I don't think I would be able to resist putting a SSD (if possible) into the 'New' 20 year old laptop. The HDD is one part of a computer that would certainly have undergone some considerable wear and tear over the past 20 years. Also, the battery could probably do with replacing.
I am kinda disappointed that he did not do this. There a ton of adapters for it. It is just a lot of work to make thing new but leave that old HD installed. Then again, you are limited with what you can do with a Powerbook these days as for usability. Great video regardless.
@@macgeek808 I'm disappointed Luke didn't live up to the title of the video at all on this one. The seller clearly has a new motherboard, for example. Might as well make a truly new powerbook then. Now he's just refurbishing an old powerbook with a new shell
Apple switched from ADB to USB internally during this time. That may account for the different keyboard and trackpad connectors. The USB version of the trackpad supported scrolling.
Fun fact: the older ADB trackpad also supports scrolling but you need to download a third-party program called iScroll2. I'm using that on my A1085 17" PowerBook from 2004 and it works perfectly. But yeah, they changed it to USB on the next revision from Early 2005, which can also do a right-click with a two-finger tap.
Specifically, 2005-2006 iBooks and PowerBooks made the switch to USB. I only remember this because I had to install iScroll2 to add scrolling support to my older internally ADB iBook G4. It’s really odd to me that ADB stuck around all those extra years, even though most people never knew it.
Nice! I used to work on these back when I started as a technician in 2007. Pro tip: stick a spudger in the optical drive directly below each clip, and press on the keyboard assembly to get these clips clipped in. Not using the spudger makes it harder to get them to clip, and can actually damage/bend the optical drive resulting in discs not sliding smoothly in there.
I got my PowerBook G4 from 2004 that is in the same shape as this refurbished one. Not a dent, not any scratches, no marks what so ever, all 4 feets intact and not worn. Original battery has 65% soh, but it last a little under 2 hours. I love that machine, I retired it in 2006 when I bough the MacBook Pro (yes I have that one too lol). PowerBook is in it original Box in my closet, and will be there for the rest of my life. I start it every Friday so it doesn't get broken just by sitting there. Opened it up for the first time this summer and replaced the thermal paste and pad, and mounted a mSata SSD in a IDE adapter. It's so much faster then the 60GB HDD lol. Just as new now :)
I still have mine too it’s in perfect shape I just lost the charger somewhere along the way I still have my iPod touch 1st gen all my iPhones iPads and everything I have got over the years and tbh it’s a lot lol
This is awesome! I love these machines. One note - your new keyboard looks a bit wavy, yeah? Like it's higher on the left than it is on the right? Either way, great project. Having dug into one of these myself, I know it takes a lot of patience and organization.
Awesome, you did forget to clip in the topcase correctly. Also, maybe upgrade to an IDE SSD? I would love to see a video on the usability and performance. I have a 17 inch, upgraded it tot the max ram and an SSD and it is an amazing retro machine. The screen also holds up really well.
Loved the video Luke! My favorite part of the build was the end seeing how the thing literally looks like a modern MacBook just 2 - 3 years old maybe! Please upload more often, you’re the GOAT!
Next week: PowerBook M3 upgrade. That would be a hoot. The G4 is great for legacy software that was never ported to Intel, some of which is still great or just fun to play with. I keep one around for some media apps that just can’t seem to be replaced. 15:09 explains your enthusiasm. The unibodies are really nice but the build of these was really nice, which is probably why they kept the design up to the MacBook Pro C2D, which are still around and can even run a recent (current?) OS.
Hey Luke really enjoy your videos man. I’ve seen you tear apart and rebuild so many of these different Mac’s, and clean them up over the years. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make a video with what you do with all of them afterwards? Maybe a good future video idea? Do you resell them? Do you collect them?
I was wondering the exact same thing. I'd bet interested to know if he has put together his own little museum of stuff he has worked on. This was a great video. Until this one, I always loved the one where he upgraded the 2012 13 inch MBP. That thing looked pristine.
It's a great pleasure to look back at the good old power book. Truly appreciate the tremendous amount of work you had to do to put together this video.
Looks like you left the old spinning disk in there. Idk if I could have stopped myself from installing an SSD and seeing how that worked unless the HDD had an IDE connection or something
@@class503 It's more for reliability than speed, as the original mechanical HDDs are getting up there in age. By nature, they just aren't anywhere near as reliable.
