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Mac Fallout Shelter
Replacing or Upgrading the Optical Drive in Your PowerBook G3 or 1400
- 2006.01.24 - Tip Jar
In this article I'll show you how to swap your existing drive for another one. These instructions should work for any PowerBook with a removable optical drive, including the PowerBook 1400 and the G3 models.
Things you need:
- Your current CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
- Any CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, etc. drive from a laptop that has the ATAPI 50-pin interface
- Small screwdrivers
Things to look for in a replacement drive:
- Tray design that will fit
- CD-RW, Combo, DVD-RW, or DVD±RW are a plus
- Slot loading drives will work
The best place to get your "upgrade" drive is from a broken PC laptop. Chances are it will work, because most laptops have used the ATAPI 50-pin standard for over 10 years.

Follow these steps to do the switch:
- Remove 6 screws from PB G3 tray (see photos above) or 4 from PB 1400 tray.
- Pull out the original drive.
- Place the new drive in the tray.
- Replace the screws (only 4 are required on some drives).
- Install PatchBurn for iApp/OS X compatibility.
After you install the new drive, it automatically works with Toast. To get your iApps working, download and run PatchBurn. PatchBurn installs new drivers in Mac OS X so that it will support your replacement drive.
In most
cases the new drive will not have the same size and shape as your
original Apple drive. It's possible to switch the faceplate on some
drives, but those are rare, so you'll see a funky looking drive in
your PowerBook (see photo). But remember that now you can burn CDs
(and possibly DVDs), which you couldn't do with your original
drive.
- Link: PatchBurn
- Link: Roxio Toast
If you find Joe's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Fallout Shelter articles
- My Newton: Why I won't buy an iPhone or iPod touch, 09.07. The iPod touch and iPhone sound wonderful, but I love the handwriting recognition, fax support, and email abilities of my Newton MessagePad.
- Network administration tools for Mac OS X users, 06.25. Thanks to Mac OS X, today's Macs are great network citizens and excellent tools for doing network administration.
- Apple's secret battery reset utility for WallSteet and Clamshell iBooks, 07.05. If your old 'Books battery isn't taking a charge like it used to, Battery Reset 2.0 could help recover its useful life.
- Replacing Lombard with a TiBook: Which one is enough?, 04.19. Nice as the Lombard was, it has a new owner. The new 'Book should have FireWire, G4 power, and run Tiger nicely. How much TiBook is enough?
- More in the Mac Fallout Shelter index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Clamshell iBook G3/300 MHz, Sep. 1999 - innovative, rugged, heavy, clamshell laptop introduced AirPort and was a huge hit.
- Group of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks.
- July 4 in LEM history: 00: When Randy met Mac - 08: Wouldn't life be great with an iSlate? - Mac Pro overclocking, Windependence with Darwine, Blu-ray for Macs, and more
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
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- Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac's CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use.
- Checking Out Safari 4 on an Old PowerBook, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 06.30. Safari 4 is the fastest it's ever been, but it's not without some frustrating drawbacks.
- Intel's Promise Fulfilled: More Processing Power per Processor Cycle, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 06.30. Apple promised improved CPU efficiencies when it announced the move to Intel in 2005. Three years of MacBooks show the progress.
- Is Steve Jobs' Health Essential to Apple's Future?, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 06.30. Steve Jobs' health is an important thing, but Apple has demonstrated that it can be profitable without him.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
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- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.02. Used 17" 1 GHz PowerBook, $689; 1.67 GHz, $749; hi-res, $1,029.
- Best Xserve Deals, 07.02. Used 2 GHz single G5, $800; dual, $1,000; refurb 2.8 GHz 4-core Xeon, $2,100; new 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,888; 8-core, $3,449; 2.66, $4,799; 2.93, $5,999.
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- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.01. Used 867 MHz Combo, $400; 1.33 GHz, $448; 1.5 GHz, $599; 1 GHz SuperDrive, $509; 1.33 GHz, $599; 1.5 GHz SD, $679.
- Best Apple TV Deals, 07.01. Refurb 40 GB Apple TV, $199; new, $220; refurb 160 GB, $279; new, $320. Prices include ground shipping.
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- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 06.29. Mac OS X 10.0, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3, $50; 10.3 Server, unlimited users, $130.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 06.29. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $39; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
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- More deals in our archive.
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