"PowerBook 5300c"

Overview

The PowerBook 5300 was Apple's first PowerBook based on a PowerPC CPU. Due to problems with the original (flaming) LithIon battery, plastic chipping from the case, and poor performance (among other things), it earns the dubious label of Road Apple. (It was also the butt of a lot of jokes.)

Still, despite limitations, the 5300 is a nice portable. Upgrading to Mac OS 8.1 or later makes it rock solid -- and it's a lot smaller than the PowerBook G3 Series with its huge 14.1" screen.

By modern standards, its biggest drawback is probably the 64 MB memory ceiling, which can be overcome using RAM Doubler or Virtual Memory.

PowerBook Hard Drives: The Essential Upgrade notes that there may be compatibility issues with EIDE drives larger than 8.2 GB, although this may be resolved by partitioning or using Mac OS 8.6 or later.

I'd go for it...

Heres the original pages:
http://lowendmac.com/pb2/5300.shtml
and
http://www.apple-history.com

Lowendmac claims a 64 MB memory ceiling, and apple-history claims a 100 mhz CPU, this might be what they mean.

I have one actually...and cant get it to see the powercord unless im holding it at just the right angle...and even then half the time it doesnt get power. If its in good shape it will make a fine machine...but they dont have a cd drive.

I believe the CD drive was a bay-swappable configuration.

A CD drive is NOT an option on this machine, so installing software has to be done via floppy. So make sure it comes with the floppy drive. (Ethernet isn't built in, but can be added via a pc card; it does have infrared wireless built in, but that's very slow.) RAM is expensive, and 64MB is a low ceiling. This was the first generation PowerPC chip, and the (built in) 680x0 emulator is slow. Translation: even running (say) system 8.6, this machine is VERY slow. The only ways to speed it up are to get a copy of SpeedDoubler (no longer marketed) to improve 680x0 emulation, and, if you're really ambitious, to buy a large flash memory card and use it as your hard drive. (The 5300 will boot and run from a flash card initialized as a hard drive.)

But even with all this, a 5300 isn't very useful anymore. Just what do you plan to run on it? I used one of these for several years (still have it), so I'm speaking from experience.

Hey,

The only Apple powerbook that will run system 6 is the PB 100 and it will only run 6.0.8L.

A) the power socket is failure prone (a serious understatement actually.) It can be resoldered, or replaced, either with an original style socket or with something else.

minimum OS is 7.5.x, so sys6 is not possible

C) 9.1 is actually faster in use than 8.x, with these caveats - max the RAM and use a modern fast HD (original HD is slooooooow.)

D) There's tons of contemporary apps, games, utils, etc. available for this era machine, you've just gotta limit your tasks to what was appropriate during its day. The WaMCom mozilla-based classic Mac OS web browser is a good starting point.

E) batteries for this series are seriously cheap. You can even use (though not charge) LiIon packs ($10-$20!!) intended for use in PBs3400/3500. You can with one of those expect runtimes approaching 10 hours, try that with any modern 'Book. Ehh, yeah, charging . . . just have to locate a VST external charger 3400 (NOT the 5300 charger!)

dan k

Hi, I owned a PB 190cs for a while. Now... The 5300 is based off of the same design of the PB190, c'ept it has a slightly different board and CPU. They even share the same memory module. The reason I say carefull, is that I had a PSU melt down to the point it cracked open and started smoldering (Yes, it did happen to me) This was a HUGE problem as it has happened several times without warning. Has happened to the person that sold me the PowerBook (minus the power adapter) and I got a new one from apple. Same thing. I would not consider this a safe laptop unless you get a third-party PSU.
Another problem i had with them, is the power-jack has a poor soldering job on it, and the leads are so close to the board, it is hard to solder anything in it's place. I have tried. I can't tell you how many times that I have gone into it and tried new connectors. Mostly, I had to use connectors with wires that were soldered into the pin joints (after taking the plug off of the board) And, the power plugs are tempermental on BOTH the board and the PSU cord. On the PB board, the plugs are made out of cheap plastic and break the mold easily. Same on the powertip on the PSU, c'ept the problem is not the plastic casing, it is the size of the power tip's end in the plastic part that makes it prone to the wire coming unsoldered and short the PSU.

I recommend going 1400 or better. I would NOT recommend the 190/5300 to anyone who wishes to keep their sanity with the machine. If you like to have a machine that is down more time than it is working, go ahead. But is definatly deserves the Road apple recognition. And for $35, it is overpriced...

The 5300, when it works, is a decent laptop.

However, keep in mind there was a major Apple recall regarding the reliabilty of the machine. Apple even continued to offer programs several years after the laptop was introduced that allowed owners to trade in their units for a substantial discount on a new machine (I believe this was around the time when the 3400 was still new).

For $35, you can do much better. I'd go for a 1400 or 3400 if you want a laptop, or you could get a beige G3 for around that price.

Hey,

What those contradictory posts show is that users can have extremely different responses to the same machine. What the good doctor points out is that there is a reliable history of predictable trouble with the 5300. If you are always rolling dice when buying used gear, in this case the dice are loaded. Let me put it this way: I have almost a dozen laptops and none of them are a 5300. And none ever will be . . .

Hey,

540c is a really nice laptop that even has upgrade paths. Apple made a lot of them so there are parts readily available. $35 might be too much depending on the configuration but that's your call. Funny that a 68k powerbook and a PPC powerbook have the same price . . .

a few companies made ppc upgrades for the 540c. i would like to find one of those or a duo, they are neat.