Article on Dead iBooks...
From Scott Strungis
How old is your iBook? I ordered mine right after Xmas last year.
It's an iBook 800.
Am I a candidate for a dead logic board?
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott,
That's what I'm trying to draw a bead on. Is this a sporadic and
scattered issue, or are all we recent iBook owners sitting ducks for a
big repair bill if we don't pony up for extended AppleCare
coverage?
I bought my 700 MHz
iBook at the same time you did - between Christmas and New Years
last December. So far it's performed flawlessly.
Charles
Mine's performed really well, too. About two weeks ago I have found
that the Combo drive door gets stuck once in a while. But that's no
biggie, as I don't do much with it beside burn. I use my 800 MHz every
day at work as a schoolteacher and at home. 99.9% of the time it is
also perched on a Podium CoolPad, so it rarely overheats in spite of
being on or sleeping some sixteen hours a day. I hope that all will be
well because I can't see paying for AppleCare. It sorta tweaks that
Extended Warrantee nausea in me.
Scott
The prospect of having to pony up nearly one-third of the price of
a new iBook for two more years of warranty coverage makes me queasy,
too, and if all goes well for the next three months, I probably won't
do so. My iBook has been on 24/7 since it arrived, either working or
sleeping, and it too resides on a Podium CoolPad. :-)
Of course, we will both be sorry guys if our 'Books crap out next
March.
Charles
iBook Logic Board
From Scott Ragland
Hi Charles,
My 800 MHz Combo drive iBook's logic board failed after about 9
months and - fortunately - I was able to replace it under warranty.
Question - do you know if the logic boards that Apple is now using fix
this? Or might mine fail again in a year or so?
Thanks,
Scott Ragland
Hi Scott,
Glad you got your 'Book fixed for free. The guy who wrote the AppleCrap
article I cited said that he was told that if the logic board
fails once, there's a stronger likelihood of it failing again, and in
his case it did. There was no explanation of why this might be.
If you're still under warranty, it might be worth considering AppleCare
extended coverage.
Charles
From Scott Ragland
Thanks, Charles, for the info. I've already ordered a new 12-inch
PowerBook - I couldn't resist! - but this is good to know. (You know,
my iBook is a refurb - maybe it'd already had one logic board go
bad!)
Take care,
Scott
Re: 11 Free and Low Cost Alternatives to .mac for
Email
From Jay Ruuska
Charles,
Thanks for the article about email services. I run a small nonprofit
program for middle-school students in San Leandro, California, that
lets them refurbish a donated Macintosh - and they get to keep them
when they are done.
I have been looking for a free dialup email service
for the kids, too, so that they can send and receive simple text
messages. Have you run across anything like that? The service would
need to be compatible with Mac OS 7.1 and higher, 14.4 baud modem
speed.
Best Regards,
Jay Ruuska
Hi Jay,
I'm in Nova Scotia, Canada, and there is one such service in the
capital city, Halifax. Not much help to you in San Leandro!
However, check out this website, All Free ISP, a comprehensive
database of free ISP local dialup access numbers. You can quickly find
free Internet service providers in your local calling area throughout
the USA and Canada. They also provide detailed information and ratings
for each free ISP to help you compare the free ISPs and select your new
free Internet access provider.
Charles
USB Cards in Power Macs
From SkiSkywalker
Hello! I've got a question, and I'm not sure who to ask, so I
thought I'd ask you, since I found a Miscellaneous Ramblings article of
yours which seemed to be on the right subject. In my house there are
three Power Macs - two 7200/90s and a 7500/100. Our ADB mice are
gradually disintegrating, and there aren't any shops near me that sell
them as far as I know.
I thought it would be a good idea to get some USB cards - that way I
could get nice new mice and other fancy things if I wanted to. My
concern is that I don't know what to look for in a USB card. Can these
computers cope with USB 2, or should I just stick to 1.1? Also, I like
to multi-boot - at the moment I use OSes 7.6, 8.1, and 8.6. The cards
that I have seen so far say "Mac OS 8.6 or later," but I want to be
able to use a USB mouse in all three Systems, which seems unlikely.
I noticed an extension installed in OS 8.6 called
USBHIDUniversalModule, so I copied it into the 7.6 System Folder. The
Mac boots and runs with no trouble in 7.6 (no errors caused by that
extension), but I don't know whether the extension is running or
not.
I haven't bought any cards yet, because I'd like to know whether
there is any way I can put USB software into systems earlier than 8.6
(and, if so, is that USB extension all I need, and will it work?).
