Dc in board, possibly blown?

I've been trying to figure out why I can't get my ibook g4 to turn on.
I opened it up to see if there was a problem with the dc in board and this is what I found:
The end nearest to where the adapter plugs in has two small pins next to each other and one of them looks burnt. The one beside it is silver, shiny and looks fine. The one in question is black and a little powdery around it.
I opened the laptop on a whim, I didn't really know what I was looking for.
I bought a new adapter, and it helped for a little while.
I bought a new battery, and it also helped for a little while but it stopped charging after five months of use.
It started shutting off while in use. So I tried resetting the PMU with no results.
When I push the power button, it makes a sound that's hard to describe. It's a grinding whir, I suppose. Sometimes it's really slow and will keep going for a while. Sometimes it's quicker then just stops.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. :)

Hello,
This reminds me of a problem I had on one if my 14" G4 iBooks.
Whenever I turned on the iBook, the unit would power on fine some times, other times it would engage the fan to make a whirl sound but nothing on the display. After a while this problem became more frequent. The power adapter, battery and DC inboard was all replace with little success.
The problem was traced back to a chip on the logic board that had become detached from the board due to heat.
I wouldn't say this is your fault but its maybe likely.
The problem no doubt sound like a logic board related problem, as the battery is not charging and its not responsive to the PMU reset.
My advise would be, get the iBook tested at an apple store or approved repair shop.
Best of luck.

Similar Messages

Main board has blown 3 times in last 10 months on 39" smart tv

I bought the 39" smart TV aug 2013.
It has been repaired (under warranty) 3 times to replace the main board.
The symptom of the TV is it goes only to a black screen, the green LED on the front stays ON, it cannot be powered on or off by the remote or the power button. Only unplugging the TV will 'turn off' the tv, which is only a black screen. Plugging the tv cord back into the outlet and it immediately is power on with the green LED light ON at the front panel.
Anyone have this issue, or know why a main board blows ~ every 3 to 4 months.
Also what recourse of action can I take to get a new TV? This one is a lemon.

You'd need to talk to customer support about that. I'm sorry to hear it.
- Peter

Sattelite pro l300, NO SOUND possibly blown sound card?

Hello,
I was trying to record my guitar through the line in of my laptop using audacity and a amp, it made very scratchy noises then stopped working, I have done a system restore, all volumes up, realtek says it is working fine, and there are no yellow explanation marks under device manager, what do you think the problem is, it is a brand new laptop, ...

Satellite Pro L300-EZ1004X
Can't hurt to reinstall the sound driver.
Realtek Audio Driver for Windows XP
-Jerry

Possible blown fuse? STR-DE725

Last week, I had to shift the position of my entertainment center from one side of the room to the other. After plugging everything back in, including my STR-DE725 receiver, I stood up, tripped a bit and kicked the power cable to the receiver just enough to pull it about 1/8 of the way out of the extension cord it's plugged into. This caused the power to flicker for a split second on that side of the apartment, and I mean very briefly - not even enough to cause other devices to power off or the DVR to restart. But it seems my receiver took the brunt of whatever power surge I somehow caused. Since then, it will power on, but the LCD display is dead, and I can't get any audio output no matter which input it's set to. I've unplugged it, trimmed up all of the speaker cable's to make them nice and neat, and ensured that there's no bare wires touching from the outside. I'm guessing my next step is opening it up and fixing/replacing....something. I've dealth with computers and Audio equipment plenty, but never something like this and I don't want to hose a very expensive piece of hardware or cook myself because I decided to go dinking around where I shouldn't. I apologize in advance if this issue has been addressed elsewhere. I promise I've done' my due diligence as far as searching for a solution not only on this site but on Google and YouTube as well. However, it's quite likely that my lack of general knowledge of this piece of equipment and type of issue is preventing me from knowing exactly what to search for. Thanks for any help.

