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c_w_arnold

Q: ibook G4 logic board fix

I have two 12" ibook G4 laptops. The logic board in one failed about six months ago. I didn't try to hard to fix it because it was my roommate's and mine still worked fine (he bought a new Powerbook). Last week when trying to start up my ibook the screen went dark and the fan made a loud whirring noise, the exact same thing the other ibook had done. After doing some digging today it appears this is an issue with the ibook G4s, most of which fall outside of Apple's logic board replacement program. The problem seems to be that the case of the G4 (and possibly the soldering on the GPU) is defective. The case allows the logic board to flex, which causes the (possibly defective) soldering on the GPU to seperate, disconnecting it from the board. I just talked with Apple support and was told that they were not willing to fix my ibook unless I paid, which seems a bit unfair to me considering the product is defective, but OK, life's unfair, no need to dwell on it.

My question is: it seems that the hack for fixing defective G3s is easier because the GPU is mounted on the underside of the logic board. Has anyone found a reliable fix for G4s?

Also, if this has happened to you, please let Apple know about it. Maybe they will extend the replacement program (again).

Thanks!

Corey

PS. Here are a few relevant links:

http://www.applefritter.com/node/10193

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1369476

http://www.powerbook-fr.com/ibook/bricolage/repairg3_video_enarticle797.html

ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

   

Posted on Sep 8, 2006 2:57 PM

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Q: ibook G4 logic board fix

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  • by keith_deininger,

    keith_deininger keith_deininger Dec 6, 2006 10:39 PM in response to ramvem
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 6, 2006 10:39 PM in response to ramvem
    Well, have some bad news for everyone, the system board failed completely now.

    Everything had been fine for more than 3 months and looked like smooth sailing. But just the other night the screen went haywire and a puff of smoke came out the back of the unit and shut down completely.

    No power, no boot at all, not even a fan noise now. So it seems that when the chip begins to fail, it is only time before it fails entirely.

    I will be getting a new Mac Book Pro in a few weeks. I still love Mac and will continue to buy the products. I will be selling off the working components on Ebay so if anyone is looking for 1 GB of RAM, and Airport 2 card, extra keyboard, case and screen, CD drive, external power supply and 2 good batteries (sorry no HDD will use that for additional storage with the new system). Be on the look out for them in a few weeks. Will post a link to the items.

    Keith
  • by Oli2p4,

    Oli2p4 Oli2p4 Dec 10, 2006 1:24 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 10, 2006 1:24 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Hi everyone.
    I just have the same problem (or similar), black screen suddenly, just when I wake up the ibook. Sometimes with to sleep again and wake up the screen turn on, sometimes I had the fan noise and the only way to use the compute was turn off pressing the power key some seconds ...
    But today I try to put the old battery (I have a new battery from the Battery Exchange Program) and now it looks to work fine. Can the new battery have relation with the problem?
  • by Peter Berical,

    Peter Berical Peter Berical Dec 14, 2006 8:40 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 14, 2006 8:40 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    My iBook G4 from late 2004 has developed the same problem in the last two weeks, screen goes black for no apparent reason, other than possible heat build-up. This comes weeks after the mouse began going erratic on my other iBook G4. Very discouraging.

    I do feel that Apple should address this production problem - it seems that a lot of others are having this issue. A 2 year old laptop should have this problem.

    As a possible solution, the external display adapter still works, so if one has an old monitor (VGA) or extra TV around you can hook the iBook up to that.

    iBook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  
  • by Rob Hammond,

    Rob Hammond Rob Hammond Dec 14, 2006 11:19 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 14, 2006 11:19 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Well, you can add me as another victim of this issue from the sounds of it. It happened literally without warning and until I found this thread, I had no clue what had just happened.

    And my iBook G4 1.2Ghz turns 2 in just a few days too...

    I'm going to see if I can get the thing working agian, with thanks to all the excellent help that is available on this thread.
  • by Rob Hammond,

    Rob Hammond Rob Hammond Dec 14, 2006 11:28 PM in response to Rob Hammond
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 14, 2006 11:28 PM in response to Rob Hammond
    Well, now... this probably isn't good. It doesn't seem to even power on anymore (SIGH I think I just lost it...)
  • by slicknick,

    slicknick slicknick Dec 15, 2006 1:35 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2006 1:35 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    I had the entire logic board on my 1,2ghz 12" iBook G4 replaced back in may on Apples expense (thanks, Norwegian consumer legislation) following the symptoms you described.

    However, now the error occurs again, and it is obviously a hardware issue: none of Apples 101-fixes helps (PRAM, PMU, etc) but leaning on the left palmrest with my elbow does, and voila the machine chimes and boots. When I remove the elbow, graphics fail pretty much immediately.

    This level of build quality is a disgrace to Apple; I would have expected a brand new logic board to handle more than seven months of regular use.

    Rather than covering the 800$ replace-and-repair or producing new G4 logic boards altogether, it seems reasonable that Apple offer MB replacements for all affected customers or offer 800$ discounts on new portables.

    iBook G4 1,2ghz   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   1,2gb ram, 80gb hdd
  • by Rob Hammond,

    Rob Hammond Rob Hammond Dec 15, 2006 5:31 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 15, 2006 5:31 AM in response to c_w_arnold
    Well, allowing the unit to cool down overnight has brought it back to it's original problematic state (hopefully, it was just something overheated breifly that caused the no-power scenario).