Thanks very much for your time,
Mark
Hi Mark,
The good news is that any Mac-compatible PCI USB card adapter should
work fine in your old Power Macs. Don't bother with USB 2.0. It isn't
supported by the Classic Mac OS, although I think USB 2.0 PCI cards
will work with OS 8.6 and up - but limited to USB 1.1 throughput
speeds.
The bad news is that OS 8.6 is the oldest System version that supports
USB upgrade cards. I won't say that it is categorically impossible to
get older versions of the Mac OS to work with these cards, but the
system requirements specs of ones I've seen and used call for OS 8.6 or
later. There would certainly be no harm in trying it our with OS 7.6 to
see what happens.
I've had great success with my Umax
S900 and a Macally PCI USB card, and my son likewise with a Keyspan
card in his S900, but we both use OS 9.1. I do keep a USB keyboard and
mouse hooked up, because the power button is not supported in USB and
there is no USB mouse support in the ROM, but once you're up and
running, the USB peripherals work fine.
Charles
RAM for 12" PB
From Keith T. Eng
Hi Charles:
I read your response to a reader regarding the use of a 1 GB RAM
module in the 12" PB. I am curious: Does this RAM have to be the one
that Transintl puts out, or can one use "generic" PC2100 DDR RAM chips
for this? If the latter is the case, then I see there are various types
that can be used. Which one, then, is the correct one to use? Any help
on this would be appreciated.
Thanks very much in advance,
Keith Eng
Hi Keith,
I'm not an authority on this topic by any means, but my understanding
is that you need to use a 1 GB RAM module that is tailored to the
PowerBook. Transintl's is one, and I think a German supplier also
offers a similar product. There may be others. However, if generic RAM
would work, my deduction is that nobody would be making a big deal over
Transintl's announcement.
Charles
RE: Inexpensive Combo Drive Upgrade for Pismo,
Lombard
From Richard Yaker
Hi Charles.
I followed your advice and got
the Sony CRX700E.
It worked great in my Lombard PowerBook for a number of
months and then stopped being recognized by OS X.
Any word on why this would happen or others who tried this
upgrade.
Thanks for any help.
Richard Yaker
Hi Richard,
I've had no other reports of problems with this unit (although that
doesn't mean there have been none). However, Sony stuff is usually
pretty reliable.
You need to determine whether you're experiencing a software or
hardware problem. Have you tried connecting the drive to another Mac to
test it? Of course, another Lombard or Pismo may not be conveniently
available.
If the drive mounts on another PowerBook, it's probably okay and you're
have some sort of software support issue. If so, a system or driver
reinstall is probably in order.
Also, does the problem manifest in both OS X and OS 9?
Less likely, but still possible, is a hardware issue with the Lombard.
Do other devices still work okay?
Charles
Mac Plus on eBay
From Welles B. Goodrich
About eighteen months ago I conceived the notion of following the
history of the Mac operating system from it's inception to OS X,
which was loaded on my G4 system (1.5 MB RAM, Cinema Display, LaCie
Blue II second monitor, 240 GB hard drive space, etc.). My Odyssey
began with looking on
eBay for a Mac Plus.
I purchased a Mac Plus with 1 MB RAM, original keyboard, mouse, an
external 20 MB hard drive, and an Apple StyleWriter II for less
than $25 shipped! Admittedly this was one rarely cheap buy, but it is a
valid anecdotal benchmark. I can run system 0.85 (a prerelease Mac demo
OS loaded from a floppy) to 7.1 on that fine little machine. On
occasion I take interested parties on a brief tour of the evolution of
the Mac OS starting with the Mac Plus, proceeding to a Mac IIsi for the rest of System 7
versions, on to an iMac for OS 8.1 and up, ending up with the
G4.
Cheers!
Hi Welles,
We've picked up old compact Macs for as little as $15 Canadian in
working condition. They're getting harder to find, however.
The particular thing about the one I have is that it has it's original
boxes, a full set of manuals, software backup floppies, etc. I'm told
that enhances its value substantially. However, I've had no offers that
tempt me yet.
Charles
Old Macs versus Recycling Centers
From Peter da Silva
I wouldn't do that with an old Mac [send it to a recycling center].
What I've been doing with most* of the ones that have come through my
hands recently (a trio of 8100s, a 6100, Quadra 840AV, SE, SE/30, Performa 475) is fix them up and give
them to friends of my kids. The worst that can happen to them is that
they'll end up in the same state they would if they were recycled, and
odds are at least a couple will have some kind of effect on people's
attitudes.
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