Hello nmccoy28,
Greetings and thank you for your message. We would like to recommend to try the following steps to make sure that the issue you have described has not damaged that unit completely not just the display panel :
make sure you have the unit connected directly into a power outlet and not a surge protector.
Disconnected all external devices from the receiver, such as speakers, blu-ray player, television, etc.
Try resetting the receiver back to factory settings by following these steps:
While depressing the SET UP and the SOUND FIELD ON/OFF buttons simultaneously on the unit itself, press the POWER button to turn on the main power, normally this is where a message stating FACTORY SET appears and the present contents are reset to the default values, but since you units display panel is not working it will not show.
Turn the unit OFF , while depressing the DISPLAY and the SOUND FIELD ON/ OFF buttons simultaneously, press the POWER button to turn on the main power AGAIN. The machine enters the DEMO mode.
If the issue persists the unit will require to be repaired and it will be necessary to find a local authorize service center to repair the unit of desired.
If my post answers your question, please mark it as "Accept as Solution"

USB port possibly blown???

Hey Guys,
Here is my situation:
First of all I am a drummer and I use my PB in live shows to run our backing tracks.Last night we were rehearsing for a show this friday and I went to plug the PB into a DI box to get it patched into the PA system and the sound guy where we practicing had no clue as to what he was doing and had the channel unmuted and the gain wide open.Well needless to say it made a insane noise and I immediately unplugged the PB.
I was using one of those Turtle Beach USB to audio adapters because my sound out is bad(another story in itself) and it immediatly would not power back up and I could smell it had burned inside.Then this morning I tried to use that usb port and it is dead.
I am not sure if it is fried or what but I thought I would see if you guys had any input as to if it would be an expensive fix through apple.
So this is so long but thanx for reading if you did.
Later

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Sometimes resetting the PRAM or power manager fixes USB ports:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

Macbook Pro 13" 2011 Logic Board Troubleshooting

I have two 13" Macbook Pros, both with the same issue. They are both i5 (2.3 or 2.4 GHz models), 4 GB RAM, Mid-2011 models. Both of them have also been dropped. I believe they have problems with the logic board. When I try to turn it on, nothing happens. The battery does charge I believe, as the battery reports fully charged with the battery button and the MagSafe connector is green when plugged in. When attempting to power on battery alone, nothing happens at all (no lights, no movement, no noises). As soon as I plug the MagSafe adapter in (without pressing the power button), I get a very faint 'ticking' noise, which I have deduced to be the fan's motor VERY slightly receiving power (as if you put your hand on the center of the fan's 'blade' assembly, you can feel the motor very very slightly 'push'/pulse, but not enough to even move it; about 1 second between pulses. I have tried:
-Powering on with no adapter, but battery
-Powering on with magsafe adapter
-Powering on with no battery but magsafe adapter
-Resetting SMC
-'Bypassing' SMC with 'Hold power then connect Magsafe' method
-Jump starting it (with the two pads)
-Reading the voltage from the pads used to jump start, 3.4-something volts DC (seems correct).
-Powering on with no RAM (had no different effect)
-Jump-starting with keyboard disconnected from board
Any other ideas where to go with testing from here? I just find it odd to find two that have the exact same (specific-seeming) symptom, from the same sort of damage, with no idea what's wrong. Could it be a fuse, possibly, blown by a short with the case from the fall (even if momentary)? If you have any suggestions for fuses to test or if this seems correct, please suggest them.
To be clear, I am entirely comfortable with removing any/every component in the laptop, if needed, and can work a multimeter and various other diagnostic tools (if I have them). I'm just not too familiar with this particular model's layout and could use some assistance from a more experience tech in regards to Apple products.

Hello, thank you for your reply. I have been using their vast collection of knowledge, and I do believe I've already gone further with this than the information they have/general knowledge floating around the web will take me. I have checked, and I do have power across G3Hot (the 'Jump Start' pads), 3.47v DC, so I am not willing to accept this as a dead board yet. Next is to check MOSFETs and SMD capacitors I think, see if we've got anything toasted there. I did check every fuse I can find on the board. I also picked up some schematics from 'around' for this board, clearly looks enthusiast-made, but still better than nothing; one should think.

