[P1] Clamshell iBook: busted CD-ROM

[Jason Bennett]

On Friday, May 9, 2003, Russ Jackson wrote:

> Hello all, I have an original tangerine iBook with a bum CD-ROM drive. 
> I've
> tried cleaning it, but it just won't read CDs anymore. When you insert 
> a CD
> it sounds like it spins up over and over again, with some clicks 
> inbetween.
> It does this in both OS 9 and OS X, so I'm pretty sure it's a hardware
> issue. Are there any vendors that will sell me a replacement CD-ROM 
> drive?

Hi Russ,

You might want to try http://www.pbparts.com -- they will have a 
replacement CD-ROM drive. However, for a little more money, you may 
want to consider an internal CD-RW instead. One place that sells CD-RWs 
is Wegner Media http://www.wegenermedia.com -- they even offer a 
replacement service, although the expense of shipping from/to the UK 
may make that unattractive.

Also, check out eBay since I think you'll be able to find inexpensive 
CD-ROM units there. In my case, I purchased a UJDA330 CD-RW for my unit 
on eBay a while back. Go to http://www.ebay.co.uk and type in "ujda330" 
in the search box, and you'll see the current listings.

Problem is, you have to do the replacement yourself, and it may involve 
a little surgery swapping the door covers (the original rarely fits 
exactly with other units, requiring some creative work).

Good luck,

Jason