I think I was lucky, I bought a powerbook 1.67 for a bargain, single owner and absolutely new. The owner bought it for work after reading the announcement about the launch of the macbook pro, he went to the store and bought a powerbook instead of a macbook pro. When he discovered that the powerbook wouldn't run the applications he needed, it was too late. He kept it, bought a Dell Precision workstation and the powerbook was stored all these years in its original box. I sold it a while ago and was able to build a new rig with the money. Today I have 2 other 17-inch powerbooks, but not as new as that one.
Excellent video! I have next model MacBook Pro of this and I always loved the squishiness of the keyboard. I hope you or Dosdude1 can find a way to get an M series chip running on old hardware.
Can’t believe it’s actually so old! It looks quite modern, despite having an optical drive (and hard drive) squeezed in there. Good job keeping track of all those tiny screws 😉
RIP my Powerbook G4 12" - the only Computer ever i felt in love with... Back in the days i could disassemble these and the first Intel machines nearly blind, because of the many repairs and upgrades i did...
Fun video... watched all the way. My love for the 2012 era unibody macbooks is only underscored by watching this... what a royal pain taking that thing apart and putting it back together! I wonder if folks run Linux on those? Can't imagine it as a production machine these days. Oh, and that thin bezel around the screen... wish Apple had maintained that on their 2012 era machines.
I love this video. It's nice seeing old tech get its time to shine again. I know this is one of those "holy Grail" laptops for me when i was in college.
I'm not a "lingo" guy but for lack of a better turn of phrase that serves the desire to communicate my delight and satisfaction with your idea for a video here... "Dude! This is brilliant!!? " great idea... My saturation point with apple happened a long time ago and then I decided I was tired of the Applesphere ... the constant marketing and smoke and mirrors in an effort to distract us from our common sense and perhaps tech lust and decided to explore the Googlesphere buying a pixel XL. Would love to see you do a little Giigle stuff too. You have really taken the smoke and mirrors out of Apples cheesy " I'm incredible" tone. I hope the raspberry pie people are exploring the idea of making a raspberry mac with all this cool stuff like that antistatic tape. And what is really cool is that the enjoyment you clearly derived from doing this has improved your delivery! It's all about doing things you believe in dude!! Godspeed. Bet no one ever said that to you. LOL This was seriously a very cool idea that I might add your persistence and hard work has rightfully earned you the chance to share with us . Awesome!!! Steady she goes... Reacting to a comment about the lack of security with an older Mac: this Miami video peels back all the stuff that is so clearly meant to make us beholden to Appall. It really highlights the übercunning approach to making money. A Wosniak version of today's finest Apple products wouldn't be anything like their current products. Tech is so much further ahead than it was but left behind is a faith in humanity. Stuff gets approved/built/changed for many reasons - sometimes it’s about superiority of performance, a lot of time it’s about the effect on the success of all the products and sometimes it’s exclusivity and appearance but Wozniak's style of wanting to build the best thing he could to not only share what he discovered but give everyone a chance to do the same- is long gone but precisely what we need. I can only imagine that if Wozniak were the major force behind the designs today that we would be blown away by the incredible things he could come up with. Apple should bring him on board to fix things
I’m still using a g4 1.67 ghz machine running panther. It runs some old audio software and pci hardware through the cardbus slot. I bought it second hand in 2007. I have a spare as well. The only mods I’ve done is replace the dvd drive with a second HD.
For me, your best videos are like this one, where you upgrade or refurbish an old Mac. Following your videos I upgraded a mid-2012 MBP 13 and a Mac Pro "trash can", both of which I really liked and used until the M series Macs were released.
A few years ago I bought a 12" Powerbook (the last release), and it was fine except for a dent on the left front corner. Maybe I should look for an OEM case part.
I can really see and hear that Luke is definitely enjoying re-building this. And super interesting to see how things needs to be assembled. I would be so clueless….😂
That’s absolutely wild. After I started following your channel back in late 2019, I ended up rebuilding a late PowerBoom G4 DLSD/HR and ended up cutting my fingertips open trying to replace the video cable and back shell and ended up just buying a whole display assembly off eBay. Major props for pulling it off!
I have a 15” DLSD/HR in pretty good shape. It’s got some wear and scuffs, but still looks pretty new. The battery is also original and is 100% health at 8 cycles.