I Think Inverter, They Say Logic Board

It appears that I have been struck with the black screen issue (screen is black, but using a flashlight/other light source I can see the screen working, see my icons, mouse moving, etc).
I took it to an authorized repair center, told them the issue, and they said I would need to replace the logic board, possibly the neck, and then the inverter.
Are they full of it and trying to make more on the repair? I'm fairly certain I could do it myself (worked in computer repair for years), but wanting to make sure my diagnosis is more accurate than theirs.

I seem to have developed the same problem you described. My screen is dark, but still functioning. I can see the images very faintly, but changing screen brightness has no effect whatsoever. I can see images slightly better if I shine a flashlight on the screen.
Last thing I did was install a new widget and a new screensaver. I have since deleted both in case they were the problem. Unfortunately I still have the "black screen."
Any new word on this one?

Can you tell me if this logic board fits my macbook please?

Hi, I have a late 2006 A1181 white macbook 2.0ghz with a dead logic board and I saw this A1181 820-2279-A T8300 2.4ghz board for sale for a reasonable price, I think it is a late 2008 board but it looks the same thing as my old board, could this board possibly fit my late 2006 macbook?
Thanks,
Paul

I figured out the answer, it's...nope...

Macbook display problems

Hi
I have a macbook that was given the ol beer in the keyboard treatment and went dark with a ghost image, before I bought it, leading me to believe that it was the inverter board had blown, I bought one online and replaced it but to no avail. The previous owner obviously had very little knowledge as they left a few screws out on reassembly but I don't think they should matter a lot. I could of course use it with an external monitor but kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop. So would like to get the display working without having to buy a new display. I cannot seem to find out if it is possible to replace the backlight, if this is the problem, or to find one for sale online, even on the excellent ifixit site. It is a 2Ghz intel core 2 duo.
If anyone has any ideas I would be very grateful,
Thanking you,
Connor

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fullmetalross/2218002930/
This one looks like Jesus. Say that is is, sell it on eBay, make a fortune, buy a new MacBook Pro
Other than that, I would recommend taking it in for service again. If you've already had so much replaced, see if they will just swap out the machine for you.

My PowerBook Troubles or How I Learned To Always Purchase AppleCare

I bought my PowerBook G4 1.67GHz (W85...) on 13 June 2005. According to the production info I get in Temperature Monitor (http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html) it was built on the "Week of 4/16/05 [at] Quanta Computer [in] Shanghai, China."
My experience with Apple hardware had been that it just won't die. All the systems I'd purchased had either been resold at a wonderful depreciation rate, handed down or grudgingly disposed of. I’ve even accepted some unwanted systems for fun projects and ended up having to find them a new home. Hence, although my PowerBook’s price tag had more in common with two-wheeled fun in the Florida sun than the previous computer systems I’d purchased, I decided the extra $300++ for AppleCare was unnecessary insurance.
About a year and a half after its purchase the screen started flashing a pixel-wide magenta line from top to bottom -- three inches from the left edge. I was hoping it was some freak software issue but eventually the line was permanent. When I searched the web for similar cases I found a handful of other users who, like me, assumed responsibility and were looking to replace the screen. More lines gradually appeared and I decided to wait until it got much worse before parting with the PowerBook and $600 for repairs.
At 11 lines I was ready to get the screen swapped and was going to have the optical drive upgraded on the same trip to put a positive spin on things. The week before I was to ship it away my PowerBook developed a case of narcolepsy. It’d go into sleep mode while I was working on it and sometimes I’d have to remove the battery and reset the power management unit to awaken it. I wondered if the deteriorating screen was causing some kind of hardware glitch. Unfortunately I found many others who experienced the same problem and it’d been tracked back to a faulty temperature sensor by the trackpad. This is when I learned of the Temperature Monitor software I mentioned above. With it I was able to determine that my trackpad heat sensor was responsible for sending emergency sleep signals to the system.
The symptoms of narcolepsy have since disappeared. The trackpad sensor has registered a static 48.2F for a couple of weeks. However, others have reported periods of remission before the narcolepsy reappears. This leaves me in a position where I can pay to have my screen replaced but I may once again lose all functionality to narcolepsy. Many customers with AppleCare who have been able to demonstrate the narcolepsy to service professionals have had their logic board -- possibly unnecessary -- and top case replaced. That is something I’m not willing to do on my dime because at that point I’ve practically rebuilt the PowerBook and hard drives are one of those things that don’t get better with time.
Now I find that the screen issues are also widespread and affect an even more specific subsection of PowerBooks. I’m not one to noisily demand a recall but my experiences with my PowerBook have left me wondering if I’m the stereotypical Mac user overpaying for commodity hardware. At this point I’d be happy to settle for being permitted to purchase AppleCare past the initial year of purchase.
I attempted as much yesterday by calling the number listed at http://www.apple.com/support/contact/phone_contacts.html. I spoke to a lady at AppleCare and asked to be added to any tally of PowerBook W8 screen problems. She was sympathetic and forwarded me to PowerBook support to see if there was anything that they could do for me. The technical support representative said her name was Alice or Alex and she was friendly and pleasant sounding. I gave her my details and mentioned that at the very least I’d like to be added to a list with a case number or be granted permission to retroactively purchase AppleCare. She gave me standard information on the validity of AppleCare purchased after the machine. I let her know I was aware that I was asking for special consideration. She told me that if she could put me on hold she would speak to someone with authority who could make that decision. I let her know how much I appreciated that and she told me I’d be on hold for five minutes.
After waiting on hold for five minutes the line went dead. When I called back I got the after business hours message. I’ll withhold any cynicism but I do intend to call back today and resume where I left off.
PBG4 17" (1440x900) 1.67GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9) XServe G5 Dual 2.3GHz (Mac OS X Server 10.4.9)

