Missing serial number on PowerBook G3

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blessedopiate's picture
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Missing serial number on PowerBook G3

well i was about to post my PowerBook G3 (M4753) on craigs list and was looking it over as i was taking pictures and noticed something kinda odd, on the back/bottom case it has no serial number. Is this normal, were there ever a case where some computers came from the factory or were ordered through other stores/sites (macmall) without the serial number printed on the back? Or is it safe to assume the former owner did this on purpose?

the sticker is still there, but the plastic around it seems to have been damaged somehow, rubbing alchohol or something like that... i just find it really strange because the computer was taken well care of, then you flip it over and dirrectly over the serial number there is cosmetic damage to the case.

the story of this computer is: i was contacted on an aquarium site by a user who knew i loved apples and said they had one sitting in a drawer for several years and wondered if i wanted it-free, brought it home and fired it up. i really have no use for it, so i decided to sell it-along with new hard drive and ram, i have only had the computer for 3 weeks and never thought to look at the serial number. the oddest thing about this is they were the nicest couple and invited me over to their house. and i cant sell it because the serial number looks smudged off. . .

IMAGE(http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n277/soldierforhire/100_0530.jpg)

coius's picture
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possbly stolen?

if it is, it's no use even trying to give it back, since you don't know who owned the laptop before that. Since you have no SN, you can't trace it, or can you?

If you look in the system profiler (either under OS 9 or OS X) it *SHOULD* have the serial number to the machine.
The other possibility was that the Logic Board has been changed out, and they wiped the number off since it didn't match the board they put in (to prevent confusion).

Not sure what to tell you other than that. If you want the serial number, you will have to go into the profiler.

blessedopiate's picture
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if only i could get it to boo

if only i could get it to boot. here's my problem: http://www.applefritter.com/node/21093

i guess now i can invest the time to figure out how to get it to work, im still at a loss for answers.

and... when it was running i never found the serial number, must have not looked hard enough.

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My wallstreet has that.

the serial actually wore off. I don't know what they used to print on wallstreet serial numbers, but it does not age well.

just check under ASP, it has that, and then run it through a stolen powerbook database.

interesting note: when I was researching my pismo before I got it, the serial number popped up on a NASA equipment sale page. My pismo was owned by NASA!! how cool is that? I wonder what kind of stuff they used it for...

-digital Wink

blessedopiate's picture
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oh thats pretty sweet. than

oh thats pretty sweet.
thanks for the tip, i shall do that once i get it up and running again.

does anyone think this could be my problem with it not booting? "im thinking its something along the lines of power, like PSU or power and charge card or the internal battery."

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on the logic board

Take a peek through the PC card doors and just inside you'll see the serial number on a sticker on the MLB.

dan k

blessedopiate's picture
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great, thanks!

great, thanks!

alk
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Serial numbers are stored in

This is anecdotal. I've never looked for any technical documents to corroborate this. But from my experience, serial numbers are stored in NVRAM of Old World Macs (beige G3 and Wallstreet at least - don't know about earlier Macs) whereas it seems to be burned into the PROM or EEPROM of New World Macs. The difference is that when you reset the PRAM on your Wallstreet, the serial number goes away. Sad

Consequently, hardly anyone has the serial number visible in the System Profiler on their Wallstreets. So you probably won't find it in software.

As for the serial number sticker, that's a VERY common problem. It's happened to each of my three Wallstreets. The ink on the sticker comes right off after a few uses of the laptop on the lap. It's annoying and makes it look like you are a shady person if you are trying to sell it that way. I didn't know about the serial number sticker in the PC Card slot. That's pretty cool.

The stickers got better over time, though. The Pismo I'm using right now still has a somewhat visible serial number. I make heavy use of the Pismo on my lap or various other cloth surfaces, and the ink has had plenty of opportunities to rub off.

Peace,
Drew

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