@@CodyBelichesky either buy a new or refurbished one from a good manufacturer, or just get lucky like I did. Chances are most original batteries are very worn by now, the listing for mine didn’t even advertise the battery being in good shape.
I had the 1ghz titanium, nice computer, it was sad to see those computers become obsolete so quickly. In contrast I am still using my macbook pro 13inch from 2012.
Looks like your keyboard is bent? My 12" Powerbook feels like it's on the edge of dying. The keyboard has keys that are constantly pressed and I'm not sure if it's the keys or the controller. Shame because it was my first Mac and I still use it for ripping CDs.
Love to see these old MacBooks in great condition. I have a 17 inch 2009 MPB that has the original battery from 2009 with around 20 cycles on it. It looks absolutely pristine and I love it. I love using it as well. The screen is better than my brand new 2023 budget Lenovo.
I have three, bought second hand and they do have wear and tear, but I only use them for nostalgia. I might eventually have to get rid of them since they are not gonna be working much long.
This is an excellent video and what a "Blast from the Past", a 15-inch G4 PowerBook. In my collection there is a 12-inch G4 Powerbook. Would love to see you, upgrade one of these 12-inch models next. However, hope you also replace its Hard Drive with a SSD (smile...smile).
This was my first laptop in 2005. I made a record there, in Nuendo 3.0. Great memories. I still own it, and it still works. One day I'll swap the HD to an SSD.
I have my g4 PowerBook sitting in my closet and it keeps asking me to refurbish it just like you did. What was the total cost, and did you need to purchase a new battery, or did you own a working one? Would you be interested in refurbishing a subscriber’s old gear for free? I also have an Apple Mac Classic II with all original peripherals just collecting dust.
I had a powerbook G4 A1138 (15' 1.67GHz DL DVD 😅) that thing was a beast when it came out. It's the last powerbook with a PowerPC processor. I still have it but the motherboard died. What OS would make it usable, let's say for reading documents or music?
What a great project! Wish I could do this for my 2012 MBP. It has a serious kink in it from a bad drop (tripped on the magsafe while chasing my nephew around the house 💔)
@@emilsecker7881 but how this video peels back all the stuff that is so clearly meant to make us behelden to Appall. It really highlights the übercunning approach to making money. A wosniak version of todays finest Apple products wouldn't be anything like their current product. Tech is so much further ahead than it was but left behind is a fairh in humanity. Stuff gets approved/built with only superiority of performance and also for marketing viability and exclusivity but Wosniaks style of wanting to build the best thing he could to not only share what he discovered but give everyone a chance to do the same- is long gone and that is prexisely what we need. I can only imagime if you paid everyone $25 an hour for the amount of time they spend trying to fix their tech stuff because its too damn restricted how much that would actually be..
If you have the money to spend give it a good restoration treatment. I did it to my late 2011. Way over budget, aftermarket quality is hit or miss, max upgrades still won't make it a great daily driver although the 2012 is a different beast to the 2011 from the Metal support and USB 3 support.
nice :) i have a beat up 12inch that needs the same treatment, hope i can get the new parts for it too. it would have been cool if u also put in an SSD and made the SuperDrive external and used a data doubler to add another SSD :)
Luke, could You make a special video that shows how all these internal connectors work? I think I am not the only one who fears to damage a ribbon cable.
On the general topic of Mac laptops, is putting a shell case on one good or bad? I finally saw one for my 2012 MBP at a Salvation Army (new for $3), and wondered if they make it run hotter or stress out the top hinge.
I don't think I would be able to resist putting a SSD (if possible) into the 'New' 20 year old laptop. The HDD is one part of a computer that would certainly have undergone some considerable wear and tear over the past 20 years. Also, the battery could probably do with replacing.
The hard drive connector was a parallel ata, but maybe you can find some sort of adapter.
@@savpuissanceplus5424 yeah I used an IDE to SATA adapter on my own PowerBook G4 to install an SSD, works great!
I am kinda disappointed that he did not do this. There a ton of adapters for it. It is just a lot of work to make thing new but leave that old HD installed. Then again, you are limited with what you can do with a Powerbook these days as for usability. Great video regardless.
