MacBuild Laptop Build

Building a laptop in MacBuild is a fairly freeform process. Aside from the Laptop Build Checklist, there is no standard method for resolving or repairing laptops with issues. It is not uncommon to swap optical drives and displays in an effort to turn two broken laptops into one working one. We presently only build up a few different models, so it's easy to learn the basics of working with each type.

Laptop Build steps

The idea behind the steps in the Laptop Build process is to provide volunteers with an easy, worry-free way to acquire the skills they need to successfully build Apple laptops. The step sequence is as follows:

1. Harvesting
2. Evaluation
3. QC
4. Build

Harvesting

The idea behind harvesting is to get volunteers used to working with Apple laptop hardware by having them disassemble and pull out reusable parts that can be put to use in other Apple laptops at a later date. Given the intricate nature of these systems, volunteers can cut their teeth on machines destined for recycling without worrying about damaging machines.

The harvesting process:

Evaluation

The Evaluation process involves sorting through the incoming stack of Apple laptops and determining whether or not they should be built or have parts pulled from them. The Evaluation flowchart documents the procedure.

What we build

We presently work on translucent white iBook G3s and better, PowerBook G4s and better, and any newer models that come in. The specs we build the most common models to are as follows:

Specs

iBook

iBook G4 Specs Processor: G4/933 MHz - 1.42 GHz RAM: 512 MB or better Hard drive: 20 GB - 60 GB Optical drive: Whatever it comes with Wireless card: Airport Extreme Note: 800 MHz iBooks can be built "as-is"

PowerBook G4

PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) Specs Processor: G4/867 MHz - 1.42 GHz RAM: 512 MB or better Hard drive: 30 GB - 80 GB Optical drive: Whatever it comes with Wireless card: Airport Extreme Note: 800 MHz PowerBooks (Aluminum) and all PowerBooks (Titanium)can be built "as-is"

What we don't build

We don't build anything below the specs listed above.

Tips

• Use a guide - some procedures for removing/exchanging parts are very complicated, so it's always good to have documentation. iFixit's guides for laptops are particularly good, as they provide not only fairly easy steps to follow but also make note of the different types of screws and parts removed in each step, which makes it easy to keep track of.
• Keep track of your screws/part - it is not uncommon to end up removing 50+ screws from a system when swapping a HD in a laptop. You can use either an ice cube tray or a screw guide from iFixit (it should be linked in PDF form to whatever guide you reference) to keep track of what came from where.
• Allot sufficient time for a project - working on Apple laptops can be very time-consuming due to the level of deconstruction one has to go through to swap parts. For example, swapping a hard drive in an iBook can easily take over an hour and a half if you've never done it before (or if you don't do it on a regular basis). If you decide to start a project, make sure you have enough time to at least put the system back together before you leave or develop a good system for keeping track of your progress.

Laptop Build Checklist

Steps	Notes/Detailed Instructions	Done
Make sure that covers are available for open bays	If covers are missing, check parts storage for replacements
Install hard drive	Refer to MacBuild Spec Sheet for appropriate size
Install RAM	Refer to MacBuild Spec Sheet for appropriate amount
Clean/dust inside	If necessary
Attach network cable and power cord
Install Ubuntu	Attach network cable Push power button; immediately press keys Option+Apple+o+f at the same time When OpenFirmware prompt appears, type: boot enet:0,yaboot At boot: prompt, press Enter; eventually the install screen will appear When the display pauses for entering the machine name, replace whatever is already there with macbox When installation is complete, the computer will reboot automatically
Set HW date/time to UTC	In a terminal, set system clock with command date -u MMDDhhmmYYYY MM month, DD day, hh hour, mm minute, YYYY year hour and minute are GMT(UTC) time in 24-hour clock format; GMT time is locak (Pacific) time plus 7 hours (summer, PDT) or 8 hours (winter, PST) Set CMOS clock from system clock clock -uw
Enable the Ubuntu startup splash screen	In a terminal, edit the file /etc/usplash.conf as root sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf Change the xres value to 1024 Change the yres value to 768 Save and close the file Ctrl+o, then Ctrl+x Update the startup files with the changed resolution values with the command sudo update-initramfs -u The command takes a couple of of minutes to complete
Install extra apps, as necessary	Use System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager If the machine has a CD-RW or DVD-RW drive, select package k3b
Test USB/FireWire ports	USB: Plug in a USB mouse See that the cursor moves and can interact with things Repeat with all USB ports FireWire: Plug in an external FireWire drive Insert a data CD in FireWire drive See if it mounts on the desktop Repeat with all FireWire ports If all ports of one of these types don't work, the machine should be recycled
Test PCMCIA slot	If avaliable Plug in a PCMCIA wireless card See if it lights up Repeat with all PCMCIA slots
Configure/test sound control	Open sound preferences Place cursor on sound icon in top menu bar Press F12 key Select Preferences In the Preferences window upper drop-down menu, make sure the Alsa mixer item is selected In the lower combo-box menu, select PC speaker In the oem home directory, open the Examples sub-directory Select the 'Ubuntu experience.ogg' file When the video starts, verify that the sound slider (click sound icon) varies the volume.
Test CD data and sound	Insert, play, and eject a music CD Insert data CD, inspect directory contents If machine has a DVD drive, insert a data DVD, inspect directory contents If machine has a CD-RW or DVD-RW, use k3b to erase a CD-RW disk, and create/burn a new data project.
Test battery life	To start the battery test: Make sure battery is fully charged Open a web browser and go to http://llama.freegeek.org/~serge/batterytest.sh Save file to disk Insert an audio CD into optical drive Launch audio player, play disc, and set on repeat In a terminal, navigate to the directory you saved batterytest.sh to and run: sh batterytest.sh Disconnect power supply Leave the system running until it powers off To check the results of the battery test In a terminal, navigate to the directory you saved batterytest.sh to and run: sh batterytest.sh Record the results on the "printme" report generated in the next step
Generate "printme" report for system	Make sure you are on the local wired network Configure system so it can use network printers In a terminal, generate a lshw XML file for the printme process lshw -xml > printme.xml Open a web browser and go to http://data/spec_sheets/new Fill out the form, upload the XML file, and print out the report
Clean outside cover	Clean case monitor face, connector panel, keyboard, and mouse as well
Attach "printme" report to system
Bundle system with power supply
Take it to store