[tactikal]

Anybody ever unplug the trackpad ribbon before???

I'm following some step by step instructions but I'm having trouble lifting up the locking bar

any suggestions?

I'm not truly sure which direction I need to lift in


thanks for everybody's help

[ibook_steve]

Which machine?

Steve

P.S. http://www.ifixit.com

[tactikal]

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

Which machine?

Steve

P.S. http://www.ifixit.com

Yeah I'm using the ifixit guide right now to do it

It's an alluminum 17" powerbook.

For some reason the locking bar just won't budge... i'm not sure how hard I should be trying to lift this thing. Nor am I really sure which direction I should be lifting in... In the guide it says "up" but that could mean alot of different things from this vantage point.

Thanks for your help!

[ibookuser2]

"Lifting the locking bar" is a poor description. I wouldn't really call it a bar, nor would I call it lifting. The inner plastic piece ("locking bar") slides a few millimeters in the same direction that you would pull the cable out. It shouldn't be very hard to get it to move.

[ibook_steve]

I don't know exactly what it is on the 17", but there are two types of connectors I've seen for flex like that. Either it's a bar that pull out in the direction of the cable as mentioned, or a bar that lifts up, meaning it hinges 45 degrees up to release the flex cable. I'll bet ibookuser2 is correct here. If the bar doesn't lift up, carefull pull it out in the direction of the cable.

Steve

[tactikal]

I'm going to take a picture when I pop it open again and maybe you guys could advise me from there.

I really appreciate all the help!

Thanks.

[Enigmaaron]

You want to slide the clamp piece in the same direction as the ribbon cable. It basically slides in next to the cable to wedge it in there. So pull it along the cable, it looks like in this case that would be pulling horizontally with the motherboard towards the front or latched end of the powerbook. It should not take much effort at all to pull out. If you can't get it with your fingertips just use a small flat head screw driver and pull one side at a time. It's not as delicate as it may seem, but still be careful.

[tactikal]

Ok... so I realize this pcture is really blurry... I don't really feel like taking my computer apart again to re-take the picture... so hopefully somebody can tell me what kind of lockbar i'm dealing with from this photo:

http://www.tactikal.net/public/lockbar.jpg

Thanks again for the help

[tactikal]

Enigmaaron... thanks very much.... I think I know everything I need to know

The reason I've been doing this is the bottom and upper case have been slowly separating for some time... and I want to get in there and see if I can tighten things up and solve the problem.

I never purchased apple care for this baby... and a mac retailer / repair shop said it woud cost over a thousand dollars to fix it... which sounded like bullshit to me.

Anybody else have an alluminum powerbook separate like that before?

[tactikal]

So I've opened the computer back up again and I'm still having trouble understanding ifixit's guides to this trackpad ribbon. I have disengaged the locking bar... but now I'm confused as to what is the connector how I'm supposed to move it and then weather the trackpad ribbon itself is supposed to be completely disconnected or if its just supposed to slide out 2mm's

These ifixit guides are kind of helpful... but they do leave alot of un-answered questions..

thanks for everybody's help

[ibook_steve]

Is the picture at the top of this page really that unclear?

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/55.3.3.html

After pulling out the locking bar, just pull out the ribbon cable. The locking bar comes out 2 mm. The cable comes completely out.

Steve

[tactikal]

yeah that's definitely the page that i'm having trouble with...

They just mention the connector a couple of times... which I assume is the other plastic piece in there. I've slid the locking bar down (2mm's) and the ribbon feels like it could pull all the way out.. .I just wasn't sure weather it was supposed to pull all the way out and how hard I should pull... I'm assuming once the lock bar has been moved down I should completely unplug the trackpad ribbon.

as you can probably tell I'm a little nervous about doing all of this.... the last thing I want to do is destroy my baby.

Thanks for your help steve.

[ibookuser2]

The ribbon should be pulled all the way out and should pull out without resistance if you've disengaged the lock. There is no connector on the end of the ribbon, just a set of contacts.