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Back light on G3 PowerBook only stays on after warm-up
Displays, G3, Hardware, Laptops & Notebooks, PowerBooks, Repair, Troubleshooting / 0 Comments
I have an older G3 Mac 13″ laptop that I am having issues with the display. If I open my display up too far the lights will go out on it. I then have to close the laptop, and wait for it to go back to sleep, and then open it very slowly to have the lights come on the display. And even then it does not do it all the time. Now once the lights do come on, the display can not be fully opened for a while (What I like to call a warm up) once it is warmed up I can then open it all the way, Is this a Videocard issue or the Ribbon for the display issue?
The G3 and G4 notebook computers have several cables that pass through the hinge mechanism. Repeated opening and closing of the hinge may have worn one of the cables that passes power through to the backlight of the display. Depending on what model of notebook, the cables may be considered as part of the display unit, and should be replaced.
I hope this information has been helpful for you.
Dennis Beaman
PowerMax Support
Is a Powerbook G3 usable for email and web browsing?
Hi Jacob,
I have a Powerbook G3 that still works – I presume. I have since had a Powerbook G4 and am now on a Macbook pro.
Is a non-Intel machine still useable for email, browsing and simple writing? Other than slow Ethernet, what issues might come up for using a machine like this?
Thanks!
Meg
For the task of writing, email or documents, the older Macs are still a decent choice. It does not take increasing processor power to record key strokes as text.
The Web browsing aspect though is a different matter. Older computer hardware just is not capable of running modern web browsers and Internet development is now back in hyperdrive, pushing the limits of what you can do on the web. Websites that worked on your browser yesterday may be rewritten for modern browsers tomorrow and older computers will be left out.
If the exciting new parts of the internet are were you want to go, than older computers are going to have a hard time. FaceBook, Youtube, and the like, will want a better computer to display their content. For that you need some processing power, like you have with your Macbook Pro.
Those G3 PowerBooks are old enough now that out Mac trade in program has stopped accepting them as well, so even overclocked a G3′s use beyond a word processor is pretty limited.
- Jacob






