IBook logicboard problem

Hello
My ibook logic board has failed. It shows all the symptoms that are described by apple.
Is there any way the logic board could be repaired? Is there any kind of fix I could try?
I have tried to get it repaired by apple, but it is out of warranty and out of the Expanded iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program as told by my local apple authorized repairer.
I would be nice to get it back on the road as it is a vital tool!
Any suggestions, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

My brother-in-law recently bought an iBook G3 600MHz from eBay. It worked fine for a few days, then the display (backlight) started to go out. Pressing on the case to the left of the trackpad seems to temporarily fix the problem. This suggests a problem with the logic board. I connected an external display to the iBook and the external display sometimes works fine even when the iBook display goes blank. Sometimes the external display shows distorted lines, then it goes blank, even though the iBook display looks fine.
Perhaps the display processor is not making good contact with the logic board? Perhaps there is a broken trace on the logic board?
What is your opinion on how to repair this iBook? From the discussions I have read, replacing the logic board may only be a temporary fix to the problem since there may be a design flaw in the iBook.
Personally, I think my brother-in-law should purchase a PowerBook. Between my wife and I, we have owned 4 PowerBooks and the we have had only one fail after 3 years due to a bad hard drive. I replaced the hard drive for $100 bucks and it had been working great since.
Thanks everyone, espceially Rhonda Wilson, for posting all this useful information to the discussion group!
Robert in Albuquerque

Similar Messages

  • Help with iBook G3 12" Logicboard problem

    Hello.
    I have a strange problem with an iBook G3 12" 600 MHz, maybe you can help me.
    this is the story
    A friend gave me what he called a "dead ibook"
    The first thing I noticed is that when I connect the AC adapter, the plug light (orange) turns on for 1/2 second, I can hear a click and then the light turns off.
    at this point if I try to reconnect the plug, the AC adapter does not send power anymore and I have to unplug the AC adapter from wall main plug.
    I have tested with another AC adapter from an iBook G4...same result
    I have removed the battery and tried re-connecting the G3 only with the AC adapter ... same result.
    I have disconnected the AC adapter and tried using a fully charged battery from the G4 in to the G3, and... Surprise!! the iBook G3 boots perfectly!! and the Mac os x works perfectly.
    At this point I thought that maybe was a faulty DC-in board. I bought a new one. After disassembling the iBook and put the new DC-in board the iBook has the same symptoms...
    Conclusion: Imposible to use a AC adapter, the iBook only can work with battery.
    There must be something in the logic board that is shorting something, but I can´t find it.
    Can you give me some ideas?? I´m lost
    thank you

    It could be a logic board problem or it could be that you got another defective DC-in board. It would not be the first time that a second defective DC-in board has been reported here.
    If it is the logic board, chances are the only remedy is a logic board replacement. When my husband's DC-in board was bad, we just swapped batteries until he got it fixed. Since these iBooks are getting quite old, you may want to just do the battery-swap with the iBook G4 instead of repairing the iBook G3. It gets to a point where the expense of a repair just isn't worth it on a computer this old.
    Good luck.

  • IBook known Problems

    Hi!
    I'm trying to get one of those used iBooks. But a friend told me that Apple had some serious problems with some models in regards to the logicboard and other things.
    Anybody here has an idea which series we are talking about? Has anybody heard about it? Was it the G3 or G4 series. Any help is appreciated.
    Thank's
    Best Rolf
    G4   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    Enough Dual USB G3 iBooks suffered from the logic board problem that Apple began the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program in January of 2004. That is likely what your friend is talking about.
    While this was a recognized problem, and all the G3 Dual USB iBooks eventually were included in the program, there are still far more of them that didn't have the problem than there are that did.
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  • Trouble shoot iBook G4 problem

    I have an iBook G4 that is having problems. This computer has been replaced with a Macbook. I am trying to determine if the iBook is salvageable. The iBook was dropped on the floor about a year ago. It required a replacement logic board. It was replaced (big mistake). I am getting strange things like it won't boot (box in the middle of screen with a question mark (?). I have been able to get around this several times by running Disk Warrior in target mode. Since replacing with Macbook, I have erased and reinstalled Tiger. Currently, I am getting a message to "enter keychain password." It won't accept my login password. Manny problems with this computer. Bottom line: Is there anything out there diagnostic wise to figure out the problem? I don't want to put any more money into it. I would be willing to put in a new HD, but otherwise it might go out for the garbage.

