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- My first Mac repair
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| My first Mac repair; Or; "why I hate macs" | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 30 2008, 02:05 PM (283 Views) | |
| Kotetsu | Dec 30 2008, 02:05 PM Post #1 |
SOUPER SAYIN THREE
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So I would consider myself an accomplished computer repair technician. But nothing has prepared me for the Mac Powerbook G4 12" Aluminum. This laptop was dropped at about 3 feet on tile. There isn't an extreme amount of damage, but the computer doesn't get passed the initial loading screen, and the display bevel seems to be loose open. I took this laptop in because Apple said they'd fix it for 1200$. I'm of course cheaper. My initial thoughts are that the Hard drive needs to be replaced. So I begin. Well actually, i'm already 3 hours into the repair. The first thing I usually begin with if the computer turns on is a hardware scan. I have a CD that boots it's own OS and runs programs. Problem 1: There is a CD in the cd drive and the system won't eject. Solution 1: time for manual removal. Well see it's not that simple. I originally couldn't figure out how to remove the cd drive, so I looked up some instructions. 43 pages worth to be exact. After 2 hours of work, I wound up with this.  You are required to remove ALL of this in order to simply remove the Optical Drive. Optical drive removal successful. To my luck, it's an Apple Hardware test CD apparently left in by a Tech. (i'm keeping it.) So I removed the CD, however there is a small bracket in the way of inserting another disk. I figure that hopefully when I put everything back together, it will auto reset. Or I find some special key to force it. Problem 2: The display lid is open at the seam, and needs to be reseated and/ or bent back in place. Solution 2: Still in process. When I removed the back lid to the lcd, I found 4 screws loose. As if someone was working on it previously and decided to not secure the screen back, threw the screws in the lid and closed it.  Well, as I was about to reseat it and put it all back together, The allen wrench screw holder that is attached to the lid came loose, which was originally Hap-hazardly connected by loose solder.  Which leads me to... Problem 3: Lid Attachment came loose Solution 3: Off to the store to get some super glue. I'll update later as this Cluster-F continues. And I'll keep posting pictures too. Makes it more fun. |
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| Kyonko | Dec 30 2008, 05:57 PM Post #2 |
=^-^=
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Hey man, I can't wait for the next update, I am considering moving this to fan fiction, it's entertaining. |
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| Kotetsu | Dec 30 2008, 11:14 PM Post #3 |
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SOUPER SAYIN THREE
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Ok so I super glued the connection point back on and managed to make the display look somewhat like it didn't get dropped. Now to assemble everything back together. So Basically another 2 hours in the opposite direction. Assuming I didn't forget to connect something, We should be up and running soon.     
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| + nomnomliekdis | Dec 31 2008, 02:59 AM Post #4 |
 
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I agree with Kyonko, this is entertaining. Too bad it's at your expense. |
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| Kotetsu | Dec 31 2008, 03:21 AM Post #5 |
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SOUPER SAYIN THREE
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Ok so I pulled it apart, and put it back together to find out that the Optical drive was functioning correctly, and believe it or not, You can eject the cd by holding down the mouse button.... So most of my labor today has been concentrated on pulling it apart and putting it back together with little to no solution in sight. I will be turning to boot leg repair cd's soon. I find it very unappealing that companies would make a repair utility you have to pay for, on top of the outrageous price of the PC itself. This goes to also show that the people who can afford these things must also be able to afford the 100$ repair software that is sold. |
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| Kyonko | Dec 31 2008, 08:42 AM Post #6 |
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=^-^=
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Where does the keyboard fit? |
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| + green_480 | Dec 31 2008, 11:03 PM Post #7 |
you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
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no more updates? Did you fix it? |
 Men, on the other hand, tend to do the job properly when they crash, and as a result cost their insurance companies a lot more money. Your right I'm a murderer; i kill people with a smile on my face, my parents say "what a disgrace" "get outta my face"...yet I walk away...with a smile on my face "If tall guys have this mystical advantage in jumping, then why to the tallest players in the NBA have the lowest verticals? Yao Ming can't jump over an egg roll" -it's so funny i had to put it in my sig | |
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| Kotetsu | Oct 26 2009, 01:04 AM Post #8 |
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SOUPER SAYIN THREE
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No no more updates. I figured out what was wrong, but it turns out I won't be fixing it all the way. When the Laptop was dropped, the needled in the hard drive scratched the plates making multiple bad sectors. This was an indication when I was pulling the data off the hard drive. Speaking of which, I was able to pull data off a mac to a windows pc. There's a program called, Transmac that allows you to view the different file format NTFS instead of FAT32 like windows is. Works great but it's a trial. So end result is that it needs a new HD and a clean OS reboot. If I put all of those boards back in, there is a lid that sits on top of all of it, and on top of that is where the keyboard fits. Edited by Kotetsu, Oct 26 2009, 01:09 AM.
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| sunate | Oct 27 2009, 12:46 PM Post #9 |
Je pale francais et toi?
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I hate hardware repaier my disk driver just went bad and is making horible noises. Ima have to pull it out and get another one. I have to say for a mac to fall and get damaged that badly from 3 feet kinda doumb founds me. |
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| zZzZzlacker | Oct 28 2009, 08:02 AM Post #10 |
zZzZzzzzZzzzzzZZz
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Nice job, takes a lot of patience to work with that stuff. Those laptops are garbage though. They overheat the first 2 minutes you use them. |
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| Kotetsu | Oct 28 2009, 12:54 PM Post #11 |
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SOUPER SAYIN THREE
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Thanks. I had to go and buy a part to pull the data off the hard drive. An external 2.5" hard drive enclosure. It was only 8$. I'm just glad I already had a 500gb backup drive to store all that data on. I had to keep skipping over every 20th file in a folder because that's where the bad sector was. Such a shame. |
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| Rebel X | Oct 28 2009, 02:46 PM Post #12 |
 
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Well hey first, Congrats on getting the job done like a good person. Next, I totally agree with Kyon and Holly lol, this ***** was funny. I hope the person appreciates what you did. Macs are hard to adjust to and when your fixing them I see they can be difficult in more ways than one. At least you can put these sort of things on your resume. You should totally make this an annual thing where you take on a job and just post event by event what the problem was and how you tried solving it. I mean first off it'd be seriously entertaining (might get dull if you do the same thing over and over but still) and next it might actually help some of us in the future if we have problems. |
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| sunate | Oct 29 2009, 11:25 AM Post #13 |
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Je pale francais et toi?
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I loved the part where does the keyboard go lmao! |
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| SS4 | Oct 29 2009, 11:51 AM Post #14 |
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Brian, you have alot of determination, doing what you did. I wouldn't have the concentration or skills to rebuild a computer, especially an apple. Good work, sucks that the needle scratched the hard drive. You should be proud, just for working so hard.  Good job, it was an interesting topic to read.Hopefully next time, you have better luck and more of a chance. Least you got to pull the data. |
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| sunate | Oct 29 2009, 10:20 PM Post #15 |
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Je pale francais et toi?
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don't get how a disk driver needle was able to scratch the hard drive in the first place. That's kinda weird. |
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