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Repair information for PowerBook G4 Aluminum laptops with 15-inch displays.

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Display has gone dim, almost black screen.

The display on my macBook Pro has gone dark quite suddenly. I did notice a couple of feint flickers earlier but took no notice of it. I left the computer open for a minute then could no longer bring up the backlight, despite clicking the key several times. I turned the computer off using the power button and it turned back up OK (heard the sound) but the start-up screen is just gently visible. What are my options?

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hanna, what are the last three digits of your computers serial number? Those numbers will help us to properly identify your computer.

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Where can I find the serial number? I've had this laptop for a number of years and misplaced the owner's manual that came with it.

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Look in the battery compartment… If you can attach an external monitor its also available from System Profiler (about this Mac - button at the bottom of the window that pops up.

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hanna, "sensible thing to do is to abandon that old computer" never give up:-) It could be as simple as an inverter. You listed the device as a PowerBook G4 but described it as a macBook Pro. Once we know what computer you have, we might be able to assist you a lot more. With the right numbers, we can help you better.

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Least expensive you need a new cable or inverter… most expensive you need a new display.

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Thanks - I'll check in the battery compartment. Alas, I don't have a stand alone monitor but do have another, newer MacBook Pro laptop. I just got the cable I need to connect it to the "sick" computer but am now mired in figuring out how to do that - it's one of those "special" Apple cables, that came, of course, with no instructions. Sorry for my noviceness - will be learning what I can and thanks again for the help.

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Hold T key down while booting the sick computer. Connect your well computer to it via Firewire and boot that computer with the option key down… A second HD (from your "sick") machine should show up as a boot choice… unless you have an intel Mac (which won't recognize it as a bootable drive). However that won't give you any hardware info because the Hardware you're using is from the healthy Mac. You can pull files from the sick machine though.

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Thanks for the suggestion Machead3. I tried that using my FireWire cable but unfortunately it didn't work all the way. A second Mac did show up as a boot choice but for some reason I couldn't boot it up (there was no arrow underneath to allow doing that). I will try this trick again later when time allows. Have also made arrangements to borrow someone else's display to see if that works. An aside - something I did try earlier is to toggle the brightness down all the way then up again, and the screen momentarily came to life before going dark again. I know the sensible thing to do is to abandon that old computer, but I still have files on it I'd like to use with various old systems, and it's nice to have different computers for different purposes (e.g., personal/professional).

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To boot from that drive you need a G3, G4 or earlier machine. You can pull the drive and put it in an external case to access or use as a boot drive for Macs of that age. A USB powered case will not be recognized as a boot device for a G3 or G4 machine, it must be a Firewire (AKA IEEE 1394) connection.

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machead3 - not sure whether I thanked you properly for your earlier help - was all very useful. I have some updates so am putting it here, rather than a new question. The trick with the T key held down worked - I simply needed to hold it down longer when the Firewire was on. So I could move files over to the new computer alright. Also took the sick computer to an authorized mac repair shop and they diagnosed the problem as the Inverter. Alas, Apple no longer makes inverters for this computer (PowerBookPro G4) so now I am in the market searching for a part. I think I can find someone to help install it (for a price) but need some suggestions as to where to go for the part that's reliable. I was able to find the serial number also in the battery case and can provide that. Any advise as to where to find an inverter, how much it costs and who may be able to help (I live in the Audtin, Tx area). Thanks again for all the hints and support.

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hanna will be eternally grateful.
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