Restoring an In-Box Apple PowerBook from 1991!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- I picked up one of Apple's first laptops, a PowerBook 170, that was mostly complete with its original box. And while it doesn't appear to have suffered any abuse, the past 30 years have still taken their toll.
Free Geek Twin Cities: www.freegeektwincities.org
Sources:
Macworld, December 1991.
MacUser, December 1991.
Data recovery clean room hood photo: www.sentryair.com/blog/produc...
PowerBook 180 tunnel vision photo: imgur.com/gallery/Rt3iUdq?nc=1
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Music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (www.box-cat.com). - Наука та технологія
Hey! I came on Thursday down 2 hours from up north in a rare day off to Free Geek to buy something to play games from my childhood on and ended up walking out with your laptop! I just came home from work and saw this video and literally couldn't believe my eyes! I went to my storage unit, dug out my games and am patiently waiting for my roommate to come home and recap the power supply for me. Thank you so much! Free Geek has slowly helped me get back all the machines I used or owned growing up and this one was the last one I needed to get them all! My district was using these as late as 2001, when the clamshell iBooks ran out we had 5 of these in my kindergarten class just so we could play games or write short stories. Sometimes I got one of these and they always were more fun for me. Again, thanks for doing what you do, a sub well earned.
That’s awesome, what are the odds?
Your comment is underrated AF dude. That's sick AF.
Woah
Very cool👍🏻
Darn. I was thinking of driving the 30 miles to grab it, just for the momentous of seeing it being fixed. How much it sell for?
I do like the longer “rambling” style video. The more in-depth the better 👍🏼💻
i do like these ones more too
Same here!
Same
So many videos these days are really short and super fast, it's nice to have a more relaxing and substantial video!
I also want to see 10 seconds restoration videos too!
8:52 "We're at a point where pretty much everybody knows how to use a computer" My mother-in-law is an elementary school teacher, with the lockdowns she was surprised to find out that some of the younger kids don't know their way around a PC because for them tablets and smartphones are the computers.
That’s a surprise!
Makes sense, though! Why bother using a computer when the iPad has all the Fortnite games and Fortnite UA-cam videos?
Yup, I keep seeing kids try to tap the computer screens at work all the time! Surprisingly many of them have never used a mouse before! I've been thinking about setting up some System 7 emulation running Mouse Intro for a while but haven't gotten around to it.
You can use a laptop or phone for distance learning but might run into trouble when you're required to run specific apps or do things like screen sharing. The apps might not be available for Android or iOS at all and things like screen sharing require permissions etc. and not everyone is tech-savvy enough to go into the settings and give those permissions. Some web sites won't work properly either and require a desktop browser.
@@Ragnar8504 In my experience with old electronics and real young kids, they're respond is either "meh who really cares tho" or "ewww why is it so old?!"
@@Ragnar8504 Haha My mom does that sometimes. She gets so used to using her phone and iPad, sometimes she'll just instinctively reach out and touch the screen on her laptop when she opens it every six months or more... :-)
I absolutely prefer the long form videos.
This is great. I was a Apple repair tech in the 90’s. The Coner drives always failed even new. Loved this!
Apparantly they also lost the extra letter “n”.
@@ernstoud so smartt
The Quantum GoDrives died like flies when they were about 15 years old. I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" Mac HDD fail, at least none of the early-90s ones, but almost all of the 2.5" Powerbook SCSI ones are dead by now and have been for a long time. It's a pity because I loved the sound of those GoDrives! Unlike the 3.5" ProDrives they were quite soothing to listen to. The ProDrives were noisy even when new.
@@Ragnar8504 quantum and Conner, some of the crappiest HDD makers of the 90s. I remember when I got my first pc and I immediately voided the warranty to swap that crappy drive for a WD Caviar. Way better than any of those other 2 brands
@@DiabloXL69 I don't think I've ever had a 3.5" ProDrive or Fireballone fail (not even the almost discarded one I managed to drop from almost 2 m onto the floor, still worked). Only the 2.5" GoDrives from Powerbooks all died.
The 3.5" ones were extremely noisy though, a horrible high-pitched whine.
I don't think I've ever owned more than one Conner drive, a 425 MB IDE fitted to one of my Pentiums. Worked fine the last time I tried that machine, probably around 20 years old at that time.
Vintage Macs, 3D printing, and even cracking open a hard drive! Super fun. I enjoy these a lot. I like that your channel is a mix of different kinds of videos.
The FDHD actually means "Floppy Disk High Density", the drive later called "SuperDrive" in marketing.
Are you thinking of Super Disk (the Zip Disk competitor)? Or is that different from Super Drive?
@@BrainSlugs83 No, Apple never built SuperDisk (LS120) drives into Macs, only Zip drives. The trademark SuperDrive was used twice by Apple, first for the HD floppy drive (1.44 MB instead of 800 kB), then for the DVD writer (instead of the ComboDrive that could write CDs, but only read DVDs).
