Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Acquired a 12" Ibook G4 - what to check, what to upgrade...

J

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
So I've been passed an old ibook to see if I want to switch to a Mac.

it's an ibook 12" G4, 1.33Ghz with 512k RAM and a 40GB hard drive and runs Tiger. The HD seems okay, but the battery is shot - lasts for about 30 minutes. I've checked the serial in the battery upgrade programme and that's been done.

It seems to me, it might go another year of useful life if it had additional memory and maybe an upgrade to Leopard.

But before I commit money to the project, do any of you have any advice on what else to check on the machine, and how to go about it? Crucial RAM for this model is a bit expensive for what it is, and Leopard seems tricky to get hold of.
 
PowerGamerX

PowerGamerX

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2009
673
1
JonLa said:
So I've been passed an old ibook to see if I want to switch to a Mac.

it's an ibook 12" G4, 1.33Ghz with 512k RAM and a 40GB hard drive and runs Tiger. The HD seems okay, but the battery is shot - lasts for about 30 minutes. I've checked the serial in the battery upgrade programme and that's been done.

It seems to me, it might go another year of useful life if it had additional memory and maybe an upgrade to Leopard.

But before I commit money to the project, do any of you have any advice on what else to check on the machine, and how to go about it? Crucial RAM for this model is a bit expensive for what it is, and Leopard seems tricky to get hold of.
Click to expand...

Just put in some more ram. You can grab Leopard in other ways besides ebay (check craigslist or some other websites). It'll be good to go. You can find batteries fairly easy on eBay that hold decent charge. I'd get a larger HD, unless you just want to use it as a music streaming machine.
 
J

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
PowerGamerX said:
Just put in some more ram. You can grab Leopard in other ways besides ebay (check craigslist or some other websites). It'll be good to go. You can find batteries fairly easy on eBay that hold decent charge. I'd get a larger HD, unless you just want to use it as a music streaming machine.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - RAM is my first priority, althought I'm trying to do this on the cheap until I can be sure it's not going to die next week. I suspect by the time I've bought a gig of RAM, a replacement battery, a new ATA HD and Leopard I'll have spent a good chunk of a down payment on a whitebook or even a 13" Pro...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom