DuoDock eats Duo 270c.

[beachycove]

I recently came home to hear a high-pitched whine from one of the old machines in my mancave (a.k.a. the basement office). It turned out to be coming from a DuoDock, which I had left plugged in form a couple of years in order to keep a Duo 270c and a 2300c charged up. It's one of the full-sized docking units — a DuoDock I, to be precise.

The power supply in the DuoDock appears to be shot, so that there is no power going to the rest of the unit when plugged in. The upshot is that the eject button on the front of the DuoDock does not work. Obviously, I have had to unplug the thing for fear of fire, etc., but that is not the main worry.

The main worry, as the subject line says, is that I now have a very nice 270c stuck in a DuoDock. Is it possible to get the Duo out of there? I can't even repair the Dock until I can get the Duo out, and I certainly don't want to lose both the Duo and the Dock because of some 99 cent capacitor or the like.

Help!

 

[jongleur]

From the trouble shooting guide of Apple's PowerBook Duo Service Manual

Troubleshooting/Symptom Charts/Miscellaneous Page 24

Can’t eject computer from dock

1 Unlock dock and press eject button again.

2 If no power to dock, insert dock’s key or small screwdriver

into square hole on side of dock and press to manually eject

computer.

http://www.retrocomputing.net/info/siti/apple_repair/www.whoopis.com/computer_repair/PowerBook_Duo_Dock.pdf

 

[beachycove]

That did it. Thanks.

I had no idea that slot on the side of the Dock was there.

 

[digitalrampage]

Common on these things, the PSU's are terrible..

Like I have found with the IIsi PSU's, they blow and leak everywhere....

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I've always had very good luck with DuoDock PSUs, but I'm doing DuoDock ATX conversions for a pair of case hacks.

I need to re-title this thread.

 

[Mk.558]

They call it the tick of death.

http://lowendmac.com/pb/duodock-tick-of-death.html

 

[Bunsen]

Anyone got any hints on removing an Apple MiniDock that refuses to let go of a Duo? :/

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

mINIdOCK gRIP OF dEATH sOLUTION (EXPERIMENTAL) I friggin' HATE auto-capslock, but somehow it was fitting in this instance! )

Required:

(1) Long bladed, 1/8 slotted screwdriver (Craftsman)

Procedure:

With index finger uninvolved, hold screwdriver in remaining digits.

Handle of screwdriver should be cradled nicely in hollow between ball of thumb and heel of hand

Blade should be oriented vertically for entry into handle slot on one side or the other of MiniDock that seems most problematic.

Place index finger's tip firmly on shaft 25mm behind blade of screwdriver.

Insert blade (oriented vertically) almost straight into slot, directly underneath bottom corner of lift handle so that fingertip touches said corner & corner of case.

Blade will be toed out a few degrees with the handle angled a bit toward the center line.

Lever Handle UP with screwdriver shaft! The bend in the handle is the fulcrum.

In doing so, the tip of the the screwdriver will be levering the backside of the docking mechanism's claw lever DOWN toward its maximum lift (release) position in the front simultaneously.

This is just my kinda' Rube Goldberg Solution . . . ) . . . two different kinds of levers working in opposite directions with a shifting fulcrum implementation! :approve:

YMMV! } If you have a second MiniDock do a dry run. I'm 4/5 asleep while typing this, but I do have a fully assembled MiniDock and fully disassembled parts of another sitting in front of my bleary eyes. Both have been repetitively violated by said 1/8 Craftsman Screwdriver. You want to be using a similar mechanics type screwdriver with the broad angled flat used for tearing out wood if you don't have a set of cabinetmaker's screwdrivers (which have real wrench flats up by the handle where they belong!) Don't use a round jeweler's type screwdriver or a cabinetmaker's screwdriver, this is the singular instance I've found where the trusty mechanic's wood-butchering, plastics scraping/breaking/rending/tearing screwdriver comes into its own for computer servicing.

 

[Bunsen]

Thanks, I'll have a go at that next time the Duo/Minidock in question surfaces

 

[TheIanMan85]

The Apple Service Source Solution was so lacking I just had to share.

Can’t connect/disconnect MiniDock

Replace mechanical latch.

Luckily Trash80's solution is a little more complete. I tried to dig up what Apple had to say, but that's it... They go on to show replacing the latch but it looks like the Duo would have to be disconnected first. I've never played with a MiniDock before, just the full sized ones. At least it's amusing.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

:lol: They don't say anything else because destroying the latch mechanism is probably the only sure way to get it to let go!

I'm curious to see if this procedure will work in the real world, I've had this problem, but always managed to get my toys apart without all that much trouble. :

I always figured there ought to be a way to drill a hole in the case in order to depress the backside of the claw rocker . . .

. . . but there's so much crud in the way and so much going on inside that cubic that I abandoned the search. 8-o