Mystery Serial Number - G4 PowerMac

[SiliconValleyPirate]

I have a wonderful mystery on my hands realting to the GigE PowerMac G4 I grabbed off eBay and am preserving.

I am often interested in the Seriel number of Macs because they can be decoded into specs and other details. One of these, on earlier machines, is the build location. The vast majority of PPC Macs in the UK are prefixed CK for Cork, Ireland where Apple formally assembled and pre-checked Macs before European market delivery. But I have a weird one. The case has a CK serial sticker on the back (notably without any specs on, is that usual?), and the serial number decodes down the a GigE model as it should. The Logic Board has a XB prefix on th serial number and the rest of the number is a mismatch except the last 3 digits (both are JNX, I assume that's something to indicate the model). the XB serial also decodes to a GigE model. The board as been in the chassis for a considerable time as the chassis and board are both similarly corroded (the board was moved to a Sawtooth case ultimately because it was in way better condition).

Does anyone know what the build location XB is and where this board might have originated? Is it possibly a service 'EXchange Board' that's been supplied as a spare part? I'm really curious.

 

[Alex]

The XB prefix would potentially mean that it was a CTO. As an example my iMac 27 mid 2011 has the DG prefix. It was not assembled in Cork, Ireland. This is a guess but CK usually assembles machines that are not CTO but perhaps they do take care of CTO's as well under some circumstances. The rest of what you are on about in terms of GigE and the XB meaning Exchange Board is unknown to me.

What you can do is contact AppleCare over the phone, give them the serial number and just ask where it was manufactured. If I remember correctly SAP (if they still use the from-end) or iDesk (if the I remember the name now) may identify that kind of info. Doesn't hurt to call, they won't charge you unless you agree to a support call agreement. You can enquire and all they can say is "we don't know" and then you can end the call.

 

[Alex]

See if it's even here: https://checkcoverage.apple.com

 

[Alex]

Not sure if this helps or if it's even accurate: https://www.stijit.com/web-tips/macbook-serial-number-meaning. It's certainly not a PMG4 so it could be a miss.


Country of macbook production

• Starting from 2010 and onwards in later models the first three characters define the factory where the macbook was made:
  
  
• FC – Fountain, Colorado, USA
  
• F – Fremont, California, USA
  
• XA, XB, QP, G8 – USA
  

 

[Alex]

XB also claims a USA assembly, see https://igotoffer.com/apple/apple-serial-number-why-is-it-important

 

[Alex]

Also check http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

It claims my iMac was assembled in Cork, Ireland but I can assure that it was not. I worked at Apple Cork at the time and it was not assembled there. It was in another country in the EU. I am almost certain but this was in 2011.

 

[SiliconValleyPirate]

Okay, thanks, Alex, that's some useful info there. This makes some sense now at least.

CTO options on the G4 PowerMacs were usually SCSI, RAM, CPU speed, and drive configs, so didn't need a main logic board swap, thus I doubt that's the case. Also, I bought a Mac Pro CTO in 2006 and it still came with a CK serial.

The 'Exchange Board' idea was just a theory I thought might fit, so it has no basis really BUT... if the machine had been assembled in Cork (as the chassis serial number indicates) but had had the MLB replaced at some stage say because of damage or a failure, would the board have been serial numbered to the USA (where it was likely manufactured) or would it have had the serial overlaid by the technician with the original chassis serial number?

Of course, the other possibility is the MLB was replaced with one sourced from a USA-built PowerMac (via eBay or OWC or similar most likely) used after it was out of warranty. I'm not really motivated enough to ring AppleCare about a 20 year old machine, I'm pretty sure they'll just shrug and say they don't know (you can totally do that ovver the phone). I feel less bad about moving the board to a better chassis if it's not original.

 

[Alex]

If a board is swapped, the same serial number is burned in by whoever services them (AASP or ARS). My recollection tells me that serial numbers won't change even if a board is replaced as part of a repair or some other repair extension program. I am not so sure though, I tend to believe the same serial would be burned into the new board to keep the serial on the back of the machine or wherever it is to match the About this Mac window. If you contact an AASP they should be able to tell you (they are usually less cranky then Apple about reveal silly little things like that). From a practical perspective it wouldn't matter because iDesk (the AppleCare app advisors use) or GSX (Global Service Exchange primarily for AASP and even ARS and AC Tier 2 Advisors) would still be able correlate any serial number to any associated repair or replacement via those tools.

Of course, it's possible the MLB was swapped out unofficially but if that were the case the serial number on the back of the machine wouldn't match the About this Mac info window in which case I would be inclined to think it was an OOW repair done by whoever owned it.

None of this answers your original question though, unfortunately I don't actually know what XB stands for but according to those other sites they claim it stands for assembled in the USA but I can't verify their claims, nonetheless it's always edutainment (for lack of a better term) to explore all these nooks and crannies.

 

[SiliconValleyPirate]

If a board is swapped, the same serial number is burned in by whoever services them (AASP or ARS). My recollection tells me that serial numbers won't change even if a board is replaced as part of a repair or some other repair extension program. I am not so sure though, I tend to believe the same serial would be burned into the new board to keep the serial on the back of the machine or wherever it is to match the About this Mac window. If you contact an AASP they should be able to tell you (they are usually less cranky then Apple about reveal silly little things like that). From a practical perspective it wouldn't matter because iDesk (the AppleCare app advisors use) or GSX (Global Service Exchange primarily for AASP and even ARS and AC Tier 2 Advisors) would still be able correlate any serial number to any associated repair or replacement via those tools.

I figured that'd be the case. I assume the serial can't be changed arbitrarily, at least without the tools an AASP had (has?) to do that kinda of stuff.

Of course, it's possible the MLB was swapped out unofficially but if that were the case the serial number on the back of the machine wouldn't match the About this Mac info window in which case I would be inclined to think it was an OOW repair done by whoever owned it.

This is the case. The chassis serial is CK prefixed, the MLB serial (in the About this Mac/System Profiler read back) is XB prefixed. That does indicate to me a OOW board swap.

None of this answers your original question though, unfortunately I don't actually know what XB stands for but according to those other sites they claim it stands for assembled in the USA but I can't verify their claims, nonetheless it's always edutainment (for lack of a better term) to explore all these nooks and crannies.

Well, multiple places seem tp lean towards it being assembled in the USA, but they are all quoting the exact same formatted list which means it likely came from one place on the Internet and is being used as clickbait. Still, as you say it's interesting to poke little things like this. Curiosity is a healthy pastime, at least to some degree.