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TiBook Dilemma

G

gabriel_uk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 19, 2005
100
0
England
The 15-inch TiBook I bought in March 2002 isn't working due to what I am pretty certain is a hard drive failure. I had AppleCare up until 4 months ago. Last Summer they replaced the hard drive for me but this one has bust too! I have always been very careful with the machine and have never dropped it, by the way.

Okay - so, here is my question: Do I spend £125 ($225) on a new hard drive, hoping that will fix it - OR: do I put that money towards a new iBook or PowerBook? (...when they're finally updated - soon, we hope!) :rolleyes:
 
gabriel_uk said:
The 15-inch TiBook I bought in March 2002 isn't working due to what I am pretty certain is a hard drive failure. I had AppleCare up until 4 months ago. Last Summer they replaced the hard drive for me but this one has bust too! I have always been very careful with the machine and have never dropped it, by the way.

Okay - so, here is my question: Do I spend £125 ($225) on a new hard drive, hoping that will fix it - OR: do I put that money towards a new iBook or PowerBook? (...when they're finally updated - soon, we hope!) :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
£125 towards a £700 iBook? That's quite a big price leap! I'd probably recommend the Hard Disk (although a new machine is always nice), but be sure before you buy it!

My HDD went whilst mine was still under waranty, luckily - otherwise it would have cost quite a lot!
 
gabriel_uk said:
The 15-inch TiBook I bought in March 2002 isn't working due to what I am pretty certain is a hard drive failure. I had AppleCare up until 4 months ago. Last Summer they replaced the hard drive for me but this one has bust too! I have always been very careful with the machine and have never dropped it, by the way.

Okay - so, here is my question: Do I spend £125 ($225) on a new hard drive, hoping that will fix it - OR: do I put that money towards a new iBook or PowerBook? (...when they're finally updated - soon, we hope!) :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It will be alot cheaper to just replace the HD and that is still a very capable machine. They don't sell for much, especially one that needs a fixerupper for a buyer.
 
hob said:
£125 towards a £700 iBook? That's quite a big price leap! I'd probably recommend the Hard Disk (although a new machine is always nice), but be sure before you buy it!

My HDD went whilst mine was still under waranty, luckily - otherwise it would have cost quite a lot!
Click to expand...
Thanks for that - makes sense. I guess I just hate the thought that I might be wasting money I could put towards a new iB or PB - especially as I don't see how I can make totally sure the problem IS with the HDD without paying someone to test it.
 
ITASOR said:
It will be alot cheaper to just replace the HD and that is still a very capable machine. They don't sell for much, especially one that needs a fixerupper for a buyer.
Click to expand...
You know I agree with you - it IS an otherwise capable machine.

The fact is that I don't really need it for much more than PowerPoint and the occasional train journey. The PowerPoint stuff is crucial to my work, but I am otherwise using a G5.

So it seems worth trying to get more life out of the TiBook, as it won't be worked too hard in any case.
 
Replacing the hard drive on a TiBook has to be one of the easiest on a laptop. Just remove the bottom plate and the hard drive is right there. Get a nice new, fast hard drive and you should see new life in your computer.
 
wwooden said:
Replacing the hard drive on a TiBook has to be one of the easiest on a laptop. Just remove the bottom plate and the hard drive is right there. Get a nice new, fast hard drive and you should see new life in your computer.
Click to expand...
I appreciate that as it will definitely boost my confidence.

Also, I found this great illustrated guide to replacing the drive - http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/25.6.0.html

That pbfixit site is fantastic. :)
 
Replacing the TiBook with an Al powerbook has to be one of the easiest things to do. I was very attached to my old 55o but it has just died on me too (screen). I could have repaired it but decided to splurge on a new 12" pb. I love it. It flies compared to my Ti. It was also half the price I paid initially for the Tibook. The way I see it is that the old pb was asking to be put out to pasture. It had done some hard yards and deserved it's rest. It's hard but let it go..............:(.

Love you Ti55o. You won't be forgotten. I'll leave you in my sig a bit longer. RIP friend.

p.s. ALthough the HD will cost you nothing to replace....:). But if you have the money there is no way a mortal you can resist convincing themselves of an absolute need for new Apple hardware :D
 
.Andy said:
Replacing the TiBook with an Al powerbook has to be one of the easiest things to do. I was very attached to my old 55o but it has just died on me too (screen). I could have repaired it but decided to splurge on a new 12" pb. I love it. It flies compared to my Ti. It was also half the price I paid initially for the Tibook. The way I see it is that the old pb was asking to be put out to pasture. It had done some hard yards and deserved it's rest. It's hard but let it go..............:(.

