I just made a $1000 screw-up! I was replacing the internal hard drive on my daughter's iBook G4 1.33 today (no small task). In the process of removing the power-up cable from the motherboard, I pulled the plastic wire connector off of the motherboard. An Apple tech told me that the whole board will have to be replaced. Since I've voided the warranty, it would be at a cost nearly equal to a new machine. The tech said that the connector can't be soldered back on. I find that hard to believe. There goes my father-of-the-year award. One of the dumbest things i've ever done!

Oh.... OUCH!



I would look for a good old fashioned electronic repair shop and see if THEY can solder it.
Very small solder jobs like that are USUALLY not worth the time/effort to companies like Apple (so they just say it's impossible).... but someone who's good at soldering MIGHT be able to DO it... maybe not economically.

Wishing you the best...

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

Hi Tommie,

Are you in Milwaukee? Guessing so from your handle.

I've fixed that exact problem already one time. Same thing; the darn connectors are so tight on those machines, it's not a surprise it happens.

We're in Woodstock. IL - an easy hour and a half drive from Milwaukee. May be worth your while bringing it in for a 2nd opinion.

PM me if you're interested-

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Sorry to hear about that.

Even though I have worked on literally thousands of computers, when I upgraded my iBooks 60GB HD to a 120GB, I took it to the local shop. $40 to do the data transfer and the install, 90 day warranty on the work.
The iBook is a nightmare to work on, at work I upgraded about 100 of them, but I had the company behind me in case I screwed up.

BGnR

Yeah, I'll bet it *could* be soldered on if you find someone with the skill to do it. part of the trick is that a heavy-duty connection carrying power requires more heating time than you can usually apply without burning out the more sensitive integrated circuits on the logic board.

I'd bet you'd be able to find someone who could solder it back on for you for $100 or less... (I don't know how many contact points the connector in question has... but figure 5-10 minutes per contact point at $60 an hour for a decent electrician... I'm guessing that power will be something like 4-8 connectors.)

However, this resoldered connection will probably never have the same robustness as the original... so you'll have to be ginger with the laptop forevermore when connecting it to power (if I've understood what you disconnected correctly.)
g=

No, he lifted the connector off the logic board by the sound of it. There's 2 wires going from the power switch. Not exactly easy to fix but worth looking into for sure. If the connector tore off the logic board leaving no trace to solder to, then it's A LOT more difficult to fix.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Oh yeah, it'd be the top left blue/white wire set FWIW.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

It will give me a chance to test my 60 foot monitor!
Sheesh!

BGnR

Translation: I'm smarter than everyone else.

BigGuynRusty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry to hear about that.
>
> Even though I have worked on literally thousands
> of computers, when I upgraded my iBooks 60GB HD to
> a 120GB, I took it to the local shop. $40 to do
> the data transfer and the install, 90 day warranty
> on the work.
> The iBook is a nightmare to work on, at work I
> upgraded about 100 of them, but I had the company
> behind me in case I screwed up.
>
> BGnR

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I suffer from the same sensitivity that you do. A few nuggets of wisdom were shared with me and I'm "trying" to incorporate them into my life. First, remember that nobody can hurt your feelings unless you let them. You can always reject what is being forced on you emotionally.
Second, nothing changes unless you change it. If you don't want the behavior to be repeated then you need to take action. Otherwise the kid has learned that his behavior is the way to get things done, because everyone lets him get away with it.
In the meantime I sympathize because I've been there.
-beerman

BigGuynRusty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It will give me a chance to test my 60 foot
> monitor!
> Sheesh!
>
> BGnR

Translation: I'm smarter than everyone else.

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I suffer from the same sensitivity that you do. A few nuggets of wisdom were shared with me and I'm "trying" to incorporate them into my life. First, remember that nobody can hurt your feelings unless you let them. You can always reject what is being forced on you emotionally.
Second, nothing changes unless you change it. If you don't want the behavior to be repeated then you need to take action. Otherwise the kid has learned that his behavior is the way to get things done, because everyone lets him get away with it.
In the meantime I sympathize because I've been there.
-beerman

Been there, broke that.

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3GHz - The clock is STILL ticking Steve.

Sorry, didn't think posting an 1160 wide image would cause anybody problems. :>)

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Thanks for the heads up (and the pic!). I'm planning to upgrade my daughter's G4 iBook (800MHz, 12") hard drive tonight. I have the MacFixit walkthrough, and I did the same upgrade for my son's clamshell iBook about 2 months ago. I will be especially careful with the connectors!

Good luck, Tommie!

Well, as of today, OWC Jamie has the damaged iBook at the shop (I live only a little over an hour from OWC. I'm praying that he can perform a miracle.

Update:

Jamie just called. He WAS able to solder the connector back to the logic board. The man is a surgeon!
So much for the Apple tech who told me it couldn't be done. I'm picking up the machine tomorrow.

I'm sure your daughter is thrilled. You have also convinced me that this is something I am not going to try.

Glad to hear of the positive outcome-Way to go OWC Jamie!

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

OWCJamie works on a PowerBook attached to a 24" Dell monitor. For him, that image is only a little larger than the icons on his desktop!

They say the eyesight is the second thing to go!

Tommie Milwaukee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Update:
>
> Jamie just called. He WAS able to solder the connector back to the logic board. The man is a surgeon!

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Don't ask who the bell's for, dude. It's you.

All better.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Jamie saves the day!

Jamie,

Do you also fix 2nd Gen. iPods with the dreaded loose headphone jack problem?

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I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making
him carry me, and yet assure myself and others
that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his
lot by all possible means — except by getting off
his back. - Leo Tolstoy, novelist and Philosopher
(1828-1910)

Jamie:

Even though I don't know any of the people involved here, this has moved me to make sure that my next computer-related purchase will be from OWC.

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chas_m




[crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com] <-- Moving to Canada blog

Yay, Jamie! Great work!

What is also great is that you can get help like this from this forum...

and best of luck with the iBook Tommie.

What is also great is that you can get help like this from this forum

Absolutely! I just registered for this forum a few days ago & it's already saved me. Thanks, Jamie!

I think this calls for a

R E P A I R
L E A D E R

! That is fearsomely tight spacing.

I think that is part of the reason these are having problems - right under the edge of the frame.... have to take the logic board out to work on it too when it happens, add another half hour and 20 screws to the job.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing