PowerBook 190
The PowerBook 190 was the base grayscale model of the 190 series of PowerBooks. It had a smaller LCD size than the color models of the 190/5300 series PowerBooks.
Specifications
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 1995 |
| Discontinuation Date | June 1996 |
| Processor | Motorola 68LC040 @33MHz |
| Bus Speed | 33MHz |
| RAM | PowerBook 190/5300 Proprietary - 4 or 8MB soldered - 36 or 40MB maximum, dependant on soldered RAM |
| Hard Disk | 2.5" IDE - 500MB Standard |
| Display | 9.5" Passive Matrix Grayscale LCD @640x480 |
| GPU | Chips & Technologies 65225 (Apple ECSC) - 512KB VRAM |
| Main Battery | NiMH |
| PRAM Battery | 3V Lithium (rechargeable) |
| Power Supply | Barrel Jack - 24V 1.87A - Apple M3037 |
| Disk Drives | PowerBook 190/5300 Modular Bay with the following available modules: - 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive - ZIP Drive - Others? |
| PC Cards | 2x PCMCIA Slots |
| Networking | None |
| Other I/O | - 1x Serial - 1x ADB - 1x Mini-15 Video Out (Optional) - 1x HDI-30 SCSI - 1x Line Out - Infrared |
| Pointing Device | Trackpad |
| Minimum Mac OS | System Software 7.5.2 |
| Maximum Mac OS | Mac OS 8.1 |
Upgrades
SSD Upgrade
See our page on IDE SSDs for more info.
Resources
 Service Manual |
Capacitor Reference |
|---|
Common Faults & Maintenance
Brittle Plastics & Hinge Failure
Like just about every 90s laptop, the PowerBook 190's plastics are now fragile and brittle. The first place where this will become a problem on one is with the display hinges. The screwposts on both the base side and the LCD side are both known to crack and break. When this happens, further damage to the plastic housing parts will be caused if the hinge continues to be used after the plastic breaks. You're also just about guaranteed to break your LCD cable if you do this.
So, what's the fix?
3D print templates have been made that replace the LCD-side hinge mounts, but these were only designed with the color models in mind. The grayscale models (190 and 5300, no letters after the model name) have a thinner display housing, and I'm about 100% sure that the parts won't fit because of this. It's entirely possible to modify the parts to fit, but that takes someone with a grayscale model and CAD skills. If you do this yourself, please email me if you'd like me to host your STL files here: macdatnet@gmail.com. You can download the hinge fix parts for the color models from the resources page for any of the color models here.
So, for the time being, if you have a 190 with bad hinge mounts, your only fix is to reinforce them with epoxy and hope that they hold.
Main Battery Leaks
The main NiMH battery in the 190 is well known for leaking, usually severely. Even when compared to other NiMH batteries, these seem to be especially leak-prone. If you have one, do not leave it in the system to start corroding things.
The CMOS battery in the 190 is a rechargeable Lithium pack that isn't known for leaking.
Capacitor Failure
The 190 has a good amount of electrolytic capacitors in it - on the logic board, inverter board, and the LCD (on some models). These capacitors can leak, although it's currently not extremely common. They do fail though, and there have been many known cases of bad logic board caps keeping them from starting. Capacitor Reference info is available on the resources page.
Broken Power Jacks
The 190's power jack is a tiny, fragile barrel jack. These are known to break off of the board very easily, even back in the day. There's a chance that you may have to resolder yours when you get one.
Misc. less common issues
LCD Vinegar Syndrome
See article: Vinegar Syndrome
Stiff Keyboards/"Binding Key Syndrome"
The keys on the 190's keyboard can go stiff with age, causing what I call "binding key syndrome", where the keys will bind when trying to press them down from the edges. If your keyboard has this issue, it may be possible to use a small amount of lithium grease to improve it.
Gallery
No images are currently available. If you own a 190, help the site out by sending some in!
Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 08/14/2024
Update Reason: page rewritten
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