[bleee]

I own an iBook late 2001 (600Mhz) the thing is a tank I tell you, I've used it for 8hrs a day at work for the past year and a half to two years it goes with me to and from work on commute to school and back. It's been in -30C and +32C temperatures in the rain/snow (with exposed areas because of my bag) and it works like a charm. No cracks what so ever I'm looking it over now and it has minor scratches but other than that it's rock solid. It's a bit slow at times because it only has a 600Mhz G3 but it get the job done.

[abrody]

Some tips to prevent warping and cracking:

1. Get a sturdy case which cushions the computer on all 6 sides with at least an inch of foam.
2. Be sure to always disconnect all cables before moving the computer. And put the computer in the case before taking it to a different room.
3. Watch out for door jams. Believe it or not, these can be deadly on notebook computers where you accidently hit the edge of the computer against the edge of the door. That's why I mention a different room, not just a different building!
4. Let the computer cool down before transporting it.
5. Make sure the bag has no foreign or loose items inside of where the computer is cushioned.
6. If sending the machine in for repair or internal component installation take photographs of the machine before sending it to repair, and compare the photographs after. You want to know if the repair person, or the shipper accidently damaged the machine on its return. Call AppleCare if this happens.
7. Keep cables out of foot and wheeled furniture traffic area. Just one tripped cable can cause the laptop to fall. Tape the cables to the wall if necessary and use cable ties if you need to keep multiple cables from foot traffic and wheeled furniture area.

Yes many of these things may sound like common sense. But these are things I've seen happen all too often because people think their machines are indestructible. And if you have done all that, and you still get a cracked case, then call Apple support, and ask to speak to customer relations if support won't fix the machine for you. Ask to speak to a manager until someone is willing to take your report and give you a case number.

[Jean-Loup]

One thing people seem to forget is that they changed the inside plastic of the iBook (palm rest and around the screen) that new plastic is MUCH more fragile than the one one the pre 800 iBooks. You can tell the difference between the two plastics by the colour: the old one was silver and the new one is mat white.

If you notice the cracks that folks talk about here are all with the newer versions of iBooks (white on the inside). I think the outside is basically the same as before and the injection of white colour is probably an advantage. Just wish they would have kept their quality up on the inside.

I had a look at an iBook and powerbook recently and I must say the the powerbook is much studier than the new iBooks. Although it wouldn't hold up to the pre 700 iBooks and even less to the original iBook (clamshell) now THOSE were tough laptops...never seen anything close to that in terms of sturdiness aside perhaps with the Panasonic toughbook which is like crazy expensive but is waterproof and sand proof.

Just my 2 cents

Wolf

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by larseko:
So I returned my iBook with the crack. The local reseller (Officeline, Norway) contacted Apple, but they gave me a cold shoulder. According to them, this damage had to be my own fault, either by a sudden impact or by stress over time, and hence not a reason for them to pay for repairs. Now I don't know what I should do. Any others who have been in touch with Apple?

Demand it. I'm going to.

Threaten. BBB, Consumer Affairs, etc.

It will work.

Originally posted by iguana9999:
Yes i had those cracks to on my iBook G3 800. Think it has something to do with the plastic coming under alot of stress. Did u ever disassembled ur iBook Cipher? Well i didnt notice the cracks until the 1 who bought it last week told me it was der. But it was in the exact same corner.

Come to think of it my iBook G3 500 also had thesame crack in the same spot. Both were disassembled though.

Hope my iBook G4 doesnt get it. But anyway still happy with it cause it can take alot of abuse.

No, it isn't stress, and no, this machine hasn't been disassembled.

I've disassembled many iBooks in my time and those areas of the machine do not come under stress, anyway. This is a manufacturing fault.

Originally posted by Komisar:
Won't help its accidently damage... same problem with me but i only started worrying when my harddrive cracked from it... i payed for the plastic to be replaced for 100 and the harddrive i think wasz under warrenty sorry guys but apple won't pay for it

No, it isn't accidental damage.

Originally posted by markb:
Come on, get a life. My iBook has been dropped and even stepped on and it still works fine. It has one crack in the battery corner, too. So what.

Do you really want to let a little crack send you into a fit of anger?

The iBooks are small, light and tough.

Err... don't like it, get outta my thread. Deal?

Originally posted by g3_brandon:
I'd like to mention a couple things here. First of all, my iBook 600 doesn't have any problems with cracks and it has seen its fair share of abuse. Now when you people that are understandably upset go in to your local Apple repair centers, PLEASE don't get upset with who you are talking to. It doesn't do you any good to be yelling at the technician, they are only the messenger that has to follow Apple's rules about these situations. They are going to be FAR more likely to try to help you if you are friendly and courteous to them (I speak from experience here, I used to be one of those technicians).

I don't think that there is any structural problems with the iBooks, their plastics or anything. The best example I have of this came from an iBook that a customer backed over with her car. She leaned it up against the tire to get in, forgot about it, then backed over it. When she felt the bump, she knew what happened and brought it right in to us. The computer, other than a cracked LCD, was in perfect shape. No plastic damage, nothing. So its probably just a seam in the molding that is separating too easily.

Your iBook 600 will not crack in the same place, either. It's made of a different material.

Apple skimped on the later iBooks, and this is what we get for it.

Now that the semester is over, I can afford to be without this machine for a little while.

I'll be calling Apple tomorrow.

[SciFrog]

Let us know how you fare...

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by sledsbehave:
just wanna chime in here. i have an ibook 600mhz w/combo drive and it had all four corners cracked when i got it. i replaced the whole thing myself with an ebay bought replacement part and it's as good as new.

i got a reasonable discount for the defects, but it turned out to be a great deal considering i did the repair myself.

definitly a problem though.

doing it yourself .. is it still under warantee? or is it a dont ask dont tell thing goin... lol

[druber]

Just chiming in, cracks here too. Front right corner above the battery housing, G3 900.

[Mathieu]

My wife's iBook (G3-900, slightly less than one year old) has got a crack as well. It looks exactly like the photo posted on the first page of this thread. Location of the crack is front right corner.

Her iBook was never drop and always carefully handled. It doesn't move much either. This crack ought to be a defect.

[mello78]

I have the same exact crack as everyone else. Does anybody know if apple care covers this??

[chasg]

my iBook crack is gone!

...and so is my iBook. It got stolen out of my house last weekend (along with 10 grand worth of photo and computer equipment :-(

Joke's on the thief though. The iBook had succumbed to the logic board problem and was actually sitting in the Apple shipping box waiting for UPS to pick it up. It's nothing to them now (Apple knows the serial number and that it was stolen, drive was wiped and I had taken out the extra RAM and Airport card).

And there is still a crack in the corner!

[macwac]

i have a g4 933 14" ibook, which i've had about 6 months, normal use..mainly just around the house. i noticed that there were some small marks on the right front corner on the middle (or keyboad) section of plastic. same as were everyone else is reporting it. i looked closer and very small cracks are starting to appear. i had to look super close to distinguish from just marks..but they are cracks and i can tell they will grow. it is pretty annoying. to spend the extra crash for the mac for higher build quality. also a small hump..only noticeable by running your hand across is starting to form just right of the left speaker, or maybe it came that way. thought it might be from it getting hot. i just wanted to add it to the record. this is actually how i found this site after i noticed and typed in cracked ibook g4 on google.

[macwac]

oops cracks are on left front corner. sorry.