[iBook] Wegener Media...devil or angel?

[Dan K]

Michelle Klein-Hass <bosslady at msgeek.com> wrote:
>This would be maxed with regard to RAM...256 in the slot is all it will see, 
>bringing total RAM to 288. (32MB on logic board)
Not so, all iBooks can see and use all of a 512MB sodimm. I've got a 
512MB in my wife's Blueberry for a total of 544MB. BTW, the ram is not an 
issue for you wrt your big upgrade plans, it's easily replacable by the 
end user (errr, you.)

>60GB HD would be nice but I wonder about newer HDs and heat buildup. Also, I 
>understand that the OS needs to be in the first 8GB so a big HD would 
>basically give me an 8GB system partition and everything else for /home (or 
>whatever MacOS X calls the user space.) The only possible use for all that 
>space would be iTunes...wait, that's not a bad idea...^_^
Don't worry about heat, but do consider the thickness of the drive. All 
iBooks must use a HD no thicker than 9.5mm. Any modern drive of that size 
almost certainly uses less juice than the drive you are replacing - less 
juice in, less heat out. Read the maker's specs for power consumption if 
you're not sure.

Your iBook isn't affected by the first-8GB-partition thing, so don't 
worry about that.

And another thing! Since your iBook's gonna be apart anyway, I'm gonna 
suggest you consider installing a CD-RW. With only ethernet and USB, it's 
really great to be able to move large chunks of data off the thing 
quickly.

And finally, I'd like to encourage you to do the upgrades yourself, it's 
NOT AT ALL HARD! Don't get psyched out by the apparent complexity. It's 
really just a matter of doing one step at a time, each step 
not-at-all-scary. The experience is worth the first-timer's stress, trust 
me!

Here's a couple of tips to make it easy as pie:
first - all those screws are the worst part. Take a sheet of paper and 
before undoing the screws from an area, trace out their locations onto 
the paper. Then, as each is removed, tape it to the paper in its 
appropriate spot. Makes the re-assembly go very smoothly and you'll miss 
out on the joy of wondering where those leftover screws were supposed to 
go. :-)

second - take a digital photo of each step, make sure you record how 
wires run, etc. It gives great confidence knowing you can check you pics 
to see just how things were before you took it apart.

hth,

dan k

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