Lombard!

[quinterro]

I just won an auction for a 400mhz PowerBook (Bronze Keyboard) with 6GB hard disk, 128MB RAM and a DVD drive.

Considering what happened on the last Powerbook I bid on - sniped in the last 15 seconds - I'm quite surprised.

 

[John8520]

Nice going! Get some more RAM in it (384-512mb) and it will fly with tiger. As it is, it's a killer OS 9 lappy. I liked my lombard alot.

 

[quinterro]

Nice going! Get some more RAM in it (384-512mb) and it will fly with tiger. As it is, it's a killer OS 9 lappy. I liked my lombard alot.

My wife already wants to use it, and she's not particularly fond of Macs.

She's currently using an HP Pavilion N3402 (Celeron 500mhz, 320MB RAM, 5GB HD, Win2k) to connect to her desktop remotely using VNC. Until her foot starts to feel better, she can't sit in front of her desktop computer. It's an OK laptop, but the screen is 800x600 dual-scan. The 40GB hard disk should arrive for it within the next day or so.

I've also found an inexpensive wireless card that works with OS X. It's a TrendNet TEW-421PC card with a RealTek chipset in it.

 

[funkytoad]

Great! Those rock!

 

[quinterro]

According to the USPS web site the laptop finally arrived at the apartment after taking 8 days to cross the country.

Only 4.5 hours until I get off of work. [V]

 

[SiliconValleyPirate]

Good catch, grab a newer quieter hard drive for it if you feel like a bit of hackery - the new 4200 and 5600 rpm disks make a big difference to speed and noise levels.

I feel your pain brother, I ordered a 1GB RAM upgrade kit for the MAc Pro which should be here tomorrow. I'm pacing about waiting for it

 

[gobabushka]

been there, done that! i remember waiting for the parts for my powerbook!

 

[quinterro]

True to form USPS abused the box. The laptop itself is intact with the exception of a non-working backlight. The barrel on the end of the power cable was bent, but I've fixed that.

I've contacted the seller asking for a partial refund to replace the backlight. Other than that one issue it's a nice laptop.

 

[quinterro]

After getting a $30 refund for the seller, I bought a replacement screen for the same amount. It also came with the inverter for the backlight. After having it for about two weeks, I can finally see the screen.

The battery is still good and so far can hold a 1:45 charge.

As soon as I can get some extra RAM Panther will be installed. It may be a while since my wife and I are closing on a house on Friday. [:O] ]'>

 

[Quadraman]

I have a Wallstreet 2 with a bad backlight. It's a cheap fix, it requires a bit of skill, though. The light tube is very thin and fragile and to remove it you have to slide it free of some rubbery retainer things so you have to work it free without breaking it or you'll have a mess. The filaments also require fine soldering to install the replacement. It's only about $7 for the lamp itself, it's just the labor that's a pain. If you don't know what you're doing, you might be better to find a complete screen assembly including the plastics and just do a swap.

 

[quinterro]

I have a Wallstreet 2 with a bad backlight. It's a cheap fix, it requires a bit of skill, though. The light tube is very thin and fragile and to remove it you have to slide it free of some rubbery retainer things so you have to work it free without breaking it or you'll have a mess. The filaments also require fine soldering to install the replacement. It's only about $7 for the lamp itself, it's just the labor that's a pain. If you don't know what you're doing, you might be better to find a complete screen assembly including the plastics and just do a swap.

The replacement screen was in better shape than the original - lots of keyboard marks. It's OK but I may try the original inverter to see what the original problem was.

In the past when I have repaired other people's laptops sometimes it is the inverter instead of the backlight.

EDIT: In this case it was definitely the backlight. The replacement inverter made a high-pitched noise while powered on. The original is much fainter.