This follows on from my previous PowerBook Repair post in which we replaced a hard drive on a 17inch PowerBook.
My friend Adrian hasn’t had much luck with the PowerBooks that he’s owned. The first one got stolen several weeks after we replaced its hard drive. His insurance replacement has been working fine, then he fell asleep and dropped it off his bed. A few dents later, frustration, a quick search on eBay and a thorough read of an iFixit Guide brings us to the point of taking apart a fairly new PowerBook.

For those interested in reading the article and seeing the accompanying pictures, you’ll have to click the continue reading link.

Most of the images below are clickable for a larger version!
You take responsibility for following this article. If you mess up, it’s your own fault, not mine!
Step one sees us acquiring the services of someone stupid enough to plug their earthing tag into a four way electrical connector. Ok, so it was the earth socket, but still. Identity has been obscured to protect said individual.

Step two sees us following the iFixit Guide to remove a PowerBook screen. Unfortunately this guide only goes so far and actually removing the back casing of the display comes down to trial, error and a little bit of ingenuity!

Once you’ve followed the above guide for opening up your PowerBook, you’re presented with pretty much the following: Lots of electronic things that look fragile.
Adrian’s PowerBook is actually a high resolution version, whereas the guide demonstrates on the lower resolution versions. Whilst this isn’t really a big problem, when it comes to removing the screen and casing, you’ll find that you can’t remove the cables as easily, which means another pair of hands is very very useful!

The back of the LCD case seems initially very difficult to remove, however, we found a neat way of prising the lid away without damaging anything.
At the bottom of the screen, where the hinge is located, lever a small screwdriver in between the lid and the hinge. As you’re levering between two pieces of metal you shouldn’t damage the exterior as much as you would by going around the outsides, which is plastic.
We also found a hint on a forum somewhere to use a credit card or similar piece of plastic to run around the edge once you’ve got it going. This prevents damage both inside and outside. You may also need to use a small screwdriver to prise off the clips inside the lid holding it on. Once you’ve done both sides and the bottom, the lid should simply fall away. Sweet!

The replacement lid that Adrian purchased was ever so slightly different to the original one on the PowerBook. The only difference was four additional clips, which we removed quite easily by scoring them with a stanley knife and then gripping with pliers and wiggling. Be careful not to wiggle too much as you’ll bend the metal, which may prevent the lid from going on correctly.

Once all of that is done, reattach everything by reverse stepping through the iFixit Guide.
Unplug yourself from the mains, sit back, power up your PowerBook and hope you didn’t break anything. Simple.