[Ti] [heart] break

[Kynan Shook]

OK, what part of the hinge is actually broken?  There are several parts 
to it; there are the clutch covers.  These are simply cosmetic.  
They're the white part that most people would identify as the hinges, 
and there are two black screws going through them.  If they break, it's 
not really a big deal; they protect the display cables, but have no 
purpose in keeping the case together or anything.  Put some electrical 
tape over the cables, be really careful with the laptop, and you'll be 
fine.
Underneath the clutch covers there is a piece of metal screwed onto the 
case using two long silver screws.  This is actually the hinge.  If 
it's broken, there's nothing you can do about it.  I'm an Apple 
Certified Portable Technician, and even *we* don't open up the display 
assembly (which includes the LCD, the sleep light, the reed switch 
(which senses when the computer is closed), the hinges, the associated 
cables for those parts, the titanium case around it all, and the white 
carbon fiber part at the bottom of the display).  If any part of that 
is broken, the only thing we can do is replace the whole unit.  Unless 
you can find one of the extremely rare places that can replace the 
display without sending it to Apple, (the shop I work at is one place, 
but it's not open to the public) you're going to have to pay the 
flat-rate $1300 for accidental damage including the display to get 
Apple to replace it.
The only other option would be to find a broken computer on eBay or 
pbparts.com with a working display; you'll need either the 867 or 1 GHz 
display.  Replacing the whole display isn't too difficult, and you 
should be able to find instructions on how to do it.
Another option is to use an external display, and just leave the 
computer in one place all the time as a desktop to avoid further 
damage.

Now, theoretically, you *could* open the display assembly.  However, 
I'm going to very, very strongly recommend against it.  It's not a nice 
thing to do, and the case is glued shut there.  I wouldn't attempt it 
myself, and I've done complete disassembly of just about every laptop 
since the PowerBook G3 and iBook many, many times.

Now is when you decide whether to sell your friend's daughter into 
slavery, or if he can live without a PowerBook.
But just think, several years from now, he can tell his daughter how 
she cost him $1300 when she was 3 years old, so there's NO way she's 
getting a car for her 16th birthday, especially considering what that 
$1300 will be worth in 13 more years.  ;-)

Andrew Chong <ac.red5 at mac.com> writes:
> Snapped hinge in the power-port side.
>
> So I'm thinking of trying to replace the broken hinge myself. The parts
> are fairly accessible but I have had warnings from several quarters not
> to attempt the disassembly of the lid, at least without a technical
> manual. Is there an on-line resource that anybody has found. There is
> plenty of documentation for the lower body, but I have found nothing
> dealing with the screen section.
>
> Or is the a bad idea altogther?