[ryochiji]

We've all heard stories of PowerBooks getting run over by cars, and surviving relatively intact. But I never thought that I would be unfortunate or stupid enough to find out what happens when you run over a 12" PowerBook G4 with a 4500lb SUV. But find out, I did.

Fortunately enough, the PowerBook proved to be more durable than I had ever imagined. The machine stayed on (in sleep mode), and not only came out intact, but almost perfectly usable. The only problems I've noticed so far are a crumpled corner, one USB port gone bad, a few bands of dead pixels in the LCD, the seam along the upper edge of the palm rest coming apart, and the display latch becoming a little stiff (but functional). There are a few ports I still haven't tested, but most of the vital components (motherboard, ram, hard drive, battery, AirPort, ethernet, optical drive) appear to be in perfect working condition.

If anyone's interested, a full write-up complete with photos can be found on my blog: http://blogs.iloha.net/ryochiji/entries/491.shtml

[DanielPritchard]

Wow. I read the story on your page. Wow. Congrats on it not dying.

[Eug Wanker]

Yeah, out of all the laptops, the 12" PB seems the sturdiest. I don't think either of the GigaBooks would have survived your abuse.

Congrats on it still working...

[Ryan1524]

the screen seems to be intact. althou it shows some weird bands, i suspect it's casued by a cable connection pinched somewhere. if it is so, then the LCD is extremely durable becasue it's not damaged at all.

[11011001]

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
the screen seems to be intact. althou it shows some weird bands, i suspect it's casued by a cable connection pinched somewhere. if it is so, then the LCD is extremely durable becasue it's not damaged at all.

Wow... I am very impressed.

Do you know if there are similar stories with 17" AlBooks? (wondering if the 15" will be as durable)

Hmm, I am very happy to hear that your PB still works!

[stevesnj]

I wonder how a 17" would hold up?...anyone want to try?

[ryochiji]

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
the screen seems to be intact. althou it shows some weird bands, i suspect it's casued by a cable connection pinched somewhere. if it is so, then the LCD is extremely durable becasue it's not damaged at all.

I think what saved the screen was the fact that the screen was on the bottom, and the car drove over the underside of the laptop. That probably allwed the thick part of the PB to distribute the pressure around the actual LCD. Had the display side been facing up, I'm fairly certain the outcome would have been very different.

[Rowen]

I also know my Psychology proffessor is a walking add for Apple Power/Ibooks because he has accidently run over his Ibook by mistake as well.

[BkueKanoodle]

Also by driving across the powerbook diagonallly, the corners of the power book probably acted as a brace. Since the 2 opposing corners are fairly close, the 2 corners held most the weight. Had this been a larger pb, or had he run over it parallel to the edge, the full wieght of the tire would have been brought down on the pb innards. Ouch!

[LfGrdMike]

I thought you loved your computer. Na on a more serious note im glad your powerbook isnt totaly distructed. God that is so crazy im showing everyone in my buddy list this as I am typing this. Multitask ;-)