop died. i tell you, some people just cant break even. if i told you the whole story you wouldnt believe it....put it this way, two days before my laptop died i lost something that was about three times the cost of the powerbook.....shakes head.

so anyway.

 

[beatle888]

Do you know what's wrong with it? If it's a bad logic board that'll cost $300 and change like California wrote, it's still a better deal to fix it than to find a used iBook.

how do you know if its the logic board? is there a good instruction manual on how to replace it?




Edit: well, i found logic boards for $499. it seems pretty easy to install. ive replaced drives and ram before. the only other thing i'd need to do is remove the airport card, modem, keyboard, and possibly the CD drive.


$499 seems a bit much...how do i know if its the logic board? i know it sounds like it is but how do i check?

 

[California]

First off, I had a 500 Tibook that did the same thing. Smoked and died. Fried the power supply in.

Second off, I think the 667 VGA or DVI (what do you have?) has a SEPARATE power board attached to the main logic board called a DCI inboard or something. As a matter of fact, I bought one because I thought I could use it for my fried 500 Tibook but the boards were updated and changed -- the DCI board is only for latter model Tibooks, probably like yours. (you can have this little thing, still in its bubble wrap for 10 bucks, what I paid, if you think you need it).

Third off, If I were you -- I'd first determine the problem by going to XCL8YRMAC.com (I think that is the site) that has diagrams and links to diagrams on how to fix/diagnose/replace your logic board.

Fourth off, if you determine the whole 667 logic board is fried, and you have a DVI machine, I would personally update to a 1gig logic board (you need to install the second fan as well) and enjoy the top of the Tibook line in speed. If you have a 667 VGA model, and you determine you need a whole new logic board, I would just send it back to Apple for their out of warranty logic board replacement program at 300 plus bucks (might be 350.) It would come with a new warranty and you would not get your hands dirty. There is some guy on eBay, named Ed something, who will also upgrade your Tibook to 1gig for soemthing like 600 bucks if you send it to him, maybe work out a deal. But first, find out if you've got a DVI or VGA machine, etc.

good luck and I'd save the tibook personally instead of a new ibook.

 

[beatle888]

thanks for the reply California.

i'll go to XCL8YRMAC.com to see if i can diagnose the problem. and i'll defenetely check out apples logic board options. i'll keep you all posted.

 

[gammamonk]

Personally, I would never sink repair money into a machine that old. Why not get something cheap to get you buy for a year or so until the intel machine you REALLY want comes out?

Over at apple.com right now, you can get a refurbished mac mini for $429 with free shipping. After a year, when you see the powerbook of your dreams, you can sell the mini for $200 on ebay, and have spent only $229 in a year.

Of course I'm assuming you have a monitor around and a keyboard/mouse.

 

[bodeh6]

I would check out the iBook. For $1000, you can get the stock 12" which should be much better then spending $500 on your old PB only for it to break again in a few months.

 

[California]

Uh, you guys see the kind of money Tibooks get in auction? I think he's safe with upgrading/repairing his PB for the next year until the new PBs. Then he can part out the Tibook and make even more cash.

And Bodeh6, if he goes through Apple, he'll have a warranty on his old PB.

 

[aquajet]

Personally, I would never sink repair money into a machine that old. Why not get something cheap to get you buy for a year or so until the intel machine you REALLY want comes out?

Over at apple.com right now, you can get a refurbished mac mini for $429 with free shipping. After a year, when you see the powerbook of your dreams, you can sell the mini for $200 on ebay, and have spent only $229 in a year.

Of course I'm assuming you have a monitor around and a keyboard/mouse.

And if Beatle doesn't have one, that adds a lot to the total cost. As mentioned before, Ti Books still go for ungodly amounts of money on ebay.

 

[beatle888]

i talked to the people at the apple genius bar and they said to send it in for repair would be about $700 dollars.

California] where did you see an offer for 667 logic boards for $300? i could only find them for $499.

 

[moonislune]

Some g3 and g4 thoughts

i talked to the people at the apple genius bar and they said to send it in for repair would be about $700 dollars.

California] where did you see an offer for 667 logic boards for $300? i could only find them for $499.

I'd definitely have your system diagnosed if you can do so for under a bill and get it fixed for the price of what it would cost you to get into a used ibook that you can afford. If you decide to go the used ibook route, a few thoughts....

If you are just running office apps (like Quicken 05 or Office 04), using Safari, using iphoto to upload pictures, editing video in imovie hd, and watching some mpg clips the g3's can handle it. The video compression is SLOW though. Safari runs fine and is noticeably quicker with built in ethernet than Aiport. Airport(G3) is pretty slow compared to Airport Extreme(g4). Don't put too much credit into this but the Ibook G3 reception sucks compared to AE in the g4 (especially if you are in concrete buildings or older buildings with thick walls). You'll also want to make sure you get a decent battery in a used Ibook G3 or G4 or spend another bill to get a good one.

If at all possible go for the newest you can afford. While Macs have a long shelf life, a g4 ibook will atleast give you core image and quartz extreme with a better memory bus speed. And who really knows how long g4s will be supported after MacTel???

 

[California]

i talked to the people at the apple genius bar and they said to send it in for repair would be about $700 dollars.

California] where did you see an offer for 667 logic boards for $300? i could only find them for $499.

