Trackpad on 12" G4 PowerBook doesn't work

[krye]

I picked up a pretty sweet 12" PowerBook G4 1.5GHz in the box a year ago. The user told me that the trackpad never worked. I figured it was probably a matter of just swapping out the trackpads with a replacement. I got the PowerBook and opened it up. It looks like the previous owner tried his hand at fixing it too. There were a few missing screws under the keyboard. The trackpad wasn't even connected. I connected it, but it still didn't work.

I hopped on eBay and ordered another one for $10 bucks. I installed that one, but still no luck. I've reset the PRAM, reinstalled Tiger. Nothing. I ran the hardware diagnostic test on it and the logicboard came back OK.

Anyone have any ideas why 2 trackpads don't work and what I have to do to fix it? Am I looking at a logicboard replacement?

Having a 12" PowerBook sort of defeats the purpose if I have to whip out a mouse to use it. Needless to say, it's been sitting on the shelf for a year. I'd really love to fix it so I can actually use it.

 

[TheMacGuy]

I have had the same problems with an older PowerBook 5300cs. I think its the connector on the logic board. Might need a resolder. I have tried 3 cables and 2 trackpads (heck, even pulled the one working from my 5300c, no luck).

I'd check and make sure the ribbon is good with a multimeter.

 

[krye]

I used two different trackpads with two different cables, so it must be on the logicboard end. Maybe a mashed pin or something on the logicboard?

I just scored another 12" on ebay for $25 bucks. The guy said it stopped working after he dropped it. Whatever that means. There doesn't seem to be much (if any) damage to the case at all. I hoping he just killed the hard drive, or knocked something loose. That would be a sweet score if that's all that's wrong with it.

Anyway, it's only 867MHz. If anything, I'd like to pull the trackpad out of it and try that. Swap the superdrive (since the one on my 1.5GHz is a little messed up. It's really hard to get a disc in and out of it.) I'd also like to replace all the missing screws that have fallen out of it. (Some on the back hinge are missing too.) Oh, and the 1.5 came with a 3rd party battery. I'd like to swap that with the original in the 867. The keyboard looks like it's in better shape too.

I bought it on a whim because it was so cheap. I'm just hoping that a lot of those parts are interchangeable between the 867MHz and 1.5GHz models.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

They are not the same trackpad, I'm pretty sure. The 1.5GHz and higher PB G4s implement a USB trackpad (which has multifinger scroll support); all the earlier versions of AlBooks and TiBooks actually have ADB trackpads (which do not unless you install a kext like iScroll2).

 

[krye]

So there's no possibility I ordered the wrong trackpad? I'm sure they would have had a different connector. Is it safe to assume if it fit, then it was indeed for the 1.5GHz model?

 

[CC_333]

Hi,

These 12 inch PowerBooks are quite difficult to work on, I've found.

Maybe it's just my bad luck :?: .

Anyway, I have some spare parts for your 867 MHz PB should you need any (I want to be rid of them!) Except for the logic boards (I have three) and a couple other things whose connectors are broken, everything works as far as I can tell, including the trackpad .

Good luck on that 1.5 GHz! I don't know anything about them, but I suspect that neither the trackpad nor the keyboard are interchangeable with said parts from the 867 MHz model.

c

 

[krye]

Excellent. Thanks so much. I'll let you know if I need anything once it comes in.

 

[CC_333]

You're welcome!

Feel free to send a PM whenever you need any parts. I cannot guarantee the working condition of everything, but I am reasonably certain that most of it works (aside from what I mentioned in my previous post).

I even have a hardly used, somewhat modified (because it wouldn't fit) aftermarket battery, if you need one.

c

 

[krye]

I received the PowerBook in the mail over the weekend. Much to my surprise, the PowerBook came shipped in the original box. No mention of that was in the auction, so that was a nice bonus.



Looking at the laptop, I see that one corner by the display is a little dinged up, but nothing that you would think would kill the laptop as the seller described. The auction was listed as "hasn't worked since I dropped it years ago".



I powered it up and was thrilled to see it boot right to the OS X login screen! Naturally, I didn't have the seller's login, so I popped in my Tiger install DVD and gave it a fresh install. I hopped on my Wifi, pulled down some updates and was off to the races.



Looks like a perfectly functional PowerBook to me. I wonder what the seller thought was wrong with it. Perhaps the drop knocked something loose which fixed itself in shipping. The only thing I noticed is that the display always starts off dimmed at power up. You have to wait until you're at a login for the brightness keys on the keyboard to work. Is that a defect, or some sort of setting? Once I'm at a log in, I can bump the brightness all the way up and the display is fine. Maybe the guy didn't know that and he thought he damaged the back light? The battery also reports a runtime of 19 hours. So maybe a PMU reset is in order. Other than that, the SuperDrive works, as well the AirPort.

I can't believe I got it for $25 bucks!

I would like to replace that top assembly with one that's not dented.

@CC_333

Did you have a top cover and bezel to spare that's free of dents?

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Very nice!

 

[CC_333]

Hi,

If you mean the screen casing, I have an almost perfect one (minus screws; you'll have to transplant them from your current display).

PM me for more information.

c

 

[krye]

PM sent

 

[krye]

This PowerBook is sweet. The battery is toast though. I just played Dark Castle in Mini vMac for about 2 hours. The machine runs solid. Good news too, I scored a new high score!



Couldn't get past BK2 though. Next time.

 

[TheMacGuy]

I'm not understanding, is the trackpad working on the original one?

 

[krye]

No, it doesn't work on the 1.5GHz model. The previous owner said it never worked and that he always used it with a mouse. Although I don't know if he was the original owner. I picked up a replacement trackpad for it, but that never worked either. Must be the logicboard. The 867 Model I bought was supposed to be broken. I was going to use it for parts, but when it arrived, it turned out to work just fine. So I'm not going to take it apart.