@@macgeek808 I'm disappointed Luke didn't live up to the title of the video at all on this one. The seller clearly has a new motherboard, for example. Might as well make a truly new powerbook then. Now he's just refurbishing an old powerbook with a new shell
Dosdude1 has IDE SSDs made and sold; maybe Luke can ask him for one
Apple switched from ADB to USB internally during this time. That may account for the different keyboard and trackpad connectors. The USB version of the trackpad supported scrolling.
Fun fact: the older ADB trackpad also supports scrolling but you need to download a third-party program called iScroll2. I'm using that on my A1085 17" PowerBook from 2004 and it works perfectly. But yeah, they changed it to USB on the next revision from Early 2005, which can also do a right-click with a two-finger tap.
Specifically, 2005-2006 iBooks and PowerBooks made the switch to USB. I only remember this because I had to install iScroll2 to add scrolling support to my older internally ADB iBook G4. It’s really odd to me that ADB stuck around all those extra years, even though most people never knew it.
Sunshine express on ebay? I bought from them an used Quadro FX 3600M for a Dell Precision M6300 (very rare GPU). The thermal paste was from 2008 lol
Nice! I used to work on these back when I started as a technician in 2007.
Pro tip: stick a spudger in the optical drive directly below each clip, and press on the keyboard assembly to get these clips clipped in.
Not using the spudger makes it harder to get them to clip, and can actually damage/bend the optical drive resulting in discs not sliding smoothly in there.
I got my PowerBook G4 from 2004 that is in the same shape as this refurbished one. Not a dent, not any scratches, no marks what so ever, all 4 feets intact and not worn. Original battery has 65% soh, but it last a little under 2 hours.
I love that machine, I retired it in 2006 when I bough the MacBook Pro (yes I have that one too lol). PowerBook is in it original Box in my closet, and will be there for the rest of my life. I start it every Friday so it doesn't get broken just by sitting there. Opened it up for the first time this summer and replaced the thermal paste and pad, and mounted a mSata SSD in a IDE adapter. It's so much faster then the 60GB HDD lol. Just as new now :)
Awesome! So much better than in a landfill.😉
I still have mine too it’s in perfect shape I just lost the charger somewhere along the way I still have my iPod touch 1st gen all my iPhones iPads and everything I have got over the years and tbh it’s a lot lol
This is awesome! I love these machines.
One note - your new keyboard looks a bit wavy, yeah? Like it's higher on the left than it is on the right?
Either way, great project. Having dug into one of these myself, I know it takes a lot of patience and organization.
Seemed to be a common issue with the removable keyboards in many Mac laptops, some even from the factory
Yup and the top cover bezel on the right seemed to be also bowed as if it were not fully clipped in. But dang it, it looks great!
Oh sweet! That’s what you meant. You restored one and it looks amazing!
Your retro Mac videos are freaking awesome, love this project it looks phenomenal
Awesome, you did forget to clip in the topcase correctly. Also, maybe upgrade to an IDE SSD? I would love to see a video on the usability and performance. I have a 17 inch, upgraded it tot the max ram and an SSD and it is an amazing retro machine. The screen also holds up really well.
yeah there looks like a gap on the right from side above the cd drive
Loved the video Luke! My favorite part of the build was the end seeing how the thing literally looks like a modern MacBook just 2 - 3 years old maybe!
Please upload more often, you’re the GOAT!
Man ! I just love a Macbook with a internal DVD drive, watching movie and playing or importing CD on this thing makes me happy
These are the types of videos I love to see from you! Amazing work!
Amazing video Luke! My favourite part was seeing the complexity of swapping the lcd panel. Keep up the vintage stuff, so good.
Excellent video, Luke. was a lot of fun to see this be restored to brand new condition
Next week: PowerBook M3 upgrade. That would be a hoot. The G4 is great for legacy software that was never ported to Intel, some of which is still great or just fun to play with. I keep one around for some media apps that just can’t seem to be replaced.
15:09 explains your enthusiasm. The unibodies are really nice but the build of these was really nice, which is probably why they kept the design up to the MacBook Pro C2D, which are still around and can even run a recent (current?) OS.
and he could probably use some dongle type shit for all the ports
You reminded me of people that would put Cube motherboard in LC AIO cases.
This is my favorite video on TH-cam. There won’t be a better one. Ever.
Super awesome.
Hey Luke really enjoy your videos man. I’ve seen you tear apart and rebuild so many of these different Mac’s, and clean them up over the years. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make a video with what you do with all of them afterwards? Maybe a good future video idea?
