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sparks12kv · Feb 9, 2009, 01:43 PM

I recently purchased a 12" powerbook 1.5, with a dead trackpad. I tried resetting it with the hold down your palm trick, but the trackpad isn't listed in available devices in the system profiler. USB mouse works great, everything eles works too. I replaced the top case with a know good one to replace the faulty trackpad, and still no good. The connectors look intact and the pins on the motherboard are not, to my eye, unsoldered. Anyone know how to test this further/ tips on seating the trackpad plug. It's a perfectly functioning computer except for this issue, and I'd really like to use it.
Thanks for your help.

ibook_steve · Feb 9, 2009, 02:57 PM

Welcome to our forums!

Not much you can do other than taking out the MLB and checking the connector solder. If resetting the PRAM doesn't fix it, there could be other problems with the board.

Steve

sparks12kv · Feb 9, 2009, 03:22 PM

I tried the PRAM reset, and no change. The internal battery is dead as well, clock is resetting to 1969. Any chance replacing the battery might help things, or is this a logic board issue?

sparks12kv · Feb 9, 2009, 04:17 PM

Did some further testing, clock only resets if the battery goes dead and I try to restart on ac power. I charged up the battery and started without ac power, clock didn't reset to 1970.

amazing · Feb 11, 2009, 12:28 AM

There's a small chance that the previous owner opened the 12" (for example to take out a bigger and more expensive HD and replace it with the original 4200 rpm HD) and forgot to reconnect the trackpad cable. Go to ifixit.com and download their 12" HD replacement guide, you'll see what I mean on page 7. Alternatively, maybe they pulled on the cable wrong and pulled wires out of the connector.

Opening the 12" is not for the faint of heart or those who have trouble with loads of small screws and complicated directions. If you decide to try to open it, be sure to post back here for tips on how to go about it. For example, I print out 2 copies of the directions and use one copy for taping all the screws to the corresponding diagram. Reassembly means checking the tape on each page to make sure all screws have been used.

The 12" PB is like the iBook in that it doesn't have an internal PRAM battery. It's "supposed" to be in the Powerbook family, which all have an internal battery, but obviously Apple was thinking of it as more of a "Super-iBook" than as a Powerbook.

So, to switch batteries on the 12" PB you had to shut it down (whereas all the other Powerbooks allowed you to do a sleep-swap.)

ibook_steve · Feb 11, 2009, 02:14 AM

The OP says they already checked the connector, so they already have access to the internals.

Steve

amazing · Feb 11, 2009, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

The OP says they already checked the connector, so they already have access to the internals.

Steve

oops, sorry, missed that!

Still, one thing about the 12", it's easy to pull wrong on the connectors and mess up a cable. Seems like the most likely reason for the trackpad to fail.

sparks12kv · Feb 14, 2009, 05:51 PM

Further info:
The sound mute button doesn't work, and the sound card is not listed in the system profiler. I read that both the sound and the trackpad are controlled by the PMA module, and resetting that can fix issues. Since both the trackpad and sound card aren't in the profiler, could the PMU file be bad? I tried to reset the PMU, but I think the fact that the battery is totally dead is causing problems. Can the two malfunctions be related in this way?