Apple Powerbook 5300 Troubleshooting

Whatever you try, the computer refuses to turn on.

You probably already tried this, but it's always worth another try before digging into the possible problems.

It is possible the battery is dead, so trying plugging the computer into its charger.

If that still doesn't work, your battery could have gone bad. For a new battery, the best price for it that was found is at:

http://www.batterymart.com/p-h210ae-12pb...

The next source of problems is the screen or the backlight. The screen/backlight repair guide can be found here: <insert link here>.

The next layer of problems lies within the hard drive itself. Hard drives crash and are more likely to as they get older. The hard drive repair guide can be found here: <insert link here>.

In this case, a new hard drive is the answer. The Powerbook uses an internal laptop IDE hard drive, found here: http://www.batterymart.com/p-h210ae-12pb...

The final problem is that the motherboard, the main guts of the computer, is fried. Follow the motherboard repair guide here; <insert link here>.

The computer turns on but the cursor won't move by using the trackpad

Sometimes, the trackpad doesn't quite register to the computer when it is turned on, so try to force a restart to reset the system and "find" the trackpad.

If restart doesn't work, open up the PowerBook with our guide here <insert link here> and check to make sure the cables connecting the trackpad to the motherboard are secure. Try starting the computer after the cables are checked and see if that worked.

If the trackpad still refuses to work, follow the trackpad repair guide here: <insert link here>. A new replacement trackpad can be found here: <http://www.wegenermedia.com/5300p.htm> for $11.00 (it's called a "Palmrest").

You try to type and nothing comes up

Sometimes, the keyboard doesn't quite register to the computer when it is turned on, so try to force a restart to reset the system and "find" the keyboard.

If restart doesn't work, open up the PowerBook with our guide here <insert link here> and check to make sure the cables connecting the keyboard to the motherboard are secure. Try starting the computer after the cables are checked and see if that worked.

If the keyboard still refuses to work, follow the keyboard repair guide here: <insert link here>. New keyboards can be found here: <http://www.wegenermedia.com/5300p.htm> for $14.00.