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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > A DIY iBook Dual USB Logic Board Repair

A DIY iBook Dual USB Logic Board Repair (Page 4)
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Gankdawg
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Aug 19, 2007, 11:02 AM
 
Disassembled the iBook yesterday, going to ship it out to FPT this week. Will let everyone know of the results. Wiped the hard drive just in case it doesn't work, that way I can part the iBook out......
     
nitronick
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Aug 20, 2007, 11:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by Gankdawg View Post
Disassembled the iBook yesterday, going to ship it out to FPT this week. Will let everyone know of the results. Wiped the hard drive just in case it doesn't work, that way I can part the iBook out......
Maybe I'm missing something here....
If you have a G4, it is not the BGA graphics chip like in the G3s. On page three of this thread, the 5th post down, there is an very close-up picture of the chip. It appears to be the solder pin of a surface mount chip. I don't understand why you couldn't just find a soldering iron with a very small tip, and reheat the pins.
I'm the f'king Mack Daddy in the simulator , but in the real world I look like Stephen Hawking trying to play ice hockey
     
Gankdawg
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Aug 20, 2007, 07:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by nitronick View Post
Maybe I'm missing something here....
If you have a G4, it is not the BGA graphics chip like in the G3s. On page three of this thread, the 5th post down, there is an very close-up picture of the chip. It appears to be the solder pin of a surface mount chip. I don't understand why you couldn't just find a soldering iron with a very small tip, and reheat the pins.
Don't have a solder gun and don't have the skills necessary. $50 seems very reasonable to send it to a professional to do. Plus it gave me a reason to completely disassemble the shell to paint it.
     
nitronick
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Aug 21, 2007, 12:55 AM
 
I understand not having soldering skills. Though I quoted you, I really wasn't addressing you in particular. Sorry.
While I am sure the pins are small, I don't see anything special required other than a small tipped solder iron and a magnifying glass. There shouldn't be any need for a heat gun.
I'm the f'king Mack Daddy in the simulator , but in the real world I look like Stephen Hawking trying to play ice hockey
     
Langdon
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Aug 22, 2007, 05:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by nitronick View Post
I understand not having soldering skills. Though I quoted you, I really wasn't addressing you in particular. Sorry.
While I am sure the pins are small, I don't see anything special required other than a small tipped solder iron and a magnifying glass. There shouldn't be any need for a heat gun.
I am in the same boat as Gankdawg since i have a G4.
I took the iBook apart to see the chip and the tip needed to do the solder would be needle sized. And we're be talking about a sliver of solder you'd have to place just right so you wouldn't fuse two of the pins together by accident.

I've resoldered a few loose and broken connections on laptops but I would be really nervous to try this repair. Plus if you don't have the right kind of iron and the right tip you're already you need to buy $20-30 worth od stuff just to try it.

So if this place turns out to be reputable and they can offer a warranty on their repair I think its worth a look. So if anyone else has done business with them feedback would be great.
     
nitronick
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Aug 24, 2007, 03:06 PM
 
It's not that big of a deal to find a small replacement tip for an iron, and even the cheap ones from Radio Shack have the removable tips. A magnifying glass and a steady hand should have the G4 iBook up and running in no time.
I'm the f'king Mack Daddy in the simulator , but in the real world I look like Stephen Hawking trying to play ice hockey
     
leoisright
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Aug 26, 2007, 05:58 PM
 
Oops... Anyway I set the lamp on its side and turned it on and layed it on the chip. I then turned on the computer and heard the fan running very loudly. I assumed the chip had heated up and was doing what I had hoped (resolder the chip). I let the lamp sit on there for no more than 10 minutes and then shut off the lamp and let the chip cool down. Once it did, I put the computer back together and pressed the power button and wah lah, it worked just fine.

I've picked up the iBook while running and no problems. I had it run for 12 hours consecutive the next day and not a single problem.

A couple days later I put the battery (which was thought to have been bad) back in it and it started charging. But all of a sudden it started to freeze. So I reset the PMU and let it sit for a half hour unplugged, took the batter out and restarted it. No problems at all. I am wondering if the DC board may have a problem with the power but I really don't care any more. It works great with out the battery now. I am very happy to have an 800mhz iBook with airport, 640mg, and 120 gig HD working just fine all for the cost of $80 (for the HD).

If you have any questions email me and I'll walk you through the steps. Oh BTW, I have tried the shim thing a couple times which worked for a little while but eventually failed with in a couple days.

Now it's been about a week and running for atleast 5 hours a day and not one problem!!!
     
Gankdawg
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Aug 30, 2007, 06:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Langdon View Post

So if this place turns out to be reputable and they can offer a warranty on their repair.
They called me and said it's done. It got there last Thursday and it was done on Monday. Waiting for it to come back.

I never even asked for a warranty, I doubt they give one. I'm not expecting a warranty anyway. My mindset is that if it works, great, if not, I'm only out $50 (plus shipping) and I will just part it out.
     
Langdon
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Sep 2, 2007, 06:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by Gankdawg View Post

I never even asked for a warranty, I doubt they give one. I'm not expecting a warranty anyway. My mindset is that if it works, great, if not, I'm only out $50 (plus shipping) and I will just part it out.
I wasn't looking so much for a 1 year warranty or anything of the like.
I wanted more of a guarantee that they are going to do more than just poke around in there with a hot soldering iron and give fixing it a shot. I'd like some sort of reassurance that they will do work on a professional level and not some amateur hackjob.

I understand the issue is a design defect that is probably not going to be fixed forever but I want to know they do resolder all the pins and restore the unit to working condition.
     
Gankdawg
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Sep 3, 2007, 01:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by Langdon View Post
I wasn't looking so much for a 1 year warranty or anything of the like.
I wanted more of a guarantee that they are going to do more than just poke around in there with a hot soldering iron and give fixing it a shot. I'd like some sort of reassurance that they will do work on a professional level and not some amateur hackjob.

I understand the issue is a design defect that is probably not going to be fixed forever but I want to know they do resolder all the pins and restore the unit to working condition.
Yeah, I hear you.
     
Gankdawg
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Sep 15, 2007, 04:19 PM
 
Well, here's the udpate. Got the logic board back a couple of weeks ago and put everything back together. Pressed the power button and immediately the fans kicked on and the laptop didn't start up. Pulled the battery and reinstalled it, squeezed the case left of the trackpad and it started right up. Sent an email to First Phase asking what they did, if anything. They called me the next day and offered to reflow at no additional charge (only shipping back to them).

Tore the whole apart, sent it back to them, got it back yesterday. Reassembled the laptop, started it up and it worked -- for about 5 minutes before it shut off.

So now what? Put the pieces on sale in the marketplace and move on. I will be listing the hard drive (120GB that I installed), 1 GB RAM chip, Airport Extreme card, and whatever else.
     
Langdon
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Sep 17, 2007, 12:10 AM
 
Ouch.
Sorry to hear it didn't work out. But at least we can add First Phase to the list of companies that suck. I'd ask for a refund or at least some sort of compensation for the utter lack of technical know how they have shown in their workmanship.

Its too bad there's no reliable fix for the G4 iBooks. But I will keep my fingers crossed that something comes along.
     
Gankdawg
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Sep 23, 2007, 06:45 PM
 
Parts are in the market place:

http://forums.macnn.com/59/marketpla...t/#post3490663

Thanks for the info guys and good luck with your iBooks. I hope to get a Macbook at some point.
     
tom1ptech
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Oct 6, 2007, 09:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by Langdon View Post
Ouch.
Sorry to hear it didn't work out. But at least we can add First Phase to the list of companies that suck. I'd ask for a refund or at least some sort of compensation for the utter lack of technical know how they have shown in their workmanship.

Its too bad there's no reliable fix for the G4 iBooks. But I will keep my fingers crossed that something comes along.
Langdon, I want to mention that First Phase Tech uses a programmed reflow machine and an identical process on each and every logic board we receive. The variable here is the mismatch in solder ball / paste printing used by the OEM (Apple) which we have no control. Most laptops take, and some do not. We have rescued hundreds of laptops at this point for our customers, but we are not 100%. I make this very clear in the waiver. We deal with units purchased off of ebay, shimmed for months, connnectors and traces ripped off the boards by consumers and have inexperienced techs putting these back together. Our consumer repair rate is 84%. Our success rate for certified Apple reapir centers is 96%. You add FPT to your list of companies that suck, and we'll add you to our very short list of customers who suck!
     
Langdon
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Oct 7, 2007, 06:12 AM
 
Originally Posted by tom1ptech View Post
We have rescued hundreds of laptops at this point for our customers, but we are not 100%. I make this very clear in the waiver. We deal with units purchased off of ebay, shimmed for months, connnectors and traces ripped off the boards by consumers and have inexperienced techs putting these back together. Our consumer repair rate is 84%. Our success rate for certified Apple reapir centers is 96%. You add FPT to your list of companies that suck, and we'll add you to our very short list of customers who suck!


This is one of the largest Mac online communities in existence and not one of these very satisfied G4 iBook owners you claim to have helped has ever come to discuss the value of your service. I even publicly solicited readers of this thread for experience with your company 6 weeks ago and no one came forward.

I am at least satisfied you didn't make a shill account (yet) to counter claim the experiences of existing members with your company but you'd think that with the 31,000 views this thread has had that at least one person who you fixed a G4 iBook for would come to praise First Phase Tech for saving their laptop.

If you google to find info on repairing iBooks with logic board problems you find this thread in the first two pages of results. With the Apple boards censoring these topics there aren't too many other places people can congregate to exchange information and experiences repairing G3 and G4 iBooks. This thread is pretty comprehensive in collecting information on the subject.
Yet still not one of your hundreds of customers has found their way here to recommend you after First Phase Tech helped them in a bind.

I am sure no repair service that works with electronics will ever have a 100% success rate. But the claims you have come here to preach are meaningless when the only person who supports their validity is the owner of the company.
Thus far from the independent posts that have been made about your service First Phase Tech seems no more capable than any other amateur in providing a reliable repair for the faulty iBooks. You can refute it all you like but there is no independent evidence to the contrary on this board.

Of the companies who have official representatives who post on Macnn to aid the community I must say you are the least professional and credible person to have ever graced the board.
( Last edited by Langdon; Oct 7, 2007 at 06:20 AM. )
     
ghporter
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Oct 7, 2007, 10:43 AM
 
Lack of positive feedback on our forums does not equate to bad service. Time and again I have to point out that people that are happy with their computers don't post here-people with problems do. And we are hardly all inclusive; we may have a lot of users, but there are a lot of other Mac forums out there.

Does anyone (except tom1ptech) know how much a reflow soldering machine costs? How much time and effort it takes to train someone to run it? I have an inkling, and it ain't inexpensive. A company that can afford this sort of hardware does NOT stay in business without making that hardware pay for itself. So attacking a company's reputation for one or two reports, and then attacking a representative of that company because YOU haven't heard any positive feedback about his company is hardly a mature response. Give him a break, eh?

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
variable m.
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Dec 7, 2007, 03:25 PM
 
I just completed a heatgun repair of my G3 700. The 'genius' at the Apple store told me how I could resuscitate the computer when it wouldn't boot by 'massaging' the corner and that led me to this forum. Thankfully my G3 is running and doing fine.

However, the thermal pad did not come off clean at all and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a replacement. I have lots of thermal paste, arctic silver, even some old Pentium II pads that came with the stock heatsinks but none of them are thick enough to replace the one I took off.


I had thought of getting a copper shim and using arctic silver for the contact points, but I'd really like to know if I can just replace the heatpad. Right now the GPU seems to be doing fine, but I know the contact surface is scarred and pitted and that makes me uneasy.
( Last edited by variable m.; Dec 7, 2007 at 03:36 PM. Reason: typos)
     
MarcosRobertoSilva
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Dec 31, 2007, 03:24 PM
 
I would like to inform that I successful solve the same problem in my Ibook G3 700mhz using the procedure described by Guy Kuo. Thank you very much.

Best regards.

Marcos Roberto Silva
Brazil
     
mcdermd
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Jan 22, 2008, 04:22 PM
 
I have actually used First Phase Tech's service for a 14" G3 800mhz iBook board with a bad BGA. You only pay shipping to them, return shipping is included in the $50 fee. The turnaround was less than a week (over the week of Christmas, no less). The iBook has gone from flipping out if moved off the table to rock-solid for a month now. I would have no problems recommending First Phase Tech to others with an iBook logic board problem.

I have a friend that's supposed to be sending in her G4 iBook board at some point soon so maybe I can report back about her experience later on.
     
wei
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Jan 26, 2008, 12:44 AM
 
I wonder this fix works with iBook G4 1.2Ghz??
Have a friend offering me his iBook. The iBook will boot into bluescreen (after grey spinning circle, before Mac OS X loading) and hang.
MacPro, MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacMini, iPad, iPhone, and much more...
     
deejxue
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Jan 26, 2008, 10:34 PM
 
My iBook had the logic board replaced about a year ago, and it was 6mos outside the window of their exchange program. I let them know it wasn't ok because as owners we weren't even notified of this "recall" which they informed me wasn't really a recall just an extended program for iBooks with "issues" on the logic board.

