PowerBook G4 Titanium DVI Display Replacement

Written By: iRobot
  • Comments: 28
PowerBook G4 Titanium DVI Display Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

44

Time Required

No estimate

Introduction

Change out the entire display assembly, including the hinges and casing. This installation is MUCH easier than replacing just the LCD panel.

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    • Locate the battery release tab on the underside of the G4.

    • Slide the battery release tab to the left and lift the battery out of the computer.

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    • Turn the keyboard locking screw located in the middle of the keyboard so that it is parallel to the space bar. A half turn from parallel to parallel will unlock it. Another half turn will lock it again.

    • Pull the keyboard release tabs toward you and lift up on the keyboard until it pops free.

    This is not a screw, it is light transmitting plastic for the num lock light

    Shadewing -

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    • Rest the keyboard face down on the trackpad area.

    • Disconnect the keyboard connector from the logic board.

    The keyboard connector can be very tightly connected. Use caution and a pair of needle nose pliers to pull it up from the board. The left side of the connector (left as shown in the photo) is easier to grasp than the right, so grab it on that side with the pliers and pull carefully. It will come off.

    Sugar Fish -

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    • Your laptop should look approximately like this.

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    • Release the tabs on each side of the RAM chip at the same time. These tabs lock the chip in place and releasing them will cause the chip to "pop" up.

    • Pull the RAM chip out.

    • Repeat this process if a second RAM chip is installed.

    I don’t think it’s necessary to remove the RAM from their slots; the eventual logic board removal is not made any more difficult with the RAM cards left in place.

    Anthony -

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    • Remove the seven T8 Torx screws from the lower case.

    • Using your thumbs, slide the lower case toward the front of the computer.

    • The lower case may stick in the front on a tab just above the center of the optical drive. Be careful as you work the case off, or you may break the thin strip of plastic just above the drive.

    • Lift the lower case off.

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    • Firmly grasp the plastic tab attached to the Airport card and pull up and to the left.

    • Disconnect the antenna cable from the left side of the Airport card.

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    • Disconnect the hard drive ribbon from the logic board using a spudger or the tip of your finger.

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    • To free the hard drive, remove the two T8 Torx screws from the right wall of the battery housing.

    I suspect you are meant to remove the two T8 Torx screws holding down the drive retaining bar on the other side of the hard drive. Once the bar is removed, the drive will pivot out without having to touch the screws on the battery housing wall side.

    John Hagan -

    I agree with John Hagen. The correct way to remove the hard drive is to remove the two T8 Torx screws and drive retaining bar, then lifting the hard drive up on the side by the optical drive . This will prevent a lot of frustration, and potential damage to the plastic shield underneath the hard drive and the rubber bumpers over the hard drive screws.

    John Nakai -

    Yes, this is totally better than removing the hard drive screw on the left side of the hard drive as instructed.

    Anthony -

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    • Remove the hard drive by lifting the left edge up and out of the computer.

    • There are four rubber bumpers that fit over the hard drive screws. Ensure that these bumpers come out when you remove the hard drive.

    The hard drive can be removed with its bumpers intact, by just taking off the black plastic clamp to its right. Reinserting the drive is also vastly easier when done this way.

    ratiocination -

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    • Your laptop should look approximately like this.

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    • Disconnect and remove the indicated orange ribbon cable.

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    • Disconnect the pink and white inverter cable from the inverter board.

    • The display inverter has orange plastic shielding around it that looks similar to the tape used elsewhere within the computer. Do not remove the shielding from the inverter.

    The pink and white inverter cable connection to the inverter board is very tight. Grasp the notch on the right side of the white connector with needle nose pliers and gently wiggle and pull it out of the socket.

    Sugar Fish -

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    • Remove the two silver T8 Torx screws from the black plastic bar.

    • Lift the black plastic bar out.

    • Reassembly will be significantly easier if you reseat the hard drive before returning the black bar to its place.

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    • Disconnect the two orange connectors from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

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    • Lift the drive up on the right side so that you can access and disconnect the modem cable and inverter cable.

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    • Remove the drive by lifting the right edge up and out of the computer.

    During reassembly, make sure pink and white inverter cable with white plug does not get trapped under the edge of the drive unit.

    einar3888 -

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    • Disconnect the large DC-In connector from the right side of the logic board.

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    • Remove the two T6 Torx screws from the DC-In board.

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    • Lift the DC-In board out of the computer by pulling up and away from you.

    • If you don't have a 667 MHz computer, there is a fan in this location which makes it a bit difficult to remove the DC-In board.

    • If there is a fan present, rotate the DC-In board slightly clockwise before easing it out at a slight angle in order to clear the fan clamp on top of it.

