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It did indeed cold start without the power adapter - even though I was sure I'd plugged it back in, I actually hadn't. And, once I shut it down after the battery warnings, it didn't boot itself when I connected the power adapter. It does appear that the PRAM battery has some life in it...

Somewhat amusingly, I had unplugged the 5300 (and removed the battery) in an attempt to troubleshoot a problem where the trackpad had stopped working. When powering it back up everything worked fine, though the clock was still showing as correct, so perhaps the PRAM battery is not entirely dead...

I can't really get a good photo of the two 5300s since the light in my living room isn't great - but these are the two of them. Obviously the original on the left, and the new one on the right. To the eye, there's a very notable difference, with the original being not just darker (and obviously...

If I recall, there's a capacitance effect which can play a part in that and provide a measurable, though low, voltage at virtually no current. Or I may be thinking of lead acid types. I get 1450mv off my long-dead Duo 230 battery, and 0.9v from one out of the 520c.

I'm going to get a photo of both the 5300s side by side later when I get home.... and clear enough space for them in my pile of junk! Hopefully the difference in color will show up! It would certainly be a nice extra if the battery held some charge, though even if it does I rather doubt it...

Sadly it did boot up immediately the power was connected, so the PRAM battery is likely dead, but I'll have more time to experiment with it when I get home tonight and over the weekend. The battery is holding a charge of sorts, but not usefully. A little bit of exercising it might help of...

The thing looks and feels like totally new. The battery appears to be charging, but I suspect it probably isn't - or at least will hold barely any charge since it can't have benefited from being on a shelf for that many years. The keyboard is absolutely fine. I've spent a couple of hours...

But does it work? Oh yes it does! It's running Mac OS 7.5.2, it had 16Mb RAM and a 750Mb HD, and this is the start of installing software from my SCSI2SD thumb drive.

I opened the sealed bag, and the new PowerBook 5300 is a cs model - hardly a surprise of course.

This is certainly true. It doesn't help when some who see fumbling and walking into things assume you're drunk, or similar, but I don't really care much what others think anyway! It's frustrating, but many have much worse issues to deal with.

Clumsy is about the best way to describe it I think. Hard to know for sure from the inside, but I'd guess that's what it looks like to others. It isn't so much debilitating as very frustrating sometimes, and if I was doing something such as soldering on a regular basis, through trial and error...

Oh, no problem. It's a not untypical problem for people with autism spectrum disorders. Coupled with sometimes poor executive function, I can see exactly where I mean to put my finger or how to hold or manipulate something, but I can't make it actually work that way when I try. It's frustrating...

The scruffier of the two PDQs, with the SCSI2SD v5.5 thumb drive mounted, prepping installers for the earlier PowerBooks. Also, two Lombards, the top one in excellent working order, despite it being described as 'selling for junk', and the bottom one the parts machine that actually works pretty...

I have never really been able to decide why I don't like it, but I didn't, right from the start. Back then I wasn't really interested in portables, so it was really just a system to use on fairly regular commutes to London for meetings, but it never really fitted in with what I needed. Back then...

Oddly, I have a really don't-like-at-all feeling about my 1400. I've had it since new, and tried to leave it behind when I moved to the US 20+ years ago, but it somehow managed to get here anyway. I rarely use it, and based on my experience of it, I'd really decided I didn't want any PowerBooks...

Of course, there's the PowerBook 190 I recently acquired too, and the Duo 230 I usually forget I even have.... The 190 is about to suffer a cracked hinge, unfortunately, so I have to keep it open and use it, for its own good. And the Duo... one of the cutest laptops ever. Awful keyboard, but...

Yes indeed... I know the rebuilt units were a bit more robust, but this does deserve a bit of additional care!

Hard to believe it is what the seller described it as. I might have to leave it in the bag... until the weekend maybe! Ah, perhaps our own chapter for meetings then... And even after that, I forgot to include my 3 Lombards (one for parts)! I also didn't mention my 15 and 17-inch first model...

I haven't unsealed it yet, so I don't even know which 5300 model it is. Likely a cs of course, but I almost don't want to open it up and find out! I do suspect the 90-day limited warranty period may have expired though.