The power supply for the Powerbook blows chunks. They fall apart in the same way each time.
For the second time I’ve had one die in flames, literally. This one was sparking and spewing clouds of smoke when I yanked the plug out of the wall.
They won’t replace them because they redefined their crappy design as customer damage.
Typically they’ve brought out a different power adapter for their newer machines but they refuse to acknowledge the problem with the older ones. The worst part is the patronizing way they blame the customer as though we were all swinging our computers around our heads like bullroarers.
$80 for a new one.
Be My Blog 
Oh yeah, the power supplies for Mac notebooks have *always* sucked ass.
My condolences.
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mines about to do that 😦
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Bullroarers are outstanding!
You should have a bullroarers tag.
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Somebody should tell them…
that melting hardware ≠ ease of use
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That’s a bunch of bullshit. One of the few things that makes me glad I don’t have one. *sniff*
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Crap…
That last comment was from me, btw.
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ha! that looks familiar.
currently, my cord is wrapped around my keyboard at exactly the right angle to avoid shorting out. I can’t move it. at all.
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I’ve had five of them deteriorate in precisely the same way. The good news: the power adapters for the old titanium Powerbook G4 is compatible, and doesn’t fail this way. They’re hard to get though. (No, you can’t have mine. I jealously guard the ones I have, since they’re the ones that don’t suck.)
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I have had the same problem, just bought a new one a month or so ago. I’ve taken to wrapping some electrical tape around it preemptively where it bends there.. seems to help quite a lot.
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Yup, got two that died in that manner. One is still working; has been for the past year with several inches of black electrical tape wrapped around the joint. Oh, and my girlfriend’s is failing that way too. Best of all, she found out when her iBook screws went conductive and started using her as the ground. She was pissed, to put it mildly.
When I buy another – and it looks like I’ll be going that route in the next few months – I’ll probably put a few layers of heat-shrink tubing around the joint; that might sufficiently harden it.
Also under idle consideration: maybe there’s a 3rd party electrical plug that would work? And be cheaper?
PS I think it’s funny that I’ve replied more often to your blog than I’ve posted to my own.
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man you guys should whip out the class-action on them. i don’t even mean trotsky this time.
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I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had to replace that power supply at least once. My second one’s about to go any day now.
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Our iBook’s did that a little, but since the iBook rarely moves from the same spot, it has not been an issue. (The cord might get unplugged three times a week or so.)
However, the teeth marks on the cord are not Apple’s fault.
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I was nearly electrocuted by mine several times. It also falls out of the wall. Love the Powerbook, hate the power supply.
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Ryan saved my life the other day when I was going at the thing with a knife, while it was plugged into the wall.
I’m not vuree smert.
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I must have gotten the good Genius Bar guy then out here, because he replaced mine for free when it sparked like that.
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At first, that happened to me once or twice because of the cats. A little habañero eventually solved that. Then, it occurred once or twice just because of bad design. I found that if I use the little plastic clip in the following manner, then it does not happen any more:
It is not the ideal solution, but it has worked well for several years.
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HAHAHHAHAHA, so THAT”S what that thing is for!
I keep coming back to check on this post, to see if a solution exists.
Huzzah.
Although I am still out $80 in a few days when I get one to replace this dead one. 😦
Now I know for next time.
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I think that, technically, that thing is so you can extend those two little prong things, wrap the cord up, then clip it when it’s wrapped up–except, I never do that. I have a power supply at home and one at work and rarely take one with me anywhere, so I just use that clippy thing as an extra layer of cord-stress-relief.
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Excellent, thank you so much.
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i remember i got like, three or four new ones with my old powerbook (it was from 2000 or something i think). it got taken care of with the extended protection plan. damn apple for changing it up.
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Ahhhh, yeah, my old iBook did that as well. I remember seeing some third party power adapters online, but sold it before the replacement I bought gave way.
And yet. . . I still ordered a new MacBook last week. I hate myself.
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mine doesn’t fall apart like that. it just starts sparking and sparking and sparking.
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I note that the iBook and Powerbook actually have several design failures that show up if you use your laptop in … your lap. USB connections on the side is one. DVD ejection on the other side is another. If you use your laptop abnormally (not in your lap) you can avoid most of these, but that hardly seems like a user problem. I have one frayed power supply and a second on the way, and one iBook with both USB connections buggered after a $200 repair out of warranty. They wanted to replace the entire main board but I suggested maybe they just dust off the soldering iron and give it a go. Held together for a couple of weeks.
I vote for class action suit, especially if a fire starts.
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Yes. When my previous Powerbook just sort of… fell apart, the tech actually told me I shouldn’t have used it in my lap.
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Seriously
I mean, Apple knows some stuff about good design, and then they do that sort of shit. Frankly, the only explanation that sits right with me is they’re petty and evil and they enjoy it.
Still, that won’t stop me from getting a MacBook sometime soon-ish. The bonus there is I can gripe from a more personal level.
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Heh
Yeah, that’s why you don’t buy from Apple ^^.
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Re: Heh
Very perceptive, emoticon-boy.
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i have an aftermarket power cord now and it started to do the exact same thing after only a couple months, so i rigged it with an unseperated pair of takeout chopsticks because i noticed it was the right height for the cord-end to be supported on the table. i just affixed it with duct tape. my cord has an additional thick plastic part a few cm away from the plug part so i just cut the chopsticks at that length and put tape on the plug and that extra tube of plastic. it keeps the plug at the right height when the machine is sitting on the desk and keeps me mindful about not putting stress on the plug part when i’m working with the machine on my lap.
the service gal actually laughed when i told her i used my laptop on my LAP and said wryly, ‘yeah, they’re not designed for that.’
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