Please see the other topics in this forum related to your question.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=967815

Using a usa mac in the uk

ok i am an idiot. i have a usa g4 desktop (digital audio) mod#m5183, 100 - 120v~/200-240v - 8a/4.5a, 50-60hz
i just brought it to the uk and plugged it in using a plug adapter but without manually switching the power switch from '110' to '230'. there was a 'crack' and a puff of smoke. i flipped the switch to '230' and tried again but it does not power up. have i fried the computer? is there something i can do (besides getting a new brain for myself)?
G4 digital audio Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Sad to say, but you may have ruined some of the components. Some Mac power supplies have an internal fuse. You have to remove the supply & open the housing. A new fuse could solve the problem. It's also possible that your power supply is "fried", which requires a new supply. If you replace the supply, then hopefully, your processor board (& other components) is not also "fried".
To get replacement parts, besides eBay, you can join join LEM-Swap for buying & selling Mac stuff. http://lowendmac.com/lists/swap.html However, you might be better off buying a used replacement Mac for less than the cost of a new power supply, processor board & possibly RAM.
Cheers, Tom

Satellite Pro A100 (PSAACE) - Display is not working

Hi all,
Got a problem that's confused me.
A few weeks ago my very old Sat Pro a100 (PSAACE) started to refuse to display anything on the screen.
This is from boot, i.e I press the power button from cold, the system whirls and fan goes both nothing appears on the screen.
I left the laptop alone and noticed it popped up on my network, so I remote desktop connected in and everything was working, but still no display on the actually laptop.
Thinking it might be a wierd setup I started Pressing Fn + F5 to swap between displays, at this point I managed to get a display back on the laptop screen.
However on next boot it did the same, this went on for a few days with me pressing Fn+F5 to get a display.
Then the Fn+F5 stopped working, I could still remote desktop in and use the laptop but I couldn't get anything to display.
In windows the ATI Mobility 1400 had disappeared from Device Manager.
I figured the VGA controller board had blown so ordered a new one.
I have now fitted this, and it hasn't resolved the issue. The Fn+F5 workaround is working sometimes, but gives a very weird display looking like corrupted fonts etc
*However if I do a screen grab of this and view on another PC the fonts and screen appear normal!!*
The Mobility 1400 is now recognised by Windows but still nothing on the display at either during POST, boot or Windows.
Fearing BIOS corruption I re flashed with the 6.00 official BIOS.
All in all the machine works great, just no display or by pressing Fn+F5 I can sometimes get the +corrupted display+.
Lastly I've hooked on an external display, at no time do i get any display on it regardless of Fn+F5, or windows, POST etc..
Any thoughts? Would a faulty LCD/FL cable cause these type of problems? or even a faulty inverter board? or since I have no external display am I looking at a main board fault?
Happy to carry out any further tests anyone can think of.....
thanks in advanced for the help
Richard

