PowerBook 190 not powering on after reassembly.

[Solvalou]

My word, old laptops can be an absolute pain in the ass.

I fired up the lowly 190 today (yes the one everyone seems to hate) only to find the trackpad stopped working (buttons were fine). Figured I'd check the connections, clean them and reseat them, then hope and pray the thing would work again. Well what I got was way worse, nothing. Well almost nothing.

The green led lights up when the AC adapter is plugged in but that's about it. The light goes out if you press the power button from behind but goes immediately back on. Soft power from the keyboard does nothing though.

Anyone got any ideas what might be wrong here? Maybe I missed something stupid.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bibilit]

the power button from behind

The reset switch ?

any bad connector can do that...

 

[Solvalou]

The reset switch ?

any bad connector can do that...

Pretty certain it's a 'hard' power switch. 

(Picture of a PB 5300 but basically the same thing).

 

[bibilit]

This is a reset switch. 

 

[Papichulo]

i had one it could be the power adapter plug needs resoldering or the thing was plugged in the wrong voltage. or its just a peice of junk like mine was

 

[Solvalou]

This is a reset switch. 

Even though it has the I/O power symbol? Terrible choice of logo to use for a reset switch if that is true.

i had one it could be the power adapter plug needs resoldering or the thing was plugged in the wrong voltage. or its just a peice of junk like mine was

It's pretty secure. If it was lose, the LED probably wouldn't be active. Also the laptop is immaculate and has barely any signs of use so I doubt wear and tear is at play here.

 

[mdeverhart]

I'd try a power manager reset if you haven't already:

http://www.jacsoft.co.nz/Tech_Notes/PP_Manage.shtml#faq7

 

[stormy]

I bet it is a depleted PROM battery. Unplug the battery and it will power on as soon as you plug the power in.