PowerBook 2400c
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| PowerBook 2400c/180 with a Japanese keyboard (Ray_go, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc.; designed with IBM Japan |
| Type | Subnotebook computer |
| Released | 8 May 1997 |
| Discontinued | March 1998 outside Japan |
| CPU | PowerPC 603ev at 180 MHz; 256K L2 cache |
| Memory | 16 MB EDO DRAM on the logic board; one RAM card slot |
| Storage | 1.3 GB 2.5-inch ATA hard disk; external 1.44 MB floppy drive |
| Display | 10.4-inch active-matrix colour LCD, 800 × 600, thousands of colours |
| Sound | — |
| Graphics | Chips and Technologies 65550, 1 MB VRAM |
| ROM | 4 MB |
| Power | Lithium-ion battery specific to the 2400c; 36 W power adapter |
| Dimensions | 1.9 × 10.5 × 8.4 in (4.7 × 26.7 × 21.3 cm) |
| Weight | 4.4 lb (2.0 kg) |
| OS / Firmware | Mac OS 7.6.1 to Mac OS 9 |
| Predecessor | PowerBook Duo 2300 |
The PowerBook 2400c is a small, light PowerBook that Apple designed with IBM Japan and introduced on 8 May 1997. It has a 180 MHz PowerPC 603ev with 256K of level 2 cache, a 10.4-inch 800 × 600 active-matrix display, two PC Card slots and an external floppy drive, and weighs 4.4 lb.[1][2] It replaced the PowerBook Duo 2300c as Apple's smallest notebook but cannot use Duo docks or accessories.[1][3][4] Apple stopped selling it in most countries in March 1998, and a 240 MHz version remained on sale in Japan until the end of that year.[4]
At launch Apple sold the 2400c only in Japan and the United States. Apple's Service Source says US service was through Apple's central repair, with ordinary service providers limited to adding RAM and replacing trackpads and keyboards, and the manual has no symptom charts or logic board procedures.[1]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor | PowerPC 603ev at 180 MHz with 32K internal cache; 256K level 2 cache |
| Bus | PCI; 33 MHz system bus and 40 MHz I/O bus |
| RAM | 16 MB EDO DRAM on the logic board, 70 ns, self-refreshing; one slot for a third-party 16 or 32 MB card |
| ROM | 4 MB, based on the PowerBook 3400c ROM |
| Video | Chips and Technologies 65550 PCI controller, 1 MB VRAM; external VGA and SVGA monitors to 800 × 600 |
| Display | 10.4-inch active-matrix (TFT) colour, 800 × 600, thousands of colours; no 1-bit mode |
| Storage | 1.3 GB 2.5-inch hard drive; external 1.44 MB floppy drive with its own connector and removable cable |
| Ports | HDI-30 SCSI (with SCSI disk mode, but not to another PowerBook); two PC Card slots, the lower with zoom video; ADB; serial (GeoPort); sound in and out; infrared (IRTalk and 1 Mbit/s IrDA); video; external floppy; power adapter |
| Keyboard | 76 keys (US), 79 keys (Japan); inverted-T arrow keys |
| Battery | Lithium-ion, 2-4 hours; only the 2400c battery fits |
| Backup battery | 30 mAh rechargeable lithium battery (Apple's figure); see Backup battery |
| Power adapter | 36 W |
| Size | 1.9 in (4.7 cm) high, 10.5 in (26.7 cm) wide, 8.4 in (21.3 cm) deep |
| Weight | 4.4 lb (2.0 kg) |
Apple's figures for maximum memory disagree: the Service Source gives 80 MB, Apple's specification page 48 MB, and Low End Mac 112 MB.[1][2][3] Low End Mac and Wikipedia also mention a dual-scan display option, which Apple's Service Source and specification page do not list.[3][1]
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Hardware
[edit | edit source]The 2400c uses the same PowerPC 603ev as the PowerBook 3400c, a ROM based on the 3400c's, and the same PCI-based architecture.[1] The processor is on a removable card, and Interware and Newer Technology sold G3 upgrade cards of 240 to 400 MHz.[4] Its PC Card slots officially take 16-bit cards; owners have modified the logic board to run CardBus cards, which the Japanese 240 MHz model supported as standard.[4][3]
The 2400c needs its own lithium-ion battery (Apple part M5876LL/A); Apple warns that NiMH packs and the 3400c's lithium-ion battery look similar but do not work. It also needs its own 36 W adapter (M5937LL/A) and its own external floppy drive (M5853LL/A).[1] The owner's manual warns that adapters made for other PowerBooks may damage it.[5]
Backup battery
[edit | edit source]Apple's Service Source describes the backup battery as a 30 mAh rechargeable lithium battery that keeps the clock and, for a few minutes, the contents of RAM while the main battery is changed in sleep.[1] MacDat's list of laptops with leaking NiCd and NiMH backup packs names the 2400c, and owners have found 2400c logic boards corroded by a leaking PRAM battery.[6][7] Take it out of any 2400c you are keeping; see PowerBook 2400c General Maintenance.