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    • Before continuing, place a soft cloth on your work surface to rest the computer on. Turn the G4 over and place it on the cloth.

    • Disconnect the four indicated connectors from the logic board.

    • The large multicolor cable may be difficult to free.

    • The top center cable may not need to be disconnected to remove the modem filter board. It connects to the logic board fan to its immediate left, which is attached to the logic board itself.

    Notice the small metal clip in the middle of the optical drive bay - it can be seen on the right side of this picture, just below the keyboard ribbon cable connector. It may come loose when removing the optical drive. Its function doesn't seem to be important (it appears that it just holds couple of conductors) but keep track of it when reassembling the computer.

    Sylvester McMonkey -

    If just removing the logic board, I don’t find it necessary to disconnect the top fan connector. It connects to the fan mounted on the logic board , so it doesn’t need to be disconnected when removing the logic board itself.

    John Hagan -

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    • Remove the T8 Torx screw near the heat pipe.

    The Torx screw on the right can be hard to reach (and put back). To get it back, I pushed my Torx wrench through a piece of double sided tape (used for laying carpet), which left a little dot of adhesive on the tip of the wrench that held the screw while performing the contortions to put the screw back in place...

    Lami -

    You're doing something wrong—only the left screw at that position needs to be removed to detach the heatsink from the logic board. In fact this whole walkthru would be simplified a great deal if it concentrated on removing the logic board, heat sink, and internal frame as a unit. There would be only 9 screws instead of ~25, and fewer chances to bend or break intricate parts.

    ratiocination -

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    • Disconnect the two connectors from the modem filter board.

    • To the immediate right of the modem filter board, the heatsink has two sets of five fins with a double-wide space in between them. This space is where the gray & black coiled wire is supposed to go to ensure a flush fit.

    When replacing the logic board, be careful not to lose the top connector's wires under the plate beneath the modem filter board.

    Sugar Fish -

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    • Remove the T6 Torx screw from the modem filter board.

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    • Remove the modem filter board from the computer by pulling up and to the right.

    • There is a small plastic post which helps hold the modem filter board in place. You need to clear this post to remove the modem filter board from the computer.

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    • Turn the G4 over.

    • Remove the seven T8 Torx screws from the logic board.

    • The five black screws go on the right side of the logic board, the large silver screw goes at the top, and the small silver screw is located on the left side.

    To remove the screw by the battery case, you'll have to first remove the tape covering the connector that leads to the trackpad.

    Sugar Fish -

    The little silver screw on the left has a little 4mm hex nut under it. This, in turn is held to the PC card cage (step 32) by another nut accessed from the touchpad side of the PowerBook. The screw wouldn't come out without me holding this nut - which then came out together with the screw. After this I found another nut on the table and wondered where it came from! But it became clear when reassembling the computer, as you have to put the PC card cage back first and need to use both nuts at that time to secure the side of the cage toward the back of the computer. Apparently I must have inadvertently loosened the lower connection on the 4mm nut, as it was meant to come off only later...

    Lami -

    The third screw in from the right (close to the middle of the laptop, by the optical drive bay) needs to remain empty because it will eventually be filled when you attach the lower casing. If you put in a screw as shown in this picture, you will then be unable to put in a screw through the lower casing.

    rdklinc -

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    • Disconnect the 5 indicated connectors from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

    • Reassembly Tip: Reseating the logic board will be much easier if you use kapton tape to hold these five connectors out of the way until it is in place.

    • Caution: If taping the connectors back, be careful not to use tape with anything but very weak adhesive (i.e. kapton tape). Even electrical tape can pull the paint off the hinges when removed.

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    • Carefully lift the logic board up and pull it away from you.

    • This step requires some force, but if the logic board will not come up, make sure that you have removed all the necessary screws and connectors. Warming the heatsink with a heatgun or blow dryer will help release the logic board.

    • On 800 MHz and above G4s, you must disconnect the fan cable from the logic board before you lift the board entirely off.

    I cannot find where the 2nd fan connects to the board. I took my logic board out and now I can't find where the fan connects on the board.

    dylanbyrnes9 -

    It plugs into the logic board on the top side (opposite from the side showing in the picture) beside the FireWire jack.

    ratiocination -

    I am having a very difficult time removing the logic board. I double checked that I have all of the connectors disconnected and all of the proper screws out but it just won't budge beyond 1/8 inch when I lift from the top (where the man's fingers are in the photo). I think the CPU is strongly adhered to the heatsink and it won't come apart. Suggestions?

    amethystjw -

    I solved this problem by heating the heatsink from the other side (from the keyboard side) using a hair dryer on high heat for about two minutes. It turns out that this was TOO effective and the heatsink compound dripped and made a bit of a mess. The point, though, is that heating it works.