Love you Ti55o. You won't be forgotten. I'll leave you in my sig a bit longer. RIP friend.

p.s. ALthough the HD will cost you nothing to replace....:). But if you have the money there is no way a mortal you can resist convincing themselves of an absolute need for new Apple hardware :D
Click to expand...
The other guys were speaking to my head, and I thought I was clear. Now you're making a different kind of sense - hubboy! :confused: :p

If the iBooks/ PowerBooks had just been updated, the temptation to splurge would be far greater. But Apple isn't helping.
 
Your "new" HD from Apple should be under warranty, especially if it was an IBM Travelstar. Should not have HD failure after four months. Check out its warranty. Travelstars are warrantied for three years.

Otherwise, the 60 gig IBM Hitachi 7200 Travelstar is the way to go on Tibooks.
 
California said:
Your "new" HD from Apple should be under warranty, especially if it was an IBM Travelstar. Should not have HD failure after four months. Check out its warranty. Travelstars are warrantied for three years.

Otherwise, the 60 gig IBM Hitachi 7200 Travelstar is the way to go on Tibooks.
Click to expand...
This certainly crossed my mind, but I then I thought that AppleCare would have to accept my claim that the problem is indeed the hard drive - which I doubt they would do without a diagnosis - which in turn I doubt they would authorize because the TiBook is no longer under AppleCare! A Catch-22.

I guess I should phone them to see what they would say - although in my experience, they are not very willing to accept customer diagnoses.

So you wouldn't go for a 100 Gb Seagate Momentus? (BTW, the hard drive that just bust is an IBM!)
 
It could not hurt to call Apple -- and politely ASK them if your "new" HD is under warranty through them or through IBM Hitachi. My understanding is that all IBM travelstars are under at least one year warranty.

The 100gig I read somewhere on this site is a tiny bit tricky to install and runs only at 5400rpm; the 60 gig travelstar runs at 7200. Someone at Daystar Technologies told me that the TOshiba laptops actually have a larger cache than the travelstar but my travelstars are so darn QUIET that I am completely hooked. Your choice -- but check out the warranty option first. Heck, maybe IBM will upgrade you. Never hurts asking.
 
California said:
It could not hurt to call Apple -- and politely ASK them if your "new" HD is under warranty through them or through IBM Hitachi. My understanding is that all IBM travelstars are under at least one year warranty.

The 100gig I read somewhere on this site is a tiny bit tricky to install and runs only at 5400rpm; the 60 gig travelstar runs at 7200. Someone at Daystar Technologies told me that the TOshiba laptops actually have a larger cache than the travelstar but my travelstars are so darn QUIET that I am completely hooked. Your choice -- but check out the warranty option first. Heck, maybe IBM will upgrade you. Never hurts asking.
Click to expand...
Good advice, thanks! :)
 
California said:
It could not hurt to call Apple -- and politely ASK them if your "new" HD is under warranty through them or through IBM Hitachi. My understanding is that all IBM travelstars are under at least one year warranty.

The 100gig I read somewhere on this site is a tiny bit tricky to install and runs only at 5400rpm; the 60 gig travelstar runs at 7200. Someone at Daystar Technologies told me that the TOshiba laptops actually have a larger cache than the travelstar but my travelstars are so darn QUIET that I am completely hooked. Your choice -- but check out the warranty option first. Heck, maybe IBM will upgrade you. Never hurts asking.
Click to expand...
Found a 80gig TravelStar @ 7200rpm and am guessing this will work okay?
 
That is a highly recommended drive for replacements - I've heard nothing but great things about them.

Also, can't you take the PBook into an Apple store and have a 'Genius' look at it for free - to assess the damage / costs to fix? Or do they charge to look at it when it's out of warranty?
 
TiBook Update

Successfully installed a new Hitachi 80GB 7200rpm HDD today. I've also ordered some Crucial RAM to bring the TiBook up to 1GB. So I'm hoping to get a couple of more years out of this 3-yr-old PB... long enough, maybe, for the Intel models to make their debut! :D

Wanna thank hob, ITASOR, wwooden, .Andy, California and crachoar for their helpful tips and pointers - cheerz! ;)
 
I'm looking to upgrade my Ti667 30GB HDD. Where'd you find the 80GB 7200rpm Travelstar? Most of my searches only come up with the 60GB.

Thanks!
 
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