Yup, you’re correct. SuperDrive are those that read 1.44MB, 800k, and 400k floppy disks.
@@BrainSlugs83en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperDrive
More long form vids pls. Ramble all you want.
You're a genuinely good teacher! I wish I could be thankful enough for videos like this, the narrative, tone, shots and pacing are really pleasing, and your thorough and careful methodology is really valuable and easy to follow, especially with a rewind button. Thank you a lot and good job, Colin!
I love both formats! Longer is usually nicer for me though since I can put it on while I do other stuff and not have to keep finding new videos to queue up :P
Dude, make the videos you like making, but since you asked, I love these types of videos. Long-form, rambling videos show your thought process and your operating process. All of the ingenuity you employ to get these old machines running inspires me to get back into fixing stuff again.
Keep up the amazing work, and thank you for your badass videos.
I'm surprised this video hasn't done better, this is a REALLY GOOD flashback to the days.. back when, as you're showing off the manuals that are wire bound and very premium, to be read not just once and tossed, but kept with the system for its life.. there was a time that I remember VERY well when things that you paid a premium for were actually PREMIUM. This, this was the epitome of highest class in the Mac ecosphere. Nothing like today. Today you're lucky to get 4 or 5 years of out of a MacBook. Then? That thing would have lasted you a decade, EASY. I mean my wife's MacBook pro is probably 10 years old today and it still works fine, but I installed an SSD and ram, boosted it a little.. but it still does the job. It's nothing like they were back then though.
Man this brings back memories. Our family started with a Performa 550 one evening in November 93 and quite literally watched the Sears truck bringing the 575's off the truck Poor mom and dad looked at each other after months of shopping with 4 kids and said stick with what we bought or we'll never own a computer. Since, we've had numerous macs. Love your content Colin, regardless of format because it reminds me of when computers were work to own and you had to figure most stuff out on your own or pay serious bucks to a expert. Kids now don't know how lucky they have it to not have to run a sneaker-net or survive with dial-up with one phone line in the house and family wanting to talk on the phone.
Also I do like the long detailed videos, especially the Sony walkman videos.
Me too..
Wow, so lucky with the battery! As you said it is not common. I got a couple of PowerBook 100s series and both of them had a leaking battery and a lot of electrolytic all over the motherboard. Very nasty.
I definitely like this style of video. I love watching repairs, but I also really like learning more about the machine and why certain issues can be resolved they way that they are. I especially found the hard drive disassembly interesting.
So Misstersack is my roommate/friend; I just cracked into the powersupply tonight while watching this video! Every single one of the low voltage caps was leaking pretty badly. One had even started getting to work on the traces! Nothing too bad though! Lost a bit of the solder mask and there's some blackened bits on the very edge of the copper trace; nothing needing a trace repair thankfully, but plenty of clean up.... Only took maybe an hour or so, but it's working well now! Thanks for all the work you put into this machine even though you were just donating it!
I always prefer the longer rambling videos of yours :).
Both styles of videos are good. a longer one once in a while makes for good balance
I am having a rough day and this video is exactly what I needed. Thanks for what you do!
just commenting to say that i absolutely love the style
considering you only have a video a week.. i enjoy the longer format. always
One a week is plenty, if you happen to be subbed to hundreds of channels.
Love, love, LOVE these long form videos. I was already excited when I saw you posted a new vid, but then I saw it was over 40 minutes and I’m pretty sure I audibly cheered. This sort of stuff is my favorite kind of UA-cam content right now and has inspired me to start doing tech repairs of my own. So yeah. Please keep doing the long stuff.
Colin - Your documentary-style technology retrospectives are top-notch, but I think a lot of people also enjoy these rambling tear-down and exploration videos on specific machines. Please keep 'em both coming!
Can't believe you could find one of these in-box!
Really like the longer format and appreciated the time spent on the additional details and explanations (ex. the HD fix and screw mount printed parts).
Love the longer format when it suits the topic, such as this one. Thanks Colin.
Keep up with these long format videos, you're great at describing things in details while keeping it very interesting. Looking forward to more of them.
I absolutely love all your videos. They're always descriptive and educational. Seriously, I'm 42 and untouched by most of the tech you show here. For example, I don't have a single Apple model and I don't plan to, but many of these repair techniques can still be used on other machines. Knowing how to get inside a Walkman is useful too. I think you should make videos as you feel it, no matter the length and amount of rumbling (I'd hardly call it that). It's always good stuff.
I enjoy the longer form restore/explanation videos as well as the truncated quick ones for items which don’t necessarily need all that much time. I enjoyed this since I have an old PowerBook 140 that I’ve been waiting to try and restore. Thank you for the video and ideas how to go about it!
