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flyguy451

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 3, 2005
137
0
I hate myself. :(

I just did something really stupid. I had my 12" 1.5 PB on the rear floor of my mini SUV and I folded the rear seat down to carry something in the back and crushed it. The screen is broken...:( :( So now after an hour of beating myself up I am trying to figure out what to do. Does anybody have an idea of what it would cost to replace the screen and lid (it's bent a bit) and what the labor cost might be? Is this something that I might be able to do myself? The computer seems to work fine, except for the big crack in the screen. I know this because it was sleeping when it happened and when I opened it to see the damage it woke right up.

Anyway.....suggestions, advice, condolences?

Thanks
 

iGary

Guest
May 26, 2004
19,580
7
Randy's House
flyguy451 said:
I hate myself. :(

I just did something really stupid. I had my 12" 1.5 PB on the rear floor of my mini SUV and I folded the rear seat down to carry something in the back and crushed it. The screen is broken...:( :( So now after an hour of beating myself up I am trying to figure out what to do. Does anybody have an idea of what it would cost to replace the screen and lid (it's bent a bit) and what the labor cost might be? Is this something that I might be able to do myself? The computer seems to work fine, except for the big crack in the screen. I know this because it was sleeping when it happened and when I opened it to see the damage it woke right up.

Anyway.....suggestions, advice, condolences?

Thanks

Prolly about $700
 

After G

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2003
1,583
1
California
You might be able to attach it to an external screen and use it that way.

And start saving up for a shiny new portable.
 

TheMonarch

macrumors 65816
May 6, 2005
1,467
1
Bay Area
Off with its head, and connect it to an LCD screen. ;)

Sorry, but yeah its going to cost too much to fix it, I'd rather just buy another one and use this one as a really small desktop.


:(
 

plinkoman

macrumors 65816
Jul 2, 2003
1,144
1
New York
i think it's time for your pb to be retired to permanent clamshell mode if you have another screen, kb, and mouse. your pretty much looking at an absurd amount of money to fix that, so you may as well start saving for a new one.
 

mmmcheese

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2006
948
0
Maybe someone is selling a broken powerbook on ebay....assuming of course the broken part is not the screen. Otherwise it'll be cheaper to just replace the machine.
 

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,401
471
Boston, MA
maybe you should sell it for cheap and go for a MacBookPro or for the new intel ibook.

it's probably not worth to invest money in the powerbook when you get a intel laptop that will last you much longer.

sorry for you loss though.

andi

emaja said:
Tech Restore will do for you for $399 including overnight shipping back to you and a 1 year warrantee.

it's actually 649 bucks for a 15" pb, not 399.
 

sam10685

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2006
1,763
1
Portland, OR
yeah, dude... what i'd do is sell the broken one on ebay saying what happened and that the computer works fine. (people buy broken stuff like that all the time. u might even get more than u plan.) then get a new Intel powered one... they're fast.
 

emaja

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2005
1,706
11
Chicago, IL
Repairing it costs $399 while replacing it with a MacBook costs $1999 - that's a significant difference. Unless you were planning on upgrading anyway, I would still get it fixed.
 

flyguy451

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 3, 2005
137
0
Thanks everyone. Thanks emaja for the link. I'm thinking that fixing it would be worthwhile since it's only a year old. I know a lot has changed in the last year but still a 12" G4 PB is a pretty fine laptop and it's served me well until my mental lapse. I am wondering though about the suggestion to convert it to a desktop - can I just buy a lcd monitor and use that, do I need to physically remove the broken screen and how tough is that?

Max_altitude: Sorry to say it's no joke although I really, really wish it was.
 

plinkoman

macrumors 65816
Jul 2, 2003
1,144
1
New York
flyguy451 said:
...I am wondering though about the suggestion to convert it to a desktop - can I just buy a lcd monitor and use that, do I need to physically remove the broken screen and how tough is that?

all you need is the new LCD. you can hook it up through the mini-DVI port on your powerbook, and your powerbook also should have came with the mini-DVI to DVI converter that you'll need. and unless you want to stare at a broken LCD all day, you'll need an external mouse and kb aswell. with an LCD, mouse, and kb, you can run it in clamshell mode(lid closed), and have essentially turned it into a desktop computer. you don't need to do any modifications to the powerbook for this to work, it's a standard feature of all powerbooks.

hope that helps.
 

darwen

macrumors 6502a
Apr 12, 2005
668
13
California, US
It is always tough to deal with a damage. I serously think there could be a market in support groups. Maybe a "Chicken Soup for the My-Computer-Or-Computer-Related-Device-Just-Suffered-Damage Soul"
 

jadekitty24

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2005
1,369
0
The poor section of Connecticut
My suggestion, turn it into a desktop to hold you over for now. Keep your eyes on eBay or the Marketplace here at MacRumors for the right lcd. Install it yourself, it sure as hell isn't worth what you'll get charged to have someone else do it. I had to do this way back with a 14" iBook of mine. I'm surprised that the lcd is the only thing that broke :eek:
 

flyguy451

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 3, 2005
137
0
NATO said:
Would your home insurance not cover it?


I'll check that out but it's probably not worth doing since I would lose my claims-free discount. I guess it depends if I they would replace or repair. It's worth checking though, funny thing I didn't think of that.
 

flyguy451

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 3, 2005
137
0
excalibur313 said:
Check ebay...a cursiary glance showed that they have some at $150. It might be a good do it yourself project.
http://cgi.ebay.com/LCD-Screen-for-...ryZ14909QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Thanks for finding that for me! I'm the kind of guy who would open the case to do it too. Do you have any idea how complicated it is to do or if any special tools are required?

edit: I thought I was the kind of guy who might do this until I found the guide and photos!!

check this: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/53.21.0.html
 
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