[owl1979]

Hi
I'm trying to help someone remove a hard drive from a powerbook al 15". It appears the last person who opened up the machine somehow disabled the battery ejection mechanism without knowing it! Right now I cannot eject the battery to get to the last two screws to take off the upper cover of the laptop base...

Has anyone else run into this issue? Please help.

thanks!

[romeosc]

It probably just stuck! I have to slip a knife blade in and ease it out while holding the release....

[ibook_steve]

Gravity is your friend: turn the machine right side up and release the battery.

Steve

[owl1979]

Sorry guys, it's not that simple, though I wish it was. There is a spring mechanism that holds the two latches in place. The spring is working and holding the battery in place, but the coin latch (bottom of machine) is not connected to the release mechanism for the spring, so it won't release the battery.

Edit:
To clarify a bit more, the round coin release on the bottom turns *easily* from locked to unlocked with no tension or effort. It's obviously not connected to any spring release.

[ibook_steve]

Ouch. That's bad. I'm not sure how someone was able to get the battery in in the first place if the mechanism is broken. The only thing I can think of is a really thin knife somehow getting in there and pushing back the release posts. If there really is no spring, or it's not connected, tilt the open PB onto the side opposite the battery. This may help in getting the release posts to go down and release the battery.

If this doesn't work, I think you're screwed.

Steve

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by ibook_steve 

Ouch. That's bad.
If this doesn't work, I think you're screwed.

Steve

I have one with opposite problem..... lift it and battery falls out..... I installed 2 pieces of double stick velcro to keep it in!

[owl1979]

Unfortunately the spring mechanism is in place and the tension is holding the battery in place.

The spring mechanism can be seen here on ifixit:
PowerBook G4 Al 15" 1-1.5 GHz BT 1.1 Disassembly: Installing Logic Board - Removing Logic Board (page 9/9)

The mechanism (it's the bronze colored metal piece with the black spring attached) is right under the hard drive, so if the hard drive is in place, there's no way to get to it... as someone said, you are SCREWED If there is no hard drive there, you can just stick something in to push it back towards the rear of the machine.

Why you are SCREWED: (aka, things we have tried)
- we tried melting/chipping off the battery nubs on the opposite end of the battery by accessing the left side of the laptop by prying up the palmrest area... we used a soldering iron to melt part of the tabs away and then using a precision screwdriver to chip away at the rest... we actually freed the battery only to find out the rubber foot (and aluminum base) in the corner with the battery also holds it into place... the battery won't drop out unless you physcally mangle the laptop base.
- three other ways I can think of getting the battery out... 1) saw apart the battery carefully... perhaps you can somehow access the metal tabs to release the battery... however it's really hard since the tabs are recessed under the battery (bottom) cover ... or 2) you can bend the palrest and keyboard until you can remove the hard drive and access the spring release mechanism... or 3) drill/cut through your laptop base to get the battery out

1) can cause battery acid to burn you if you're not careful
2) this is costly because you'll have to un-bend your palmrest and keyboard (difficult) or buy a new one
3) this is costly and you can kill your laptop

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I've analyzed another 15" pb base and what happened to this unit is that the spring release mechanism is attached the silver button on the bottom ... the attachment is like a nub into a groove... the nub de-lodged and so the silver button no loger moves the mechanism.