powerbook 100

[nahuelmarisi]

I have a powerbook 100 that when started up chimes, but then it fails to boot.

If I put a floppy on its external floppy drive it will eject it (no matter what's the content).

I disconected the internal drive (just in case it's dead) but the only difference is that it doens't attempt to read it.

I also tried to reset the power manager unit without any luck.

I have also removed the internal battery just in case.

Any ideas!?

Can I revive my PB 100?

 

[tomlee59]

First make sure that the floppy has a bootable ("blessed") system folder. If it doesn't, the PB will spit it out, exactly as it's doing.

Occasionally, a damaged hard drive will cause the floppy drive to misbehave. To test this possibility, remove the hard disk altogether, then try to boot from a blessed floppy.

The fact that it chimes should give you encouragement. If it gets that far, it usually means that a little extra work will put you over the top, so don't give up!

 

[shred]

Like the Mac Portable, the PowerBook 100 won't start its hard drive reliably unless it has a good battery.

I don't know why it won't boot from a floppy though - maybe the floppy disk drive is faulty? It needs at least System 6.0.8 to boot, from memory.

 

[reallyrandy]

The PB 100 needs System 6.0.8L, not 6.0.8.

 

[mactjaap]

My (only working PowerBook 100 out of 7....) boots from floppy with System 6.0.5 on it. All batteries are dead for years. Just plug the adapter in and it will boot.

Isn't it just the plain old caps problem? Almost all PowerBook 100 are dead after 20 years. You have to replace caps. Or do you see a blinking floppy and and arrow on the screen?

 

[Macdrone]

Just getting my first powerbook 100, no battery needed. It has a battery on off switch on the back by the power port. My ccfl is dead, it needs caps and a hard drive but with a flashlight and external floppy booted to 7.1 no problem. Not sure about the OS but it was after the portable and my portable has like finder 6.0.5 , system 6.0.8 I would think it needs that but it's just a 68000 chip so I don't know.

 

[nvdeynde]

Like the Mac Portable, the PowerBook 100 won't start its hard drive reliably unless it has a good battery.

The PB100 can boot without problem from it's internal HDD, no working battery is needed. I guess nobody has a working battery for a PB100 anymore.

Of course the original Connor 20/40MB HDD is notorious for stiction of the heads so that needs to be repaired if you want the drive to work again.

However it can be done, I've got 3 fully restored and working PB100's.

Recap both the logic board as the LCD panel and invertor board. Make sure the battery switch at the back is in the up position.

It's best to cover to copper contacts of the battery with isolating tape so it doesn't connect to the circuit anymore as it can draw power or be shorted.

Also remove the small metal clip from the switch behind the battery: this disables the battery charging circuit as the system then things it's running without battery on the DC adapter only.

Works like a charm, I use my powerbooks 100 every week for multiple hours. The run quite well with OS7 if you have an additional memory module.

 

[silvi89UD]

Hi to everyone! I’m Silvano and I have a PowerBook 100 that doesn’t boot too! At the first time when booting it chimes ( with like booting loop sound, with some strips on the screen). I’ve tryed to change the hard drive with a BlueSCSI, but nothing… Now no sound, no strips in the screen but just only blue screen….with some red dead pixels ( but for now is not a problem)
Maybe it needs an electrolytes recap??
Thanks!

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

Bad caps. 100% of them have this issue now. Pink spots in the screen are unfixable unfortunately.
I'd recommend starting a new thread for your issue - this one's really old.

 

[silvi89UD]

Ok, i will change them !Thank u so much!!

 

[imactheknife]

Just getting my first powerbook 100, no battery needed. It has a battery on off switch on the back by the power port. My ccfl is dead, it needs caps and a hard drive but with a flashlight and external floppy booted to 7.1 no problem. Not sure about the OS but it was after the portable and my portable has like finder 6.0.5 , system 6.0.8 I would think it needs that but it's just a 68000 chip so I don't know.

Never mind lol.. just realized this is from 2013.. wow