[iBook] Success replacing DVD/CDRW in dual USB iBook

[David Linker]

Dear listers,

I just replaced the Toshiba DVD/CDRW in my 600 MHz dual USB iBook.

The original drive stopped working two weeks ago, in my iBook which I  
have had since October 2001. I called Apple and it was going to cost ~ 
$300 to fix. I found that I could buy a replacement drive for $112.  
It would be an exact replacement, so that I could use the same door  
bezel.

I had read some accounts of doing this on the web, but most said that  
this was hard and recommended against it. I decided to try anyway,  
using the accounts that I found on the web.

I had a handicap. I had my two kids (4 and 8) watching, and sometimes  
bumping the table and containers I had the screws in. In spite of  
that, I finished in 3 hours, and only had four screws left over, and  
it works!

If I were to do it again, I would use a related description for the  
hard drive of a 500 MHz iBook, which had templates to mark the  
location of the screws for later placement. There are lots of screws,  
with different sizes even for the same "function".

It was nerve-wracking at times, but I am happy with the results.

David Linker