Hi,
you are correct I see nothing on external monitor, regardless of Fn+F5.
I can boot the machine and log into it remotely though remote desktop, vnc etc once in I can use the machine as normal just without a screen.
On the occasion when Fn+F5 does bring back a picture, its very distorted - almost to the point of corrupt. However a screen grab of that and then viewed on another machine shows the capture to be perfect.
So the fault lies somewhere between what the main board and the screen.
As I noted previously this laptop has a seperate VGA controller card which I have replaced with a know working one.
I have no replaced the RAM, and CPU on the off chance. The only thing I dont have is a new mainboard lol
Still no different.
any thoughts?

Need Help with my External Hard Drive

Hey Guys, so i bought a 2TB WD Passport for Mac about 2 months ago...It worked great, but then i dropped it by accident. It was connected to my Mac at the time, so when it fell it disconnected from the cable and fell. Now when i connect it, the external hard drive powers on. I can feel it on like always, the little light turns on as well, its flickering as if it was in use. The thing is that it wont show up ANYWHERE on my mac. Any help?

LittleGuy16 wrote:
got dropped........It was connected to my Mac at the time
HEAD CRASH ,    your HD is extremely likely kaput
hard drive moving parts
Some of the common reasons for hard drives to fail:
Infant mortality (due to mfg. defect / build tolerances)
Bad parking   (head impact)
Sudden impact /head crash (hard drive jarred during operation, heads can bounce)
Electrical surge   (fries the controller board, possibly also causing heads to write the wrong data)
Bearing / Motor failure   (spindle bearings or motors wear during any and all use, eventually leading to HD failure)
Board failure   (controller board failure on bottom of HD)
Bad Sectors   (magnetic areas of the platter may become faulty)

Porsche Design External Hard Drive for Time Machine back-up

This is what I am looking to buy for my back up: http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Porsche-Design-External-9000296/dp/B008SA69L8/ref=sr _1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393398362&sr=1-10&keywords=porsche+design.
But this is not available on online Apple Store. Only "desktop drives" are available. What is the difference between "desktop drive" and "external drive?"
Also, how do these Porsche Design hard drives rank in terms of reliability and longevity?
Do I need to install LaCie software to use this hard drive for back-up? Or is it possible to directly use Time Machine to use this hard drive for back-up?
Lastly, how does password protection work? Does the LaCie software have to be installed to take advantage of this?

