[sartor]

Recently, a friend lent me his slightly broken (dvd won't eject) 17" G4 Powerbook (1ghz, aluminum)... a week later, my G4 iMac just up and died, so I am now using this classic Powerbook. Amazing coincidence!

When the powerbook gets hot, the fan powers up sort of funny, in that is starts slow, then gets faster, but sort of chugs along as it speeds up.. funny. - ANYWAY, the question is - can I cheap out, and lift the rear of the computer with rubber feet - using double sided tape.. (rubber door bumpers 7/8") for ventilation/cooling? I put them on, and it seems to be helping cool the machine, but now I am wondering that the center of the machine is not supported. Do you think it will be OK?

OH, also, I'm now using this as my desktop computer.. can I leave the power/charging cord plugged in all the time?

BTW, I did get the dvd out by holding the Powerbook upside down. I also may use the dvd burner from the iMac in an external case for the Powerbook.. In that case I need to get an external case for it too! thanks folks..

Also, what kind/model of interrnal DVD burner would you recommend? I have a new hard drive ordered...

THANKS!!

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by sartor 

Recently, a friend lent me his slightly broken (dvd won't eject) 17" G4 Powerbook (1ghz, aluminum)... a week later, my G4 iMac just up and died, so I am now using this classic Powerbook. Amazing coincidence!

When the powerbook gets hot, the fan powers up sort of funny, in that is starts slow, then gets faster, but sort of chugs along as it speeds up.. funny. - ANYWAY, the question is - can I cheap out, and lift the rear of the computer with rubber feet - using double sided tape.. (rubber door bumpers 7/8") for ventilation/cooling? I put them on, and it seems to be helping cool the machine, but now I am wondering that the center of the machine is not supported. Do you think it will be OK?

Shouldn't be a problem. There are stands made that hold up a notebook computer at each edge.

OH, also, I'm now using this as my desktop computer.. can I leave the power/charging cord plugged in all the time?

Yep.

BTW, I did get the dvd out by holding the Powerbook upside down. I also may use the dvd burner from the iMac in an external case for the Powerbook.. In that case I need to get an external case for it too! thanks folks..

Also, what kind/model of interrnal DVD burner would you recommend? I have a new hard drive ordered...

I believe this is the OEM drive: http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Apple-...4-p-16592.html

[amazing]

Best cooling method: getting a laptop cooler that blows air at the laptop bottom. Coolers that suck the air away from the laptop are not as effective. Be sure that the cooler has very quiet fans. You can find models that provide a USB hub, useful since the USB coolers take up one USB port. Alternate cooling method: Elevate the rear of the laptop and get a small, very quiet desktop fan to blow air across the laptop (cooling you as well.)

If you're going to use an external burner, you might as well get a faster Pioneer burner (natively supported)--they're around $25 with free shipping and a firewire/usb case is around $40 (newegg.com). Plus, you'll really enjoy the enormously faster burning speeds, compared to the internal burner.

As long as you've got the Al-PB open to install the new HD, see if you can re-align the internal burner so that the ejected disk doesn't catch on the case. Might have been some torsion on the case, preventing proper release of the optical disk. Did you check to see if burning works? Maybe the optical drive still functions OK, other than not ejecting properly.

And yes, leaving it plugged in all the time is perfectly OK.

[sparker]

Originally Posted by sartor 

When the powerbook gets hot, the fan powers up sort of funny, in that is starts slow, then gets faster, but sort of chugs along as it speeds up.. funny. - ANYWAY, the question is - can I cheap out, and lift the rear of the computer with rubber feet - using double sided tape.. (rubber door bumpers 7/8") for ventilation/cooling? I put them on, and it seems to be helping cool the machine, but now I am wondering that the center of the machine is not supported. Do you think it will be OK?

I do this all the time. I have multiple sets of little rubber "furniture feet" I bought at Home Depot to prop up the back. A side benefit is that it tilts the keyboard towards you a little as well.

Originally Posted by sartor 

Also, what kind/model of interrnal DVD burner would you recommend? I have a new hard drive ordered...

Personally, I've always used OWC Computing (http://www.macsales.com/) They have great products and even better support policies. I recommend them to anybody, and have purchased at least 15 of their replacement drives over the years, both HD and CD/DVD readers/writers replacements, placing and using the originals in various enclosures which they also sell. You can go to their site, and indicate you have a 17" PowerBook, and they'll tell you all your options for replacement.

Steve

[sartor]

Amazing said :
"As long as you've got the Al-PB open to install the new HD, see if you can re-align the internal burner so that the ejected disk doesn't catch on the case. Might have been some torsion on the case, preventing proper release of the optical disk. Did you check to see if burning works? Maybe the optical drive still functions OK, other than not ejecting properly."

Good idea to try to realign.. I'll also look for dust dirt, etc on that and the fan.
No, I haven' tried the burner yet, as I have such a hard time getting the disks out...

THANKS FOLKS for all of your comments!!!
I hope this gem last me a couple years more!

[redhot_nyc]

I've never owned one, but here is my advice:

If I were you, I'd take it apart now and re-apply the thermal paste, with special attention to the GPU chip. Take temperature readings before and after, and if it doesn't get better, reapply it thinner.

Otherwise:

[SierraDragon]

Leaving it plugged in all the time is "OK" but is suboptimal for the battery. Better is to let it discharge similar to using it portably: discharge for a an hour or two then plug it in but avoid 100% discharge. Ideal is to charge when the G4 is totally stationary on a desk or whatever (as opposed to a lap) to avoid stress on the very failure-prone non-magnetic charging connection that is not easy to fix.

Use external drives to help keep the internal hard drive underfilled for speed/less heat, and maintain really good backup. You are using a truly legacy box more likely to have "issues." The mobo died on mine and the charging connection was intermittent.

-Allen Wicks

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by sartor 

my G4 iMac just up and died

That sucks, such a beautiful computer, what happened… motherboard?, I would check how much $$$ would be to bring it back to life, IMHO it is still the best-looking Mac (or computer for that matter) ever, you can meet it at MoMA nonetheless.