HowTo? 867mhz G4 Powerbook Harddrive Upgrade...

[adamjay]

i've searched the web for a definitive tutorial, and would have searched this forum as well if it would allow search terms like 12" or G4, but no luck... anyways..

does anyone know how to personally replace the hard drive of a 12" G4 Powerbook?
i want to jack my 40gb up to 80gb. found a good deal on the drive ($200), but the applestore, apple-experience, and compusa all want at least $150 for the labor.

can anyone point me in the direction on where to find the information so that i can make this upgrade myself at home (i.e. Manual, how to..) ... i have plenty of screw drivers and just want to get an idea of what i am diving into before i actually do it.

also, i'm going to turn my 40gb into an external firewire drive after the fact... my plan is to buy the firewire enclosure ($40), throw the 80GB in it, use Carbon Copy Cloner 2.3 to clone my 40gb to the 80gb, and then just switch the drives. does this seem like the easiest way to make the data transfer? or do some of you nice folks have a better, tried method? once again, compusa etc. want $50-$150 for the data transfer. so its DIY time.

thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[kenkooler]

I think you can check it here:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/powerbooks/US2222.12G4.PDF

 

[adamjay]

nope, unfortunately just ram upgrade and airport card installation are mentioned in that manual =\

 

[Counterfit]

That's because a hard drive isn't a customer installable part on the aluminum PowerBooks. But I think this might help. Those guys are crazy! Oh, and this will void your warranty. Unless you can do a really neat job and say an Authorized tech at CompUSA did it.

 

[adamjay]

no worries, its out of warranty already anyways. i bought it used a week after apple care expired. ah well.

but wait, looking at this site.... i can see why it would void your warranty... looks like OPERATION.

gotta rethink this one.

thanks a million

 

[adamjay]

yea a 2 minute re-think tells me no way in HELL am i doing that. what a nightmare.

will get an external firewire 80gb until the G5 PB is born.

thanks so much for showing me that, i would have been in for a long day and probably screwing up my powerbook had i not seen that and just dove in.

 

[jptrott]

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/powerbook_g4/PB_G4_HD_upgrade/pb_g4_hd_upgrade.html

 

[Counterfit]

Originally posted by jptrott
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/powerbook_g4/PB_G4_HD_upgrade/pb_g4_hd_upgrade.html

Too bad that's for the TiBook, and not the aluminum 12"

 

[claytonbench]

I replaced mine. Is was no problem. It does take a long time though. Basically you must mave, a #0, #1 phillips screw driver and a .5mm hex driver. Just if you try it i think the hardest part is remembering what screws go where. (there are ALOT)

 

[Mord]

a good idea for remembering where to put the screws is to get pictures of the insides and place the screws on the picture.

it may look daunting but it looks easyer than my ibook (i'm 15).

 

[Calliander]

Originally posted by adamjay
yea a 2 minute re-think tells me no way in HELL am i doing that. what a nightmare.

will get an external firewire 80gb until the G5 PB is born.

thanks so much for showing me that, i would have been in for a long day and probably screwing up my powerbook had i not seen that and just dove in.

That whole machine is a nightmare. I can get any iBook apart in less than 30 minutes without damaging any components. That thing takes at least an hour and a half just because you have to jot down wiring and tape points if you're going any further than the HD.

The HD isn't hard, but it's annoying to take the top case off and then get it back on. And yeah, the screws are a pain if you don't do the repair a lot.

The best laptop for CIP is definitely the 867/1GHz TiBook. Technically inclined customers can even do their own Inverter Boards, Modems, and DC-in boards!