Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Old ibook clamshell keyboard removal?
- Thread starter 41 M
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The lock has a small plastic screw head for a flat-bladed screwdriver - the width is the diameter of the circular portion. If you don't see a slot then it has probably been broken by the incorrect type of screwdriver. The round slotted head can be hard to see, since it is made from semi-transparent plastic. Have a good close-up look.
Look just above that area. If you see a little plastic "tongue" protruding into the top cover plastic, then it is engaged.
Remember, the lock (between F4 and F5) must be dis-engaged AND the spring release tabs (between "ESC" and "F1") and ("F11 and "F12") both need to be momentarily pulled towards you to release the rear edge of the keyboard once the centre locking tab is 'unlocked'.
The centre locking tab screw head only needs to be turned 180 degrees - it's not a screw to be undone. If you can get a jeweler's screwdriver into it's slot and turn it, you should be able to observe the tongue of the lock moving in and out.
I hope that helps.
Look just above that area. If you see a little plastic "tongue" protruding into the top cover plastic, then it is engaged.
Remember, the lock (between F4 and F5) must be dis-engaged AND the spring release tabs (between "ESC" and "F1") and ("F11 and "F12") both need to be momentarily pulled towards you to release the rear edge of the keyboard once the centre locking tab is 'unlocked'.
The centre locking tab screw head only needs to be turned 180 degrees - it's not a screw to be undone. If you can get a jeweler's screwdriver into it's slot and turn it, you should be able to observe the tongue of the lock moving in and out.
I hope that helps.
Last edited:
Good look with your Clamshell and feel free to ask questions here or in the PowerPC-subforum.
I've got my first ever Clamshell about 4y ago and I was quite a novice, when it comes to old Macs and os9.
And then, with the kind help of the PowerPC-Macs members, it had been really great fun to find out so much about os9 and it's usefulness for todays demands ... It will be a great pleasure to share that help!
Cheers, Bob
Thanks Bob. My sons only 9 but he loves his clamshell bought as a non-runner. Its nice and needs only a badge. We got a power supply and it shows a question mark suggesting the HD is faulty. So next step is to buy a HD and install OS, any further advice welcome, Jamie.
Oh, your son has got style!
Which model do you have (color, MHz, FireWire)?
Swapping the drive is an adventure, but there's great help at iFixit. And there's also a faster quick&dirty way without removing the screen (here's the video-link).
I'd go for an mSATA with IDE-Converter and big enough, to hold an os9/OSX-dual-boot - but it's better to know the model first, before to decide, how to proceed.
Most software can be found at Macintoshgarden.
That's all for now, cheers, Robert
Last edited:
Then it's a 366MHz FW "indigo" with probably CD-ROM-drive (you'll have to take that into account, since for OSX Tiger installation you'll need either the CD-version or an external DVD-drive with USB or FW-connection or another (PPC)-Mac's in target-disk-mode and it's DVD-drive.
Replacing the HDD seems a bit difficult, but it's more a matter of patience and organization of all the screws and parts. Definitely no rocket science, but you have to follow the iFixit-steps and comments closely to avoid mixing-up things.
Dual-boot of os9+Tiger is a good combination, but you'll need additional RAM - best a 512MB-RAM-brick.
I'd go for a 120-240GB mSATA, especially, if it is to be used for store fotos, music and other stuff. Or maybe a virtual Machine with Windows98 or Windows2000.
I'm gonna post settings of my Clamshell later ...
PS: added the video-link about the fast HD-drive replacement.
Which black PowerBook do you have? A G3 I presume - maybe a Pismo with FireWire? That would be a great advantage, 'cause you can solve a lot of problems via TargetDiskMode. And with a PowerBook G3 you're a certainly a veteran of os9/early OSX.
Last edited:
We bought and fitted a s/h harddrive but problem remains and Im wondering if my diagnosis was wrong. We turn on and get the flashing question mark. Tried putting an instal disk in the drive but it does not pick up, any ideas what we should try?
The tray loading Laptop optical drives in these are notoriously bad.
Firstly, we need to establish what optical disc you are trying to boot from. There should be a 691-xxxx number on the disc if it is original.
Secondly, that model should have shipped with a DVD drive IIRC. Lets hope it still does.
Does it spin up the disc in the optical drive?
Firstly, we need to establish what optical disc you are trying to boot from. There should be a 691-xxxx number on the disc if it is original.
Secondly, that model should have shipped with a DVD drive IIRC. Lets hope it still does.
