Forums | MacLife

Metacell wrote:

Primitive as it sounds, it's still a laptop and its still usable, and its still OS X.  So I say, reasonable.

I agree. Tho it would scare me if this is a potential switcher. My brother picked up a similarly ancient machine, decided Macs were too slow, and went back to Windows. No reasoning with him there.

he's got a candy imac pottymouth, and the ibook is speedier.

150 sounds good to me. but max ram and fastest hard drive you can put in there.

It's 1024x768 and 30 gig hard drive

user wrote:

Nay.

The G3 iBooks suffer from short lifespan.

Agreed. the video issues on them were horrible

dhack21 wrote:

user wrote:

Nay.

The G3 iBooks suffer from short lifespan.

Agreed. the video issues on them were horrible

agreed ... my mom's g3 ibook was fixed 4 times for the graphics problems before the extended-extended warrantee ran up. Now I have a paper weight.

D'Eyncourt wrote:

The hard drive is a different matter. While you can put in any ATA/IDE 2.5-inch drive that is 9.5 mm thick (there are models which are 12.5 mm thick) so you could put in up to 250 GBs, the process for doing so is rather difficult and time-consuming. I suggest taking a look at the iFixIt guide for your iBook and see if you want to go to the trouble. I had the 500 MHz model and the tough parts were removing the lower case and keeping track of all of the various parts--especially the small ones--that have to come out in order to replace the hard drive.

I replaced the HD in my iBook when I thought that was the problem with it. It's not too bad if you take your time, follow the guide and tape your screws to the paper guide as you go.

However, the IDE bus in the iBook is limited to a maximum of 128 G, so if you put in a larger drive you won't get the full capacity.

(edit: MINE was limited to 128, a later model may go higher)

Last edited by user (2008-06-24 9:20 am)

user wrote:

D'Eyncourt wrote:

The hard drive is a different matter. While you can put in any ATA/IDE 2.5-inch drive that is 9.5 mm thick (there are models which are 12.5 mm thick) so you could put in up to 250 GBs, the process for doing so is rather difficult and time-consuming. I suggest taking a look at the iFixIt guide for your iBook and see if you want to go to the trouble. I had the 500 MHz model and the tough parts were removing the lower case and keeping track of all of the various parts--especially the small ones--that have to come out in order to replace the hard drive.

I replaced the HD in my iBook when I thought that was the problem with it. It's not too bad if you take your time, follow the guide and tape your screws to the paper guide as you go.

However, the IDE bus in the iBook is limited to a maximum of 128 G, so if you put in a larger drive you won't get the full capacity.

(edit: MINE was limited to 128, a later model may go higher)

regarding the limitation.  is it possible to partition a hard drive larger than 128 from another computer and just use it? without speedtools.

Last edited by NSX (2008-06-24 11:32 am)

mrreet2001 wrote:

Antonio wrote:

mrreet2001 wrote:

agreed ... my mom's g3 ibook was fixed 4 times for the graphics problems before the extended-extended warrantee ran up. Now I have a paper weight.

Or, you could use a scale check weight and a heat gun to reconnect the solder under the GPU.

have a link to a detailed how-to for this?

No, but I could probably walk you through it...
Taking the iBook apart is probably the worst of it.

Antonio wrote:

mrreet2001 wrote:

Antonio wrote:

Or, you could use a scale check weight and a heat gun to reconnect the solder under the GPU.

have a link to a detailed how-to for this?

No, but I could probably walk you through it...
Taking the iBook apart is probably the worst of it.

Ohh mah gawd! You must be a cleric that knows Raise Dead or Resurrection! Learn me that heal spell puleeze. I love my MBP, but sometimes I look at my dead iBook and wish I could turn it on sometimes.

But seriously, taking it apart shouldn't be an issue for me, I just need to know exactly what to do when I get there.

No he's asking about the heat gun repair. I found some instructions by googling but I didn't keep the links after I decided to buy another laptop instead. It's a risky trick that should only be done by yourself as a last resort because you could easily fry the GPU. There's supposed to be a company in Texas that will re-flow the solder for you for about $60. One reason I didn't do it was that I heard that this problem is a construction flaw and that it will happen again over time.

Also, that G3 seems soooo slow and creaky last time I used it.

adamjg wrote:

My 2000 Firewire Pismo G3 held up well over the years (I just sold it). No major problems, except for a long expired PRAM battery and a moderately dimmer screen. And the original power battery still charges. Really well made, probably more sturdy than most current laptops including Apple's.

thats not an ibook now is it

mrreet2001 wrote:

adamjg wrote:

My 2000 Firewire Pismo G3 held up well over the years (I just sold it). No major problems, except for a long expired PRAM battery and a moderately dimmer screen. And the original power battery still charges. Really well made, probably more sturdy than most current laptops including Apple's.

thats not an ibook now is it

Thankfully not!