Recycled Computing

Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook

- 2010.03.17

Popularity:

Short link: http://bit.ly/axAwUA

In the movie The Coneheads, Baldar is tasked to "snarful the garflax" when he returns to Remulak, the planet of his origin. Using a Titleist golf ball and an improvised 5 iron, Baldar defeats the garflax (sort of a Star Wars monster on a smaller scale), enabling his return to Earth.

12 inch PowerBook with keyboard removed
12" PowerBook with keyboard removed.

When you go to strip apart an Apple laptop, you have to remove the keyboard.

Now once you remove the keyboard from my old Pismo, you have access to the processor, AirPort Card, RAM, and hard drive.

Not so with the 12" PowerBook G4. First, you have to take out the battery (not so tough, since mine is minus the battery cover) and take out the RAM. The RAM is located under a door on the bottom of the unit. Four screws hold it in place, and voilà! RAM upgrades are possible.

I happened to have a 256 MB chip lying around and was able to upgrade to 384 MB. This will not be enough to run Leopard, so I might have to spend money! Shock! (So far, I have not had to buy a thing.)

Good news, though. A 1 GB chip is available for the PowerBook G4, and combined with the 128 MB chip soldered on the board, it should allow for some frisky operation under Leopard.

The garflax Off comes the keyboard, and here comes the critical part.

These two connectors handle the power to the on/off switch above the keyboard and the lead from the speakers to the mainboard. Yes, this is the garflax! Proceed with caution from this point on: If you ruin the connector on the board, you will render the computer useless. (I know, you could buy a new mainboard, but really, that costs money!) Do not pull on the leads going into the connector. Be very, very afraid.

I use the smallest (and it is tiny) flat blade jeweler's screw driver to get the male half of the connection out of the female half, which is anchored to the board. I do this very slowly and gently. This is the garflax of the whole process.

Swapping the hard drive Now you can breath. The top cover comes off (more careful prying), and this reveals the guts of the PowerBook. Wow, is everything packed in there! Replacing the hard drive is pretty easy. I'm going to take this opportunity to swap out the old 80 GB drive with a new 160 GB drive.

At this point, I am going to give you one more vital tip. There are two "studs" (yes, I am revealing my automotive past) that hold the heat sink to the mainboard. 2 bolts hold the heat sink to the mainboard If the bolts they screw onto (on the board) are loose, removing the studs is next to impossible. Yes, I removed them, but it was not a joyful moment. When you remove the mainboard from the bottom of the case, make sure that you tighten these bolts.

This is where I stopped figuring things out myself. From this point on, I used the teardown instructions at iFixit and a handy video at PowerBook Medic to tear apart the G4 the rest of the way. If it wasn't for sites like these, DIYers like myself would be lost in the woods.

My original plan was to use the LCD from a 12" iBook to replace the dead one in the PowerBook. However, the wires going from the LCD on the iBook to the inverter on the PowerBook are too short. Mr. Muzzy and I may resort to adding some extension wires onto the LCD. However, über-editor Dan Knight is shipping me a stripped 12" PowerBook with a working screen. I am watching the mail like a hawk!

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Adventures in Intel Mac Land, Part 2, 2012.01.09. One big advantage of an Intel Mac is the ability to run Google's fast and easy Chrome browser.
Adventures in Intel Mac Land, Part 1, 2012.01.06. With its dual-core Intel processor, the MacBook rips music and video far faster than a G4 ever could.
Blackbird MacBook, 2012.01.03. The PowerBook G4 is dead. Time to go with a black 13.3" MacBook and enter the Mac's Intel Age.
More in the Recycled Computing index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, introduced 1990.03.19. This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
February 14 in LEM history: 98: A perfect compact Mac - 00: Extended computer warranties worth the cost? - Making your PC work with your Mac - 01: Customize Microsoft Word - 02: Quadra revives a passion for computing - 03: Real world performance - DIY Pismo screen replacement - Best Mac for writing - 03: Fastest browser on the Mac - 06: 15" MacBook Pro - Impressions of a newly acquired Lisa - Finding and using free WiFi - Apple should liberate OS 9 - 07: New Mac mini cheaper than upgrading a Power Mac - 08: Falling in love with OS X
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay