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TICKET ARCHIVE -> battery and logic board
deutchman - Jan 26, 2006 - 9:36 pm
Hi,
I have a Titanium PowerBook 550 and my battery will no longer charge (an "X" appears in the battery status bar on top of the computer.) I bought another battery, which had the same problem.
When I brought the computer to one of Apple's Genius Bars, the technician told me that it was most likely the logic board, because the screen would occasionally dim as well.
He said the cost of the repair is about $320.
My question is, since the computer is four years old, is this just the beginning of more trouble, and am I better off putting that $320 toward a new laptop?
I realize there is no way of knowing what might happen, but I don't want to put the money into the computer if, because of age, something else is likely to go wrong within the next few months or so.
Thanks for your time.
-Josh
I have a Titanium PowerBook 550 and my battery will no longer charge (an "X" appears in the battery status bar on top of the computer.) I bought another battery, which had the same problem.
When I brought the computer to one of Apple's Genius Bars, the technician told me that it was most likely the logic board, because the screen would occasionally dim as well.
He said the cost of the repair is about $320.
My question is, since the computer is four years old, is this just the beginning of more trouble, and am I better off putting that $320 toward a new laptop?
I realize there is no way of knowing what might happen, but I don't want to put the money into the computer if, because of age, something else is likely to go wrong within the next few months or so.
Thanks for your time.
-Josh
mdnky - Jan 27, 2006 - 1:10 am
Josh,
It's hard to answer your question, since there's no way to know for sure. There could be issues, then again there might not be any for a while. In other words, it's a craps shoot. You've had the system, what do you think? How hard of a life has it had so far? Given the age of the machine, I wouldn't put the money into it.
Are you sure the Genius quoted labor in that price too? $320 sounds a bit low for just the board itself, yet alone with the install labor. On a PB, the labor would probably be one to two hours at $50 to $100 an hour (depending on who did it for you). Installing it yourself isn't a good choice, mainly due to the fact that its not a user-servicable part according to Apple (in other words, you'd void the warranty of the replacement part—if there even was one). That could add more to the cost.
A current model iBook would run circles around that model PowerBook...a new PowerBook would be even better. At potentially 1/3 the cost of of new PB (refurb) or 1/2 the cost of a new iBook, it's probably not worth it. You should be able to salvage some more $$$ out of the TiBook if you were to part it out, so that might make a new laptop even more viable.
Did the tech at Apple do anything to the machine? (reset the PMU, NVRAM, etc.)
It's hard to answer your question, since there's no way to know for sure. There could be issues, then again there might not be any for a while. In other words, it's a craps shoot. You've had the system, what do you think? How hard of a life has it had so far? Given the age of the machine, I wouldn't put the money into it.
Are you sure the Genius quoted labor in that price too? $320 sounds a bit low for just the board itself, yet alone with the install labor. On a PB, the labor would probably be one to two hours at $50 to $100 an hour (depending on who did it for you). Installing it yourself isn't a good choice, mainly due to the fact that its not a user-servicable part according to Apple (in other words, you'd void the warranty of the replacement part—if there even was one). That could add more to the cost.
A current model iBook would run circles around that model PowerBook...a new PowerBook would be even better. At potentially 1/3 the cost of of new PB (refurb) or 1/2 the cost of a new iBook, it's probably not worth it. You should be able to salvage some more $$$ out of the TiBook if you were to part it out, so that might make a new laptop even more viable.
Did the tech at Apple do anything to the machine? (reset the PMU, NVRAM, etc.)
deutchman - Jan 29, 2006 - 7:09 pm
Mdnky,
Thanks for the advice. The tech did reset the PMU and NVRAM. When I called Apple the next day, they said that the $320 was just to open the notebook--the entire repair would probably total about $800.
So you're right, it doesn't make much sense to invest that kind of money.
Most likely, I'll put in an order for the new MacBook Pro.
Thanks again for your help.
-Josh
Thanks for the advice. The tech did reset the PMU and NVRAM. When I called Apple the next day, they said that the $320 was just to open the notebook--the entire repair would probably total about $800.
So you're right, it doesn't make much sense to invest that kind of money.
Most likely, I'll put in an order for the new MacBook Pro.
Thanks again for your help.
-Josh
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