Powerbook fixing?

[arch13]

So i found a dead powerbook 500mhz online with a working 20gb harddrive and lcd screen with about 10-15 bad pixels.
It won't even boot though. At 150.00 it seems like an adventure in macs to see what i can do. Logic boards are about 90.00 for the laptops and replacement cdr/dvd drives about 30.00.
Am i going in way over my head here?
I've built x86 machines for years and never meet a problem some thinking couldn't fix on a hardware level.
On the otherhand i know nothing of macs.

and ...
having said that, if i bought a newer logic board (say 800mhz which still has the same form factor as 500mhz) and put it in there, what are my chances of it working?

[juanvaldes]

You talking trying to fix the PB or trying to slap a x86 board in there?

[arch13]

Originally posted by juanvaldes
You talking trying to fix the PB or trying to slap a x86 board in there?

I mean fixing the PB. You can buy the apple motherboards on ebay from time to time.
I'd like to see if i can't eliminate possabilities of what ails it, zero in on why it doesn't turn on, and see if i can't make it fully functional again. It seems a good chance that it's a power issue. On PB's the power draw and charge are regulated by a seperate board that connects the motherboard so i thought perhaps that was possibly the problem area. It may also me a right out dead motherboard. That's why i mentioned you can aquire PB motherboard/logic boards (whatever you wish to call it) on ebay.
I'm just asking to see if anyone has played with an apple laptop before, or has experiance in the matter so i can guage if it's a project i can handle since i have no experiance with apples and their inner workings.

[arch13]

Wow, I'm suprised. none of our mac peeps here have ever opened up a powerbook to see how it works?

[numist]

I used to work hardware on old G3 powerbooks, so a bit slower than what you are talking about. Since I worked on them, they changed the hardware architecture, so I probably wouldnt know how to open one these days.

Sorry...