Fast forward 1 year, my freaking iBook is having video and freezing issues, same crap. As I do the research, I find out that there was an attempt at a class action lawsuit, but it never went though, although there is still a petition out there on the web that you can sign. So figuring on this being out of warranty, way outside the window of this exchange (purchased in 03), and finding this board, I thought I would try this crazy idea, after all "what did I have to lose"? It seemed so straight forward and simple, even a freaking monkey could make their iBook work again.

I watched the video, read the posts on the first page, and having experience with soldering on an older PB, plus other soldering experience, thought perhaps I could get this to work. Alas I have nothing but a dead computer. It did boot before, tries to boot now, but I don't hear it going into the HD like it did before.

The one thing no one mentions with all the "experience" floating around is that your HD is sitting DIRECTLY below this BGA you're about to try and reflow. Not to mention the other chipsets are on the opposing side. So if the board gets hot enough, you could wind up loosening other chips you didn't mean to. After all, even though you're protecting from direct heat with the tinfoil, the tinfoil is still getting hot and transferring heat.

I hadn't seen the "rant" before attempting this or I might've tried sending it out rather than screwing this up. It probably would behoove people to REALLY know what they're getting into, considering most of the 1st page of this is all about how this worked, and just cover with tinfoil, etc, etc, etc.

This is really a sketchy fix and if it is a computer you're relying on and still have nothing to lose by trying, you might want to considering that if you don't remove the logic board from the case, A) you might have some of the plastic case melt EVEN IF IT IS COVERED BY TINFOIL; B) you might also heat up that precious hard drive siting below and lose everything on it.

A better "buyer beware" and documentation should've been posted by the people touting this as a success, because it was touted as an almost no brainer, high success fix. I don't think that's the case. I really had high hopes when I started and was very disappointed and po'd after 2x's failed to do anything. I covered everything and poked a hole through 2 tinfoil pieces, used the heat gun starting at about 20", lowering at heating at approx rate of 3c per second, etc, etc, etc. I know from previous work on both electronic components and other types of soldering, that soldering doesn't respond very well consecutive times after. Whatever you're soldering really needs to be cleaned and solder removed, refluxed and new solder applied. But after reading so many posts of how great this fix was and how easy, just go out and get a heat gun, I was lulled into believing this would work even against the science behind soldering.

There is a 50/50 chance this won't work based on good soldering techniques. Sure, sometimes you can get lucky and get the solder to reflow without using flux and just heating it. Point of flux is that the solder will follow it and stick to whatever was fluxed. Generally speaking, solder will not stick to anything that has not been fluxed. You want proof? Try soldering something without flux and see if the solder will not fall away when you move it. This is probably why so many people don't have any luck with this fix after they start moving the machines, no flux in the right place.

That said, I guess I will part out my box and next time be more cautious with posts where people are trying something that is working by luck and not sound science.

Congratulations to those who got to work. Personally I think that a class action suit should've gone forward in this instance against Apple for going with something that failed so miserably and then replacing the logic boards with boards that would fail again. Its ashame that you can't trust a company like Apple to step forward and back their product any better than you can believe Bill Gates when they say Windoze is secure. One I expect....but not the other.
     
iBookcooker
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Jan 27, 2008, 08:12 PM
 
hi there,

really good thread at all!

i´ve tried my luck with the tealight version worked a day untill i tried to stress the graphics chip with cinebench 10 (benchmark) it worked well without any pressure or something. when i ran the benchmark the bottom of the ibook heated up a lot (i think because of the gpu) and then crashed after about 5 minutes with crazy lines and something on the screen. after that i did that tealight thing again with a bit more heat i think. worked flawlessly again after that and died again using the benchmark. so i think the only problem is the cooling of the gpu.. which cooling? there is none.. so if the gpu heats up a lot while playing a game du some video work or a benchmark would kill it again every time because of the missing cooling. that would explain why the ibook of he guy on the first page works with no problem as a server for years. no heat on the gpu. i think it will also work as an office computer with no problem but one timke running a benchmark or so would kill it.. perhaps it would also kill every working ibook. just test it guys

tomorrow i´ll have some fun with the hot air gun...
     
Mad Dog
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Jan 27, 2008, 11:20 PM
 
I am a latecomer to this thread (although not to this thread on other forums).

Slagging First Phase Tech is completely unrighteous. I have sent 8 boards to them, with a 75% success rate. They even tried to re-reflow the 2 boards that didnt work (for free). The fact is, reflow isnt going to be perfect. Thats life. I have found First Phase tech to be professional, quick, and very affordable. They are my vendor of choice.

