Mac Forum / General / Hardware / August 2004

In article
<dck-3EEDFC.16130208082004@nntp.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>,

That sounds like a serious hardware problem: no startup chime and the
screen stays black.

There are a several people that specialize in PowerBook repairs, parts,
etc. I had problems with my WallStreet a while ago and got good service
from one of them. They are listed below.

Otherwise, there are a few ways you friend might be able to retrieve her
thesis papers:

1. Get another Mac PowerBook and put her hard drive in it.
2. Get a USB or Firewire enclosure for the drive (enclosures are
commercially available from various sources) and connect it to a working
Mac.

Some possible places for repair and advice:

http://www.pbparts.com/

http://www.powerbookguy.com/

A Google search on Powerbook will turn up a bunch of others.

Bill

On 8/8/04 3:11 PM, in article
dck-3EEDFC.16130208082004@nntp.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com, "David C King"
<dck@myprivacy.ca> wrote:

Reseat the processor. You can get to it under the keyboard.

I have a wall street, so I'll take a stab at helping you.  Hope it
helps.  I'm not an 'puter mechanic, so whatever I offer is just off the
top of my head (um... which is a lot like guessing).

There's no fan.  What you hear is the hard drive.  If the hard drive is
spinning, that's a good sign.

The light you describe is on the hinge bracket?  And the screen is
dark.  Hmmm.  Two items having to do with hinges.  Those hinges don't
last forever, you know, especially if the hinges have been stressed
(dropped or mishandled, closed with something between halves near the
hinges).  If that's what the problem is, then look around the Mac
repair shops, you can buy a used Wall Street for the price of a hinge
repair (a major job, couple of hundred at least).  Swap in your old
hard drive and you're in business.

Has the battery ever been replaced?  Batteries don't last forever.  I
have always been under the impression that the battery need to be good
and inserted/seated properly for the computer to work right, even when
used with AC power.

If you're talking thesis papers, then quit messing around with the
computer until you get some real help.  I would have a mac shop put the
hard drive into something compatible, cut a CD with what you want
(thesis papers), then do a complete backup to CD's.  I mean, if the
only copies of your thesis papers are on this hard drive, then I would
not troubleshoot the computer myself and continually try to restart it.

Good luck.  And thanks for reminding me that it's time to do a complete
backup.

G3 Wall Street 233mhz/40gig/384megs/OS-8.6
(soon to be replaced)

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In article
<dck-3EEDFC.16130208082004@nntp.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, David C
King <dck@myprivacy.ca> wrote: