How to resurrect my G4

Hi

I have a powerbook G4 gigabit ethernet (one of the 2001/2002 models) which after a life of abuse has decide to withdraw its services... the logic board is dead.

I would like to use the remaining, still working, parts to make a working machine, but I don't know where to start. I don't care if doesn't end up being a mac, as I will probably end up running linux on it. Is it possible to replace the logic board with one usually found in a pc?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm not very technically proficient.

If it can be done, can anyone suggest a logic board to me?

Thanks in advance

No i don't think you can swap boards like that, look on eBay, you should be able to find one, maybe not for cheap but you could find one.

Replacing the logic board (or motherboard) is the most difficult thing to do, because everything else connects to it.

If you do this, you have a very important choice to make. Do you literally ONLY replace the logic board, meaning you keep the RAM and CPU that's on it, or replace the whole thing with a MB, CPU and RAM to go with it.

The first choice is probably the hardest, because I doubt there are many CPU-less logic boards lying around, plus you'd have to remove the current components and place them on the new board, hoping they're compatible. If even you stick with PPC, then you can still install OS X, or Linux.

If you decide to rip out the entire thing, and go for a Mobo/CPU and RAM from elsewhere, then you get a bit more flexibility and could probably still use the other components, but I am not sure of the form factor of your machine and if it would house , for example, an Intel Mobo.

Then there is cost. If you're not that tech savvy, then you'd have to ay someone else to do all of this, so you have to ask yourself how much is this thing worth to you, compared to what you could sell it for.

If you could sell it for $150, and it would cost $450 to fix, then you have $600 and that would easily cover the cost of a relatively recent G4.

IMO, laptops are rarely worth fixing up, but it's amazing how much some people will pay for a broken one if there is a part from it they need, such as an airport card or the screen etc.

thanks for your excellent advice

I would not have to pay someone to help me put it back together as my brother has built his own pc laptops before and he will help me. The reason I came here for advice is that I didn't know if I could buy just any logic board, with ram and processor if necessary, and use the rest to make a working machine, but it sounds like I can...

has anyone else out there done this?

Also, is it still possible to buy ppc processors? I was under the impression they are obsolete in macs, and I've never heard of any other systems that use them...