Mad Dog
     
jonsaw
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Feb 2, 2008, 07:18 AM
 
deejxue:

You make some good points (the location of the hard drive, and components, on the other side of the logic board, etc.). But so far, nobody's reported a fried hard drive, following the heat gun procedure. The fiberglass of the logic board, plus the tin foil, appears to be acting as enough of a heat shield to protect the hard drive. But it still wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the logic board altogether before trying the heat gun, to avoid being one of the few people whose hard drive might cook.

Your point about flux is also a good one. During my first and only (and failed) attempt at the heat gun repair, before I read this thread, and the info here about how much time to apply the heat (I didn't apply heat long enough), I wondered about the possible advantage of using flux with the heat gun technique, so as a cheap method to address this issue, I tried applying liquid flux under the graphics chip on an iBook G4 (I used the little brush that's attached to the underside of the bottle's screw-on cap, to get some flux under all four sides of the chip). Though it didn't help my repair, I might use flux again if I try the heat gun again, but this time I'll let the chip heat up longer.
( Last edited by jonsaw; Feb 2, 2008 at 07:36 AM. )
     
jonsaw
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Feb 2, 2008, 07:31 AM
 
Since there's been some speculation here about whether the iBook G4's graphics chip, on the top of the logic board, under the heat sink, is susceptible to the same looseness as the iBook G3's, I can confirm that is the case (I fix Macs). I've worked on several iBook G4s with this problem. I either replace the logic board, or don't do the repair when the client and I agree that the cost for a replacement logic board isn't worth it, or we decide that having the repair done through Apple (about $300) is easier on me, since I always have other Mac work that's not quite as tedious. I may at some point start sending these boards to First Phase--I don't think I want to use a heat gun on client's iBooks, since then I'd be personally to blame if it didn't work--though I've got an iBook G4 with a loose graphics chip, that a client gave me since he didn't want to pursue any repair attempts once we learned that was the problem, which I've briefly tried a heat gun on, but I found by reading this thread that I wasn't applying the heat gun long enough, and so it didn't work for me. I'm debating whether to try it again, leaving the gun on the chip longer, or just wimp out and send it to First Phase.

Another fix for the iBook G4 loose graphics chip that works for some people (but it didn't work for me on the single iBook G4 I tried it on), is a shim between the graphics chip and the heat sink (iBook G3 and G4 logic board problems technical aspect | Applefritter), which allows the heat sink to apply more pressure to the graphics chip. You may also get the same effect (though this didn't work for me either, but other people might have better luck) by filing down the underside of the metal tab on the heat sink, near the lower left corner of the graphics chip (as well as the spot on the frame that this tab sits on top of, and the standoff that sits near the upper right corner of the graphics chip--after filing, use compressed air to blast away the metal filings so they don't short out anything on the logic board), so that the screws that go into the heatsink at these locations, make the heat sink sit down lower, and so it might make the heat sink press harder against the graphics chip.
( Last edited by jonsaw; Feb 3, 2008 at 03:21 PM. )
     
Rob777
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Feb 2, 2008, 02:29 PM
 
Hi Guys,

Just to let you know: this repair does not always go right. I tried to fix my iBook with a temperature-controlled heat gun, a themometre on the chip, a control piece of solder. The works. Heated it gradualy, just like I was told in this forum.
After the first time nothing had changed, still stripes and a hanging computer.
So I tried a second time, a bit more heat, a little longer, you've got to dare.
Reassambled it, switched it on: hard drive still worked, but no image on the screen, I fried the chip I think.

† iBook (2004-2008)

Good luck to the rest of you,

Rob
     
jonsaw
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Feb 5, 2008, 06:02 AM
 
I may have just fixed one of the iBook G4 14" with a loose graphics chip, that I mention above, using the heat gun method. It's been running for about a day, even when I pick it up and move it around. [Update: the problems came back after a few days Oh well.] Prior to this, it would run for about an hour, and then would freeze, and then it wouldn't start up past a startup chime and a black screen until you let it cool down for a while.

As many others posting here, I followed a pretty simple procedure, using my own timing. I used a heat gun with two heat settings (750 F and 1000 F), setting it to the 750 F position. But first, as a test, I placed a piece of solder on a piece of aluminum foil, and pointed the heat gun at this solder, about two inches away. it took about 30 seconds for it to melt. I wasn't surprised, since a typical soldering iron tip temperature is between 700 F and 800 F. But I didn't know how to make use of this info, except that it told me that it doesn't take several minutes when using a heat gun in this fashion, to melt solder.

