Urgent help needed for my Powerbook 170!!!

[3lectr1c]

General troubleshooting mainly.

1. Open the base, being extremely careful not to bend the interconnect cable when disconnecting it.
2. Check for anything obviously wrong.
3. Check for battery corrosion
4. Remove the motherboard and check both sides thoroughly for any signs of corrosion, burn marks, or other obvious issues.
5. Carefully remove the interconnect board, being mindful of the ribbon cables attached. Check and reseat cables going up to the screen.
5. Try a minimal boot config with all non-essential parts (floppy drive, hard drive, expansion ram if present, modem board if present) unplugged.

If that brings you to the question mark, then reconnect parts one by one and see if you find your problem. If still working after reconnecting everything, it was likely just a bad connection.

If none of that fixes it, next try taking the LCD housing apart, then reseat the main cable going into the LCD.

If none of this resolves it, I'm out of ideas.

 

[Cyclone740]

Hey as a bit of a side note I found this a little while ago and completely forgot about it, it looks like it might work as a repair for the tunnel vision screens, if anyone has a 100% certain answer for whether or not this would work please let me know.

Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! AU$235.98 | best price and quality HLR1014-101125 industrial LCD Display

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKhiyHi

 

[Cyclone740]

General troubleshooting mainly.

1. Open the base, being extremely careful not to bend the interconnect cable when disconnecting it.
2. Check for anything obviously wrong.
3. Check for battery corrosion
4. Remove the motherboard and check both sides thoroughly for any signs of corrosion, burn marks, or other obvious issues.
5. Carefully remove the interconnect board, being mindful of the ribbon cables attached. Check and reseat cables going up to the screen.
5. Try a minimal boot config with all non-essential parts (floppy drive, hard drive, expansion ram if present, modem board if present) unplugged.

If that brings you to the question mark, then reconnect parts one by one and see if you find your problem. If still working after reconnecting everything, it was likely just a bad connection.

If none of that fixes it, next try taking the LCD housing apart, then reseat the main cable going into the LCD.

If none of this resolves it, I'm out of ideas.

Sorry for not getting back sooner some stuff at home got in the way, but I should be able to do these checks very soon. This means that you should be hearing from me soon.

 

[lauland]

You guys mentioned looking for a cursor (aka arrow pointer), but does the screen draw the gray background pattern at all? On my 170 there's always brief display of "garbage" after the chime, and then the gray pattern is drawn.

If you aren't seeing anything, you should disconnect the scsi drive to take it out of the equation (part of suggestion #5), but DO connect the floppy. Check if you can hear it trying to access it after being on for a few seconds. I'm hoping do you hear it which means it's getting far enough to try and boot.

 

[Cyclone740]

You guys mentioned looking for a cursor (aka arrow pointer), but does the screen draw the gray background pattern at all? On my 170 there's always brief display of "garbage" after the chime, and then the gray pattern is drawn.

If you aren't seeing anything, you should disconnect the scsi drive to take it out of the equation (part of suggestion #5), but DO connect the floppy. Check if you can hear it trying to access it after being on for a few seconds. I'm hoping do you hear it which means it's getting far enough to try and boot.

Thanks I will have to give this a try hopefully a little later on this afternoon.

 

[Cyclone740]

Hi all, sorry for not posting an update things have been a bit busy lately but I am happy to say that things look as though I will be able to start posting some more and working through this project amd some others. Sorry for not getting back to you all regarding your suggested ideas.

 

[lauland]

Hi all, sorry for not posting an update things have been a bit busy lately but I am happy to say that things look as though I will be able to start posting some more and working through this project amd some others. Sorry for not getting back to you all regarding your suggested ideas.

No worries! That's the joy of working on old machines...you can take your time...they aren't going anywhere!

A while back I'd bought a box of 6 mixed 170's and 180's, evidently from an old Mac repair shop. They were all marked DEAD, but by swapping parts around, and using a drive from a dead 540, I was able to get a perfectly working 170 and (other than sometimes fading screen) 180. So I can definitely be a resource!

The box had sit in storage for a decade (or more?!?) until I needed an actual black and white machine for a project. I didn't have high hopes I'd get anything working, but those old guys were built to last!

 

[Cyclone740]

Guess who's back with an update!!!!

So I finally got some time to continue with my work on this project and I decided to see what the state of the parts machine that I bought was.
So I plugged it in and powered it on, and to my immense surprise, it started booting. It didn't complete the booting process as it needs some work to repair the installation, but it was working great.

