Powerbook 170, Duo 230 & Powerbook 3400 - FREED!

[macinbot]

Sold off some Windows laptops and parts I had Craigslisted to a guy who does refurb/repair. While there, we got on the subject of old Macs. He said that he had some old Mac laptops in his garage storage. He ended up giving me Powerbook 170, Duo 230 & Powerbook 3400.

All three look in good condition. The PB 170 has loose bezel where the screen screws in at the hinge and it's loose on the back as well. I tried screwing it in, but I think the screw standoff is stripped, as it won't tighten up. The PB 3400 looks like it may have had some upgrades or problems as the torx screw heads for the bottom are stripped. Duo looks really clean though.

Do they work? I don't know. I don't have an adapter for any of them. I met up with modplod for a keyboard/mouse that I forgot to pull out of the big giveaway. He's going to hook me up with one of the old 3400 power supplies from the boxes I gave him. Looks the the PB 3400 and the Duo take the same power supply. The PB 170 has the wonky 7.5v/2A (standard across the whole 1xx line from what I can figure), so I'll need to hunt one of those down.

Up until today, I just had the Umax J710 and was going to make that my special project. I thought I was done with the rest. Apparently the Mac gods weren't finished with me yet.

[Byrd]

Nice score! Regarding the PB170, the plastic becomes brittle and snaps around the metal lugs over time (or the screw has been done up too tight); a bit of JB weld/Araldite to sit the lug properly in place usually brings it back without being noticable.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Whenever I have a plastic threaded screw that won't tighten do to stripout of the hole I use this repair technique:

__use a section of round toothpick of the screw's shank diameter to fill in the hole at the bottom with the smaller part of the toothpick cone pointing out the top as a "tap drill" center punch/lead drill hole.

__wrap a drill bit of the screw's shank diameter "tap drill" in electrical tape as a drill stop.

__ insert "plug" and then pack the hole with epoxy and let it cure well.

__drill "tap hole" and give the plastic screw a "slight/shallow" head start with a standard tap as close to the plastic thread pitch as you can find.

__re-seat the screw with the correct screwdriver!

[macinbot]

Thanks Byrd and Trash80toHP_Mini for the tips. First I want to see if it'll boot before I take it apart. I'll need to try and round up a power supply. I love the look of the 1xx Powerbooks using the 140 style chassis. They have a very 'computery' look.

Anyone have take-apart guides for the 170, Duo 230 and 3400? Any suggestions for getting the stripped screw heads out of the 3400?

[macinbot]

Posted this same question in my PB 170 thread under the Powerbooks forum. At the risk of seeming impatient, I thought I'd ask here as there seems to be more eyes. Would running the 170 on a 12v/2A instead of 7.5v/2A damage it?

It ran for a total of less than 10 minutes in 2-4 minutes sessions. The hard drive has stopped spinning up. Otherwise everything seems to be okay (boots from floppy even). The HD was pretty loud when it first started, so it may have already been on its way out.

[LCGuy]

Yes it would damage it. You can run it on more amps than it is rated for - it will only draw what it needs. However you cannot run it on a higher voltage than it is rated for - you will release the magic smoke.

[macinbot]

Yes it would damage it. You can run it on more amps than it is rated for - it will only draw what it needs. However you cannot run it on a higher voltage than it is rated for - you will release the magic smoke.

Do you think there's a strong chance I damaged it permanently? That would be a real bummer.

I picked up an 8v/2.5a power supply. I was hoping that it would work out, but I wonder if even the extra 1/2 volt would be too much.

[LCGuy]

If the Mac still runs, you might have gotten away with it, but I wouldn't try it again. As for the 8V adapter, YMMV. Either way I strongly suggest hunting down a 7.5V unit.