I left the logic board in the housing, and removed the heat sink that sits over the graphics chip, then I shielded the area around the chip with a two sheet thickness of aluminum foil, tucking it in to cover the plastic RAM socket nearby, etc., then I covered the display with several layers of newspaper (didn't want to fry the LCD), then I turned on the heat gun from about two feet above the chip, and left it at that height for about two minutes, to slowly warm the chip and the surrounding logic board, to avoid stress fractures.

Then I gradually moved the heat gun down towards the chip, taking about two minutes to get to about three inches above the chip (I don't think Guy's ten minutes is necessary). I left it there about another minute, then moved the heat gun to about two inches above the graphics chip, and left it there for about two minutes, as I moved the heat gun's nozzle around the periphery of the chip, to evenly distribute the heat, and to try to get some of the heat under the edges of the chip, which is where I suspect most of the cracked solder balls are located--they're more likely to suffer from mechanical stress than the balls towards the center of the chip.

I didn't push on the chip, for fear that this might make it slide, which would ruin the solder connections under it. I worried that the solder holding all the tiny surface-mount capacitors to the top of the graphics chip (that's the type of chip used in the iBook G4, not the G3, whose upper surface doesn't have these capacitors) was going to melt, causing the capacitors to blow away from the force of the heat gun's airstream, but they didn't. The fact that they didn't, also had me worried, since it implied that the solder balls under the chip might be even less likely to have melted. But I wanted to see what would happen with that amount of heating time, instead of keeping the heat gun on long enough to melt the solder holding down the capacitors.

Then I gradually moved the heat gun straight up, taking about two minutes to reach a height of two feet, then I turned off the heat gun, and let the iBook sit for about a half-hour to cool down; I left the aluminum in place so it wouldn't cool down too fast. Then I reassembled the iBook, and ran it for a day. So far so good. [Like I say above, it stopped working again after a few days.]
( Last edited by jonsaw; Apr 21, 2008 at 06:11 PM. )
     
jonsaw
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Feb 5, 2008, 06:03 AM
 
Rob777:

Sorry to hear about the frying. Better luck next time?
     
otcpdx
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Feb 8, 2008, 01:34 AM
 
Just wanted to add that I followed the descriptions laid out here with a Milwaukee brand heat gun from Home Depot (the cheap model, about $30) with two heat settings, 750 & 1000 farenheit, and the first two attempts (on a Thinkpad t40) have had resounding sucess! One would not post, the other had video banding from the moment you powered it on. Both are running great now. The only issue I encountered was on one motherboard a plastic mount for the trackpad lifted off one of it's surface mounts, but the data traces stayed intact. If anyone reading this in the Portland area wants this problem fixed but isn't down for all the hassle of disassembly/buying a heatgun/burning your fingertips/reassembly, come on down to our shop and we'll give you 50% off the fee (click on the sig for our #/loc). Just mention the macnn forum post. Much thanks to all the posters here.
     
lear23
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Feb 14, 2008, 01:29 PM
 
I'm posting this on my '02 ibook following the repair contained in this thread. This ibooks on it's third logic board. I used an adjustable heat gun about 4 inches from the chip, two layers of alum. foil for a heat shield, a Fluke meter with a temp probe setting on the chip, several "control" pieces of solder with different melting points on the foil next to the chip, and one rum and coke. (computer still assembled minus the back shell). I followed the guide lines contained early in this thread. (150c/60sec., 180c/90sec., 210c/60sec.) First attemt failed. Second attemt I spent more time warming it to the lower temps. (mabey 90sec. and 2 min respectfully). So far so good. It's been working for several hours now. Thanks to all for the thread.If this fails I'll try it again, this thing is a paper wieght otherwise. My advice would be to give it a try, if it does'nt work it's worth precisely the same-nothing. Don't forget the rum and coke, I think it's good mojo.
     
David Balkwill
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Feb 24, 2008, 07:30 PM
 
Hello everyone from a new user.
I have an iBook G4 1.4GHz. It had been serviced by Apple at some point before I bought it.
The screen is blank, but it works with an adaptor to an external monitor. The backlight works.
I have added an aluminium shim between the GPU and the heatsink - no change.
I have just replaced the video cable from the logic board to the LCD since it looked a little snagged in the hinge area - no change here either.
If the video signal to the external monitor is OK, should I try the reflow process described above, or is the problem somewhere else?
One other thing surprised me. There is no connector on the board for the cable that goes to the speakers. The blobs of solder are there but no connector.
Your help and comments would be most welcome. Many thanks
David
     
Gemmakls
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Feb 26, 2008, 03:56 PM
 
Hello all,

I am wondering does this look like an iBook suffering from the same symptoms that can be fixed with this method, or a shim? I've never done anything as drastic as this with a mac.



