Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 4 sec, f/11, ISO 100 — full exif
Surplus
Parts left over after performing surgery on my old laptop computer

As I mentioned yesterday, my 18-month-old MacBook died yesterday. I think the disk controller went bad, taking out the hard drive as well (the big disk that I'd installed myself early on). Apple's products are wonderful when they work, but their laptops have a history of “longevity issues.” I guess that's what happens when you push the envelope as far as they do. I wholeheartedly recommend their laptops, but be sure to build into the cost the extra few hundred dollars for the extended warranty, as I did when I bought mine.

Apple is picking it up tomorrow for repair.
(UPDATE: and they returned it – fixed – 47 hours later!)

My Old iBook

I really dislike working via Windows, so I thought to dust off my old iBook, which the MacBook replaced 18 months ago. The iBook had developed a problem with the screen backlight, a well-known iBook problem that I'd had fixed once under warranty, but which came back again a year or so later, out of warranty.

The fix involves replacing a small and inexpensive bundle of wires – between the body and the screen – that get pinched due to an “overly aggressive” design when the laptop is opened and closed (where in this case “overly aggressive” is a euphemism for “poor”). I've had the parts on hand for ages, so I took the opportunity yesterday to finally get around to making the repair.

The short story is that it was much more involved an operation than I realized until well into it, involving the dismantling of the top-front shell, top-back shell, back shield, lower-top shell, lower-bottom shell, lower shield, and display hinge. Prior to this, I hadn't realized most of those parts even existed, much less that I'd have to deal with them. Each involved a dozen different screws of at least half a dozen randomly-different types.

An hour and impressive disarray later, I had the umpteen major pieces of the iBook laying in piles all over my already way-too-messy office, and I could finally get around to actually swapping out the broken bundle of wires.

Then it came time to try to put it all back together.

I'm Screwed

An iBook has a lot of screws. Fully half the weight of the entire computer consists of nothing but screws. Not only many screws, but many different types of screws. A few of the many types are easily distinguishable, but for the most part, they all look more or less identical at first glance, their differences waiting to ambush you the moment you try to use them.

These many screws were in all kinds of small piles in whatever bare spots I could find on my desk, but, alas, I neglected to label them as I removed them, and as such, I froze like a deer staring down headlights when it came time to take the first step in the long journey of rebuilding the thing. Which screw goes where? I had no idea. (Hey, there's a reason I'm a software engineer rather than a hardware engineer 🙂 )

Luckily, I'm a smart and resourceful guy. I mean, I can put together a child's toy without reading the instructions, and I can get myself un-lost without asking for directions, so this laptop issue should be a piece of cake. I recovered my composure and decided to wing it, figuring it out as I went.

One thing that hindered my progress was the stupidity of the Apple hardware engineers, who used a lot of screws and random parts where they are not required. By the time I had the thing put back together (taking twice as long as it did to take it apart), I had an assorted pile of leftover screws and parts that I had decided were not necessary (or that I couldn't figure out where they went). There were a few more pieces lost in the plush carpet of my office as well.

I saw with great satisfaction that the screen light came on right away the first time I powered it on. My fix worked.

Sadly, something else didn't work, and it wouldn't boot. I decided to call it a night.

Today

I took it apart again today, re-seated the hard disk cable, and while it was half open on my lap, tried booting again. It worked perfectly.

I got it put back together again, the process having resulted in half a dozen additional screws added to yesterday's “left over” pile.

All buttoned up again, I powered on to find.... the backlight didn't work.

Much wailing and grinding of teeth later, I realized that the problem was another well-known iBook issue: a defective design resulted in micro-cracks in the motherboard such that any pressure applied to a certain area of the case caused the backlight to turn off. My iBook was at the point that merely putting the case on caused the problem: the case put slight pressure on the hard drive, which put pressure on the motherboard.

Those Stupid Apple Engineers

Again, the problem was the inept engineers at Apple, who mounted the hard disk with rails that floated the disk over the motherboard. Remove the rails and let the disk sit on the motherboard directly, and you've gained a quarter inch of space that was needlessly wasted. This means that the case no longer presses on the disk, and so the motherboard is no longer strained: problem solved. An additional benefit is that the motherboard now acts like a big heatsink for the hard drive, keeping it refreshingly cool.

I wish I hadn't wasted the better part of two days on it, but it's satisfying to be writing this blog post via my self-repaired and now-considerably-lighter iBook. The picture at the top of the post shows the surplus parts (not counting those lost in my carpet), including the superfluous disk-mounting rails.

As an Apple shareholder, I can only hope that they've since abandoned this wasteful use of needless screws and small knick-knack parts. Heck, they could avoid using screws altogether by simply using big gobs of glue. I'll have to suggest that to Steve Jobs the next time we chat.