I've been repairing Apple computers for a decade now, and in all of that time I have never encountered the same issue as often as I have with the iBook G4. The numbers astound even myself and I've gone through so many iBook's that I can usually disassemble and reassemble the laptop within an hour.
What is this flaw that is substantially inherent? A few little balls, of course.
Knoweth Thine Enemy
This image depicts the solder balls that are used in ball-grid-array surface-mount methods, which were used to mount your iBook's Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) to the motherboard.
In BGA mounting, a simple bead of solder is used to create electrical connections, rather than using pins or wires. The only issue with this method is that the solder is solely responsible for both conducting electricity and providing mounting support for the component. This means that the stress of thermal expansion is placed on, you guessed it, the chip's miniscule balls.
The solder's melting temperature is never reached by the normal function of the laptop, rather the reoccurring expansion and contraction of the components heating and cooling creates stress. Because the older methods of BGA used hard components with no give, the solder cannot flex and eventually cracks, causing tears of frustration and hours of tech-support calls. But no longer!
Just fix it!
(trademark iDecker enterprises LLC.LMAO)
As aforementioned, I've repaired no less than several hundred iBook G4's with similar issues. If it can be fixed, I will fix it. But how is it done? There are many methods posted on the internet (some more or less orthodox than others) and I have developed my own, but I do not recommend that any person attempt to repair their own iBook G4's GPU!
I cannot stress this enough. I and any other right-minded tech will charge more to sort out a bag of screws and components and attempt to reassemble what's left of your repair attempts. Laptop repair is never as easy as it appears on eHow.
While I won't share how it's done, I'm proud to say I have never damaged a customer's laptop and that I've only been unsuccessful at two (yes, I keep count) iBook GPU repairs. If your iBook is having the issue described, then let me help. On a personal level, I enjoy seeing older Macs still in use and prefer to help keep these aging beauties from facing retirement in the landfill. In fact, I often write this blog on my collection of ancient macs such as the "clamshell" iBook and my 12" PowerBook!
Keep your Mac ticking and ask about my iBook G4 GPU reflow service!
I hope to help you soon!
-My faithful PowerBook
No comments:
Post a Comment