    By comparison, my iBook drive, a new WD 120 GB, has 2045 power on hours, has a temperature of 44〫C, and shows no errors. However, since your drive came up "verified" in Disk Utility" and "Passed" in S.M.A.R.T. Utility, I'm not sure what to make of the 22,189 CRC error count or the total error count of 6. Did you click on the "Show All" to see the detail of the CRC error count?
    I'm not a hard drive expert, but it is my understanding that there can be some errors and the drive will still be OK. Over time the number of errors will increase, and at some point there will be so many that the status of the drive will change from "Passed" to "Failing" or "Failed". But this has not happened to yours. And the number of power on hours seems quite low. But the CRC error count seems quite high.
    S.M.A.R.T. status is not infallible--it is just a means of trying to predict a hard drive failure in advance so that you can rescue your data before the drive dies. A "Failing" or "Failed" status is more credible than a "Passed" status. So I am not certain that the drive is really OK.
    Since you mentioned running Disk Warrior in Target Disk Mode, I assume that you have done all you can to repair the disk and permissions.
    What might be good to do next is to try installing Tiger on your firewire external drive and run the iBook for a while on the external and see if the weird problems persist. Since the iBook was dropped, almost anything could have happened. If it runs perfectly off of the external drive, then I would tend to still be suspicious of the internal drive, or possibly its connections. However, if the weirdness is still there when running off of the external drive, that would indicate some other problem. But I do think that running the iBook off of the external drive for a while is the thing to do next. Please post back with how it goes.
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  • Strange ibook display problem

    My wife has a 12" ibook g4 1.33 mhz. It has been exhibiting the following symptoms with increasing frequency:
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    I am at a loss as to what the problem may be. I was thinking it might be the display cable because of the link to hinge position, but that wouldn't account for the random typing. Then I thought it was the motherboard, but the computer seems to work ok other than this. I did realize the other day that most of the problems are things on the left hand edge of the keyboard (display brightness, the q1a pattern), but this doesn't account for the deleted typing and the mysterious f11 thing.
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    Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and I appreciate any help you can provide.

    Thanks for the suggestion, Richard.
    There was definitely never any liquid spilled. I'm not totally convinced that the keyboard is at fault, mostly due to the problem being linked to the position or movement of the hinges. Could the keyboard be flexing when the lid is moved? But, I figured it couldn't hurt to try your idea out.
    I didn't have an external keyboard handy, so I exchanged it with the one from my other ibook. I would have expected the problems to have followed the keyboard if that was the issue, but both computers are functioning normally so far. I have no way to tell if this means something, or if I'm just in one of those lucky streaks where it works for a while before the malfunctions pop up again.
    Any other ideas?

  • Format issue causing iBook navigation problems

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    You don't need to be in the store to circulate that file. 'private' as defined depends on you. Email that file if possible and/or put it on your own server/dropbox and share the link to trusted individuals.
    If you're sending the .iba file to someone that then uses it in iBA, they need to use the 'Shared' menu to generate an .ibooks file, then drop that into iTunes and sync to their device.
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  • Fixing iBook power problem

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    Wow excellent detective work and fix. I'd suspected this problem on a lot of posts.
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  • Two month old iBook has problems waking up, I think

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    First-advise her IE is horrible, she should be using firefox, camino, opera or safari-anything but IE.
    Secondly-has she tried this:Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
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  • IBook G4 problems

    Two years ago I bought an iBook G4. Like a complete idiot I didn't buy the AppleCare Plan. I didn't think we would use it as often as we do. I did use a credit card to buy it, however, which extended the warranty on extra year.
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    ately, although i recently have had both the logic board and hard drive replaced, my ibook g4 has been crashing when i leave it sleeping. it is unresponsive and i have to manually turn off the computer. when i try to restart a gray screen with a flashing file/question mark appears. i have to manually turn it off and on again and/or leave it to rest for a while before it will work again. i have re-installed/archived following the advice of the local genius bar guy, but that hasn't seemed to help as it continues to crash when i leave it sleeping. also, it has happened a few times recently that the computer just shuts off in the middle of an application session, and will not respond at all to pressing the power button. i thought for sure that my computer was dead the first time it did this, but after leaving it a few hours it responded to pressing the power button. luckily i have everything backed up, but my applecare runs out in a few months and i am afraid that i will be left with a non-functional ibook. can anyone advise me on this, or should i petition apple to replace my ibook?

