Have to wag lid back and forth to get display to come on

I have a 15 month old iBook G4 which has lately developed a problem.

I close the lid to put the computer to sleep.

When I open the lid to wake it up, I can hear the disk wake up and the fans
start etc but the display doesn't come on. I have to wag the lid back and
forth to get it to come on.

After that, the computer works fine.

Any ideas as to what this is and how to repair it?

J.

it's the end of an era my friend. i had that happen on my G3. it forced me into buying a G4. well i shouldn't say forced, but it certainly convinced my gf that i needed to buy a new computer (i was already convinced before it broke).

there's a design flaw on the hinge. on my G3 there was a poorly soddered spot that bent on the hinge and started pulling at the wires that run through it. over time it pulls at the ribbon cable that connects the monitor to the motherboard. that cable moves about a milimeter and it's game over for the display.

bottom line: i spent about 4 hours taking my ibook apart and putting it back together. i "fixed" it, until the next time i closed the computer. i went to get some estimates. first the apple store told me a fee that made me ask the guy if he was serious, then resulted in me walking out laughing. then a few local apple repair places were more reasonable, but it was still upwards of 400 dollars.

cliffs: if you're having the same problem i was, it's better just to buy a new computer.

Dex said:

....

there's a design flaw on the hinge. on my G3 there was a poorly soddered spot that bent on the hinge and started pulling at the wires that run through it. over time it pulls at the ribbon cable that connects the monitor to the motherboard. that cable moves about a milimeter and it's game over for the display.

....

Click to expand...

Are you serious? This is a $1200 computer that has been lightly used for a little over
a year. Do Apple seriously expect me to buy another computer from them?

J.

well...i'm by no means an expert. that's just info from what i found during my research when i had the same problem. mine wasn't really "used lightly". i'm by no means easy on anything i have ever owned, so usually when something breaks, i blame myself. do more research before you jump to conclusions based on my idiotic ramblings. i'm drunk most of the time anyway. lol.

seriously, don't take my word as gold. find out more. go to an apple store and to various apple repair places in your area. find out some estimates.

make a post on a bigger forum. nothing against this one, it's great. but go somewhere with more users so you get a broader perspective from people's personal experiences. try spymac.com. the site sucks IMO, but there's a ton of users on there and you would certainly get more opinions than you will on here. if you are a member of offtopic.com, post in the mac shack. there's some very knowledgable people on there.

there could be a lot of different things this could be. it's very similar to my problem, but it doesn't mean it's the same problem. i should have thought out my earlier post more and worded it better, but i was at work and in a hurry.

good luck.

It also could be the Magnetic Reed Switch the iBooks use to wake up the display. A lot of Laptops use a small button that the screen press's when it's closed and puts it to sleep. The iBooks I have worked on all use a Magnetic switch that when the display moves to a certain angle, the switch closes and lites up the display. I could also be wrong and it could be the cable but it's a thought.

i thought about that, but i wouldn't think he would have to move the screen to make it work. with a magnetic switch, it's going to activate once it's no longer making contact. i don't see how wiggling it once it's open would make a difference in that. it sounds more like a cable.

Certainly not a design flaw, the iBook and PowerBook have the best hinge designs on a notebook computer. It does sound like a loose or frayed cable, though. If you are covered under the extended AppleCare Plan, give Apple a call and see if you can have them take a look at it.
If not, go to http://www.ifixit.com/cart/catalog/ and get the take-apart guide to get in there and check out the cable connection. If it is loose or damaged, you could maybe even find the part you need on that site as well as the instructions on how to do the repair yourself.

D3v1L80Y said:

Certainly not a design flaw, the iBook and PowerBook have the best hinge designs on a notebook computer.

Click to expand...

in all seriousness, without trying to sound like a jerk, do you have any factual basis for that claim? or is it personal opinion?

Dex said:

in all seriousness, without trying to sound like a jerk, do you have any factual basis for that claim? or is it personal opinion?

Click to expand...

It is a very solid, well put together hinge. Much stronger than your average notebook. Yes, this is part personal opinion, but based on several reviews from magazines and other online resources, quite a few others agree. Here is just a small sample of reviews where the hinge is praised:
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven


and many, many more that praise that hinge's design.

Thank you all for the replies. I appreciate them.

I'm not very good with my hands so I'd prefer not to take it apart myself - does
anyone know how I can find a good repair shop around San Francisco?

J.