Massive quest for everything PowerBook 2400c

[MrMacintosh]

Hi all,

I've posted before about my two PowerBook 2400c units that don't work. They both have a different problem. I've had little luck in trying to get troubleshooting tips from forums and such. I've tried some Google researching, but most links are dead or in Japanese. Some pages are Wayback-accessible, but not everything.

What I'm trying to do, instead of just trashing my 2400c units, is to scour the web, forums, email lists, etc, for information about the PowerBook 2400c. I'm looking for links to working web pages, tips, tricks, parts, anything from 2400c-knowledgeable people. Depending on how much information is readily accessible out there, I may try to build my own site of 2400c information.

So, please, feel free to post, PM, or email me anything 2400c related.

Thanks,

Kyle-

 

[TheNeil]

From experience, info on the 2400 is tantalising but, sadly, dying out. My own machine arrived totally intact (complete with original box, all cables etc. - totally pristine if truth be told)...but dying. The infamous 'green light of death' was the problem and although the online advice about resetting the PMU (i.e. disconnect from AC supply, leave for several hours, hold the reset switch for 30 seconds) did work sometimes but it didn't take long for even that to stop doing the trick. Removing the PRAM battery altogether didn't help so my machine is now little more than a very expensive doorstop.

If you ever find solution to these kinds of problems then it'd certainly be appreciated

 

[Unknown_K]

Generally when I get something with no docs I put them on the shelf and look around on the web. Sometimes while looking for something else I find a thread that leads me to the knowledge I need. Consider the 2400c a long term project.

 

[Franklinstein]

One of mine did the deathbead GLOD thing, where it would work sometimes and then degrade, before finally not cooperating at all. A new power board cured that problem. I figured that it was the power board because I compared voltage readings between good and flaky boards and found noticeable differences, something that a simple PMU reset wouldn't fix.

Now if only someone would come forward with a schematic for the power board, I would be really happy, as I could fix the dead ones I have without having to totally replace them.

 

[Da Penguin]

Now if only someone would come forward with a schematic for the power board, I would be really happy, as I could fix the dead ones I have without having to totally replace them.

And thus become a godsend amongst hordes of dead 2400 owners.

Mine is still going quite strong *knocks on wood* but having the ability to fix this would be amazing!

The 2400 is certainly a machine worth gathering information about, as it certainly is becoming more and more rare as it moves on. If you do follow through with this archival, I would be quite happy to have a publishing of such an item.

TBird

 

[MrMacintosh]

Thanks for all the responses! I have one 2400c completely disassembled, and have found one bad fuse out of like 11. I'll be looking into replacing that. Its the fuse right by the HD connection, so I'm betting that is why this PB won't spin up an internal drive.

I'm going to try to research some more info about the hard drive particulars once I get this fuse replaced.

I'm taking apart PowerBook #2 now.

 

[tomlee59]

One of mine did the deathbead GLOD thing, where it would work sometimes and then degrade, before finally not cooperating at all. A new power board cured that problem. I figured that it was the power board because I compared voltage readings between good and flaky boards and found noticeable differences, something that a simple PMU reset wouldn't fix.
Now if only someone would come forward with a schematic for the power board, I would be really happy, as I could fix the dead ones I have without having to totally replace them.

If the common failure mode is a gradual descent into non-functionality, then it is somewhat unlikely to be semiconductor-related. Given the high failure rate of electrolytic capacitors, I'd suspect them in the absence of any other information. Instead of waiting for someone to trace out a schematic, I'd just replace all of the electrolytics. There can't be too many of them on the power board. Couldn't hurt, and would probably help.

 

[MrMacintosh]

I replaced the fuse in the one with the grey screen/no boot.

...

It's booting Mac OS 9.1!!

I'm excited. The soldering job isn't the best, but it works for now.

 

[MrMacintosh]

So, the second Powerbook has had its fuse repaired, and I touched up the soldering on the first PB as well, thanks to new flux and the awesome video at CuriousInventor.com

However. One Powerbook runs just fine with its 1.3GB HD. I put a Toshiba 6GB drive in the second Powerbook (which is what it came with), and the drive would spin up and immediately spin down again. I know the Toshiba works, as it spins up fine on my USB adapter board. However, the Powerbook also works, because it boots off the 1.3GB drive from the other Powerbook.

It looks as if there may be some truth to the notion that newer drives aren't good for the 2400c.

 

[beachycove]

Am trying to revive a dead 2400c/180 in the next week or three.

As detailed on this page, among a handful of others in English, there are some dozen or more fuses in the innards of a 2400c, some of which seem particularly prone to failure. I have a power board in mine that has "dead scsi" written on it from a previous owner's surgical/ electronics work on it, which presumably signals a blown fuse. I rather suspect that the problem with my dead 2400c in general lies on the power board itself, since there is no response at all to the power on keystroke, or to anything else; hence I have recently shelled out handsomely for a new 2400c power board. We shall see how installation of that new board goes, and what joy it brings....

Given that these fuses seem to fail so often, could a failed fuse be replaced by one with a slightly higher specification? Or, going all the way, would a wire bridge rather than a fuse be anathema?

My purely amateur instincts tell me no, but there may be electronics wizards who can comment more knowledgeably.

 

[freudling]

Great discussion. I wrote these specs years ago... they might come in handy (check the GLOD solution there, although looks like you already tried it).

Also, like at links at bottom for specialty 2400c sites...

http://thisoldmac.ca/specs/PB2400C.html

 

[MrMacintosh]

So this quest kind of died out this winter. I haven't really found too much more info, but I have an update. My 2400c lives again! My Mac OS 9 installation (or something :?: ) was screwed up, and the machine would boot to the desktop but fall asleep before the Finder would load. And wake up and fall right back asleep. I just plugged it in yesterday, and it works! Now, I just need to figure out how to connect my AppleCD 300e to the Powerbook... so far, it isn't booting with it connected.