mrq0604 wrote:
How about 3.5" Seagate drives? Are they any better in terms of quality?
Currently the promotional price for 3.0 TB Porsche Design "external drive" is $129 (normally $169). Is this a good deal? And the 3 TB "desktop drive" is $153. Why would they sell thr same product under 2 different names and with different prices? What does "external drive" offer for $16 more? As far I know, they look the same...
How about 3.5" Seagate drives?
Absolutely not, no.
All HD can and do crash and fail, its just statistical sampling in total (see graph above)
If you want the most reliable 3.5" HD, get a 2TB Toshiba, which is actually made by Hitachi (confused yet?)
Hitachi sold their 3.5" division to Toshiba (forced to actually), so a Toshiba 3.5" is really a very well built reliable Hitachi 3.5"
On sale, 2TB Toshiba 3.5" (really Hitachi made) only $88
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Desktop-External-HDWC120XK3J1/dp/B008DW96NY /ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1393443687&sr=8-10&keywords=toshiba+2tb
There is actually a non-commercial HD more reliable than this, which is the WD "black" drives, the server grade drives, but theyre not consumer grade
theyre very expensive, and made for server farms.
here:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Cache-Desktop-WD2003FZEX/dp/B00FJRS628/ref =sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393443945&sr=8-2&keywords=wd+black
As said no such thing as Porsche, its Seagate . Porsche is just the name on the enclosure.
Why sell under 2 diff. names?   Actually they do it under 5 DIFFERENT NAMES , Hitachi does the same, so does WD
As I said, there are only 4 HD makers on earth.    The many names etc is to fill up shelf space with diff. names such as Porsche , LaCie etc etc.
Id avoid most of the 3TB and certainly the 4TB drives for at least maybe another half year or so.
Large external hard drives are great! Large external hard drives are horrible
It is a common premise that people are overjoyed at the dropping prices per terabyte on external hard drives, and the first thing that enters most peoples minds is "great, I can put all my stuff on one drive,... all of it!" However considerations need to be made in creating a giant single choke point for not mere data loss, but seriously large data loss. If there is at the very least yet another redundant copy, this is fine, otherwise do not consider it whatsoever. Some 3TB and 4TB drives of all mfg. have, at the time of this writing, reliability concerns currently and best recommendation is staying at 2TB drives or less.
Advantages and disadvantages of larger 3TB and 4TB external drives must be weighed
Hard Drive Warning (all makes and models)
Ironically but logical, new hard drives are far more fragile than one that has been working for several months or a couple years. So beware in your thinking that a new hard drive translates into “extremely reliable”!
Hard drives suffer from high rates of what has been termed "infant mortality". Essentially this means new drives have their highest likelihood of failing in the first few months of usage. This is because of very minor manufacturing defects or HD platter balancing, or head and armature geometry being less than perfect; and this is not immediately obvious and can quickly manifest itself once the drive is put to work.
Hard drives that survive the first few months of use without failing are likely to remain healthy for a number of years.
Generally HD are highly prone to death or corruption for a few months, then work fine for a few years, then spike in mortality starting at 3-4 years and certainly should be considered end-of-life at 5-7+ years even if still working well. Drives written to once and stored away have the highest risk of data corruption due to not being read/written to on a regular basis. Rotate older working HD into low-risk use.
The implication of this is that you should not trust a new hard drive completely (really never completely!) until it has been working perfectly for several months.
Given the second law of thermodynamics, any and all current mfg. HD will, under perfect storage conditions tend themselves to depolarization and a point will be reached, even if the HD mechanism is perfect, that the ferromagnetic read/write surface of the platter inside the HD will entropy to the point of no viable return for data extraction. HD life varies, but barring mechanical failure, 3-8 years typically.
Hard drive failure and handling
The air cushion of air between the platter surface and the head is microscopic, as small as 3 nanometers, meaning bumps, jarring while in operation can cause head crash, scraping off magnetic particles causing internal havoc to the write surface and throwing particles thru the hard drive.
Hard drives are fragile in general, regardless, ... in specific while running hard drives are extremely fragile.
PDF: Bare hard drive handling generic instructions
hard drive moving parts
Some of the common reasons for hard drives to fail:
Infant mortality (due to mfg. defect / build tolerances)
Bad parking   (head impact)
Sudden impact   (hard drive jarred during operation, heads can bounce)
Electrical surge   (fries the controller board, possibly also causing heads to write the wrong data)
Bearing / Motor failure   (spindle bearings or motors wear during any and all use, eventually leading to HD failure)
Board failure   (controller board failure on bottom of HD)
Bad Sectors   (magnetic areas of the platter may become faulty)
General hard drive failure

Is the 256GB flash storage enough for me? Can I install a bigger SD?