Here are the picture of it.

I am very happy with the current situation all things considered.

So what I have decided to do is to swap the best parts or each laptop, and then build a great machine.

What I am going to be doing is some plastic welding but I thing that the keyboard bezel of the parts machine will be the better choice, even though it is broken. All I will need to do is just some plastic welding, and I will keep you all posted throughout the day.

I was also like to know if someone can tell me what the best windows software for creating macintosh powerbook floppy disks is? I really want to get the current installation fixed.

 

[Cyclone740]

So I have finished the repair and restoration of my powerbook 170.

It I seems to work great, I just need to know if someone can help me fix this issue.

From what I am seeming to understand, I need the installer floppy disk to fix it, but I can seem to find the download. I only seem to be able to find the installer iso files. If someone has the installer floppy disk, could you please send me a copy of the disk image? Or could someone please point me in the right direction for where I can download the files that I seek? I would ideally like to have the 7.6.4 installation files.

 

[Cyclone740]

@3lectr1c hey do either you or anyone else on here know how to source a new working battery for the powerbook 170?

 

[3lectr1c]

@jcs builds new ones, not sure if he ships to Australia or not though. It's not too difficult to build one though, if you have a spot welder.

 

[Cyclone740]

@jcs builds new ones, not sure if he ships to Australia or not though. It's not too difficult to build one though, if you have a spot welder.

Thanks I will have to look into that. Also do you have any ways to fix this issue I am having on my screen?

 

[Cyclone740]

@jcs builds new ones, not sure if he ships to Australia or not though. It's not too difficult to build one though, if you have a spot welder.

Hey I was wondering if you would be able to help me out with this issue that I am having with booting my Powerbook 170?

 

[lauland]

So I have finished the repair and restoration of my powerbook 170.

It I seems to work great, I just need to know if someone can help me fix this issue.

From what I am seeming to understand, I need the installer floppy disk to fix it, but I can seem to find the download. I only seem to be able to find the installer iso files. If someone has the installer floppy disk, could you please send me a copy of the disk image? Or could someone please point me in the right direction for where I can download the files that I seek? I would ideally like to have the 7.6.4 installation files.

Take a look over at macintoshgarden.org. I can't remember where exactly the set of install floppies I use on my 170 and 180 came from, but I'm pretty sure they're the generic 7.5 ones. I doubt there's a floppy version of 7.6.1. If you look enough you might find floppy images of the version that shipped with the 170 somewhere...probably on macintoshgarden.

 

[Cyclone740]

Hi I was wondering if there is maybe an ethernet adapter that is able to be used as a drop in replacement for the powerbook 170 modem? I remember reading something like that being done but I can't find it anymore. Whether or not it is an original accessory from back in the day or if it is a modern creation like the blue SCSI, I honestly do not care. I am just hoping to maybe be able add wifi to the machine without having to remove my working HDD, but if not wifi, I am at least hoping to get ethernet added. I don't want to have to rely on a DreamPi setup that I am going to be making soon.

 

[TheBasement]

Hi I was wondering if there is maybe an ethernet adapter that is able to be used as a drop in replacement for the powerbook 170 modem? I remember reading something like that being done but I can't find it anymore. Whether or not it is an original accessory from back in the day or if it is a modern creation like the blue SCSI, I honestly do not care. I am just hoping to maybe be able add wifi to the machine without having to remove my working HDD, but if not wifi, I am at least hoping to get ethernet added. I don't want to have to rely on a DreamPi setup that I am going to be making soon.

I’ve never heard of any Ethernet device that will replace the modem. But you can get wifi on the new BlueSCSI devices, and just plug them into the scsi port on the back (with correct adapter) and keep the internal Hdd.
Or you can get an AppleTalk to Ethernet adapter, but it’s not true Ethernet networking, just AppleTalk over Ethernet.

 

[Daniel Hansen]

I'm not aware of any ethernet solutions either... but there have been a few swings at a wifi-based internal modem replacement, both modem emulation and localtalk (https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/powerbook-1xx-wireless-modem.36932/, https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?thr...rated-airtalk-for-powerbook-100-series.45088/) and these are complete but not easy to acquire afaik...