Does it spin up the disc in the optical drive?
It's not necessary to hold the c key if the hard drive has no system.
However, if you hold the option key when powering on, you should get the 'Startup Manager' on the screen, and that should show icons for system discs the computer can see.
Tiger (10.4.11) is the highest system it can boot and requires 256MB RAM.
What is the 4 digits after the 691 number on the discs?
However, if you hold the option key when powering on, you should get the 'Startup Manager' on the screen, and that should show icons for system discs the computer can see.
Tiger (10.4.11) is the highest system it can boot and requires 256MB RAM.
What is the 4 digits after the 691 number on the discs?
Your's 366MHz FW "indigo" has probably a CD-ROM-drive, so make sure to give it another start with a system-CD, not DVD.
I'd start with an install-CD with os9. You may get that from Macintoshgarden.
Once the os9-CD can be booted and you're able to install os9, then go and get Classilla installed onto the iBook and get Toast5.
With Classilla you'll get access to Macintoshgarden-downloads. And with StuffitExpander and Toast you're able to decompress archives and mount images. These three tools (Classilla, StuffitExpander, Toast) are the clue to get hands on everything else from Macintoshgarden ...
If you're successfull with os9 you may proceed to add Panther or Tiger as dual boot option. Tiger is no fun without maxed out RAM!
I'd start with an install-CD with os9. You may get that from Macintoshgarden.
Once the os9-CD can be booted and you're able to install os9, then go and get Classilla installed onto the iBook and get Toast5.
With Classilla you'll get access to Macintoshgarden-downloads. And with StuffitExpander and Toast you're able to decompress archives and mount images. These three tools (Classilla, StuffitExpander, Toast) are the clue to get hands on everything else from Macintoshgarden ...
If you're successfull with os9 you may proceed to add Panther or Tiger as dual boot option. Tiger is no fun without maxed out RAM!
Last edited:
Good luck!
As an encouragement here's a picture of my Clamshell running os9 - and a list of my basic applications ... #9
It's fully integrated into home-network and has basic webDAV-cloud-capabilities.
WLAN is achieved by a VONETS WLAN-to-Ethernet-bridge powered by the Clamshells USB-port. (With Tiger you may also use an Edimax mini-USB-stick, which has driver support for legacy OSX) #14
I've started installation on that book from the scratch using 1) os9-installation-CD 2) Classilla (through USB-stick) 3) inbuild Stuffit-Expander and 4) Toast5 (IFAIR also by USB-stick). All the rest could be done through the Clamshell, Classilla-downloads and the then available extraction and mounting methods.
It has been really good fun, since I had been a total beginner to os9 before (and I wouldn't have come this far without the kind help of the participants of the MR PowerPC Forum!)
Again, good luck to get your's Clamshell running! I guess, it's only a matter of a proper intallation-CD.
Last edited:
Some external USB optical drives MAY work, depending on the chipset of the bridge board.
Firewire optical drive should definitely work.
However, your 10.4 Tiger DVD may not be designed for that machine. You still haven't told us what Tiger Install disc you have.
Firewire optical drive should definitely work.
However, your 10.4 Tiger DVD may not be designed for that machine. You still haven't told us what Tiger Install disc you have.
Yay. 10.4 Retail DVD
Now for an external optical drive. Otherwise it's burning a boot CD as @bobesch describes.
You'll probably get serious debate as to whether OS 9, OS X, or 8.6 is the best OS for it these days. My personal feeling is OS9 or 8.6, but then I have many older usages for such a machine.
EDIT - Do you have another Mac with Firewire? If so, you could turn the iBook into an external Firewire hard drive using Target Disc Mode on the iBook, thus:
Now for an external optical drive. Otherwise it's burning a boot CD as @bobesch describes.
You'll probably get serious debate as to whether OS 9, OS X, or 8.6 is the best OS for it these days. My personal feeling is OS9 or 8.6, but then I have many older usages for such a machine.
EDIT - Do you have another Mac with Firewire? If so, you could turn the iBook into an external Firewire hard drive using Target Disc Mode on the iBook, thus:
Last edited:
Download of a CD-image of os9 from Macintoshgarden and burning a CD comes for the price of the CD.
So if the Clamshell's optical-drive is working (and I'm sure, it is) you'll spend less than a buck.
If you're looking for DVD-support get an external FireWire DVD-drive. You can even boot from an external FW-drive. Cheaper offers come at about less than 25$ here. Then you can use your Tiger DVD - but you'll need enough RAM.