Headless Powerbook 165 & VGA

[FlyingToaster]

Hello! looking for some advice. I have two headless powerbooks, a 140 & 145 that still power up. I also have a 165 with a working screen and no issues. I have this-

If I switched the mobos and had a headless Powerbook 165, could I find a MAC-VGA adaptor for this cable and hook it up to my LCD monitor? The idea is to have both working somehow instead of getting a new screen.

It would be a fun project putting the guts inside a case or enclosure.

Edit- I don't know if I need to switch to video mirroring beforehand ..and if my powerbook will even save the settings. It has a dead pram battery of course. But I might not even need to do that.

 

[nvdeynde]

If you just swap the interconnect board between in the Top case of your 165 with that of the 140/145, the LCD of your 165 will perfectly work on the pb 140/145.

If you want to use the external video output of the powerbook, you need an 2-row 15-pin Mac video connector to 3-row 15-pin female VGA connector: this will work on most LCD's. Have a look on Ebay.

 

[FlyingToaster]

Thats cool that it does but will a MAC to VGA adapter work with my adapter..They are so cheap

 

[LCGuy]

Two things:

- You'll want to set the 165 to do mirroring before removing the panel - they run in extended desktop mode by default, even if the internal LCD (and interconnect board) is completely disconnected.

- The best type of VGA adapter to get, is one that has DIP switches or a dial, allowing you to force the right video mode. Thats what I have, and it works perfectly on my 180c, allowing me to plug in any modern VGA display.

 

[FlyingToaster]

Two things:
- You'll want to set the 165 to do mirroring before removing the panel - they run in extended desktop mode by default, even if the internal LCD (and interconnect board) is completely disconnected.

- The best type of VGA adapter to get, is one that has DIP switches or a dial, allowing you to force the right video mode. Thats what I have, and it works perfectly on my 180c, allowing me to plug in any modern VGA display.

Is this a good candidate? http://www.amazon.com/Adapter-DB15-Male-HD15-Female/dp/B0016OC1J2

Will Video Mirroring on be saved after shutdown? I don't think my Pram battery is any good or if it's needed. I will just try it actually

Thanks for the info!

 

[FlyingToaster]

I can't see where to turn it on, do I need my apple rgb plugged in first?

edit- I ask because it is buried inside a cold messy garage..

edit 2- The Powerbook displays control panel wasn't installed for some reason. Musta been the previous owner who removed it..so now I'm awaiting the adapter from amazon! Something else to keep me busy.. )

I'll post a pic of the monster running on the 22'' LED flat screen when/if I get it working.

 

[LCGuy]

Yep, thats the sort you need. Hopefully it'll have a table on the bottom telling you what switch does what. As for mirroring - from memory the setting is stored in a Prefs file. When the Mac first boots, it assumes it still has two displays. You won't see anything except a grey screen until it starts to load extensions.

 

[FlyingToaster]

I got the adapter to work pretty easily. Then I took the screws out of the 165 and compared the display plug to the one on my 145 board. The 165 is too big, so I can't use the 145 board with it's screen. About 1 cm too much. So, re-assembled the 165 and powered up to a cursor. It only displays the cursor now with no booting or disk icon although the HD spins up and sits idle. I took it apart, re-seated everything from start to finish as if I rebuilt the dang thing. Still the same blank screen with (moveable) cursor. :lol: This past year has been pretty hard hitting me with comatose/dead powerbooks! I need to find some desktop mac to use this adapter with...miss those! Anyways just an update