Do you resell them? Do you collect them?
I was wondering the exact same thing. I'd bet interested to know if he has put together his own little museum of stuff he has worked on. This was a great video. Until this one, I always loved the one where he upgraded the 2012 13 inch MBP. That thing looked pristine.
These videos were the reason I subscribed. I’ve a very sketchy 2003 17” PowerBook. Runs hot, DVD doesn’t work but good fun to play with occasionally.
Love seeing things about the older MacBooks. Great video yet again Luke.
I like the videos where you are rebuilding an old Mac! Keep them going!
It's a great pleasure to look back at the good old power book. Truly appreciate the tremendous amount of work you had to do to put together this video.
It’s beautiful, very well done Luke, love it!
This made me so much happier than I thought it would - awesome work!
It's a shame the clips above the DVD drive aren't clipping in correctly.
Looks like you left the old spinning disk in there. Idk if I could have stopped myself from installing an SSD and seeing how that worked unless the HDD had an IDE connection or something
It’s ultra ata/100 even if you could squeeze in a sata with the adapter the port wouldn’t take advantage
@@class503 It's more for reliability than speed, as the original mechanical HDDs are getting up there in age. By nature, they just aren't anywhere near as reliable.
@@class503 Of course it would take advantage - much faster access/seeking times!
I think I was lucky, I bought a powerbook 1.67 for a bargain, single owner and absolutely new. The owner bought it for work after reading the announcement about the launch of the macbook pro, he went to the store and bought a powerbook instead of a macbook pro. When he discovered that the powerbook wouldn't run the applications he needed, it was too late. He kept it, bought a Dell Precision workstation and the powerbook was stored all these years in its original box. I sold it a while ago and was able to build a new rig with the money.
Today I have 2 other 17-inch powerbooks, but not as new as that one.
Man, congratulations for your efforts! Lot of work doing it! Amazing! But the amount of adhesive tape inside this thing is amazing! Hehehe.
It was like seeing a watchmaker restore an old Rolex.
This is a great video, you are lucky to get brand new parts!
My second Mac AND my first laptop. Looking great!
Excellent video! I have next model MacBook Pro of this and I always loved the squishiness of the keyboard.
I hope you or Dosdude1 can find a way to get an M series chip running on old hardware.
Can’t believe it’s actually so old! It looks quite modern, despite having an optical drive (and hard drive) squeezed in there. Good job keeping track of all those tiny screws 😉
Missed snapping the clips above the SuperDrive, try inserting a knife into the drive for leverage and press the palm rest part down
simply wonderful work!
This is just amazing. If that G4 can talk, he’ll be really grateful. 😁
RIP my Powerbook G4 12" - the only Computer ever i felt in love with...
Back in the days i could disassemble these and the first Intel machines nearly blind, because of the many repairs and upgrades i did...
Fun video... watched all the way. My love for the 2012 era unibody macbooks is only underscored by watching this... what a royal pain taking that thing apart and putting it back together! I wonder if folks run Linux on those? Can't imagine it as a production machine these days. Oh, and that thin bezel around the screen... wish Apple had maintained that on their 2012 era machines.
Wonderful project! I love these Powerbook G4s.
I love the theme and icons from than generation. So cool looking.
I love this video. It's nice seeing old tech get its time to shine again. I know this is one of those "holy Grail" laptops for me when i was in college.
That was my first Mac! Loved the silver keyboard, was so disappointed when they started making them black.
It's lego for mac nerds... Thanks so much! I really enjoyed your videos. Keep up your great work 😊
my dad had one of these back in the day.... I remember it being an absolute unit. Especially compared to the iBook G4 I had at the time.
I'm not a "lingo" guy but for lack of a better turn of phrase that serves the desire to communicate my delight and satisfaction with your idea for a video here... "Dude! This is brilliant!!? " great idea... My saturation point with apple happened a long time ago and then I decided I was tired of the Applesphere ... the constant marketing and smoke and mirrors in an effort to distract us from our common sense and perhaps tech lust and decided to explore the Googlesphere buying a pixel XL. Would love to see you do a little Giigle stuff too. You have really taken the smoke and mirrors out of Apples cheesy " I'm incredible" tone. I hope the raspberry pie people are exploring the idea of making a raspberry mac with all this cool stuff like that antistatic tape.
