Smell coming from iBook after fall

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Peter Renzland - 25 Sep 2004 01:25 GMT

Two months ago my 3 year old iBook took a fall.
The only obvious damage was that the latch broke.

Other than that it kept working just fine.
Shortly after the fall I installed 512 MB RAM.
Some time after that I noticed a strange smell,
like burnt electronics. I thought it might be
the new RAM burning in ...

A few days ago I put the new 512MB RAM in the other iBook
and replaced the old 256MB back into the first iBook.

But the smell stayed with the old iBook, not the new RAM.

I am selling the old iBook, but now I am concerned about the
smell. I don't want it to be some kind of toxic outgassing.

It smells from the back (hinge), even when off and cold.

I realize that I haven't provided a lot if hard data, but
perhaps someone else has experienced something similar
and recognizes these symptoms.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Signature

Peter

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Chris Brown - 27 Sep 2004 01:22 GMT

> Two months ago my 3 year old iBook took a fall.
> The only obvious damage was that the latch broke.
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help or suggestions.

I had a motherboard in a PB fuse some months ago; the case had moved
just slightly and caused a short. I located it as it was happening
because I could see the glow through the gap surrounding the battery
module...
The residual evidence was visible black deposit across one of the board
tracks.

Chris Brown
Neurosurgery
University of Adelaide

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Gnarlodious - 27 Sep 2004 03:11 GMT

Entity Peter Renzland spoke thus:

> I thought it might be the new RAM burning in ...

Uhhh... I don't think that's what they mean by "burning in".

-- Gnarlie
"The White House has always attracted the mentally ill".
Secret Serviceman Vincent Charles, explaining why
security was heightened around the White House

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Peter Renzland - 28 Sep 2004 12:21 GMT

The smell is more a nauseating chemical odour than "burnt".

I did move about the same time as the fall, into a much smaller space.
And quite a few times I would close the window because of smokers
outside, and then forget to re-open it.

The fall could have been a coincidence.

Been wondering why I have been feeling so bad.
Thought it was (just) post-move dpression.

Here's what I found:

http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/odor.shtml

Or perhaps something is heating up near some chemical coating
material and making it vaporize odors?

-- Peter

> Two months ago my 3 year old iBook took a fall.
> The only obvious damage was that the latch broke.
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help or suggestions.

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Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / September 2004

Smell coming from iBook after fall