If you click on the link there are a few more pictures showing the iBook getting progressively worse over the course of about half an hour...
     
seanc
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Feb 26, 2008, 04:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by Gemmakls View Post
Hello all,

I am wondering does this look like an iBook suffering from the same symptoms that can be fixed with this method, or a shim? I've never done anything as drastic as this with a mac.



If you click on the link there are a few more pictures showing the iBook getting progressively worse over the course of about half an hour...

I'm not sure whether it's that or a bad screen cable. What speed is this iBook?
     
wei
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Feb 26, 2008, 09:40 PM
 
Need to look at the cable to be sure. It does looks like a bad cable for me.
MacPro, MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacMini, iPad, iPhone, and much more...
     
David Balkwill
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Feb 27, 2008, 06:26 PM
 
Anyone ?

Originally Posted by David Balkwill View Post
Hello everyone from a new user.
I have an iBook G4 1.4GHz. It had been serviced by Apple at some point before I bought it.
The screen is blank, but it works with an adaptor to an external monitor. The backlight works.
I have added an aluminium shim between the GPU and the heatsink - no change.
I have just replaced the video cable from the logic board to the LCD since it looked a little snagged in the hinge area - no change here either.
If the video signal to the external monitor is OK, should I try the reflow process described above, or is the problem somewhere else?
One other thing surprised me. There is no connector on the board for the cable that goes to the speakers. The blobs of solder are there but no connector.
Your help and comments would be most welcome. Many thanks
David
     
x.l.r.8
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Mar 10, 2008, 02:13 PM
 
Count me in, I had a 500Mhz ibook that had a dead video chip, I could wiggle and tap the chip on firing up and it would give me a display, but it would not be consistant. I didn't get how the chip was held on and I was never going to keep the iBook as I had another and it was painfully slow for what I wanted. So I heated up the chip to remove it. Once I got a better understanding of what i was doing I looked around for a suitable replacement for my iBook. I found an 800Mhz G3 board that hadn't been tried to be repaired. I set to work. 10 seconds on low, 15 seconds on low, 20 seconds on low and now we have video and the making for my frankinbook, I will shim the chip in a bid to make it more stable on the board but I need to unsolder the USB terminal to add a USB inside so i can have Bluetooth, a wireless dongle and retain my USB ports on the side. So far so good. Thanks for the valuable information.
iMac G4 17" 1Ghz,
Powerbook G4 Ti 15" 1Ghz
iBook G3 12 500Mhz
Enough parts to start making Frankenbook!
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 10, 2008, 09:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by David Balkwill View Post
Anyone ?
Still no ideas anyone?
     
x.l.r.8
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Mar 11, 2008, 07:13 AM
 
If 2 people have mentioned the same thing and no one else says anything then your safe to assume everyone agree's. The cable looks to be the culprit, probably where it goes through the hinge and has worn.
iMac G4 17" 1Ghz,
Powerbook G4 Ti 15" 1Ghz
iBook G3 12 500Mhz
Enough parts to start making Frankenbook!
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 11, 2008, 05:47 PM
 
Thanks for your reply XLR8.

I also thught of the display cable, so I bought one via eBay and repalced it. No difference.

Any other ideas?

I'd like to send a message to the people who started all this, but the links don't work for me.

David
     
seanc
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by David Balkwill View Post
Hello everyone from a new user.
I have an iBook G4 1.4GHz. It had been serviced by Apple at some point before I bought it.
The screen is blank, but it works with an adaptor to an external monitor. The backlight works.
I have added an aluminium shim between the GPU and the heatsink - no change.
I have just replaced the video cable from the logic board to the LCD since it looked a little snagged in the hinge area - no change here either.
If the video signal to the external monitor is OK, should I try the reflow process described above, or is the problem somewhere else?
One other thing surprised me. There is no connector on the board for the cable that goes to the speakers. The blobs of solder are there but no connector.
Your help and comments would be most welcome. Many thanks
David
If it's outputting to an external monitor, the video chip won't be the problem. Fiddling with it may damage it, then it will be the problem .

Either the logic board is damaged so the display output to the LCD will not work, or the LCD itself is damaged, probably something to do with the display data. Do you get any response if you wiggle the display data connector? Look for any burnt out components on the logic board.
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:17 PM
 
Thanks Sean, I'll try again.

