My husband has a 400MHz Lombard and it has served him well for the last 3.5 years. One caveat - if you want to run OS X on it, you may not be able to do so if it was manufactured before September 1999. (See quoted from MacInTouch below - though the date referenced is for the machines manufactured AFTER Sept 99. I have not been able to confirm whether these problems continued with Lombards and later versions of OS X - though they may not have. I'm not about to try it out on my husband's machine just to find out!) :
QUOTE
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 14:01:44 -0400
From: "Rene Borgella Jr."
Subject: Jaguar Install problem on Lombards
I saw Robert Carian's report where he detailed some problems installing 10.2 on a Lombard. As I mentioned in a recent post to you folks, this reminded me of the earlier problem some folks had installing 10.0 on Lombards.
I have a couple of questions that may help determine if Mr. Carian's report is related to the earlier Lombard problems.
1) Was this a OS X virgin powerbook? i.e., was she able to install an earlier version of OS X on this Lombard?
2) Was the memory in this Lombard upgraded prior to the OS X.2 installation or is this stock Apple memory?
3) After installing 10.2 in your sister's Lombard (using the replacement processor), I assume the technician removed the processor and replaced it with her original. If this is the case, does 10.2 still run well? Can you install 10.2 on the Lombard now, with the original processor?
The original Lombard problems manifested themselves for some Lombards manufactured during a few months (?Aug-Dec 1999, see extensive posts in MacFixIt Forums that were posted around the time of OS X 10.0 debut.). The problem was that if there was any RAM _other_ than the original RAM in the bottom slot, then the 10.0 install froze during the install. In my case, 10.0 would ONLY install with the original 64MB RAM chip in the bottom slot. If I had a 128MB chip in the upper slot, the install usually froze, or in some cases, the install completed but the system crashed when restarted. e to the original processor card's inability in dealing with a 2nd RAM chip. By the way, I purchased the Lombard with 64MB of Apple Ram and installed a 128 MB PNY brand chip when I purchased the machine.
Apple's response was that this was "substandard" RAM, and therefore not an Apple problem but a RAM problem. PNY replaced my original chip 3 times and still no 10.0 install. After installing Apple supplied RAM and still not being able to install 10.0, Apple finally relented and repaired my Lombard free of charge. The repair was a processor replacement!
I now have 512 MB in my Lombard and have done OS X 10.0 - 10.2 installs and all have worked flawlessly.
As an aside, I now almost never have crashes in OS 9, whereas before the Apple repair, my Lombard crashed frequently (several times a day!). I always thought that this was just bad software (usually I got crashes when running Word or IE in OS 9, this is in pre-OS X days), and I tried everything from re-installing software, systems, extensions, wiping drives and doing clean installs, etc. Nothing ever seemed to improve the amount of crashing I got until the processor card was replaced. Thus, I am convinced that all of my previous problems with the Lombard being unstable were due to the processor card not being able to deal with a 2nd RAM chip.
More info:
Options compared at LowEnd Machttp://www.lowendmac.com/pb2/lombard.shtmlIf you've found a Lombard for around $400, you're not doing any worse than eBay. Completed auction prices for them (most recent 12 I came across) ranged from a low of $325 to a high of $560, with an average of $423. Specs varied, of course - and as always with eBay, specs and price are not always as closely related as one would expect!
You also might want to have a look at Craigslist.org for NYC area. There seem to be a fair number of powerbooks and iBooks for sale - I saw a 500MHz Pismo for $500:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/sys/23466372.htmlI've bought things off Craigslist (Boston area) twice, and the opportunity to meet the seller and have an opportunity to actually try out the hardware is very reassuring. Plus, I think it was cheaper than eBay! For major CPU purchase and monitors, I usually don't buy until I see & inspect the goods. I have made a few exceptions to this rule - cheap Pentium III PC's, a Wallstreet for my Mom and a Dell laptop for a friend - but without exception, I buy from REPUTABLE eBayer's with LONG eBay records and few, if any complaints. That makes all the difference in the world. You can shop eBay by region - look for things for sale from NY/NJ sellers and before you bid, ask if you can pick up the item (and pay for it at pick-up). If they don't agree to this, then you don't have to bid. I bought my LaCie 22" this way.
