iBook G4 combo drive dead

[lamina]

My girlfriend dropped her G4 iBook from a distance of about 2 feet, onto a carpeted floor, and now, the combo drive is semi-functional.

It can copy very slowly and noisily.

I found the part on eBay... has anyone had experience replacing one? The iFixit guide looks tedious but doable...

Also, any idea how much it would cost in labour for an Apple authorized service center to do it?

 

[Reflow]

I replaced one on my old iBook. It didn't take that long to do. I just used iFixit and printed out the directions. As a tip that you can use if to plan on taking it apart. Used an old icecube tray to keep you screws in

 

[California]

Go slow and upgrade the hard drive at the same time. Make sure you get those spudger things so you don't damage the casing.

 

[lamina]

ok.. now it's working. I guess it was just this Bjork CD I got her for Christmas... apparently Californian computers don't like Icelandic music!

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

How do you feel about Iceland California?

Glad the iBook is running well. The problematic CD though, is it just a normal music CD?

 

[panchm]

more Combo Drive questions

Hi people! To answer one of the question on this thread, I just came back from the "genius bar" at my local apple store, and the condescending prick behind the counter said it would cost 250 bucks to replace my combo drive. If I refused service after they had a look at it, it would still cost me 100 for diagnostic costs. Now then, I am of course going to do it myself. My only concern is that the replacement drive that I buy will not be compatible with my iBook G4. I got mine in fall of '04. The Mac guy told me something about revolutions/rpm. Not too sure what he meant, but if I see a combo drive for sale for my iBook G4, is there a way to make sure that it will match my specific model batch?
Also, if I choose to replace it with a super drive, will I need to add new software for it to just work, as my comp originally came with a combo drive?
thanks!

 

[disconap]

Yeah, the rpm thing making a difference sounds like ********, as I've never heard of someone considering rpms in terms of optical drives. They tell you stuff like that so you buy proprietary devices...

Not sure which models are compatible, but check out lowendmac.com for specifics on your computer, or go to OWC (macsales.com) and check out what they list as compatible. There used to be a drive compatibility chart on xlr8yourmac, but I don't know if it's still there. Good luck; he wasn't ripping you off on the labor charges, as getting at the optical drive is time consuming (READ: not hard, just time consuming). As another poster already said, you may as well do your HDD while you're in there.

 

[panchm]

thanks for the advise disconap... I'll follow up on one of these sites when my dog feels better... darn critter had to catch a cold before I'm due to fly to Europe in a week... as far as my HDD, why bother? unless of course, it goes too... which would really suck... I have 60 gigs, and 43 of them are free... I don't use my comp for much accept storing digi pics, typing and browsing.. I put in 512 extra megs of ram when I first got it, so it's got all the upgrades it needs