[Kanga]

Powerbook 3400c in distress - YouTube video

Hi, I have a sick PB3400c that died a few days ago. After wiggling the power cord at the back port I suddenly revived it again.

The PB was then stuck in the loop of constant glowing sleep light (which means you need to reset it) and when the reset switch was pressed, it would emit the strangest array of sound effects of which the video only represents about 20% of the sounds I heard. All were like sfx sounds.

Suddenly I heard the Chime and as the Desktop was about to finally show, the PB shut down. I went through the loop thing again before hearing the Chime again. I immediately pressed Opt + Command + P + R, but heard nothing else and the PB booted to the desktop.

Prior to my issues the clicker was saggy but functioned as it should but now it refuses to work at all.

I booted from my PBs install CD and received this error:

"The built-in memory test has detected a problem. Please contact a service technician for assistance."

I tried to run Disc First Aid but due to the clicker not functioning I couldn't select a volume to test ....

I paid very little for this PB and have only had it a week but coming from a OS 10.4.9 environment, I was really becoming fond of this older OS and the PB3400c and although I should just toss it, my enquiring mind is working overtime with how I'm going to fight for this little gem.

Regards,

Martin

[SierraDragon]

Prior to the new Mag-safe connector the power connection where it enters the PB often failed intermittently and it is not an easy fix. Do you have the same problem on a fully charged battery?

Also, PBs of that vintage often had serious wake-from-sleep problems that required hard restarts and PRAM resets.

I have a 3400c at home that still works but the battery is dead and I consider the box not worth the cost of a battery.

-Allen Wicks

[Kanga]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

Prior to the new Mag-safe connector the power connection where it enters the PB often failed intermittently and it is not an easy fix. Do you have the same problem on a fully charged battery?

Also, PBs of that vintage often had serious wake-from-sleep problems that required hard restarts and PRAM resets.

I have a 3400c at home that still works but the battery is dead and I consider the box not worth the cost of a battery.

-Allen Wicks

Hi Allen & thanks a lot for your reply. I miraculously revived (or it revived itself) the Powerbook 3400c and it's now working like a charm again.

I cleaned up some mould on the Logic Board and when I disassembled the PB, I discovered the Trackpad button was in 3 pieces with the underneath broken. Luckily after a bit of fiddling, I glued it all back together. It works perfectly but I don't know for how long.

The added RAM module has packed it in and I'm back to the onboard 16mb, so web browsing is painfully slow.



You can see the mould on the logicboard in the above image.



The circled area to the lower left is where I cleaned and the circled area to the upper right is yet to be cleaned.



The glued in 3 spots, Trackpad Button.

I wonder if you'd consider selling me the trackpad button from your PB3400c if you no longer use it and maybe the RAM if there's been any added over the years? You can PM me if so.

Regards,

Martin

[JoshuaZ]

Mold in a computer... ewww!

Almost as bad as that thread about ants in the guy's computer.

[milhous]

damn that mold is disgusting. do you use it in a high humidity environment or something?

but it's funny that you brought up the 3400 because i have a 3400/180 that's in mint condition and hardly been used. unfortunately, it's been sitting around and doing nothing since i bought it several years ago (out of nostalgia) so i'll probably just put it on ebay and get whatever i can for it. it'd be a good computer for parts because nobody would buy a 10+ year old laptop for use these days.