Beatle888 -- I was on the phone directly to Apple a month or so ago, wondering if they would sell me a 1 gig logic board for a tibook. They said that they only had an exchange program for the same CPU speed on a tibook logic board that was bad; it was 300 or 350. Definitely 3 hundred plus dollars. Good deal; call them directly on the 667 with out of warranty serial number ready. They said that price on logic boards was for out of warranty machines...

 

[840quadra]

coming from the other side of this, after buying a broken iBook on Ebay, Here are my thoughts.

I just put together an iBook from ebay, because someone sold a broken one SUPER cheap because they didn't know how to fix it. I considered it for about an hour before buying it, and I found a good site in regards to how to replace components on an ibook . I ended up buying a broken ibook 600, and on a separate auction a logic board for it.

In about 4 hours time, I was able to replace the logic board, and now have a fully working iBook 600 (My first Apple Portable computer).

I would strongly recommend fixing the Powerbook over parting it out and selling it. This G3 600 is able to run LOTS of applications. I can imagine your Powerbook with a 667 and Altivec is much better. Granted neither are as fast as my Dual G5, they still pack quite a punch.

While waiting on parts to fix the TiBook, I would consider looking at a used G3 (B&W) or G4 Powermac on Ebay (something that has Panther or Tiger is a plus). You could use that to tide you over while you fix the Powerbook. As an other poster on here said, you can sell your TiBook later after it is working, for a Killer price.

I am strongly considering selling this ibook, because the way it is configured now (airport, 640 memory, Tiger, and a mouse) I could get over $500 (on ebay), and I only have ~$350 into it. Refurbished ibook 1.2GHZ computers sell for only $799 on the Apple store, and that is a great price considering what is on Ebay, and considering Apple will give you a 1 year warranty, WITH the option of Applecare within a year (like NEW). Clearly MANY of the people paying $500+ for G3 ibooks are clueless to this, unless for some reason (outside of my knloldege) Ibook 600's are a hot item!

I am most likely going to keep this iBook (I am an apple collector and I am thinking about giving it to my mom), but the idea of selling it for $500+ and buying a Refurbished G4 iBook is tempting.

Here is a good site with directions on how to dismantle and repair iBooks and Powerbooks.

http://www.pbfixit.com/cart/catalog/

 

[beatle888]

well i did it. i decided to save my tibook. i brought it to the genius bar and they said as long as it didnt look like the logic board was abused, hence causing it to fry then they would replace it for $310


this is great news since im really trying to pay off my credit cards and dont want to have to buy a new computer.



thank you all for suggesting the apple $310 solution and encouraging me to fix the old. i feel better about it too. makes me feel good for fixing something instead of just trashing it. i'll post again once apple sends it back to me.


thanks again,

beatle888

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

well i did it. i decided to save my tibook. i brought it to the genius bar and they said as long as it didnt look like the logic board was abused, hence causing it to fry then they would replace it for $310


this is great news since im really trying to pay off my credit cards and dont want to have to buy a new computer.



thank you all for suggesting the apple $310 solution and encouraging me to fix the old. i feel better about it too. makes me feel good for fixing something instead of just trashing it. i'll post again once apple sends it back to me.


thanks again,

beatle888

That's great! I thought it would be more expensive than $310, as my repair for an earlier PowerBook (G3 WallStreet) died and logic board went, and was a $650+ repair. Times have changed, evidentley

 

[chaos86]

tense

if youre considering using a 4 year old ibook now for 'general business needs', then you can use a G4 in 4 more years for 'general business needs'. in fact, you could have used the 4 year old G3 youre looking at for 4 more years of 'general business needs'. call me old fashioned but i feel lonely in my faith in the powerpc.

if it has firewire and can take 512 mb of ram it will do 'general business' work with mac os 10.x for a good long while.

 

[beatle888]

if youre considering using a 4 year old ibook now for 'general business needs', then you can use a G4 in 4 more years for 'general business needs'. in fact, you could have used the 4 year old G3 youre looking at for 4 more years of 'general business needs'. call me old fashioned but i feel lonely in my faith in the powerpc.

if it has firewire and can take 512 mb of ram it will do 'general business' work with mac os 10.x for a good long while.

well, i know i COULD use a G3 for "general business needs" but that was a term i used to describe the very basic needs of my computing. and i didnt want to buy something now that would ultimately be more "taxed" by software and the OS as time goes on. really, who knows how well an older G3/G4 will do when the intel switch takes place. the newer G5s are a different story....sorry if im not making sense i gotta go and im posting quick quick quick....see you all soon.

 

[DakotaGuy]

The iBook G4's are a much more reliable computer then the iBook G3's. Seems the G3's had a lot of problems with frying the logic boards. If you are going to buy an iBook I would find a used G4 model.

 

[California]

well i did it. i decided to save my tibook. i brought it to the genius bar and they said as long as it didnt look like the logic board was abused, hence causing it to fry then they would replace it for $310


this is great news since im really trying to pay off my credit cards and dont want to have to buy a new computer.



thank you all for suggesting the apple $310 solution and encouraging me to fix the old. i feel better about it too. makes me feel good for fixing something instead of just trashing it. i'll post again once apple sends it back to me.

thanks again,

beatle888

Hey beatle888, just had to buy a new logic/board processor for my new used 1ghz Tibook and they are charging me $349, so consider yourself lucky. However, I THINK they are also going to look at the dying hard drive and superdrive too; would be great if they fixed or swapped me new ones. LET US KNOW how your Tibook works when you get it back!