Update 2: Power lcd inverter “repair”
My disappointingly short-lived “repair” led me to hope that simply keeping my powerbook elevated on my iCurve might keep the backlight working at least for a few weeks, or even days. Unfortunately, that turned out to be wishful thinking. When I started working in the morning today, I couldn’t get my backlight to stay on for more than 5-10 minutes, even with the powerbook elevated, and all the other tinkering and hoop jumping I tried.
So, I decided to take the plunge and replace the inverter board. Luckily, I had decided, as a precaution, to order a replacement board earlier in the week from pbparts.com.
The hardest part of the whole ordeal turned out to be finding a Torx size 6 screwdriver. I called the local Best Buys and struck out. I called the local Radio Shacks and only one store in the area had a size 6, but it was part of a 30 piece kit that was fairly expensive, and contained a whole host of stuff that I already own. I decided to call my favorite store, Home Depot, thinking that there might be some miniscule chance they carry such a thing. As it turns out, they do. They carry a very spiffy Husky brand 8-in-1 mini Torx screwdriver for around $6. I ran out and snagged one. This is a great little item, and I highly recommend it if you need a small Torx set (to replace your powerbook inverter board, for example.)
Once again I cracked open the case, disconnected the leads to the inverter board, and armed with my new Torx driver, removed the old board. Within about 10 minutes, I had the new board installed and connected, and the powerbook reassembled and ready to go.
I took a deep breath and powered up. As usual, the delay seemed longer than it should, but it booted just fine. I’ve been using it now for about an hour without any backlight drop-outs, and no flicker, so I’m cautiously optimistic that this has solved the problem. I suppose the real test will be waking from sleep tomorrow morning.
1 comment:
man you are great! :)
Post a Comment