Hi,
The right hinge on my Powerbook just froze up and the lid will only open half way and it won't start up. When I put any pressure on it to open the lid, the lid starts to separate at the corner. It was sitting on my desk and hadn't been moved for a couple of weeks? I have no idea what happend to it. Can anyone tell me about this problem? And would that cause it not to boot up?
It was fine before this without any problems since I bought it a year and a half ago.

Thanks,
-Von

i was just looking over this forum for an answer to a differnet pb display problem.

i'm not sure which hinge or which corner you are talking about, left right etc., but in any case the hinges can be loosened so that they give you a smoother action. just get ahold of a T7 torx and a small philips head screewdriver.

remove the hinge cover with the torx 7 and then carefully turn one or two of the black (they are on mine) philips head screws counterclockwise to loosen the hinge just enough to let you open and close the cover properly. now replace the hinge cover.

as far as the machine not booting up, i doubt that the hinge would influence this unless both problems are related to a serious shock to the pb itself, i.e. falling of the desk. but you would likely see signs of that.

goog luck!

ramadev@libero.it

I got the frozen hinge problem myself today on a laptop I've used regularly for over 2 years (as a laptop, not as a desktop, so lots of moving around, opening and closing of the lid). I didn't notice what was going on though until I heard some creaking noises that made me worry about the laptop. When I looked down it appeared the hinge had broken off from the screen and the hinge itself wouldn't budge. With some pliers and a lot of force I managed to move the hinge a little, in other words the hinge is frozen and useless. I managed to move the hinge out of the way and remove the cap from the hinge (using a small flat screwdriver to remove the torx screws MacGyver style), then by removing the two little black (philips) screws I could remove the hinge itself. It looks like some oil had leaked from the mechanism, but I'm not sure if that caused it to freeze. With the hinge removed, I just replaced the cap and all seems well so far. The other hinge is keeping the lid in place so far, though with the extra stress that'll put on its connection, I wonder how long before that will snap too.


As for your other problem, the display's wiring runs along the hinges. If that gets damaged it might prevent your powerbook from booting.

This procedure will not help at all.

I picked up a set of new hinges on ebay for $100...havent seen a better price yet....

I just want to demonstrate a result of the frozen hinge problem:

http://482.underground.hu/tarozo/pb_dvi_lid1.jpg

This happened after the display was harder and harder to open.
Only the right side produced it, but the man at the official Apple service of Hungary said that it will be happened on the right side of the lid too.
Now I can open the screen with three hands - one center at touchpad, one on the top and one on the lid holding the separated corner :)

If somebody has a tip, what to to, please contact me!
Thanks.

Your hinge isn't frozen, it is broken. The picture says it all. We replace hinges for $249.95 for one hinge is $349.95 for two hinges. We also sell the hinges at our online store.

-Bradley
PowerbookMedic

just bust it open , flip the ti4 computer upside down , with the keyboard facing down , put an external keyboard and mouse , lay something on top of the computer to sustain the now almost free screen perpendicular to the ti4 body and enjoy your new desktop. plugs , usb and firewire are easier to access this way and the ti4 might even run a little cooler. primitive but with style

TiBook hinges breaking is a common problem.
I can recommend the hinge kit they sell here. I used one on mine and it works well.
If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, have the PBMedics do it.
The Tibook is still too useful a machine to relegate to FrankenMac status.
JMHO