Known problems
[edit | edit source]- Leakage from the backup battery, corroding the logic board along its wires.[7]
- A broken pin on the logic board's IDE connector, giving a machine that boots from SCSI but not from any internal drive.[8]
- A flickering display that changes as the lid is tilted; Apple's manual attributes it to a loose cable.[5]
Fault-finding is on PowerBook 2400c Troubleshooting.
Maintenance and repair
[edit | edit source]Documentation
[edit | edit source]- PowerBook 2400c Service Source: Apple's service manual, with the user's manual described on the same page.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Apple Computer, PowerBook 2400c Service Source (49 pp., 1997), hosted here as File:PowerBook 2400c Service Source.pdf (see PowerBook 2400c Service Source). PDF page numbers: overview p. 3; configuration and peripherals p. 4; service strategy pp. 5-6; compatibility p. 7; front and rear views pp. 8-9; technology pp. 10-14; battery information pp. 15-17; PC Cards pp. 18-19; specifications pp. 21-31; Take Apart pp. 33-49.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Apple, "Macintosh PowerBook 2400c/180: Technical Specifications" (retrieved 2026-10-02). 603e at 180 MHz, 256K L2; 16 MB on board, 16-48 MB; battery type 29 Wh lithium-ion; introduced 5/8/1997; 4.4 lb; original system 7.6.1; Mac OS 7.6.1 to 9; 1.3 GB ATA hard disk; Gestalt ID 307; ROM 4 MB; infrared supports AppleTalk and 1 Mbit/s IrDA.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Low End Mac, "PowerBook 2400c" (retrieved 2026-10-02). 2400c/180 introduced 8 May 1997, 2400c/240 introduced 7 April 1998; RAM expandable to 112 MB; 1.3 GB EIDE; power supply M5937; Password Security incompatible with Mac OS 8.0 on the 2400 and 3400; ATA-6 drive warning. Secondary source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Wikipedia, "PowerBook 2400c" (retrieved 2026-10-02). Built by IBM Japan; replaced the Duo 2300c; discontinued in most of the world in March 1998; a 240 MHz version sold in Japan until the end of 1998; processor on a removable daughter card with G3 upgrades from Interware and Newer Technology; CardBus modification. Used for history only.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Apple Computer, Macintosh PowerBook 2400c User's Manual (1997), hosted here as File:PowerBook 2400c User's Manual (1997).pdf. PDF page numbers: power sources and the adapter warning (p. 80); starting up and resetting (pp. 89-90); breaking-glass sound and PRAM reset (pp. 90-91); display shutting down after lighting (p. 94); clicking from the sound hardware (p. 100); floppy and hard disk (pp. 101-102); trackpad (p. 103); display flicker and loose cable (p. 104).
- ↑ MacDat Knowledge Base, "Vintage Laptop CMOS Battery Leaks" (retrieved 2026-10-02). Apple models with leaking NiCd or NiMH backup packs: "PowerBook 150, 2400c, 3400c, no others". Secondary source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 TinkerDifferent forum thread "PowerBook 2400c - Broken Glass after chime", Bama, July 2025. A leaking PRAM battery had corroded the logic board along the battery wires and through two vias; the machine played the breaking-glass sound after the chime. Community experience.
- ↑ TinkerDifferent forum thread "2400c hard drive issues", mizerable, ClassicHasClass and Garrett, May 2026. A 2400c that would not read any internal drive; Garrett found a broken pin on the logic board IDE connector and bodged it. Community experience.