Dead iBook G3 800mhz

There is a hack you can do to that costs nothing and may revive your iBook. I have the same model and this trick worked - although not 100% reliably.

Take a stack of 4 business cards and tape them together. Remove the bottom panel of the iBook (it's tricky, but can be done if you are patient and don't try to force the bottom - look online for instructions for disassembling an iBook). With the bottom off, you will see an embossed square on lower side next to the battery bay. This is where the graphic chip sets. Tape the stack of business card over the embossed square and screw down the bottom case.

With any luck you will have re-seated the graphics chip and your iBook will work normally. Apple frowns of this sort of thing and they may remove my post. I can't recommend getting the logic board replaced since the G3 processor is so obsolete by now and Apple wants $350 for a new one. Good luck!

1Ghz Aluminum PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.1)

Hi, Christine. Welcome to Apple Discussions.

I see that my model iBook is a lemon.

That's a bit harsh, don't you think? A "lemon" wouldn't have worked this long for you. While some G3 Dual USB iBooks have had this problem, many more have not.

Has anyone here ever convinced them to fix this model out of warranty?

Yes, they are sometimes making an exception to the three-year rule of the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program, but, being mere users here, ourselves, we don't know what criteria are used to determine which iBooks qualify for the exception to the rule.

It would be my suggestion to try calling Apple again at (800) 767-2775 and ask for Customer Relations (NOT Customer Service--they can't help you) and ask them to please make an exception to the three-year limit in your case. Polite disappointment seems to get you further than angry demands.

If the answer from Apple is absolutely, positively, "NO!" and squeezing the case to the left of the trackpad seems to help, you may want to consider trying the shim fix suggested by John Sawyer in the Apple Discussions Displays Forum:

[Y]ou can often fix this yourself by removing the iBook's bottom housing, and placing a shim of any sort, about 1mm to 1.5mm thick, onto the raised square on the bottom shield. I use a Scotch mounting square--you can get them in hardware stores and many grocery stores. When you reinstall the bottom case, it will press against this shim, which will press against the graphics chip, and may allow the chip to come into better contact with the logic board.
John Sawyer
CJS Macintosh Repair

Instructions for removing the lower case:

iFixit.com

If Apple doesn't come through, and the shim fix doesn't work (or you're leery of trying it), DT & T Computer Services in Fremont, California offers the cheapest repair I've found. They have a six-month warranty on the repair.

Once you get it fixed, try never to pick it up by the left front corner alone. Rumor has it that can contribute to logic board failure when the case flexes, causing the graphics chip to come loose from the logic board. If you're picking it up in your left hand (as I often do mine), pick it up in the center under the trackpad.

Good luck.

Well, I don't consider mine a lemon, and it's been repaired three times.

I guess it's all in how you look at it. Sometimes bad things happen to good computers.

Well, I don't consider mine a lemon, and it's been
repaired three times.

I guess it's all in how you look at it. Sometimes bad
things happen to good computers.

Just an update to anyone following these threads regarding logic board failures. Last weekend the screen of my iBook G3 died, with all the symptoms described on here and on the repair extension webpage. It is a 3.5 year old computer, and has never had any other issues.

After following the advice of Rhonda, and giving Customer Relations a call (btw, in Canada it seems you can only get through to CR if you first call Customer Service and ask someone to patch you through), and discussing/pleading with them, they finally agreed to supply the part free of charge (I would have to pay for the labour). I informed them that my wife and I have both been loyal Mac users, were disapointed by this apparent design flaw and the prevalance that it had in this model of computer, but on top of this are both students and just couldn't afford a new Macbook right now. We both plan to buy Apple in the future, but wanted to feel confident that by paying more money for an Apple product we were getting a better product.

In the end the repair cost $120 CAD, and the computer was fixed in 5 days. So far it seems to be working, though I tell you that I am going to be very careful about how I pick it up from now on. I suspect the reason that it lasted this long is because it has spent a fair amount of it's time sitting flat on a desk.

I was just about ready to try the business card trick if they flat out refused, but I'd have to say they were pretty reasonable about the situation with me.

iBook G3 900MHz Mac OS X (10.4)

My iBook G3 800mhz screen died last December just
before final exams started. Basically the system has
all the symptoms of a logic board failure but it is 8
months out of the extension program. When I called
Applecare about it last week they had me talk to
Customer Relations who flat out refused to repair it
free. I explained that I had never even heard of the
logic board problem with this particular model or the
repair program and that if they're having so many
iBooks of the same model repaired free for the same
problem then mine should be fixed too. They didn't
have anything to say except they'd give me $100 off a
new system.

The more I look into this the more I see that my
model iBook is a lemon. Has anyone here ever
convinced them to fix this model out of warranty?
What did you say? Were there special circumstances
that mine doesn't fit? I paid for Applecare but Apple
doesn't care! I am a student paying all of my own
expenses and the cost of repair or a new computer is
just impossible for me. Does Apple really expect me
to throw out this computer after only 3 1/2 years? I
guess I could try Customer Relations again, but
what's the point. I have classes starting in 2 weeks
again and am computerless. Is there really nothing
Apple can do for me or am I a nobody to
them?

iBook G3 800mhz
Mac OS X (10.2.x)

It sounds like your situation is pretty similar to mine, so I'm not sure what criteria they use for making exceptions. Perhaps you could make them an offer similar to what they gave me?