Recycled Computing

Salvaging Parts from a Dead iBook

- 2009.05.26

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First off, I'd like to thank all the readers who have been emailing me after my previous column, Choosing My Next Low-end Desktop Mac. I promise to reply to all of your emails as soon as I catch up on other activities - that occur offline - in the real world - where lawn care has become a priority.

Belonging to Groups

I was at a meeting the other day, and the speaker wanted us to the think about the number of groups we belonged to. A couple of days later, I realized that I had forgotten to mention the fact that I owned an Apple computer. I think that in many ways, we Apple users take being part of a group for granted.

What other brand in the computer enjoys the resource of having a group of users who watch out for each other, take the usage of the firm's software and hardware in ways unimagined by the manufacturer and take an almost crazy delight in making older hardware still relevant in today's computing world?

I don't see Dell owners excited about the rumors of a new product, but the amount of ink Apple's possible introduction of a tablet computer is getting is incredible.

There is no organized group of HP users who rescue old HP computers from the dump and turn them into something usable.

Despite the commercials from Microsoft, there is no "Cult of PC".

We're fortunate. And I feel fortunate to be an Apple owner. It's a diverse group of people in the Apple coterie, united in our love for the Apple experience.

Again, I'd like to thank everybody who wrote me with advice on what my next desktop computer should be.

Gutting the iBook

removing RAM
Only one RAM module in the iBook.

Even though I love Apple laptops, I had to gut the iBook G4 before I consigned it to the computer graveyard. First out was the RAM, but since Apple soldered 512 MB to the logic board, I am only able to salvage the 256 MB chip.

big metal shield inside the iBook
Metal place shields the iBook's electronics.

Once you've got the case apart, you are faced with a giant sheet of metal that must be removed to get at the goodies. There are a ton of screws, and I did save them for Mr. Mike, who does a lot of repair on Apple laptops and desktops at the high school.

inside the iBook
Inside of the iBook with the metal shield removed.

Removing the shielding and there it is - both the hard drive and optical drive are revealed.

Removing the hard drive.

Removing the hard drive is simple, about six screws and the tray with drive lifts right out.

optical drive removal
Removing the optical drive.

The optical drive needs to have the ribbon connector eased out of the logic board and the removal of 3 screws, and then it is out as well. I'm thinking that will a little luck, I might be able to put the SuperDrive into an extra DVD module and upgrade my Pismo.

no power socket
Where the power plug used to be.

My last photo shows the nature of the beast. It's probably a little fuzzy - if I were using film, I have a great macro lens (50mm f/3.5 Zuiko) and the photo would have been razor sharp.

If you can make it out, the screwdriver points to were the power socket should be. It is not, of course, and there's the rub. Without that socket, power cannot get to the logic board. For the want of a nail, the shoe is lost. For the want of a shoe, the horse is lost. And so on.

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Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Mountain Lion Obsoletes the MacBook I Just Bought, 2012.02.24. John Hatchett just got his first Intel Mac, a preowned MacBook, in December, and now it looks like it won't be able to run OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
Improving Tablets: Why Not a Slider Keyboard?, 2012.02.20. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the iPad and other tablets is lack of a buil-in physical keyboard. Many phones have slider keyboards....
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More in the Recycled Computing index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, introduced 1994.05.16. 'Blackbird' includes a 25 to 33 MHz 68040 along with smart batteries and grayscale or color displays.
May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac reconsidered - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Cubed - Troubleshooting - 02: SE/30 catharsis - Microsoft free - 03: SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: Failures: Apple III and Lisa - Bigger, faster, more - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400 still useful - 07: 3 GB in a MacBook - 08: Mac Pro beats HP and Dell - Limited USB power in Santa Rosa Macs
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