Using a Mac with broken graphic card

the title says it all.

My 12" pbook G4 graphic card eventually burst: the screen goes crazy when I switch the machine on, and connecting an external monitor through the DVI socket does not work either.

A part from that the computer is fine and I would like to use it from another mac. Is there any way to send the screen data to another Mac, so that it;s the other computer graphic card that does all the displaying?

Of course I cannot set any screen sharing option on the PB using System Preference BUT I can "ssh" to the machine.

Any help?

mzito said:

the title says it all.

My 12" pbook G4 graphic card eventually burst: the screen goes crazy when I switch the machine on, and connecting an external monitor through the DVI socket does not work either.

A part from that the computer is fine and I would like to use it from another mac. Is there any way to send the screen data to another Mac, so that it;s the other computer graphic card that does all the displaying?

Of course I cannot set any screen sharing option on the PB using System Preference BUT I can "ssh" to the machine.

Any help?

Click to expand...

Technically speaking...your Powerbook does not have a graphics card. The graphics hardware in your Powerbook is integrated into the logic board, so it's really more of a video processor than a video card.

If your PB display is not working properly, and the video out is not working properly...you're sort of in a tough spot!

About all I can suggest is:

- you could try to get this repaired, but this would be very expensive & probably not worth it.
- you could remove the hard drive, get an external hard drive enclosure, and if you have a 2nd Macintosh, copy your files to the 2nd computer.
- you could try using "Target Disk Mode"...which makes your Powerbook act like an external hard drive to a 2nd computer...and copy your files to the 2nd computer.

Hope this helps...good luck,

- Nick

I can do all that your are suggesting (but will not send the pbook to get repaired ). I was wondering if there was any way to use that machine remotely.

Would I be able to use it if it had its Screen sharing option enabled?

mzito said:

I was wondering if there was any way to use that machine remotely.

Would I be able to use it if it had its Screen sharing option enabled?

Click to expand...

I guess my first question or confusion is...if your Powerbooks display is not working properly & you cannot connect an external display...how are you going to adjust your preferences if you cannot see them?

Also...you may need to install software on your Powerbook in order to control it remotely...so again, you have to be able to see what your doing on your Powerbook to be able to do the install.

Check out the link below & see if any of these programs will work for you. Some of them cost some $$$, and it may not be worth it.

Pure Mac: Remote Access - Software for Macintosh

Timbuktu is the program I'm most familiar with...but at $95 dollars it may be more money than you want to spend, depending on the value of your computer.

HTH,

- Nick