Powerbook G4 15'' Display issues after hinge repair

Question

Powerbook G4 15'' Display issues after hinge repair

I'm 14 years old and very handy with tech. I found a PowerBook G4 and a IMac G5 in the trash last year with my buddy while we were doing community service. I took the Powerbook and my buddy took the Imac. The powerbook had a broken hinge, which he fixed with superglue. A year later he gave it to me, and has even attempted to start it up. I tried starting it up, and it just game me a white display after troubleshooting (resetting pram, ext). I took it to my local Apple Reseller and the lead repair guy said it looked as though it was not just the backlight. I took it home, plugged it into my Cinema Display, and it worked! Any ideas on my display issues?

Powerbook G4 1ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Feb 7, 2011 4:47 PM

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Answer 1

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 8, 2011 11:22 AM in response to Will the FCP Dude

Your Tibook's LVDS video cable was damaged when the hinge broke and needs to be replaced if you want the built-in display to work again. Getting the display assembly apart to replace the cable and then putting it back together again is a miserable, very time-consuming job, in the course of which you stand a pretty good chance of damaging the LCD panel, the new video cable, the inverter cable, the sleep light cable, or any combination of the above. If you decide to tackle it anyway, you will certainly want to replace the hinges (both of them) while you're in there.

http://home.comcast.net/~macdan/tibook_display.html

There's no way in the world that the value of your antique Powerbook justifies this input of time and money at this late date, but if you're just up for a project, go crazy.

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Answer 2

Feb 9, 2011 2:37 PM in response to eww

Would any of these cables work?
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Powerbook-G4-Aluminum-G4-Display-Cable-LVDS-15-p-1 6610.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-POWERBOOK-G4-15-LCD-VIDEO-CABLE-TOP-COVERW0QQitemZ320526721331QQcategoryZ31569QQcmdZViewItem#ht_1221wt907

Is this a definite fix?
How long will it take me to complete the repair?

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Answer 3

Feb 16, 2011 10:52 PM in response to Will the FCP Dude

It would probably be better to get a used display module. Search Google for "661-2748 display" and you will find a number of them hanging around. That way, you don't have to muck with the hinges or the cable or disembowel the display, which usually doesn't turn out very well.

Google also to find the Apple service manual, which was titled, I think, pbg4_1Ghz.pdf, and get hold of that file.

Finally, the whole process requires removing and replacing the logic board, and a whole lot more stuff, and you will probably need to get some thermal strips 922-4626 to replace the compound that was on the CPU case. This is crucial: *you have to follow the instructions in the Apple manual exactly*.

Figure a two or three hours or more, as you really have to disembowel the laptop to get the display out and put the new one in. It's not a pleasant process. Only undertake it if you really have the time to kill, because frankly it's probably not actually worth it at the present age of the machine.

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