Powerbooks

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Resetting the Power Manager will frequently cure starting problems, you can get a neat utility to reset the Power Manager at the MacFixit pages, in the Utilities list. Look for ResetPwrMgr on the page here.

Powerbook 100

The Powerbook 100 is a one-of-a-kind computer, it's logic board battery power is supplied by 3 button batteries that are in a swing-out holder. So it is really easy to replace them.

The batteries are 3 volt lithium, the ones that I am looking at are CR 2430, "Renata", made in Switzerland.

The batteries are on top of the computer, and the battery holder is sticking out to the right in the photo.

The Rest Of The Powerbook 100 Series

The Powerbook 100 series (like my 145b, the 165 and the 170) have a battery on the keyboard/screen side of the case - under the hinge. The battery is on a sub-board in the PB 140 thru 180c, this board holds the speaker as well.

The battery is covered with a plastic disk that (on my 145b) is clear, and seems to be held in with some rubbery stuff.

The plastic disk is glued to the battery but you can peel it off and put it back later - here is a photo:

You can see the battery and the sub-board that it is mounted on. The battery is the right of the speaker (the speaker has the yellow wires connected to it).

And on the second photo you can see the other side of the interconnect board, if you look closely you can see the outside "leg" of the battery as it comes from the top of the battery and down into the interconnect board. To replace the battery, you remove a series of Torx screws that hold the board under the hinge, unplug a cable that is on the back, and remove the board. It now comes into two pieces - one piece has the speaker and the battery. The other has some power conditioning circuits. Now unsolder the legs of the battery from the board (on the other side of the board from the battery) and replace the battery. You will have to trim the legs of the new battery to the right length. Do not try to remove the legs from the battery - they are welded on.

The battery I am holding right now is a Panasonic VL 2320, and it's legs are soldered to the bottom of the board it is on. The last step is to put the plastic disk and rubbery stuff back onto the new battery.

Thanks to Tom Hawkins, Paul Fuchs, and Dave Lerner for the information about Powerbook batteries. I looked all over the logic board for these batteries and couldn't find one - but never thought to look on the other side of the case.

The Powerbook 145 and 170 are quite easy to clock-chip (as long as you are experienced in circuit board surface mount work) - just remove the 50 MHz oscillator on the daughterboard and replace it with a 66 MHz (leave the 31.3344 MHz oscillator in place - your Pbook will not work without it). All of these oscillators are the surface mount variety.

At least the PB145 and 170 will run at 35 MHz, replace the 50 MHz oscillator with a 70 MHz, but the PB 140 will not run faster than 33 MHz (and will only run that fast if you have replaced and moved a number of other components).

Note: make sure to reset the Memory control panel to 32 bit processing or you will be stuck at half speed!

Powerbook 5xx

J B Cole has put up the ultimate page and so I link to his site. Click here to go to the page that tells you where to obtain and how to replace this battery. This URL has been corrected as of today - the link works.

And if you have a Powerbook 5xx - you need to look at O'Grady's site with it's excellent coverage (by Joe Kudnra) of the easily-broken hinge problem, with solutions. Just go to O'Grady's Page.

Powerbook 1400

JoAnna Schull took her PB1400 apart and found the PRAM battery; here is what she says:

I found it. Not easily. It's under the left wrist rest. It's pretty tough to get to. You've got to take everything out in order to get to it. And once you get to the battery (it's actually two), it's soldered to the connection wires and it's very hard to disconnect. Not for the faint of heart or short on tools.

Good Work, JoAnna! Another important Powerbook fact has been documented.

Powerbook 3400

Jess Bowers details the procedure to change the PB3400 PRAM battery:

Before beginning, be sure to remove the battery, and unplug from the AC. You will need a #8 Torx screwdriver, a small flathead screwdriver, and the battery. The battery is part #922-2692 and can be purchased from New Media in Hollywood CA (phone 323-957-5755) as well as other places.

1. Unscrew all three torx screws from the bottom of the case.

2. Open the Powerbook, and carefully pry the keyboard tray (careful, don't pry the keys) up. The keyboard tray has tabs all across the top, and if you pull the keyboard towards you, you can free the tray, and flip it towards you. Make sure not to damage the connecting ribbon cables.

3. Below the keyboard (upper left center), there is a #8 torx screw holding the speaker panel. It's on the logic board, so be careful when unscrewing it.

4. Before lifting up the speaker panel, disconnect the single, orange, ribbon cable from the logic board. The connector can be carefully pried on the top of either side until the top part lifts up, freeing the ribbon cable.

5. Lift up the speaker panel and flip it over. The battery is the three-celled plastic-covered thingy with the black and red wires coming off of it.

6. Disconnect the battery cable from the circuit board, then carefully pry the battery off of the speaker panel. There is a white, rectangular, sticky pad holding the battery to the panel.

7. Replace the battery and reverse the steps to install the new battery.

Thanks, Jess!

Powerbook 5300

Martin Schafhauser sent me a note and says, about the PB5300 PRAM battery:

After removing the wristpad you can see it at the left side, right
above the battery bay. It is a small package of 3 round cells (approx.
coin size) and connected to the powersupply board via red & white wires.

Thanks, Martin!

Outbound

For assistance for Outbound computers, a link to their Web site follows. It is a paid service, and if you want help you have to join the user's group.

Click here to go to their web site. The site has a Frequently Asked Question (And Answer) database, technical support, maintenance procedures, and ads.

You can also send them mail at: Outbound .

It is neat to see that a pioneer that was willing to risk the wrath of Apple is still soldiering on. They have a guaranteed place in computer history, alongside of Franklin Computer (the maker of the first computer that I owned).

Thanks to Cory Burton for the Outbound information.

Your Macintosh Logic Board Battery Information Source

Charles D Phillips
If you want to, you can send me mail.

This page and all photos on it are copyrighted by Charles Phillips. You may refer to this page and information on it - with proper attribution.