  • Clamshell ibook keyboard problem

    I just added some RAM to a 300 mhz blueberry clamshell iBook and upgraded to OS X. Everything went smoothly until it came time to type in the registration info, when I discovered that one diagonal row of keys on the keyboard -- the 9 O L and . keys, to be specific -- no longer worked.
    Any idea what might have happened? Did I tweak something while removing the keyboard to get at the RAM? Do I need to get a new keyboard, or is this a problem with the connection ribbon?
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Hi Peter...
    I can't see how the Ram could be the problem from what you describe. I suggest removing and then connecting the keyboard ribbon just to make sure all the pins are well attached. The pbfixit site has good instructions if you need them...
    http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/49.4.0.html
    Failing this perhaps the ribbon itself may be kinked or damaged slightly?
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  • Opening pdfs with ibooks ipad: problem

    Hi,
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  • IBooks file problems

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    Just other users are reading here, to report bugs best use the feedback channels:
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  • Ibook power problem

    hi
    im new here
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    im just speculating but, i managed to open the ibook and expose both logical and dc board so when i plugged the dc cord a short crackle sounds and the orange led of the dc cord start flashig also a strange sound comes from de dc adaptor, so i unplugged the dc in board strip cable from the logical board and plugged again the dc cord and the short circuit stops and the orange led lights normally , can you tell me what is the problem here? Dc-in board or the logical (hope is only dc)
    Thanks for any replies

    These are the four most common possibilities when the battery will not charge:
    (1) there is something wrong with your battery
    (2) there is something wrong with your power adapter
    (3) there is something wrong with your power input board (the part that contains the port where you plug in the adapter)
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    Have you tried resetting the PMU? There is a chance that may help.
    When a DC-in board quits working, the computer will run fine from the battery, but won't run from the adapter, and the adapter will no longer charge the battery. This does sound like what has happened to you. To diagnose a bad DC-in board, you need to make sure it isn't the battery or the adapter at fault by swapping out first one and then the other, If it runs from a known good charged battery okay, but won't run from a known good adapter, then you are going to have to replace the power input board. This happened to my husband's. It acted exactly the way yours is acting.
    Usually, if it is a logic board problem, the iBook simply will not run from the battery. This happened to mine. The battery showed up in the battery status indicator. It was recognized by the computer and charged by the adapter (as shown by the battery status indicator). However, when I unplugged the adapter from the iBook, it was just like pulling the power cord from the wall on a desktop. The iBook immediately shutdown. Dead.
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  • IBook Battery Problem

    Hi guys,
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    Thanks Phil.
    The iBook itself is just under 2 years old, but thanks to the battery recall program the battery was replaced late last year, October or November I think.
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  • IBook G4 problems archive and install or erase and install?

    I have been having problems with my iBook G4 (it will be five years old this thanksgiving and it got a new hard drive just before the 3 year applecare ran out). I tried updating safari in may and I think that somehow screwed up my system. I can no longer use safari or open any adobe pdf files. also, when I try to run software update, it will bounce a couple of times in my dock and then disappear.
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    Welcome to the Forum.
    Before that you might want to try running a repair disk routine on the HD, and clear the cache files too. Download ONYX, a free cache cleaner from here: http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs2/english/download.html and clean the system and user files. Once this is done go to the next step.
    Booting up while holding down CMD-S. Once the screen of code has loaded and the cursor stopped moving, type in *fsck -fy* (note the space after the 'k') and hit return. Repeat until it says the HD is OK. Type reboot, hit return.
    Post back.

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