I'm quite used to working in my G4 tower, but rather new to iBooks. Is it safe to run it with the case open if I take static discharge precautions? What about cooling if the airflow is changed? I haven't dared to try touching anything with it running, but you say to try wiggling connectors, so it must be OK.

David
     
seanc
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by David Balkwill View Post
Thanks Sean, I'll try again.

I'm quite used to working in my G4 tower, but rather new to iBooks. Is it safe to run it with the case open if I take static discharge precautions? What about cooling if the airflow is changed? I haven't dared to try touching anything with it running, but you say to try wiggling connectors, so it must be OK.

David
Wiggle them gently, you probably don't want to break them off. Try not to create any shorts with your fingers/hands or metal things, like screws.

I hadn't thought about the heatsink and fan, is that attached when the iBook is disassembled? Don't run it without that on.
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:27 PM
 
No, the heat sink and fan don't come off with the casing, so they should work as normal.

All the people who have talked about shims and clamps imply that you have to hold the pressure while booting up. Presumably you can't put pressure on when the computer is running, or have I missunderstood?
     
seanc
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:30 PM
 
You could hold/press the graphics chip on the G3s.
The G3s suffered from the video chip issue. These needed reflowing or a shim.

The G4s had their boards redesigned so that they didn't suffer from the video issue, but after many years, it turns out that a chip, I think it controls the memory or the interface between the CPU & memory can stop making good contact and so the iBook will turn on, turn its fans on full blast and do nothing else.
This chip can also be reflowed or shimmed.

Yours doesn't really follow the pattern, it sounds more like the video data connection is bad, a component on the logic boad, such as a resistor has blown somewhere or you have a loose/faulty connector.
( Last edited by seanc; Mar 11, 2008 at 06:34 PM. Reason: Re-wote my post)
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 11, 2008, 06:31 PM
 
OK, Sean, I'll try some more and report back in a few days.

Thanks for your helpful advice.

David
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 25, 2008, 05:53 PM
 
Great progress this evening. Signs of poor contacts along the edge of the display and a poorly seated connector. Reconnected the power switch and the battery, and the screen is now working, so I'll resolder those connections tomorrow, and put it all back together.
     
David Balkwill
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Mar 26, 2008, 01:39 PM
 
Job done.
I also soldered four short wires to the four speaker connections on the board so that I could connect the internal speakers which are now working fine.
So this is one case of a blank display which was not caused by the graphics chip.
In the light of all the experiences above, I will be very careful not to bend the case or let it get too hot.
Great forum. Thanks for all your helpful comments.
David
     
basvk
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Apr 2, 2008, 09:55 AM
 
Hi,

I recently fixed a 19inch Philips LCD monitor and an ATI Radeon 9800 video card; both had a BGA chip with bad connections, and both seem to work fine for about two weeks now.

Great fix, never would have figured it would work. So, thanks
     
Cold Warrior
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Apr 2, 2008, 11:19 AM
 
Wow. We have some skilled folks here. Thanks for posting.
     
macfan55
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Apr 20, 2008, 10:32 AM
 
Hi guys;
I found another unorthodox way to save my logicboard:
All the other suggestions did not work at all/partial.
So I assumed that Apple does use a technique that melts all components together at the same time.
That can only be done in an oven.
So I thougth: I also have a hot-air oven to bake Apple-Pie;
why not bake an Apple-Logicboard???
And I just did that. Had after all nothing to loose.
I Stripped everything I could to ensure that only the components that could take the amount of heat necasssary to melt the tin/led points underneath the Graphic Chip remained on the board. I Also removed the Battery with a soldering-gun.
I set the oven at 190 degrees Celcius (I am from Holland).
Put in the Apple-LogicPie and a smal stroke of tin, just to watch if it would melt. And waited.
At the time it reached the right temperature I waited another 3-4 minutes.
Then I opend the oven to cool things of and waited some more to ensure I would not burn my fingers.
Then I basically reconnected onle the essential parts to check the function of the logicboard (harddrive; display; power) en started the iBook…..
IT WORKED!!!!!
For the first time in weeks it did not stop at the “famous” Blue Screen!!
Right now I am downloading the latest upgrades of Tiger till 10.4.11 and it still works.
I have made a few pictures of it.
You can watch them at
http://tinyurl.com/6nhuum
http://tinyurl.com/5bes24
http://tinyurl.com/4t6hcs
http://tinyurl.com/3o5szz
If it still works after 1 week; I’ll put another picture here of my re-assembled iBook G4 14″ at the following place:
http://tinyurl.com/4qwj69
Greetings from the Netherlands!
macfan55
     
 
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