Holy... Wow. Zombified TiBook "Awakens".

[iMac600]

My PowerBook has done this for a loooong time now, but only tonight have I managed to snap some clear shots of this phenomena occuring. Wake the machine from sleep sometimes and every now and then, it'll do this...

Keep in mind the system is 100% unresponsive in this state. This is the first time the system has displayed an image in this state, in this case the Mac OS X desktop. Normally the system crashes before it has the chance to throw up some video output.

Restart it though...

...and away it goes again for another week.

Either way the computer will be replaced fairly soon and the issue doesn't seem to be getting any worse. I just had to share these pics with you because... well it's quite dead like, isn't it? Strange.

 

[tmtomh]

Weird - seems like a video chipset issue, or a video driver issue.

 

[Gil]

WTF. 8-o

 

[Anonymous Freak]

The funky ghosting and fadedness point to hardware, not software.

If you plug it in to an external monitor, does it work?

 

[iMac600]

The funky ghosting and fadedness point to hardware, not software.
If you plug it in to an external monitor, does it work?

I haven't a clue. I don't have an external display that supports DVI.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

The funky ghosting and fadedness point to hardware, not software.
If you plug it in to an external monitor, does it work?

I haven't a clue. I don't have an external display that supports DVI.

That model can display to a VGA monitor, with a DVI-to-VGA adapter (which was included originally; but if you got yours used, it's understandable if you didn't get it; and if you got it new, it's understandable that you may have lost it by now.)

 

[iMac600]

That model can display to a VGA monitor, with a DVI-to-VGA adapter (which was included originally; but if you got yours used, it's understandable if you didn't get it; and if you got it new, it's understandable that you may have lost it by now.)

Yeah... I got the machine used. Didn't come with the adapter.

 

[bd1308]

next time that happens , run your finger along the top case of the TiBook. I have one that spazzes out every so often, and then with one finger running down the back of it, it'll straighten right up (back of the screen...or the lid)

 

[iMac600]

It's just happened again. I can confirm the system is 100% unresponsive when it happens. It doesn't respond to ping, there's no sound and an external display doesn't do a thing. Whatever the issue is, it kills the system completely.

This is running an install of Mac OS X Tiger now too, so I doubt it's software related.

Looks like the Radeon Mobility (or the logic board, Branes on IRC suggested the issue could be in the RAMDAC) is on its way out.

 

[tomlee59]

Yes, I fear that your TiBook has developed a problem with the BGA joints under the graphics chip. This problem is unfortunately widespread (the early iBooks were infamously prone to early failure, but other models have suffered from this problem as well).

Some folks have used shims to put pressure on the chip. It helps a bit, but it's not a long-term solution. Others have attempted to reflow the joints using a heat gun. If you get to a point where the machine is useless, you might be tempted to give that a go.

 

[iMac600]

Yes, I fear that your TiBook has developed a problem with the BGA joints under the graphics chip. This problem is unfortunately widespread (the early iBooks were infamously prone to early failure, but other models have suffered from this problem as well).
Some folks have used shims to put pressure on the chip. It helps a bit, but it's not a long-term solution. Others have attempted to reflow the joints using a heat gun. If you get to a point where the machine is useless, you might be tempted to give that a go.

Yes well, you could say that.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10825

If I go the route of a desktop conversion, i'll work on the BGA. Thankfully I have experience reflowing the Ball Grid Array thanks to years of suffering with iBooks and PowerBooks.

 

[bluekatt]

Yes, I fear that your TiBook has developed a problem with the BGA joints under the graphics chip. This problem is unfortunately widespread (the early iBooks were infamously prone to early failure, but other models have suffered from this problem as well).
Some folks have used shims to put pressure on the chip. It helps a bit, but it's not a long-term solution. Others have attempted to reflow the joints using a heat gun. If you get to a point where the machine is useless, you might be tempted to give that a go.

not the early the later G3's were the most notorious are the 700 800 and 900 mhz units

the 500 and 600 mhz units tend to be rock solid

 

[iMac600]

All Icebooks could suffer from GPU problems. Regardless of what chip you had on there, ATI Radeon or a Rage 128, that board was gonna flex. I've seen a share of 500/600 G3's with ATI Rage chips that need reflows, so they're not exempt from the rule.

Anyway, the TiBook is gone now... the display cables severed beyond any logical repair, so I binned the LCD a few days ago. Good riddance to a piece of junk, I will never, ever again buy a Titanium Apple anything. Horrible structural integrity. No idea why these always get such a good reputation. I still have the base unit here, which i'll look into adapting for external video, otherwise i'll probably ditch that too. If I can make it work with an external display though, i'll look into some modifications for it.

I'd like to turn it into some kind of TV box actually, but the processor speed is otherwise quite restrictive when it comes to anything of a reasonable definition.

 

[Franklinstein]

I've got a headless 867MHz model that I'm turning into a TV box. It seems to be alright for most things, so far. Too bad there isn't a lightweight, modern video player for OS 9, like CCCP for Windows...

Anyway, MPlayer Extended, VLC, and Perian are pretty good at playing a video decently under Tiger, when I find which one wants to play nice. mkvs can be troublesome, particularly if they're hi-def because, as much as I love the PowerPC 7400 series, they're a bit out of their league when it comes to decoding that stuff. At least, with the software available for them. But hey, at least it'll play the vids without transcoding or anything, which is a far sight better than the XBox 360 or PS3.

Mine has a combo drive, though, and since it's a Matsushita drive, it hates life. Specifically, it hates burned DL DVDs. I cleaned the hell out of it by disassembling the laser pickup assembly and removing bits of broken epoxy from the lens focusing assembly, so at least it works for the single-layer burned DVDs and stuff now, and will occasionally read a burned DL disc.

... yeah, the epoxy was the original adhesive used to hold the case together. For some reason, Apple thought it would be a good idea to use a weak glue with migratory tendencies to keep these things in one piece. I haven't tried to see if the epoxy shards are electrically conductive yet or not, but they sure as hell love magnets. I use JB Weld to replace whatever that cheap stuff is, because JB Weld is non-conductive, non-magnetic, and has a very high tensile strength. I highly recommend that stuff.