Resolved Advice in heavy rebuilding/upgrade iBook SE

[phoenixsan]

Hello again people....!

A student comes to me (I am a professor in a college) with a iBook SE 466 Graphite given to her for her father. Wants to check the machine and upgrade it, if possible. I do my usual rutine with an used computer and after throughly checked, I found the HDD and battery dead. So I told her about it. She now wants to know how much to spend in a new HDD (maybe in the 20-40 GB range), new battery and upgrading the ram to 256 MB. And here I am seeking advice about these parts, to make a budget for her.

So any help/pointers or advice will be thanked for she and I. And if you can give me ammo in the form of informated opinions, I would like to talk she out of this project.

 

[jpcoelho]

Hi!

I've just recently ordered a replacement battery for my Clamshell ibook, this was the best I could find... regarding the HDD, you can probably find a 32 Gb PATA SSD for around $40, and that disc will give the ibook a considerable performance boost...

 

[skateny]

So any help/pointers or advice will be thanked for she and I. And if you can give me ammo in the form of informated opinions, I would like to talk she out of this project.

A lot depends on her budget and what she needs/intends to do with the iBook. Even if everything were in good working condition, she'd still be dealing with a laptop that has several limitations.

Resurrecting and maintaining old Macs typically requires great care and a measure of commitment.

Without knowing more about her expectations, I'd recommend a cheap Windows laptop.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Well, you either leave it at OS 9 or OS X Tiger. With 9, you can get away with a small hard drive and little RAM. If you go the Tiger route, I suggest a bigger SSD and maxing out the RAM.

Ask her if she's intending on using wifi, because the standard right now is WPA2, and OS 9 doesn't support it, so in this case Tiger is the best choice. An AirPort card would be needed in this case too.

 

[seveej]

Resurrecting and maintaining old Macs typically requires great care and a measure of commitment.

I have to agree here. I have a hard time imagining any average student (with average HW&SW skills) being comfortable with anything older than an IntelBook.

RGDS,

 

[phoenixsan]

Answering and thank you for the advice.....!

My original plan, is, if I get the parts, it is run Tiger on it. In this way I can lease her valid copies of vintage software I have. For her is more a sentimental decission, because her father is dead. Not so much money also. Have $200 or so and seems to her what can save a little bit, buying the parts.

I also agree, vintage hardware needs big effort to mantain and run. Have an old Airport card working in there.

So, thanks all for the advice. Waiting for more info for budgeting and buy the parts.Thanks jpcoelho for the pointers.....!

 

[Hrududu]

Tiger isn't too bad on one of those with 576MB of RAM. Any less than that, and its nearly impossible to do much of anything because you're talking 320MB as the next step down. I'd suggest OS 9 if you only want to put in a 256MB stick of RAM. If Panther were still usable, I'd go with that, but browser options etc. are more limited in Panther than in OS 9.

 

[666sheep]

This - ensure that it will be PA25.1 not PA25.6 (ask seller before buying), this and this = $122.82 incl. shipping. Tiger will work well with 576MB RAM, as Hrududu said.

 

[phoenixsan]

Thanks for....

This - ensure that it will be PA25.1 not PA25.6 (ask seller before buying), this and this = $122.82 incl. shipping. Tiger will work well with 576MB RAM, as Hrududu said.

the budgeting advice/help. The SSD sounds good to me. Sounds interesting go with the 576 MB RAM and Tiger route. And the battery info is also helpful....

Anybody wants to suggest other options? Thanks all for helping us...!

 

[Nyy8]

I think you could also upgrade the display to 1024x768 from 800x600?

 

[phoenixsan]

Stage: Building up....

so, after the advice received I am working with the parts bought. Got a deal in RAM for the 576 from a local seller. Bought the SSD and battery suggested por 666sheep. So will now have totaled $145. My student saves a bit....

Will report back when done and her can give me some data about usage... And thanks again all...!

 

[666sheep]

Do some "before/after" tests, pics and videos. I've forgotten to do so when upgrading mine unfortunately.

 

[phoenixsan]

It is a pity.....

Do some "before/after" tests, pics and videos. I've forgotten to do so when upgrading mine unfortunately.

Sorry, no can be done because I finish the upgrading and dont take any photo. See this post too late. Deliver the machine to her owner. She tells me it is running fast and stable, tough....

Thanks again and sorry for no be able to do your request....