[iBook] New (old) iBook

Tue Aug 15 01:12:40 PDT 2006

Hi Carol-Lynn,
Good to hear from you again. You are up for a challenge!
You have a few options. If you only want it to play iTunes, you could  
use the original iTunes or iTunes 2 under OS 9 (I am pretty sure I  
have a copy of this somewhere if you don't have it). Ideally, you  
really need a little more RAM than 32 megs. The issue is that these  
older iBooks (and older iMacs) use a special RAM (PC66 3.3v 144 pin  
SO-DIMM) . This is getting harder to find (although I think I may  
have some somewhere). It is smaller and squarer than later ram and is  
not too common.
On these iBooks, there is usually some built in RAM on the logicboard  
plus some installable RAM which can be replaced. If you look under  
System Profiler under the Apple symbol in the top left corner of the  
screen, from memory it will tell you what RAM is installed and where  
it is installed (Bank 0 / Bank 1) I think Bank 0 is the logicboard  
and Bank 1 is the installable option.

If you were wanting to run OS X (and I'd recommend Panther, not Tiger  
on this machine) you would ideally need 256 megs, however, if you  
were just going to use OS9, you could getaway with something like 96  
megs. If the 32 is on the logicboard, you could just add 64 megs in  
the RAM slot and this should make it happy under OS 9
You can find instructions on replacing the RAM here;
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/49.5.0.html

Replacing the hard drive is another issue. You can do this!
Just take long deep breaths between each bit, be logical, and be  
confident. Sometimes you need to use more strength than you think is  
safe. There is a Fix it guide here;
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/49.14.0.html

You will need a Torx T8 (very small) screwdriver. Unless you do a lot  
of this stuff, it is unlikely you have one. You can get a cheap set  
of Torx screw drivers from Dick Smith like these ones;
http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/ 
44e17c7e0325f8542740c0a87f990722/Product/View/T6140

although there are others available.

When you do the job, do as someone else suggested, if you click on  
the images in the fix it guide, it gives you bigger pictures. I print  
these out and as I remove the screws, I tape them to the diagram in  
the correct place. This makes it easy to replace them later. You end  
up with lots of pieces of paper but makes the job easy. Just give  
yourself plenty of time to do the job. It is interesting as you find  
the screws the techies left out when they last assembled the  
computer, etc!!

Re the Hard drive, I think you would just need to make sure it is a  
9.5mm high laptop drive, not a 12mm high one as some are and you can  
probably only use a 4500 or 5400rpm in this machine because of heat  
problems with faster drives. You can use a PC one, it doesn't seem to  
make any difference. You could try one from TradeMe (with all the  
associated risks) or try www.pricespy.co.nz

Have a look here for a 40gb Fujitsu (similar to what is used in later  
iBooks) ;
http://www.pricespy.co.nz/pno_1294.html

or here for a Seagate
http://www.pricespy.co.nz/pno_3793.html

If you want other options, just go to www.pricespy.co.nz and click on  
Hard drive and look for notebook or laptop drive. You would just need  
to make sure it is 9.5mm high.

I would recommend Grant Wilson at TasTech down here in Christchurch.  
Go to www.tastech.co.nz/  His prices are very good. Click on Hard  
Drive on the left hand side. Scroll own to find the 2.5" drives.  
Mention my name if you do decide to buy from him. If you send him a  
cheque for the goods, I'm sure he will treat you kindly. He is not  
good at telling you what you need, particularly with Macs! You need  
to know what you want and tell him so do your homework before ringing  
or emailing!

Watch IBM Deskstar drives. They are generally nicknamed Deathstars  
for good reason. The later white iBooks have either Toshiba or  
Fujitsu drives in them if that is a help.

After you put the drive in, insert an OS install CD, hold down the C  
key and format the drive using Disk Utility. Then install the OS and  
enjoy your large drive. You will need to watch you don't put in over  
a 128 Gb drive as there are problems with older OSXs and computer  
recognizing the larger drives.

I'm trying to think what else I can add or what I have forgotten. Get  
back to me if there is anything else I can help with.
These old clamshells are great machines. I used 12 of the last blue  
clamshell iBooks in at the College of Ed at Christchurch (366SE) and  
I think they were the best laptops Apple produced. They never gave  
any trouble and I carted them all over the country - Nelson, Rotorua,  
etc. They were bulletproof

Hope this is a help
Cheers
H

On 14/08/2006, at 9:40 PM, Carol-Lynn Hill wrote:

> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I am a Mac girl through and through and have only ever owned older  
> iMacs but have been given an old clamshell iBook (300MHz/3.2GB/ 
> 32RAM).  I want to upgrade it and put in a larger Hard Drive in it  
> as I want to use it to store and play my 30GB of MP3’s through my  
> stereo.  I would like ANY information on how I replace the hard  
> drive, where I can buy a cheap replacement drive, and other advice  
> on this process? Would I need to upgrade the RAM from the tiny 64MB  
> it presently has if I only intend to use it to run iTunes? I would  
> appreciate ANY information or links to valuable websites on the  
> original iBook.  Thanks for your time!  I hope I can learn a lot  
> from you all.  I am a member of an iMac email list and I enjoy  
> offering my advice on that so hope I can get some information from  
> you.  THANKS Carolyn in NZ
>
>
>
>
>
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