FWIW I'm taking my own swing too just as a learning opportunity... last summer I made a prototype using an ESP8266 module and it in its basic form working with TheOldNet's firmware... but it's SUPER dumb and janky. I need to make some revisions to properly implement a level shifter and power management (those esp modules are thirsty), as well as some firmware adjustments to smooth out its use. I had to put it aside for the fall/winter, but I plan on picking it back up in the next few weeks.

There are a ton of serial-to-wifi modem emulators out there so an external solution is easy to find (or make) and use. But yeah none these projects are ethernet based, and ethernet opens up some handy doors.

Now that the BlueSCSI v2 has Daynaport emulation, that's probably the best solution if you're looking for something fast and easy to work with and quite cost effective, imo.

 

[Cyclone740]

I’ve never heard of any Ethernet device that will replace the modem. But you can get wifi on the new BlueSCSI devices, and just plug them into the scsi port on the back (with correct adapter) and keep the internal Hdd.
Or you can get an AppleTalk to Ethernet adapter, but it’s not true Ethernet networking, just AppleTalk over Ethernet.

Thank you for this information I will have to see if I can look at making one. But my poor HDD seems to be giving up the ghost. I am going to set it up tomorrow and just try and let it initialise all day. Hopefully that works.

 

[Cyclone740]

Th

I'm not aware of any ethernet solutions either... but there have been a few swings at a wifi-based internal modem replacement, both modem emulation and localtalk (https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/powerbook-1xx-wireless-modem.36932/, https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?thr...rated-airtalk-for-powerbook-100-series.45088/) and these are complete but not easy to acquire afaik...

FWIW I'm taking my own swing too just as a learning opportunity... last summer I made a prototype using an ESP8266 module and it in its basic form working with TheOldNet's firmware... but it's SUPER dumb and janky. I need to make some revisions to properly implement a level shifter and power management (those esp modules are thirsty), as well as some firmware adjustments to smooth out its use. I had to put it aside for the fall/winter, but I plan on picking it back up in the next few weeks.
View attachment 16416

There are a ton of serial-to-wifi modem emulators out there so an external solution is easy to find (or make) and use. But yeah none these projects are ethernet based, and ethernet opens up some handy doors.

Now that the BlueSCSI v2 has Daynaport emulation, that's probably the best solution if you're looking for something fast and easy to work with and quite cost effective, imo.

Is too is amazing information, infact it even going into a good amount of detail. Thank you.

As a side note, is there anyone that can tell me if there are any 3D printer files for a battery setup inside the shell of the powerbook 170 battery, that accommodates either alkaline AA, AAA, or heck even AAAA batteries? If so how hard would it be to modify it to accommodate either 2/3 AA, 2/3 AAA, or again heck even 2/3 AAAA batteries?

You seeing I am thinking that maybe it might be possible to get a functional rechargeable battery that has easily replace cells. I am planning to experiment the layouts of the cells once I get enough from my solar garden light harvesting (to clarify I go around my neighbourhood every so often and just check to see if there are any broken or non functional solar garden lights, and I will take those. It saves them from landfill, and I get some really useful parts and the people don't have rubbish cluttering up their front yards.

Could anyone tell me if this would even work electronically? I don't want to kill my powerbook 170. I just want to know if this would be an option worth sharing and posting about, as it might help with more renovations in the future by other people.

 

[Cyclone740]

I

I'm not aware of any ethernet solutions either... but there have been a few swings at a wifi-based internal modem replacement, both modem emulation and localtalk (https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/powerbook-1xx-wireless-modem.36932/, https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?thr...rated-airtalk-for-powerbook-100-series.45088/) and these are complete but not easy to acquire afaik...

FWIW I'm taking my own swing too just as a learning opportunity... last summer I made a prototype using an ESP8266 module and it in its basic form working with TheOldNet's firmware... but it's SUPER dumb and janky. I need to make some revisions to properly implement a level shifter and power management (those esp modules are thirsty), as well as some firmware adjustments to smooth out its use. I had to put it aside for the fall/winter, but I plan on picking it back up in the next few weeks.
View attachment 16416

There are a ton of serial-to-wifi modem emulators out there so an external solution is easy to find (or make) and use. But yeah none these projects are ethernet based, and ethernet opens up some handy doors.

Now that the BlueSCSI v2 has Daynaport emulation, that's probably the best solution if you're looking for something fast and easy to work with and quite cost effective, imo.

Also am really hoping to hear about your progress, it would be most useful if your project comes along and succeeds.