How hard to switch out hardrives in a MacG4 Powerbook?

[kerry]

Hard drive failed in my daughter's G4. How hard is it to replace?

[MTI]

Ti or Aluminum?

[JohnM.]

Originally Posted by MTI

Ti or Aluminum?

Might as well kick yourself in the balls if it's a Ti. It's not that bad.....but taking apart the Alu is cupcakes.

What size? I've replaced it in my old 12-inch Al PowerBook, and it's pretty complex. You definetly need the instructions; these are the instructions for the 12 inch:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-PowerBook-G4-Aluminum-12-Inch-867-MHz-Hard-Drive-Replacement/208/1

[smiffy6four]

It's not hard at all, I just did my PowerBook g4, took about 20 mins. But then again, it's what I do for a living

Seriously, just take your time, don't force anything and you'll do fine. The previous post has decent blow by blow instructions

[MTI]

I've "de-boned" a few 1Ghz Ti Powerbooks, not particularly hard, but there's quite a few of those tiny fasteners.

[JohnM.]

Originally Posted by MTI

I've "de-boned" a few 1Ghz Ti Powerbooks, not particularly hard, but there's quite a few of those tiny fasteners.

Yes, I forgot why I hated those so much. Now I remember. Replacing anything other than the LCD panel is a piece of cake. It is nearly impossible to separate the LCD casing and get it back together without panel gaps the size of the Grand Canyon. I gave it more than enough tries over the years and never could get perfect results. One of the local guys who does Apple laptop repairs refuses to touch it either. Complete LCD assembly replacement from a donor unit is the only option with him!

[pawoSD]

Working on macs for repairs like this is a pain like no other. I'll stick with my HP/Acer/Dell notebooks.....I can pretty much completely disassemble an HP notebook in about 6 minutes. Hard drive swap is one screw, then slide out the module. Easy. With a MAC you need a clean room, lab coat, and a pile of special tools and patience....

Replacing the drive on the newer iMacs is a rediculous process as well, you even need special suction cups!!

[MTI]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Working on macs for repairs like this is a pain like no other.

Spoken like a true PC fan.

I've worked on PCs and Macs, desktops and laptops . . . they all have their unique challenges. I will say that the Apple build seems to be much "cleaner" and logical than most PCs. For instance, the heat pipe system in the Powerbooks were very advanced for the time.

Perhaps PCs are easier to get inside . . . because you have to get inside them more often.

[iwrock]

Originally Posted by MTI

Perhaps PCs are easier to get inside . . . because you have to get inside them more often.

lol, so true!



Its not too bad to do as long as you have the tools and the directions.

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by MTI

Perhaps PCs are easier to get inside . . . because you have to get inside them more often.

Not really, I've had my wife's HP laptop for 5 years, and have only opened it twice, once when I bought it to add wireless, and once a couple weeks ago to clean the dust out of the fan/heatsink. Thats it.

[kerry]

It's a titanium. I've never had laptop apart before.