Sick and ill Duo 2300c

[Mk.558]

G'day y'all,

This PowerBook Duo 2300cTB has a memory issue (and a dead PRAM battery) leading to the following:

Normally, it has a 24MB RAM card installed (or is it? Ask jt/Trash) and should total 32MB.

This delightful image was snapped under 8.1. Somehow I managed to wrangle out of that hole which wouldn't even let me open a CDEV to set the time before freezing dead. I got out using System Picker 1.1a3 to put myself into 7.5.5 (after many tries).

7.5.5 works fine, I haven't booted back into 8.1 since the above. It appears that the internal onboard 8MB is faulty since before the control panels and extensions get loaded (after the "Welcome to Macintosh screen") it pops up a dialog box saying "/!\ The built-in memory test has detected a problem. Please contact a service technician for assistance."

"Hello? Is this SOS-Apple? I have a ... Can I get a new motherboard and some new laptop hinges?"

Diagnosis?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I already posted this for you (myself and others) on the 11th: The PowerDuo Troubleshooting thread . . .

. . . along with every 2300c problem link I could find . . . for now. }

recommended this test:

I sent it off with a 24MB Card/32MB total built in Memory and now it's showing 24MB, strange.____test: remove card to see if it's the MoBo RAM bank or one of the banks on the Upgrade Card that have disappeared.

No answers yet, from you on the test or anyone but bbraun that your utility ought to work fine.

LMK and I'll send another Memory Card or start testing another MoBo, depending . . . :approve:

Let's keep the discussion in a single thread, per SOP. :beige:

 

[Mk.558]

Man, I overlooked that thread completely. The title did not identify (unless a PowerDuo is a 2300 with a TB...which does count?) with this particular issue.

Feel free to move / delete et cetera.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Maybe I'll change the thread title if it's confusing, but PowerDuo would refer to ANY Duo with the 2300 MoBo upgrade from Apple as well as the 2300c.

LMK how the "card pulled" memory test goes.

BTW, I haven't seen'nor heard of a good Duo PRAM Battery in YEARS! LMK if you find a source. :approve:

 

[Mk.558]

You mean like this? A simple Google Search for "PowerBook Duo battery" and hitting the Shopping tab reveals tons of results. (It's probably some 3V coin cell with solder tabs on it. tsk tsk handy excuse for 10x the price of a coin cell)

I found CMOS batteries back when I was doing heavy searching for clues relating to recelling the Duo's battery. Haven't been able to get around to it because lack of free cash to spill on it, and 2ndly because I have to worry about two other projects: quad-booting my Mini with 9.10 Jaunty Jackalope, Windows XP SP3, 10.4.11 and 10.5.8; and the other because I need to figure out how to upgrade and download an iPad's software from 3.2.2 to 4.3.3 to 5.x at will. Not easy since I suspect the SHSH blobs didn't get stored...and I hafta fix the SE/30 motherboard diagram...which is on the iBook's screen under AppleWorks 6.2.9 as I write this.

Anyways I can't open it up yet since I don't have a torx driver. You have a couple more Duos on hand, could you give me a tip on the T-size? The only Torx driver I have is a 150mm T15 Craftsman for my SE/30.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I don't have either handy ATM, but the tools should be spec'd in the Service Source, IIRC.

 

[theos911]

Per the service manual:

Tools Required

The following tools are required to disassemble a PowerBook Duo 2300c system:

• T-6 torx driver

• T-8 torx driver

• T-10 torx driver

• IC extractor

• Jeweler’s flat-blade screwdriver

• # 00 Phillips screwdriver

• Duo battery contact alignment tool

That said, I've only needed the T-8 and a Philips and I've done complete tear downs. The bigger or littler torxi may be needed for disassembling the screen, which I haven't done. (I just tore down my 5300ce for a MV16-EM. The T-8 & Phillips were, again, all I needed.)

I was going to point you to the PRAM batteries that have been on eBay since I first searched Powerbook Duo a year ago, but they are gone...