ibook g4 from a buddy. Didn't want it anymore because the screen is jacked up. It comes on and runs great, except the display is really really dark. You have to have it under light and be looking into the screen really hard to even see the display. It's not visible enough to even use. There's a small gap you can see between the screen and the plastic molding like somebody tried to stick something down in there. Any hope in fixing this thing? I know it's an older one, so it would cost more to take it to a professional than it's worth, but thought somebody might have heard of this, and know a fix. Otherwise it might be off to a life of solitude in Frega's house.

2/24/2012 9:14:59 PM

Hook the laptop up to an external display. If it looks fine, the video card is good and its most likely either the video inverter or the LCD. The video inverter is generally easier to repace than the LCD, I've done both. Its also cheaper.

If the external display works, you basically need to ask yourself if you just want to use it as basically a desktop computer (since you got it for free), or invest some money in a new inverter ($10 or $20 tops), and then if that doesn't fix it, a new LCD which is gonna run you a few hundred bucks.

2/24/2012 9:51:16 PM

ibook G4 is not worth putting a new screen into. In my humble opinion, anyway. Inverter? Now that might be worth it. But a G4 is a pretty old processor--it was followed up by the G5 and then they went Intel. So you're probably talking 7-8 years old minimum, maybe 10+.

2/25/2012 12:34:24 AM

^^That's an awesome idea. That's how I use my work laptop at home, so I don't know why I didn't think to do that. I'll let you know if it works.

2/25/2012 8:16:52 AM

works like a charm. Using it right now to post this

2/25/2012 2:19:08 PM

which mac os r u running

2/25/2012 3:27:35 PM

if i were you, i'd buy an inverter and swap it out...if it doesn't work, you're out $20, if it does, your $20 desktop is now a $20 laptop

2/25/2012 5:09:42 PM

Are we sure it's not just a broken backlight?

2/25/2012 10:33:47 PM

^good point, thats another possibility...about the same price as an inverter, pain in the ass to install relatively speaking, but could be it...the backlights usually last awhile but if this laptop got 10 years of heavy use, it is a possibility

2/25/2012 10:56:23 PM

We've had backlights go out at work on shit that's only 2 years old.

[Edited on February 26, 2012 at 1:19 AM. Reason : ]

2/26/2012 1:18:43 AM

really? damn... any particular brand stand out?

i mean hell, depending on usage, some incandescent lightbulbs can work longer than that!

2/26/2012 1:25:49 AM

they were all cheap pieces of shit And I'm sure some of the assholes turned off the sleep mode and left them on 24/7



and on a random note, i've got incandescent lightbulbs in my apartment that have outlasted these "high efficiency" cfl bulbs

[Edited on February 26, 2012 at 3:37 AM. Reason : ]

2/26/2012 3:31:19 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light

2/26/2012 12:29:34 PM

it's running OS X 10.4. This thing's gotta be old, it's a 1.07 GHx PowerPC G4 Processor and only 256MB memory. Don't even think it's worth trying to fix the screen, although it surfs the net alright.

2/26/2012 1:58:19 PM

Well, it WAS free.

2/26/2012 2:13:59 PM

I'm going to buy an inverter and a backlight. I don't know what the hell an inverter is though, can somebody point me in the right direction of what to order? Thanks

2/26/2012 5:26:45 PM

something like this http://compare.ebay.com/like/260952486435?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y

that one is used, a newer one will cost more but not a whole lot more

just search for "video inverter ibook g4" basically, but make sure its for your specific model

then something like this http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-iBook-G4-14-Inch-933-MHz-1-33-GHz-Display-Inverter/1657/1 can walk you through getting into the guts of the system to do the swap

2/26/2012 6:39:13 PM

Haha. Don't forget to pick up one of these:

http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Coin/IF145-095?utm_medium=frame_module_bottom&utm_term=ibook_g4_14%22_933_mhz-1.33_ghz&utm_source=ifixit_guide&utm_content=required_tools

2/26/2012 8:39:53 PM

I have a few display assemblies around for this model, in the 12" and 14" varieties. I'll be happy to sell you one for $20 if you don't need me to install it.

2/28/2012 6:27:34 PM

^I"ll paypal you $25 to ship to Belmont

2/29/2012 8:26:26 AM