not quite a hack but, sort of...

The original (up to 550?) tiBooks had a 1152x768 screen. The Newer tiBooks (the DVI models) had a 1280x876. I played around with a whole lot of broken tiBooks when I worked the tech department at CompUSA, and through experiementation, I found that the 400, the 450, the 500, and the 550 speed tiBooks have almost no compatible parts with newer 667 mhz + units.

use a pre-DVI screen on a DVI TiBook. Quoting myself:

"The earlier LCDs work fine on the DVI models, but at the lower rez of course. Interestingly, a DVI LCD worked on my 400mhz test unit, but it displayed only the lower rez output to the upper left of the screen."

from my page: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/tibook_display.html

As far as I've seen (from TiBooks 400/500/550/667dvi/867/1gHz), all screens are the same physical size, using the same connections.

There are three basic families of TiBooks, each generation sharing few parts in common with the others:

1 - 400/500 mHz, VGA, 1152x rez
2 - 550/667 mHz, VGA, 1152x rez
(1 + 2 do share the same spec LCD)

3 - 667 mHz to 1 ghz, DVI, 1280x rez

hth,

Dan K

that's just what i wanted to hear.

here's another puzzle: any chance at just un-hinging the screen from my donor 5XX tibook and putting the whole top-o-the-'puter upon my broken-screened 867 tibook? is it the same form factor? the whole pry offf the bezel procedure is a bit scary.

(i don't have them here to look at so it's hard for me to tell if the size, etc is uniform between the models)

thanks again- demos

the hinge mounts on the back of the 'Books are different (IIRC), but the hinges themselves (in the display assembly) are the same, as are the 'lectrical connections.

Keep in mind though that while swapping the LCDs from housing to housing looks a bit scary, replacing the entire lid pretty much requires complete disassembly of both 'Books to get the damn LVDS cables through the holes. A decidely non-trivial job.

As I have some experience opening the bezels that's the way I'd go as that method is actually quicker and easier. For you, I'd suggest going with the complete display swap. Get the gen-yoo-wine A*ple shop ma*uals beforehand and read everything first. Just be very organized and you'll make it through fine.

Oh, one other small, minor thing . . . the sleep magnet is in a different place in the various series. From which specific model will the donor display be coming? If from the 400/500 the 'Book won't sleep when you close the lid, but IIRC the 550/667 model has the magnet in the same place as your DVI 'Book. It's easy to test for the sleep-switch location, just hover a small magnet over/around the trackpad area until an awake 'Book sleeps.

When I get a chance later I'll confirm magnet locations for the various series.

Dan K

PS: be gentle removing the broken display, it still has some value. Complete-but-broken-LCD displays sell for ~$100 on eBay, primarily for the hinges and LVDS cable (this last a fragile item.)

for all the advise. i have done sevral flat panel imac swaps, but this one daunted me until you guys were able to free my mind on the how-to aspects. much aappreciated...