Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Recycled Computing

The iBook Can't Replace the Hard Drive Blues

- 2009.04.28

Popularity:

Bookmark in del.icio.us

After an influx of MacBooks into the Hatchett hacienda around Christmas time, I inherited my daughters G4 iBook with a pixel line of death on its 14" screen. I, of course, am still bonded to my G3 Pismo in spite of its aged graphics card and limited software options. (I still use Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" and had to go searching for an older version of Skype).

Now, in addition to the pixel line of death, the iBook had a tiny 60 GB hard drive. I had dropped a 160 GB drive into the Pismo, but it was the wrong kind of ATA, and only 128 GB is useable.

Being the sort of person who can get in over his head in a microsecond, I thought that I would switch the hard drives and get the 160 GB drive in the G4 and put the 60 GB in my trusted Pismo.

Sounds simple, right?

Nope. Those of you who have tried to replace the hard drive in an iBook G4 know what I am taking about and are already trying to warn me.

The easy part - removing the hard drive on the Pismo. It's a snap. Everyone knows this.

Step 39 of 45 in replacing an iBook's hard drive

The disaster part - removing the hard drive from the G4 iBook is not a snap. The designer of this computer - I'm trying to be polite - must have worked on the clamshell iBook G3. After 42 steps (don't believe it - see iFixIt!) and some moaning and groaning, I swapped the drives.

After I reassembled the G4, I pressed the power button and - no! Meaning no power. I wasn't sure if I had made the connection from the power button and the main board, so I took it apart and saw that the connector had broken away from the main board.

I got them G4 blues

Can't replace my hard drive easily

I got them G4 blues

Apple - your iBook frustrates me

Well, I had to strip the iBook down to get at the main board, and I am now waiting for Mr. Mike to solder the connection. Keep your fingers crossed.

Soapbox time: Apple has done a good job of making the hard drive accessible on the white MacBooks that my sons and daughter have. But - and it's a big but - I have a modest proposal for Apple.

If I was building an ideal laptop, I would make the following things accessible and removable - the hard drive, the RAM, the AirPort Card, the CPU, and the graphics card. Oh, an Express Card slot would be good, to. I don't want much, just a laptop I can use for the rest of my life.

Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook, 03.17. There are a lot of steps involved in disassembling a 12" PowerBook. Proceed with caution.
The Apple Patient, 03.15. The used 12" PowerBook has a dead screen, missing key, damaged case, and minimal memory, but it does work.
Apple's Almost Netbook, 03.08. No, Apple didn't really make a netbook, but the 12" PowerBook G4 certainly came close - and with far less compromises than a real netbook.
iPad Perfect for Handheld Computing, 02.05. You can hold the iPad in one hand and operate it with the other, giving it real advantages over a laptop computer.
More in the Recycled Computing index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac Pro, Aug. 2006 - The last Mac to go Intel, the Mac Pro has two dual-core Xeon CPUs at 2.0-3.0 GHz. 8-core option added in 2007.
Group of the Day: Mac mini List is for anyone using or contemplating a Mac mini
March 20 in LEM history: 00: Adobe isn't making friends - Raising the dead - 01: Milking the Mac for all it's worth, - 02: Keeping the Web free - Macally CardBus USB - 05: Copyright bullies - 07: The iPhone: Is it a Mac? - Improve productivity with a second display - 08: The rise of the Microsoft monopoly
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.