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PowerBook Titanium Crack


In what appears to be an isolated incident, reader Yee-wei Chai writes about a crack that is appearing just above the display latch release on his PowerBook G4 Titanium. This is the first such report that we have received, so there is no reason to panic. If the issue is happening to your Titanium, post a note in the feedback below and get in touch with Apple about a repair.

Hello,

I am experiencing some problem with my titanium G4 powerbook and I am wondering if anyone else have the same problems I see. Basically, I found that the catch that hooks the powerbook when closed seems to be causing a crack in the powerbook itself. I can’t hold the powerbook in a closed manner that will squeeze the top and bottom together, as it will cause the crack to be even more defined. Which is quite ridiculous if you think about it. How else am I supposed to hold my powerbook then, like a tray? I’ve went as far as to compare my Tibook with another one of my friend’s and found that the problem might have been due to the fact that my “catch” protrudes out too much, and thus pushes down too far into the bottom half when closed.

What’s even more infuriating was when I called Apple and talked to this service rep, he told me they would not cover plastics and informed me that I would have to pay more than $300 for replacement of plastics. I offered to send the rep these pictures but he said it would be useless to do so. What I could not understand was the fact that he was so stubborn that he would not even want to look at the pictures before making a final say. I was so pissed at that point i decided to send these picture to you and ask some fellow powerbook owners for suggestions on what I should do next or what could i do to fix the crack? A big problem is that I will be leaving US for Singapore in 11 days for a period of 4 months and thus would not have time to send Tibook for repairs anytime now.

I am a huge fan of Apple, and had been buying their products for many years. From a newton, to a 6500, to a LCD studio display, to a G4 sawtooth and now to a Powerbook G4, I would not say that the path is all that smooth. I’ve had my sawtooth failing on me due to a motherboard fault, Hard disk failure, and now this crack problem with my Tibook. I’ve always tried to defend my mac and hide these things for fear of letting the Wintel camps have a stab at how “bad” apple products were. But this Powerbook matter was my last straw. Can’t imagine buying a product that cracks within 2 months of usage and they tell me it is not their responsibility to fix it.

The pictures are below illustrate my problems more clearly:

1. Where the crack is:

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2. Cause of the crack. The hook presses down too far in and causes the crack to be “pushed out”.

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3. I can’t hold the powerbook closed like this or the pressure will cause the crack to be more defined.

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4. If I can’t hold the Powerbook like this, how else can I hold it without adding pressure between the top and bottom?

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Regards,
Yee-wei Chai

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.