    My symptoms seem very similar to the ones described here, the movitor actually flickers on briefly and goes off during the bootup process (I get the grey Apple logo and then, bam, it's black (but the apple logo on the cover stays lit).

    No amount of presure I've been able to provide to the left palm-rest has brought the screen back yet.

    Unfortunately, with almost 2 years of ownership, it doesn't seem likely that I'll get any kind of break from Apple.
  • by slicknick,

    slicknick slicknick Dec 15, 2006 7:02 AM in response to Rob Hammond
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2006 7:02 AM in response to Rob Hammond
    Rob: Maybe you're having problems with a different component?

    After pressing the power button (without applying any pressure to the palmrest), my iBook doesn't give a startup (ROM) chime, the screen stays as black as ever, the fans get spinning and mostly accelerate into the characteristic mooing sound.

    ..and that's exactly the same symptoms my previous faulty logic board had. Meaning you can change these logic boards indefinitely to no avail, giving you only (800$ worth of) temporary relief until the next board fails.
  • by Rob Hammond,

    Rob Hammond Rob Hammond Dec 20, 2006 10:47 PM in response to slicknick
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 20, 2006 10:47 PM in response to slicknick
    The irony should not be easily lost on this one.

    I was replying to this thread while typing on my working iBook G4. My roommate had assisted me because he is a bit more familiar and we had surmised that there may have been a short.

    He was able to keep the laptop running without the bottom on for several hours and we figured that since the problems started shortly afterwards, something might be shorting out. We removed the EMI shield and the laptop seemed to work fine.

    He did note a frayed wire near the hinge. It is black and runs near the hinge on the left side (looking from the 'front' of the iBook). It is a fairly thick wire, so several strands were cut from the orginal. We surmised that the frayed wiring was coming in contact with metal (The EMI Shield) and something was shorting out.

    We also had to do a PRAM reset a few times, and an icorrect clock date would come up briefly, seeming to support our theory.

    Well, as I said, I was responding to this thread on the iBook. I moved slightly and adjusted the iBook from the left front corner and wouldn't you know it... **** thing went dead again.

    I popped off the bottom and proceeded to wrap the damaged wire up. Not easy. However, the unit remains dead. I get power, I hear the HD spin up a bit, but no chime. No whirring fan either.

    My train trip is 6 AM Friday morning and I have no laptop for the trip right now (and it's been up and down like a yo-yo for me all week).

    I just need it to last the next two weeks until I get back from my trip and it can die then if it needs to. But I don't know if I can get it running again, and keep it running, for the duration.
  • by DKay,

    DKay DKay Jan 1, 2007 8:10 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2007 8:10 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    this describes my problem perfectly!
  • by Zteve,

    Zteve Zteve Jan 1, 2007 10:32 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2007 10:32 PM in response to c_w_arnold
    Heat is a major factor. If I do not use my IBook for an hour and the charger is not connected, I will be able to boot up the computer. 10 minutes later the screen freezes and and I am unable to subsequently boot up until it rests for an hour again.
  • by Nels81,

    Nels81 Nels81 Jan 2, 2007 7:25 AM in response to Zteve
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 2, 2007 7:25 AM in response to Zteve
    I have just called Apple in Cork, Ireland about this problem. Both technical support and customer relations will still not sympathise.

    Arghhh! What will it take to get recognised? I beg everyone with this problem to log a call with Apple. Please get a case reference number too.

    I'm about to draft a long letter of complaint with evidence of their lacklustre manufacturing quality.

    Apple, please please recall this iBook G4. You've already made your millions from us punters!

    Neil
  • by Nels81,

    Nels81 Nels81 Jan 2, 2007 8:05 AM in response to Nels81
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 2, 2007 8:05 AM in response to Nels81
    Okay - I'm on the phone to Apple now and am providing evidence to my support case with them by giving them the URL of this discussion, the petition and the fix it guides. I'm not opening my iBook and want compensation. I'm prepared to begin a legal argument about this defective product!
  • by -PhS-,

    -PhS- -PhS- Jan 2, 2007 8:46 AM in response to Nels81
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jan 2, 2007 8:46 AM in response to Nels81
    Also got the same problem on my iBook 12". I fixed it using the guide ... but it's not as stable. Sometimes the screen goes black (still running) I just have to force a power down (keeping the power bouton pressed) and restart the ibook .

    As I have opened it I doubt Apple will ever fix mine. (early 2005 1.2GHz model)

    Keep up the "fight"
  • by Heather Amska,

    Heather Amska Heather Amska Jan 2, 2007 10:33 PM in response to Nels81
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Jan 2, 2007 10:33 PM in response to Nels81
    Please, please keep us updated on your discussions with Apple. I had no luck after speaking with them multiple times, and was quoted $1000CAN from 2 different Apple service centers for the logic board. As a student, I can't afford the fix or a new computer. I've been using Apple since 91, and have never bought AppleCare because I'm used to their products lasting (ie. my 1989 IIci still runs beautifully). I wish they would extend the recall program.

    iBook G4 933mhz   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  
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