Hi there, I am transferring from a Dell (which I love) to the Macbook Air 256. However, I'm very concerned about the storage. I've had my Dell for 10 years and never gotten near the storage capacity. It has 285Gb and I've used 215GB of it. I figured the 256 would be enough, but I've only transferred 1 year of pictures over to my MAC, and the storage space is already HALF FULL!!!! I barely deleted 50 photos, and you can see the storage space free up by a couple GBs. Does flash storage not hold as much as regular hard drives? I'm a novice at mac computers and am getting really frustrated that this computer might not hold anything. Everything is also on an external drive, but I like it all on my computer for easy access. I also heard that I can put SD cards into my Macbook air to give me more storage. Is this true and if so, where do I get that? Thank you so so much for your help!

firebox is only $30 at walmart, if you dont have a safe deposit box.
theft is more about HIDING IT than vaulting it, buy a fireproof SLEEVE on Ebay for $30 and hide it under etc etc something, very easy to do.
you can buy your own private website, which is what I do, I have several   Cost is roughly $120 per year unlimited storage..
(see godaddy.com or otherwise)
However safety has to be put in place to prevent others from accessing your data, also very easy.
Its all about redundancy #1 and #2 longevity (DVD professional archival) for very important information that cant degrade over short term and rated for at least 60+ years.
All these points are explained in detail in the link I posted you as User Tip.
Online archives
Drawbacks:
1. Subject to server failure or due to non-payment of your hosting account, it can be suspended.
2. Subject, due to lack of security on your part, to being attacked and hacked/erased.
Advantages:
1. In case of house fire, etc. your data is safe.
2. In travels, and propagating files to friends and likewise, a mere link by email is all that is needed and no large media needs to be sent across the net.
3. Online archives are the perfect and best-idealized 3rd platform redundancy for data protection.
4. Supremely useful in data isolation from backups and local archives in being online and offsite for long-distance security in isolation.
5. *Level-1.5 security of your vital data.
As for hard drives, dont make the HUGE mistake others make, only having ONE off computer copy on a HD, thats a tragedy in waiting, 2 copies is 1, and 1 is none, ....and the data on the computer doesnt count in the 2-copy scheme.
Hard Drive Warning (all makes and models)
Ironically but logical, new hard drives are far more fragile than one that has been working for several months or a couple years. So beware in your thinking that a new hard drive translates into “extremely reliable”!
Hard drives suffer from high rates of what has been termed "infant mortality". Essentially this means new drives have their highest likelihood of failing in the first few months of usage. This is because of very minor manufacturing defects or HD platter balancing, or head and armature geometry being less than perfect; and this is not immediately obvious and can quickly manifest itself once the drive is put to work.
Hard drives that survive the first few months of use without failing are likely to remain healthy for a number of years.
Generally HD are highly prone to death or corruption for a few months, then work fine for a few years, then spike in mortality starting at 3-4 years and certainly should be considered end-of-life at 5-7+ years even if still working well. Drives written to once and stored away have the highest risk of data corruption due to not being read/written to on a regular basis. Rotate older working HD into low-risk use.
The implication of this is that you should not trust a new hard drive completely (really never completely!) until it has been working perfectly for several months.
Given the second law of thermodynamics, any and all current mfg. HD will, under perfect storage conditions tend themselves to depolarization and a point will be reached, even if the HD mechanism is perfect, that the ferromagnetic read/write surface of the platter inside the HD will entropy to the point of no viable return for data extraction. HD life varies, but barring mechanical failure, 3-8 years typically.
Hard drive failure and handling
The air cushion of air between the platter surface and the head is microscopic, as small as 3 nanometers, meaning bumps, jarring while in operation can cause head crash, scraping off magnetic particles causing internal havoc to the write surface and throwing particles thru the hard drive.
Hard drives are fragile in general, regardless, ... in specific while running hard drives are extremely fragile.
PDF: Bare hard drive handling generic instructions
hard drive moving parts
Some of the common reasons for hard drives to fail:
Infant mortality (due to mfg. defect / build tolerances)
Bad parking   (head impact)
Sudden impact   (hard drive jarred during operation, heads can bounce)
Electrical surge   (fries the controller board, possibly also causing heads to write the wrong data)
Bearing / Motor failure   (spindle bearings or motors wear during any and all use, eventually leading to HD failure)
Board failure   (controller board failure on bottom of HD)
Bad Sectors   (magnetic areas of the platter may become faulty)
General hard drive failure

Dc in board, possibly blown?

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