I love the longer more in detail videos--but certainly also appreciate the diversity of different video lengths. Thanks for the great video! I learn a lot from everyone that I watch.
I very much enjoyed this one, it showed a genuinely sympathetic restore of a classic Mac. I have a pb150 that I now feel empowered to repair thanks to the detail you go to and care you show to these aging machines.
Great video, I enjoyed the longer format. Then again I’ll watch any retro computer restore video cause I absolutely love seeing these machines being brought back to life.
Thanks!
I appreciate the longer format as long as it doesn't add significantly more to your workload. I love the deep dives. The section on the manuals was terrific. These longer format videos capture a time in history so well.
Loved the video Colin. The style of the video was great. I enjoyed the walkthrough of the manuals and everything, especially the hard drive repair.
The video format is just fine. However, I would like to see the occasional explosion.
I performed a similar repair on a 30 year old hard drive recently, opening it up and replacing the bumpers which had turned into hideously sticky black tar with new nylon bumpers. I only did this as an emergency last resort, as the person who owned the hard drive wanted to recover data from them but wasn't willing to pay to send it to a hard drive repair shop. Most nerve-wracking repair job I've ever done, there are just so many ways to permanently ruin the drive once you've got it open like that. Amazingly it worked, but I don't trust the drive to actually keep working, I only kept it running long enough to get the lost files copied off of it.
Genuinely enjoy these longer-format videos. The short, sweet, and to-the-point ones are really cool and have their place, but these are excellent as well! I'm a DevOps Engineer with ADHD and these types of videos give me the PERFECT amount of additional "brain stimulus" to get work done! Please make more!
I love these longer videos. They're interesting and calming. I can either pay attention or zone out and get great enjoyment either way. Keep up the good work!
This is exactly the kind of video that got me into your channel and keeps me coming back. Love the content and being able to re-experience the past!
I absolutely love your longer style and more detailed videos like this one! I would like to see more videos like that, especially when it comes to vintage macintosh computers. Very cool 👍🏼
Definitely a fan of the longer/more rambling videos. I watch your videos while cleaning or working on my own projects.
I really enjoy this type of longer form content, especially with vintage Apple products, but really anything retro. It’s fun to watch at this more relaxed pace.
I absolutely love the fact that you got manuals with devices, and even ones intended for future reference. I wish those were necessary today because I like holding a paper manual and learning new stuff out of those. Even today I'm learning new features in for example an OS (like shortcuts) and then be disappointed I didn't find that out earlier (blaming the lack of a proper manual)
I LOVE THIS "rambling" style of video! Thank you for doing this!
Loved this detailed video! I think having more of these detailed vids will be great for some fans and the shorter more edited version pleases the other fans. Best of both worlds if you ask me! Will support you and your videos regardless 👍
My girlfriend in high school in the 90s had one of these handed down to her… we were so jealous… Apple displays were so crisp and clear, lovely fonts. Great video!
I personally love these videos. I play them while working ( photo retouching ) and I love the info and tid bits I get from watching.
“ this video is fairly long and rambling“. That’s music to any retro computing fans ears. Keep the detail coming!
I like the longer format, it’s link of nice to be along for the ride. Thanks for the great content.
It’s a nice format for something to listen to while I do something else, while the more documentary style format requires more of my attention, which is also good in its specific context. :) If it allows you to produce more content without adding more pressure to your schedule, it’s a win-win IMO. Good stuff as always!
OOOH! Rebuild the battery!! Be the hero and make this a Mac the next owner deserves!
I like the longer format.
i enjoy the longer format. I restored a G3 iBook and that was fun this summer. Seeing your techniques and approach is educational.
Good video, watched it all the way through. I recently got into these era of PowerBooks, so nice timing. I like this format, I think you should do both this and what you already did. I watched the 145B video several times, but I think I'll watch this one a single time.
Love your retro Apple videos :) Long-form content is nice to just kick back and relax to. If you asked me 5 years ago if I'd want to watch long-form content on UA-cam, I'd say no - but now that I'm a little older, I do appreciate the details and nuance a lot more.
More rambling = better, longer video = even better, longer video with more rambling = perfect! Thank you so much for your amazing videos, Colin!
While I enjoy modern technology I feel like it was more exciting to get something like this back then where today myself included a lot of tech is taken for granted. I remember my first laptop in 2001, It was exciting. I turned it back on last year and was like yikes this was old school stuff.
Holy cow that thing, with the battery condition, is basically a museum piece! I can NOT believe that battery didn't leak ONE BIT! That's just amazing, what a find.. I'll bet that thing was NOT cheap.. great find!
I love these longer video! It's cool to see how you problem solve when it doesn't work.
I had one of these back in the 1990s (second hand). Was a nice wee machine from memory. What a great project/video Colin. Thanks for sharing.
