iBOOK g4 HARDRIVE

[lindmar]

Hi,
One more question where I need help.
I bought my iBook with the 40 gig and have now realized this is not enough space.
What are my options?
Firewire extrernals are quite large and ugly and the small ones are super expensive.

ANy help would be appreciated.
I dont think apple can do anything for me?
Would Customer Service help me upgrade to the 60?

Please help

Thanks

 

[Sun Baked]

You bought an iBook G4 which has the following for CIPs ...

AirPort Card, Battery, Keyboard, Memory

seen at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=26277

Since the HD is not a CIP, changing it yourself would instantly void your warranty and/or Apple Care.

So is a bigger HD worth voiding your warranty?

Or will you live with the ugly FW boxes?

 

[lindmar]

hu?
that didnt really help me
I was asking is there anything that can be done.
And does anyone have a recomendation of a small, nice looking, firewire drive.

 

[jxyama]

if you are good with your fingers, don't mind voiding the warranty, then the best solution is to buy a 2.5" HD that is bigger than your current drive and a FW enclosure. open your iBook, replace the current drive with a new one, use the old one as an ext. FW HD using the casing.

the other option is to just buy an external FWHD. yes, they are pricy, if you want the 2.5" ones, but they work very well, bus powered and all... try otherworld computing. http://www.macsales.com.

i hear good things abou their 2.5" FWHD.
40 GB will cost around $200.

 

[idkew]

coolmax makes a great looking firewire hd encolsure for 2.5", 9mm notebook hard drives. I just got it, and it is tiny and great looking. (check newegg.com) something like $30. They also have a hitachi 4200rpm, 80gb, 2.5", 9mm drive that will fit in that enclosure for $200.

 

[lindmar]

Can you find me the link to the enclosure
thanks

 

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by lindmar
hu?
that didnt really help me
I was asking is there anything that can be done.
And does anyone have a recomendation of a small, nice looking, firewire drive.

The HD is not a CIP (Customer Installable Part)...

That does not mean you cannot replace it, but it'll require performing surgery on you machine and risk voiding your warranty (and AppleCare).

And the manual to do it, I'll have to PM you.

 

[idkew]

Originally posted by lindmar
Can you find me the link to the enclosure
thanks

or you could not be lazy and go find it on that site yourself.

 

[lindmar]

Great, well thanks for your help and the great reply. You a great forum member!
Keep up the good work!
I searched for enclosures on that website, there is a ton.

So Thanks again.,

 

[OutThere]

A good looking, very small hard drive from Lacie is the databank, found at

http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10061

 

[jtown]

Maybe I'm just ignorant but can't an Apple authorized repair center do an upgrade like this? Sure, it'd cost money but I'd think that it would at least be an option.

As for opening it and replacing the drive, that will void the warranty. The OP wouldn't be "risking" the loss of warranty coverage. It would be lost. Period. It's a matter of fact, not risk. Certainly not a good idea with a new model that has so many major changes over the last version.

When it comes to rolling your own external drives, there's an important issue to consider when putting together a 2.5" external. Power. Not all ports are created equal. I've got a CompuCable 250SX USB case and I've tried it with 3 different drives. Only one of my drives can be powered by all of my USB equipped machines. I expect firewire would be the same. In fact, I know that some manufacturers of firewire cards add a power plug on the card that is hooked up to the power supply in the computer. It allows the card to provide more power to power-hungry devices. Of the three firewire cards I have in various machines, two of them have these plugs.

Before buying the parts for a 2.5" external solution, try and find reports of people using the exact combination you plan to buy. The same case and same drive used on an iBook. Make sure they're able to use the drive without external power.

 

[lindmar]

Thanks, I will look into that.
Now, I am thinking... I will use my ibook as my desktop. Throw my 120 gig into a powered firewire,, let it sit on the desktop and just use the ibook and its 40 gig and be happy with it!

I mean.. maybe I dont need Livetype and Soundtrack and 5 gigs of Soundtrack Loops and 7 gigs of Livetype data on the road!!



Anyways...