Replacing iBook HDD?

[britishempire]

I've been considering replacing my iBook HDD and would like to know if anyone has any advice...

What kind of drive can I fit? Will any 2.5" ATA do? Do I have to use a 4200 RPM one or can I use 5400 RPM drives and can I fit a 120GB drive?

my iBook is a late 2005 12" 1.33Ghz.

Any advice or suggestions as to what make/model drive to get?

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Yes yes and yes.

Here's a guide: http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/guides/hw/ibook/g4hd/

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

I found the iFixit one, probably better. The guy in the other one had finger hair anyway...ewww.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/iBook-G4-12-Inch/Hard-Drive-Replacement

 

[britishempire]

many thinks!

 

[California]

I did this on the same machine.. Put a 100gb hd in it BUT I put a superdrive in it while it was open. Get a uj845 or uj846 Panasonic superdrive.

 

[OldCorpse]

Yes yes and yes.

Here's a guide: http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/guides/hw/ibook/g4hd/

Wrong.

First what's right:

I just had a hard drive installed into my late 2005 12" 1.33Ghz iBook - a 5400RPM 120GB drive. It's working perfectly.

1) Yes, it has to be an ATA drive - not SATA.

2) It can be almost any speed, though I think the 5400RMP is the sweet spot - if you go higher, you're liable to run hotter and it may affect your battery life.

3)120GB is absolutely fine.

Now what's wrong:

No, you cannot place any 2.5" drive. There are two sizes of 2.5" drives - even though both are 2.5", their heights are different. The most common height for 2.5" drives out there is 12mm - and this is the size you do not want, as it will not fit into Apple laptops. You want the far more rare 2.5" with the 9mm height. That limits your choices somewhat. If you are going to buy and put in the drive yourself, you better be aware of that.

So the correct answer to your question:

Will any 2.5" ATA do?

is NO. Only a 9mm 2.5" will do.

 

[janey]

2) It can be almost any speed, though I think the 5400RMP is the sweet spot - if you go higher, you're liable to run hotter and it may affect your battery life.

Speed has an inverse correlation with power consumption and performance in general (barring any manufacturer with some special low-power-consumption thing going on with their hardware). So it's up to you...shorter battery life in exchange for a faster drive, or longer in exchange for slower.

...There are two sizes of 2.5" drives - even though both are 2.5", their heights are different. The most common height for 2.5" drives out there is 12mm - and this is the size you do not want, as it will not fit into Apple laptops. You want the far more rare 2.5" with the 9mm height. That limits your choices somewhat. If you are going to buy and put in the drive yourself, you better be aware of that.

Actually, it's 9.5mm. 9.5mm drives tend to be the most available and popular by far, not 12mm. And to be ridiculously picky, there's literally half a dozen different heights for 2.5" drives, but like I said, 9.5mm drives are by far the most available at the moment.

If you need somewhere to start for 9.5mm drives, I believe every single one of Seagate's Momentus line of 2.5" laptop drives is 9.5mm tall, as well as pretty much most of the WD/Toshiba/Hitachi (ugh) drives available on Newegg. Don't take my word for it 100% though, always double check the specs before purchasing