I really enjoyed the explanations of the documentation and overall info of the laptop. I was always interested in computers in those days but not afford one or experience with humble surroundings as a kid. Excellent video and topics so far on your channel thanks for the great ride!
Great video dude, I always love watching. I don't mind the longer videos ether, you're an inspiration, keep it up.
Very very lucky with the battery, Colin! I had one PB's logic board half coated in blue, corrosive chalk. It was totally destroyed. The plastics were in exceptional condition, so I kept them for spares. I very much enjoy the longer-style videos and always appreciate your commentary! I have had plenty of frustration working on electronics (especially vintage things), from childhood to present (I am 20, presently), due to my hand tremors, which seem to worsen when I concentrate more. I hope you don't mind me commenting on this, but I feel better that I am not alone in that frustration.
Excellent video! Thanks for your great content! Please keep this format, your content is awesome and I like much more this long videos to watch.
I enjoyed this video a lot. Thanks for the teardown, repair and some history lessons of this machine. Great content
Love this format - more please!
I prefer longer videos like this! really entertaining, informative and a joy to watch!
I like both kinds of videos honestly! Longer more in-depth like this and also the shorter to-the-point ones!
Love the long format videos!
Back in the day I had a PowerBook 100. A friend who was in university got it through some sort of super discount through their school. (This was in addition to the usual academic discount pricing.) I think this was either close to, or shortly after, the model got discontinued, so it was probably a final close-out type sale thing. Anyways I loved that machine, it was my first laptop computer, and I remember marveling at how thin and light it was compared to the PC laptops of the day. Part of me wants to get one again and restore it for nostalgia's sake, but I am afraid of what eBay pricing is for these, and the few Craigslist searches I've done in my area have turned up nothing.
I love this kind of videos, long, very informative, please keep on doing them!
I like both. But these long rambling videos are fun and entertaining. As someone that enjoys collecting and fixing old retro stuff for me to keep and enjoy.
These videos tend to give me some info big or small to look out for when I'm purchasing something old.
In my mind it's more of a "If I purchase this can I fix it with what i know"? If I feel I can, I go ahead and get it. If I feel I cannot? I just let someone else give it a chance.
Though, to be fair, It would be nice to see a bit of both. Long videos and short ones. It just means more content to watch.
Always happy when I see you have uploaded a new video Collin!
This is great video format and pleasure to watch, awesome repair!!!
This 'longer rambling' video's are good too, i always enjoy more details and trivia :)
I really like the longer ones with extra detail and the history and flaws of the tech… all round great enjoyable vid this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻🌟
Amazing work on this antique.
Love the longer format!!
I am for seeing more of these. I enjoy both types. The rambling is often very interesting. I may have to watch it in more than one sitting but oh well.
longer and more detailed episodes are extremely good and more exciting to watch, So yes longer is better :D Thank you So much we are learning from you sir I'm a resident doctor in the Oncology surgery department & I love your episodes on old Mac tech your doing a great effort to an extent, amount and intensity considerably above average
I'm a simple man. I see you uploaded a video, I watch it. The longer it is, the better. Keep up the awesome work.
I abosolutely love this video format. I highly prefer this over everything else.
I like both your main video formats, but I think I prefer these more in depth rambly videos. I come back to rewatch them and pick out new details of your narration or of the tech in question again and again.
I like a mix of the quicker and these more in-depth videos.
Please more longer videos on such gret topics - Thank you as always for great material :)
I'm watching this many months after you posted it, but many things come to mind while I'm watching. Here's some of my rambling thoughts in response. Regarding the "how to use a mouse" - I still remember when the 128k Mac came out. We had our only dealer demo system sitting right as you came in the front door. I was giving a demo to a customer with the two of us sitting side by side. I kept hearing the door open and close behind me, when I turned around to look there were 30 people watching a demo of MacPaint.
These were great for music composition. You didn't need much more than a TFT greyscale screen for music notation. I had a professor at Berklee who kept one of these in an industrial strength briefcase with a midi interface and speakers. He would use this for instructional demos in his jazz counterpoint classes. This was in 1994 before every class was equipped with a computer and we were lucky if there was an overhead display.
It’s super cool to see it with the box and papers, nice repair!
Great job Colin, you're a dab hand at these standoff repairs now. Lives to play another day!
I like your rambly videos! Keep em coming!
i love the longer rambling detailed video format
I very much enjoyed this video, I would like to see more in this format.
More longer, better, this particularly video was a bless to watch
The contrast on that screen is really amazing!
Thumbs up for refurbishing this nice classic PB170 Mac, great video, very interesting, perfect order (box, accessories, laptop).
Great video! Definitely enjoyed this longer version!
Definitely appreciate the detail in these videos
Love the long form videos. Keep em coming.
This style is just fine! Love the content!
Fully detailed videos are preferred! Great video as always!🤘