[aradroxar]

Hey Everyone!

I'm Adi and I'm new here at nnForums. I have just bought a Late 2001 500Mhz iBook 15GB with 128MB of RAM and a CD-ROM from eBay and am hoping to upgrade it personally bit by bit, making it my own
Anyhoo, To my questions;

1. Regarding the RAM;
EveryMac says that my iBook takes

RAM Type: PC100 SDRAM Min. RAM Speed: 10 ns
Details: Uses 144-pin PC100 SO-DIMM memory modules.

Standard RAM: 128 MB Maximum RAM: 640 MB

I want to know what exactly "PC100" means, also I've seen around sites bigger PC Numbers; can I use these as well? I'm unsure because Apple says that it takes at least PC100; Does that mean that I can put a faster RAM stick in it. If so, what is the maximum that I put in my iBook?

I have also searched specifically on SDRAM SO-DIMM's, almost all of which were 168-pins and almost none were 144-pins, could you fill me in on that?

2. Regarding Mac OS X;
Wikipedia says that, in order to run Mac OS X v10.4, I need at least 3 GB of available hard disk space. Obviously space is needed during the installation of a new OS but will that 3GB be available to me again after the installation? Also if I upgrade my hard disk will I need to install it again, (assuming that 3GB won't be available to me in the future)?

3. Regarding the Hard Disk;
Going around looking for hard disks, I've found out that there are two main forms for notebooks; the IDE/ATA drive and the SATA drive. What are the differences in these drives in terms of price, size, durability etc? Also I read somewhere that some iBook models (including mine) aren't capable of using hard disks in excess of 100GB or something similar. Does anyone know anything about this?

4. Regarding the Optical Drive;
I know that iBooks came with either a CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, or a Combo Drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM), could I upgrade to any of these using third-party products? And would I be able to upgrade to a DVD Recorder/ReWriter (Also third party)?

That should answer all question I'll have for about a year.

Thank you very much for reading all the way through, I realize that's a lot of writing and a lot of questions. Any answers, explanations and links will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Adi

[seanc]

RAM.
The max, as EveryMac says, is 640MB.
144pin SO-DIMMs do exist, they're just an old type of memory and so not as widely available and quite expensive. I think PC133 works in that iBook though, so that also widens your search a bit.
168 pin SDRAM is desktop version of the laptop memory you are looking for. Unfortunately you can't use this in your iBook.

OS X.
It means you need at least 3GB space to install OS X. You won't get it back afterwards, it will be used by the operating system.
If you upgrade the hard drive you will need to install OS X again, unless you clone your existing installation to the new hard drive using something like Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper.

HDD.
I'm pretty sure the limit will be 128GB. This means that although you could put a 160GB disk in, you'd only be able to access 128GB of it. The rest would not be seen by the computer.
Your laptop requires 2.5" ATA (IDE) drives.

Optical Drive.
You're need a tray loading drive with an IDE interface.
It would be best to see if it will work with Patchburn (if possible). Also, some non Apple drives can't boot from OS installation discs.

Good luck.

Sean.

[amazing]

All questions very well answered by seanc.

Here's a few extra suggestions:

--replacing the HD is very complicated--basically, a nightmare (see the directions at ifixit.com.) You're better off buying an external firewire/usb 2.0 HD and using that for stuff like your iTunes music library. On the Mac, firewire is much, much faster than USB (and that iBook has usb 1.0 anyway, even slower) and you can find lots of deals around. You can assemble a 2.5" firewire HD if you want something to travel with, though the larger 3.5" external HDs are cheaper.

--ditto for the optical drive. You can go to newegg.com and buy a 16X Pioneer DL burner for $30 and put it in a $45 firewire case.

If you go the external route for the HD and the optical drive, you'll be able to use them with your next Mac, sometime down the road.