[wynn]

Hi List,

One of my coworkers droped her 12" this morning and dented the corner where the ac adapter connects to. She can no longer plug in the ac adapter. I was hoping to take off the case and bend back the aluminum, but I wasn't able to find any forum posts, or docs on Apple's site. I found the user-installable parts guides, but that was it.

Does anyone here know how to take the case apart? Or have a link to a page that shows how to disassemble a 12"?

Thank you much,

Wynn

[LfGrdMike]

Dont you will void the warranty. Take it to apple, and if you ahve apple care have them do it, I wouldnt mess with it. If you dont get a price estimate to have a professional do it. Good luck! Maybe someone else will give you a better answer, but this is what I would do . I just bought my 12 with 3 years applecare.

[wynn]

Hey Mike, I don't think that AppleCare would cover something like this, since the pb was dropped. It looks easy enough to fix as long as I can get the case off.

But I think it is a good idea to at least call Apple to get a quote.

Thank you

I saw 'take-apart' guides on ebay for the 15" g4 powerbooks, but none for the 12". It seems like someone crafty would have ripped into a 12" by now..

[LfGrdMike]

You missed what I said though. If you take it apart you void your warranty. I understand you dropped it, and that was a good point you made, however I wouldnt risk losing your warranty and protection. Call apple about it. If its a simple dent perhaps they could charge a reasonable amount to bend it back, and you wont lose your warranty.

[Karim]

You can get the 12" shop manual from:

http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/manuals.html

[wynn]

Mike, do you know how Apple would know if I opened the Powerbook?

Karim, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you so much.

[Karim]

They really won't know as long as you don't screw anything up. They used to apply a bluish paint that would allow them to know if you turned the screws to open the case. That is not done anymore AFAIK on Apple's.

I opened my 17" to swap the hard drive and didn't see any thread-lock/tracer paint on the screws.

Just go slow and be careful so as not to create any new problems.

As a side note, you could also always have an Apple certified shop add ram or airport card etc. and then you have a documented "allowed" take apart of your Powerbook. But, I really think this is going too far into the big-brother route.

[PeteWK]

Hi Wynn. Go to the xlr8yourmac.com. They have a great article about adding a hard drive to the 12 inch Powerbook. There are some seriously hidden screws on the smallest PB that you really need to be informed about.

My guess is you have more than an interest in her Powerbook, yes?

PeteWK

[LfGrdMike]

i wouldnt do it. If you purchased a applecare plan read the statements. Do what you want, but I highly reccomend you dont open that up and try to fix it yourself. Putting in new HDs and all that stuff void your warranty and applecare. You need to have apple do it. Also whenever you carry around a laptop I would treat it like a baby and put it in the case.

A well padded case.

Once again good luck on your decision, but take note of the consequences you could face, and regrets you could have if you screw up.

[wynn]

Karim, thanks for the info. I consider myself pretty daring, but I admit defeat and will send it in to apple.

PeteWK, thanks for the info as well. Great link! And no extra bonuses this time around for helping out in tech

LfGrdMike, you'll be happy to hear that it's going to Apple

Thanks again, everyone!

[LfGrdMike]

I think you made a good decision. Think of it this way you will have no regrets because its apple who is fixing it. Good luck to you. Let us know how your apple repair experiece goes.

[Karim]

The smartest people alive are those that know their limits...