Restoring an In-Box Apple PowerBook from 1991!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 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). - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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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 TH-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.
More long form vids pls. Ramble all you want.
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
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.
Also I do like the long detailed videos, especially the Sony walkman videos.
Me too..
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
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.
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.
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 always prefer the longer rambling videos of yours :).
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 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.
Both styles of videos are good. a longer one once in a while makes for good balance
just commenting to say that i absolutely love the style
I am having a rough day and this video is exactly what I needed. Thanks for what you do!
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 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.
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.
Can't believe you could find one of these in-box!
The video format is just fine. However, I would like to see the occasional explosion.
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!
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.
Love the longer format when it suits the topic, such as this one. Thanks Colin.
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.
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!
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 TH-cam content right now and has inspired me to start doing tech repairs of my own. So yeah. Please keep doing the long stuff.
“ this video is fairly long and rambling“. That’s music to any retro computing fans ears. Keep the detail coming!
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.
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).
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.
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 LOVE THIS "rambling" style of video! Thank you for doing this!
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.
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)
OOOH! Rebuild the battery!! Be the hero and make this a Mac the next owner deserves!
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!
Love this format - more please!
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 👍🏼
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!
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
Definitely a fan of the longer/more rambling videos. I watch your videos while cleaning or working on my own projects.
I personally love these videos. I play them while working ( photo retouching ) and I love the info and tid bits I get from watching.
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.
I enjoyed this video a lot. Thanks for the teardown, repair and some history lessons of this machine. Great content
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!
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!
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.
Always happy when I see you have uploaded a new video Collin!
This is great video format and pleasure to watch, awesome repair!!!
More rambling = better, longer video = even better, longer video with more rambling = perfect! Thank you so much for your amazing videos, Colin!
I like the longer format, it’s link of nice to be along for the ride. Thanks for the great content.
I love this kind of videos, long, very informative, please keep on doing them!
Great video! Definitely enjoyed this longer version!
Thumbs up for refurbishing this nice classic PB170 Mac, great video, very interesting, perfect order (box, accessories, laptop).
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 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!
As someone who tinkers with Windows 98 / 95 more than any sane person would in the modern age, I can honestly say, from experience, reinstaling MacOS was waaaaaaay easier than any windows install back in the 90's.
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 👍
I very much enjoyed this video, I would like to see more in this format.
Please more longer videos on such gret topics - Thank you as always for great material :)
I love the PowerBook 100 series of computers so much. I have a 100, 160 and 180 and they're all wonderful machines.
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!
Great video dude, I always love watching. I don't mind the longer videos ether, you're an inspiration, keep it up.
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.
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.
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 TH-cam, I'd say no - but now that I'm a little older, I do appreciate the details and nuance a lot more.
I like your rambly videos! Keep em coming!
LOVE THE VIDEO, You take your time in your work. Good job!
This style is just fine! Love the content!
Love the long form videos. Keep em coming.
I like a mix of the quicker and these more in-depth videos.
Love the longer format!!
Yes, longer in-depth videos are much better than shorter ones.
I like both kinds of videos honestly! Longer more in-depth like this and also the shorter to-the-point ones!
I abosolutely love this video format. I highly prefer this over everything else.
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.
It’s super cool to see it with the box and papers, nice repair!
I worked for Apple back then fixing this model Powerbook and all other Apple products. Was a great time !
I prefer longer videos like this! really entertaining, informative and a joy to watch!
I really like the longer ones with extra detail and the history and flaws of the tech… all round great enjoyable vid this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻🌟
I remember the first mouse I used, it was on an Amstrad PC1512.
I like these in-depth videos when you are doing the appropriate item, somethings don’t require long videos.
Amazing work on this antique.
Yay a long Colin video - deploy popcorn 😍
I love this kind of video ! Great retro vibes.
This 'longer rambling' video's are good too, i always enjoy more details and trivia :)
This was great to watch. I learned some nice repair tricks, if I ever needed to them. I still have my PowerBook 170 that I bought brand new back in the 90’s. I still turn it on once a year for fun.
Fully detailed videos are preferred! Great video as always!🤘
Definitely appreciate the detail in these videos