iBook questions

Discussion in 'PowerPC Macs' started by kona0197, Sep 10, 2010.

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  1. kona0197, Sep 10, 2010

    kona0197 macrumors newbie

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    #1
    I recently picked up an 14" iBook G4. I upgraded the RAM so I have a total of 1.12 GB of memory. I am running Tiger. My question is about the longevity of the notebook. Is there a way to tell overall how much life is left in the notebook? The display seems a bit dim I was wondering if I need to replace it? Is there an easy way to upgrade the hard drive? When plugged in I can wiggle the connection just a little. Is it loose on is that normal? Any tips?

    Thanks in advance. I am enjoying using OSX so far.
     
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  2. Surely, Sep 10, 2010

    Surely Guest

    Surely

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    #2
    Everything sounds pretty normal to me. The screen seems dim because, well, it's an older display that isn't as good as the current displays.

    I don't think that there's a way to tell how much life is left. It could last a day, a year, or ten years.

    Upgrading the HD is pretty easy from what I recall- just google it and I'm sure you'll find easy instructions.

    My sister still uses an iBook G3, and it works well.

    I just sold an iBook G4 a few months ago, and it was working perfectly. The person who bought it was stoked at how well maintained it was.

    I think you'll be happy with your iBook as long as you remember that it isn't a current notebook with a current OS. So don't compare it to a current MacBook running Snow Leopard.

    Enjoy :)
     
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  3. kona0197, Sep 10, 2010

    kona0197 thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #3
    I thank you for the response.

    With the display I have it set to turn off after a minute. Does that hurt it?

    Overall the iBook is in great shape. System Profiler says the battery has only been cycled 275 times.

    I'm not a fan of the brushed metal and dark themes of Tiger but I guess I'll get used to it.
     
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  4. Surely, Sep 10, 2010

    Surely Guest

    Surely

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    #4
    That shouldn't harm the display, but isn't it annoying that it dims so quickly?

    Tiger is a solid OS..... it still has quite the following.
     
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  5. btbrossard, Sep 10, 2010

    btbrossard macrumors 6502a

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    #5
    When I replaced the hard drive in my iBook, it was pretty easy. A lot of screws to keep track of, but nothing hard about it.

    As far as the power plug being loose, that's not too uncommon. As long as it stays charging, you're fine.
     
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  6. kona0197, Sep 10, 2010

    kona0197 thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Well I don't use the iBook very much throughout the day so I thought dimming quickly would help preserve the LCD.

    Thanks for the tips about replacing the hard drive. I'll look into it.
     
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  7. Surely, Sep 10, 2010

    Surely Guest

    Surely

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    #7
    If you're not actually using it, you should put it to sleep. No need to have it running unnecessarily.

    It's a nice machine, enjoy it.
     
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  8. kona0197, Sep 10, 2010

    kona0197 thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #8
    I used to let it sleep. However the machine is very slow to respond when waking up. I think it might be bad to keep the hard drive running all day. It makes a funny noise when coming out of the sleep mode.
     
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  9. kona0197, Sep 10, 2010

    kona0197 thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #9
    By the way OSX sometimes will not start when I push the power button. It freezes right before the welcome to mac screen starts.

    Also I was wondering about something. When I was running Panther I did not have a password to log on so the system never asked me for one. Tiger does ask for a password even though there is no password for the system. Can I turn that off?

    And lastly what is the biggest hard drive size I can use in this machine?
     
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