And what is really cool is that the enjoyment you clearly derived from doing this has improved your delivery! It's all about doing things you believe in dude!! Godspeed. Bet no one ever said that to you. LOL This was seriously a very cool idea that I might add your persistence and hard work has rightfully earned you the chance to share with us . Awesome!!! Steady she goes...
Reacting to a comment about the lack of security with an older Mac: this Miami video peels back all the stuff that is so clearly meant to make us beholden to Appall. It really highlights the übercunning approach to making money. A Wosniak version of today's finest Apple products wouldn't be anything like their current products. Tech is so much further ahead than it was but left behind is a faith in humanity. Stuff gets approved/built/changed for many reasons - sometimes it’s about superiority of performance, a lot of time it’s about the effect on the success of all the products and sometimes it’s exclusivity and appearance but Wozniak's style of wanting to build the best thing he could to not only share what he discovered but give everyone a chance to do the same- is long gone but precisely what we need. I can only imagine that if Wozniak were the major force behind the designs today that we would be blown away by the incredible things he could come up with. Apple should bring him on board to fix things
Hey could you try something for me? Could you see if you could get the FaceTime feature from the Apple TV 4K to work on a Thunderbolt 27?
thats a beautiful project right there
I’m still using a g4 1.67 ghz machine running panther. It runs some old audio software and pci hardware through the cardbus slot. I bought it second hand in 2007. I have a spare as well. The only mods I’ve done is replace the dvd drive with a second HD.
What's that cool music in the background - it fits the video soooo well😎
Which OS did you install? I loved the feel of those keyboards; I could really fly on them.
My PowerBook G4 I bought 20 years ago still looks like new and still works fine. The design holds up well to my new MacBook Pro M3 too.
Nice work, thanks
I see your bro relaxing on the sofa as you struggle with the display lol.
Imagine that Apple was still so repair friendly haha
that music while making the screen assambly is a real banger on 2x speed 🤩
For me, your best videos are like this one, where you upgrade or refurbish an old Mac. Following your videos I upgraded a mid-2012 MBP 13 and a Mac Pro "trash can", both of which I really liked and used until the M series Macs were released.
The top case just needs to be clipped in above the superdrive. Best to use a spudger for support to get that done.
I have one too. Works still.
Dream machine, back in the day.
In love. Gorgeous machine.
A few years ago I bought a 12" Powerbook (the last release), and it was fine except for a dent on the left front corner. Maybe I should look for an OEM case part.
I can really see and hear that Luke is definitely enjoying re-building this. And super interesting to see how things needs to be assembled. I would be so clueless….😂
Luke, what wallpaper are you using? Is that an old Macos default?
That’s absolutely wild. After I started following your channel back in late 2019, I ended up rebuilding a late PowerBoom G4 DLSD/HR and ended up cutting my fingertips open trying to replace the video cable and back shell and ended up just buying a whole display assembly off eBay. Major props for pulling it off!
I have a 15” DLSD/HR in pretty good shape. It’s got some wear and scuffs, but still looks pretty new. The battery is also original and is 100% health at 8 cycles.
@@EvilTurkeySlices Any tips on finding a good condition used PowerBook battery?
@@CodyBelichesky either buy a new or refurbished one from a good manufacturer, or just get lucky like I did. Chances are most original batteries are very worn by now, the listing for mine didn’t even advertise the battery being in good shape.
@@EvilTurkeySlices got any recs for a refurbished battery?
I really love to see people care about older technology I hate this throwaway society awesome video Luke ❤
Nice! Your G4 has an expansion bay on the side… I wonder if you can find any modules for it?
I had the 1ghz titanium, nice computer, it was sad to see those computers become obsolete so quickly. In contrast I am still using my macbook pro 13inch from 2012.
We need a mac collection video!
You are the man! Love it and your efforts.
any chance you could put some sort of plastic film over all the parts to protect them from future scratches?
Have a good one, midnight crew
Looks like your keyboard is bent?
My 12" Powerbook feels like it's on the edge of dying. The keyboard has keys that are constantly pressed and I'm not sure if it's the keys or the controller. Shame because it was my first Mac and I still use it for ripping CDs.
Love to see these old MacBooks in great condition. I have a 17 inch 2009 MPB that has the original battery from 2009 with around 20 cycles on it. It looks absolutely pristine and I love it. I love using it as well. The screen is better than my brand new 2023 budget Lenovo.
Beautiful build!
loved it you need to do more of this
Nice walk down memory lane.
As always a nice project. What strap do you use for the Ultra ? Ia that the Hermes Leather Strap ?
I have three, bought second hand and they do have wear and tear, but I only use them for nostalgia. I might eventually have to get rid of them since they are not gonna be working much long.
This is an excellent video and what a "Blast from the Past", a 15-inch G4 PowerBook. In my collection there is a 12-inch G4 Powerbook. Would love to see you, upgrade one of these 12-inch models next. However, hope you also replace its Hard Drive with a SSD (smile...smile).
Awesome idea ❤
SA-sweet project Luke :D
Gotta love the old apple products. They LAST forever…
if you do the same for the latest m2 air , it would be interesting
This was my first laptop in 2005. I made a record there, in Nuendo 3.0. Great memories. I still own it, and it still works. One day I'll swap the HD to an SSD.
Ok that was just 100% Fun!!!
Apple sillicon mac in this case would be awesome.
A computer almost old enough to drink.
And in the UK.......it would be old enough!
You ever thought of restoring a G4 Cube?
I have my g4 PowerBook sitting in my closet and it keeps asking me to refurbish it just like you did. What was the total cost, and did you need to purchase a new battery, or did you own a working one? Would you be interested in refurbishing a subscriber’s old gear for free? I also have an Apple Mac Classic II with all original peripherals just collecting dust.
Oh hey, lol
I think I bought a keyboard for my G4 powerbook from this seller. Pure magic to type on, honestly.
I had a powerbook G4 A1138 (15' 1.67GHz DL DVD 😅) that thing was a beast when it came out. It's the last powerbook with a PowerPC processor. I still have it but the motherboard died. What OS would make it usable, let's say for reading documents or music?
Tiger or even Sorbet Leopard. You could go Linux though.
i had 17 inch one it looked so nice comparing to any windows laptops
Honestly still a cool looking design.
I wish you could bake an M1 chip into this chassis. Would be amazing. I love this design.
What a great project! Wish I could do this for my 2012 MBP. It has a serious kink in it from a bad drop (tripped on the magsafe while chasing my nephew around the house 💔)
Eh, shouldn’t really be using a 2012 MacBook Pro anymore. They’re a security liability
@@emilsecker7881 if you mean software wise, that's an easy fix with opencore legacy. If there's a hardware issue, I guess I'm out of luck on that one.
@@emilsecker7881 but how this video peels back all the stuff that is so clearly meant to make us behelden to Appall. It really highlights the übercunning approach to making money. A wosniak version of todays finest Apple products wouldn't be anything like their current product. Tech is so much further ahead than it was but left behind is a fairh in humanity. Stuff gets approved/built with only superiority of performance and also for marketing viability and exclusivity but Wosniaks style of wanting to build the best thing he could to not only share what he discovered but give everyone a chance to do the same- is long gone and that is prexisely what we need. I can only imagime if you paid everyone $25 an hour for the amount of time they spend trying to fix their tech stuff because its too damn restricted how much that would actually be..
@@emilsecker7881 Really? Where could I read more on that? I'm using one right now.
If you have the money to spend give it a good restoration treatment. I did it to my late 2011. Way over budget, aftermarket quality is hit or miss, max upgrades still won't make it a great daily driver although the 2012 is a different beast to the 2011 from the Metal support and USB 3 support.
nice :) i have a beat up 12inch that needs the same treatment, hope i can get the new parts for it too.
it would have been cool if u also put in an SSD and made the SuperDrive external and used a data doubler to add another SSD :)
Luke, could You make a special video that shows how all these internal connectors work? I think I am not the only one who fears to damage a ribbon cable.
Love your videos, you actually do stuff.
On the general topic of Mac laptops, is putting a shell case on one good or bad?
I finally saw one for my 2012 MBP at a Salvation Army (new for $3), and wondered if they make it run hotter or stress out the top hinge.
yeah the older powerbooks/ibooks are a pain to open up, but you made that one museum quality and that's amazing.
iBooks especially.
The videos I really love. Some years ago, Apple built wonderful machines.
I rebuilt my iBook G4 before I sold it on eBay. Added Bluetooth too. Looked brand new.
Unibody series pre-retina and retina (2008-2015) are the best MBP in terms of EASY repairability and upgradeability. I dare you to change my mind.