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Sludgedragon

Q: Trying to put Pismo together

My scrap-assembled Pismo worked fine except it would not accept power from the plug, just from batteries. I started to take it apart to replace the sound/power board, but a screw is stuck, it turns but will not go up and down. Right now that one is in pieces in a box.

Meanwhile I got another. It would not start up, but I could tell it got power because when I put a battery in while it was plugged in, it charged. I switched out the daughtercard and RAM with the ones from the Pismo I already had, and the hard drive from it, and it started up fine. Even connected with Airport with a PC card.

I thought it was all good, but now it won't go. I have tried two different hard drives, each with its own cage and cable. Booted OK from the DVD drive, tried to install Panther, but it got stuck at "44%, 9 minutes remaining".

Now if I try to boot even from the HD with 9.2 on it, it either bongs and stays dark, or bongs, lights up, and stays with a blank light screen. What would most likely cause that?

I have booted again from Panther disk, erased the HD in it, and am now trying to install Panther again. I hope that works. I want to get it running and install the Airport card I have bought for it, and take it on a trip.

Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jun 27, 2008 9:25 PM

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Q: Trying to put Pismo together

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  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Jun 28, 2008 6:27 AM in response to Sludgedragon
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Jun 28, 2008 6:27 AM in response to Sludgedragon
    Here's some helpful laptop sites.

    Fix It Guides for Mac Laptops & Mini
    http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
    The guides can be viewed on-line or you can download a PDF file.

    How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble an Apple/Macintosh Laptop or Notebook
    http://repair4laptop.org/disassembly_apple.html

    PowerBookTech
    http://www.powerbooktech.com/
    (Note - PowerBookTech has some good info, however, some Mac users in other forums were having difficulty getting delivery on parts from them.)

    How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble an Apple/Macintosh Laptop or Notebook
    http://repair4laptop.org/disassembly_apple.html

    Laptop Repair Guides
    http://www.applerepairmanuals.com/#portables

    MicroDock
    http://www.microdocusa.com/

     Cheers, Tom
  • by Niteshooter,

    Niteshooter Niteshooter Jun 28, 2008 12:05 PM in response to Sludgedragon
    Level 2 (454 points)
    Jun 28, 2008 12:05 PM in response to Sludgedragon
    Hmm 90% of charging problems on a Pismo are due to cold soldier joints on the AC board plug if your UFO plug is a tight fit into the Pismo that is most likely the problem. If you stick your finger on the plug and push it around does it move? If yes then you need to soldier the lugs that attach it to the AC board. A stripped screw eh, you could try prying it up with a screwdriver as you turn it as the hole is done or the threaded collar has broken away from the plastic base.

    Deadski Pismo, from the initial problem I would have said dead pram. But what does the hard drive sound like. If it's the original and noisey toss it. I would also install Tiger instead of Panther. A 120 GB Seagate gives you lots of room and a performance boost.

    My checklist might be,
    -replace HD's
    -replace ribbon cable
    Granted how messed around with were these Pismo's when you got them?

    Kevin
  • by Sludgedragon,

    Sludgedragon Sludgedragon Jun 28, 2008 2:51 PM in response to Niteshooter
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 28, 2008 2:51 PM in response to Niteshooter
    Pismo 1 is from a super cheap box of 5 PB G3s "for parts only". It worked great except for the power plug issue. No problem with anything else, including the HD.

    I am sort of afraid to apply more prying force to Pismo 1 to get past the problem screw. I have plenty of replacement top and bottom case parts off eBay, but I don't want to hurt the other things inside because I may need them. I'm not sure the screw is stripped, it may have something sticking out that holds it from going up or down, and just lets it spin. I have lots of instructions on taking Pismos apart, but I got to the part where it says "it should come out easily" and it didn't!

    Pismo 2 I got for cheap off a member of a different forum. For the price I have absolutely no quibbles with it! It was iffy with both the HD that was in it when I got it, and the one from Pismo 1, and they each used their own cage and ribbon cable. After talking to someone else, I am afraid the real problem with Pismo 2 lies with the logic board. That makes me even more reluctant to use brute force on Pismo 1 because I may need that board!
  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Jun 28, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Sludgedragon
    Level 9 (60,884 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 28, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Sludgedragon
    I'm not sure the screw is stripped,


    If a screw does not go straight into plastic, it goes into a small brass barrel-shaped "nut" that is cast into the plastic. Niteshooter is right when he says pry up on the screw head as you spin the screw, and you will cause the "nut" to drag on the underside of something and eventually the screw will come free. You will likely be faced with gluing the "nut" back into the plastic -- no big deal.

    The other "school of hard knocks" advice I learned when I was in college, had no many, and my car was broken. It can't be any worse than "won't go". If you want to go somewhere, fiddle with it. You can't make it any worse.
  • by Sludgedragon,

    Sludgedragon Sludgedragon Jun 30, 2008 7:53 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 30, 2008 7:53 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    I bit the bullet and gave the upper case a good strong yank/pry with a flathead screwdriver, and it came off, but the plastic directly around the screw head remained. It took quite a while to wrangle the plastic out, and a while longer to unscrew it with the tips of a curved nail scissors under it to get it out.

    Now I have to wit until I get some more time in a chunk before I can do the next steps! :P