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Macintosh Portable seems to be fully working, what shall I do to prevent some failures?

Hi there,
I've just bought a like new Mac Portable from an old couple, bought a 6v 4.5ah battery and it boots into his original hdd. How can I check if there are some capacitors in a not so good state to prevent some future inconveniences? Thanks! I'm afraid to open it up since it seems to work flawlessly and don't want to damage anything... Thanks!
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
The answer is - don’t check. Just replace them. There is no such thing as “good caps” on these systems anymore. If it works, then lucky you, because you won’t have to troubleshoot after. Trust me, they’re leaking. If they look ok, they aren’t. If you aren’t confident about replacing them yourself, send them to someone who is. I’ve heard good things about Amiga of Rochester if you’re in the US.
 
The answer is - don’t check. Just replace them. There is no such thing as “good caps” on these systems anymore. If it works, then lucky you, because you won’t have to troubleshoot after. Trust me, they’re leaking. If they look ok, they aren’t. If you aren’t confident about replacing them yourself, send them to someone who is. I’ve heard good things about Amiga of Rochester if you’re in the US.
Thanks for the answer. Since I don't literally know how to use a soldering iron I'll just find a good pal to do the trick here in Italy, do you think it's unsafe to use the laptop a few times before the recap? I'm just addicted to it...
Anyway, I've found that the trackball isn't working, the ball seems to be clean, what should I do? Thanks!
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
If I had a working portable I'd also want to use it all day lol...
Probably not a good idea though, especially if it's going to be a few weeks/months until you can get the board recapped. That's just going to put extra strain on those caps and cause them to fail faster. It's up to you in the end.

As for the trackball, check that the rollers are making contact with the ball, or that they're centered on the metal rod. You can try turning them with your finger to see if they're registering anything, if not than you've got further issues that I wouldn't be too knowledgeable on.
 
Thanks again for the answer. That makes sense, will check the rollers. I hope to find someone in the area who can recap that board, I've read that recapping a Portable it's pretty a pain lmao
 
If I had a working portable I'd also want to use it all day lol...
Probably not a good idea though, especially if it's going to be a few weeks/months until you can get the board recapped. That's just going to put extra strain on those caps and cause them to fail faster. It's up to you in the end.

As for the trackball, check that the rollers are making contact with the ball, or that they're centered on the metal rod. You can try turning them with your finger to see if they're registering anything, if not than you've got further issues that I wouldn't be too knowledgeable on.
Is yours a backlit model?
nope, a non backlit M5120
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Yeah, definitely avoid using it until it's been recapped then. Those have the fragile HYBRID power manager module that is very sensitive to corrosion. I'd even take it apart and give the board a clean around those caps if it's going to be sitting for more than a few weeks before being recapped. You just can't be too careful nowadays.
 
Yes, lightly with Isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush.
Ok, so this is the motherboard, I don't know if there are some caps in bad state, would love to receive your help if possible haha
 

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LaPorta

Well-known member
Definitely need that cap replacement. Really, if you have the logic board out, you’ve already won half the battle: just get it out to someone to change the caps. I’m sure someone here would do it.
 
Definitely need that cap replacement. Really, if you have the logic board out, you’ve already won half the battle: just get it out to someone to change the caps. I’m sure someone here would do it.
Thanks a lot. It's pretty difficult here in Italy to find a guy who can actually get this job done perfectly, will search around a bit hoping to find someone because I don't want to ship the board abroad, too risky...
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Yeah, that's about what I'd expect for a portable board that still works. Caps look pretty good, you're lucky. They don't look like they've leaked from the outside, but I'll bet you there's a nice pool of gunk hiding under them. Either way, yep you want to get them changed.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
May be. Looks to me like some sort of dirt though, cap leakage usually isn't white like that. The blue part you see next to it is the fragile HYBRID module, which generates the Portable's power rails. That's why these are so critical to recap, they get damaged very easily by leaky caps and are impossible to repair. There are some reproductions that have just come out on the market, but you still want to avoid having to pay for one if you can. Overall I'd say your board looks pretty clean, and you'll probably be fine once the board's been recapped.
 
May be. Looks to me like some sort of dirt though, cap leakage usually isn't white like that. The blue part you see next to it is the fragile HYBRID module, which generates the Portable's power rails. That's why these are so critical to recap, they get damaged very easily by leaky caps and are impossible to repair. There are some reproductions that have just come out on the market, but you still want to avoid having to pay for one if you can. Overall I'd say your board looks pretty clean, and you'll probably be fine once the board's been recapped.
That’s not white, it’s a light effect, it seems like glue or something like that. Yup, I’ve seen that c18 and 19 are the main killers on these motherboards
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Well, it could be some leakage, although I don't believe the through-holes in these usually leak, but I may be wrong. It's the surface-mounted trash can caps that go on these.

Also, unrelated, but I'm working on a capacitor reference library for my website, and I need good quality images of old mac motherboards. If you'd like to help me, I could really use a top-down view of the portable motherboard.
 
Well, it could be some leakage, although I don't believe the through-holes in these usually leak, but I may be wrong. It's the surface-mounted trash can caps that go on these.
Also, unrelated, but I'm working on a capacitor reference library for my website, and I need good quality images of old mac motherboards. If you'd like to help me, I could really use a top-down view of the portable motherboard.
Yeah, for sure =)
 

Durosity

Well-known member
I just recapped a Mac Portable a few weeks ago.. I was expecting it to be a pretty hard job, but it was actually a lot easier than expected. The hardest part was the caps located between the hybrid board and the reset/interrupt buttons just because of the cramped location!
 
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