    Quote from amethystjw:

    I am having a very difficult time removing the logic board. I double checked that I have all of the connectors disconnected and all of the proper screws out but it just won't budge beyond 1/8 inch when I lift from the top (where the man's fingers are in the photo). I think the CPU is strongly adhered to the heatsink and it won't come apart. Suggestions?

    amethystjw -

    The logic board in in contact with the flat plate that shows in the lower center of the following picture. The black stuff is thermal compound, that increases heat transfer from the microprocessor chip and the heat sink. The irregular area is where the bond of the old compound has broken as the logic board was released in step 28.

    It is extremely important that the old thermal compound is removed throughly removed from the heat sink plate and from the contact area of the processor chip, and that new compound is applied to the processor just before the logic board is replaces of a new one installed in its place. You can obtain from iFixit a small tube of Arctic Silver heat sink compound together with a bottle of ArctiClean solvent that softens the hardened compound, and an accompanying bottle of Suface Purifier.

    Robert H Bernard -

    I would recommend against using Arctic Silver on the PowerBook due to the long curing process. Arctic Cooling MX-4 does just as well without the need to cure, and also lasts longer. I've been using that on old PowerBook maintenance re-applications and it does very well.

    CaptFrost -

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    • Your laptop should look approximately like this.

    I don't understand why the PC Card Cage, whatever that is in this space, is involved with the secondary fan. That fan, or its placeholder in the case of the 667mHz, is at the far right over at the right just next to the DV in board. Please advise. RHBernard@gmail.com

    Robert H Bernard -

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    • Remove the two T8 Torx screws that secure the PC Card cage.

    • Remove the 4 mm hex nut from the PC Card cage.

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    • Remove the PC Card cage by pulling it to the right and twisting slightly toward you.

    • Remove the fan or placeholder from the computer.

    • If you have a 667 MHz computer there is no fan in this location and just a placeholder bracket.

    • Performing the following steps incorrectly can easily damage the display and render it inoperable. The multicolored display data cable is especially fragile.

    • Remove the four black T8 Torx screws from the plastic framework.

    On my machine, the screw on the right was silver and held down a little clamp which came off together with the screw.

    Lami -

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    • Turn the G4 over.

    • Remove the five silver T8 Torx screws from the metal framework.

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    • Turn the G4 over.

    • Grasp the plastic framework and pull directly up.

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    • Disconnect and remove the pink and white inverter cable, removing tape as necessary.

    • Disconnect the audio connector cable on the right side of the computer.

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    • Position the display approximately at a 45 degree angle and rest the computer on a soft cloth with the back panel ports facing up.

    • Remove the two T8 Torx screws from each clutch cover.

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    • Close the display and pull off both clutch covers. You can use a non-metal flathead screwdriver if the clutch covers do not come off easily.

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    • Open the back panel port cover and remove the four T6 Torx screws.

    • The upper screw on each side fastens a small metal mount in place. Be sure to put this part back in when reassembling the computer.

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    • Open the display to a 90 degree angle. Rest the trackpad face down on your work surface and allow the display to hang over the edge. If possible, adjust your chair or worksurface height so the display will rest on your legs and the trackpad will lie flat on the worksurface.

    • Remove the four T8 Torx screws which fasten the display to the trackpad. The screw closest to the display data cable has a tapered head.

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    • Grasp the metal heat exchanger and pull up and away from you. You may need to move the inverter cable on the right side of the computer in order to rotate the heat exchanger.

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    • Lift up the metal brackets on either side of the upper case.

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    • Carefully thread the inverter cable on the right side through the slot in the upper case.

    • Carefully thread the display and backlight cables individually through the slot in the upper case. Be very careful with the display cable as it is easily damaged.

    • Remove the display assembly.

    After getting the display off, I tried to glue the broken hinge - it was broken at the outer corner of the PowerBook (the break had actually wrenched the case open at the corner) and just beside the hinge itself on the inner side by the display cable. Tried twice but no luck, the forces seem too great and the glue joints just break again. So the advice given on this site is correct; about the only thing you can do is buy a new display. However, when I reassembled it I left the back clutch cover off - at least I can open and close the display now if I am really careful...

    Lami -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

iRobot

Member since: 25/09/09

0 Reputation

2 comments

This walk through is almost useless: it makes something long and complicated out of something simple and easy. The only thing you have to take out is the logic board in order to access the back of the display attachments. The heat exchanger may stay in too. Just be careful with the screen wires.

fcapeilleres -

Same here. This guide may be using imagery from the pre-A1025 model PowerBook G4 Titanium’s, which would explain this discrepancy.

Anthony -