I just got a new 12" G4 powerbook (1.33 Mhz). Of course, the first thing I had to do was install more memory. I popped the battery out, put in the new memory, and started putting the battery back in. As a 20 year Mac veteran, I trusted intuition rather than looking at the manual. Intuition told me to slip the inside part of the battery in first, then push down the back side. Wrong. Anyway, I ended up with the battery stuck in place. It is almost in flush, but not quite. It is in well enough that the computer works fine, but nothing will make it come out. Also, the screw hole on the bottom that locks and unlocks the battery just twirls around and around with no effect.
My local Applestore looked at it and said they could take it apart and see if they could push it out from the inside. If so, that will cost about $80 and probably I will not have a locking battery without replacing the locking mechanism. That, apparently, requires a whole new bottom, at a cost of several hundred dollars. If they open it up and cannot push the battery out, I can either pay $80 anyway and be right where I am now, or they can send it on to Apple which almost certainly means replacing the whole bottom, for several hundred dollars. No warranty coverage, as this was my own dumb fault.
Last option (and currently the most appealing) is to live with it. With any luck, I will be tempted by a faster, newer powerbook before I ever have to replace the battery, and there is no other apparent reason for ever wanting to remove the battery.
But - does anybody have experience inside this model? Has anybody else dealt with a stuck battery? Can I get inside the laptop myself, or is that too risky. (I am not normally as klutzy inside a computer as the stuck battery makes me sound.) If I get inside, will I be able to push the battery out? If I can, will I be left with a loose battery, or is there some easy fix for the locking mechanism?
Any suggestions are welcomed.
<< My local Applestore looked at it and said they could take it apart and see if they could push it out from the inside. >>
Mark-
Batteries are often heavier, or at least more dense than other parts of the computer. If I had your problem, I'd set the (closed) PowerBook down on something firm but not hard, so that the momentum of the battery might cause it to fall out when the rest of the PB stopped. Naturally the PB might crack or split in two if it was set down too hard, so be careful!
Fred