[DmbShn41]

Rach,
Not to burst your bubble, but I believe that won't really work well, if at all. I can't remember which site, it was an editor guide for college students to buy the best bang for your buck laptops and upgrades and what not. They tried 1GB of RAM and got kernel panics right away. After they switched back to the 512MB stick, it never recovered. Something to do with the handling of RAM and how the processor interacts with it. Not to say that will happen to you, but I would call it safe to say that if Chasing or anyone else on here has thought about it, we would have heard about it by now. These Clamshells are extremely picky on RAM, as I am on my third 512MB stick that hasn't worked. I'm really good at processing RMA's. I would ease up on it, stick with the 512MB stick, upgrade the HD, maybe get a nice LaCie USB DVD burner, what have you, but going into unfamiliar territory like that, you may send your Limey to an early grave.

[mBurns]

Hi guys. I just bought another clamshell. I just couldn't pass it up. I'm going to sell my other clamshell locally. I'll post pictures of this new one asap once it arrives. What is a good way to keep it in mint condition? Thanks.

[ChasingApple]

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Hi guys. I just bought another clamshell. I just couldn't pass it up. I'm going to sell my other clamshell locally. I'll post pictures of this new one asap once it arrives. What is a good way to keep it in mint condition? Thanks.

If you want mint, buy mine!

[gooser]

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Hi guys. I just bought another clamshell. I just couldn't pass it up. I'm going to sell my other clamshell locally. I'll post pictures of this new one asap once it arrives. What is a good way to keep it in mint condition? Thanks.

what are the specs of the new one?

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by ChasingApple 

My favorites are still the original blueberry and tangerine. It's too bad they had the slowest hardware in them. I would LOVE a tangerine 466mhz with all the bells

FWIW, I did just that. Added a 466MHz logic board from a Graphite iBook, and upgraded to a combo drive pulled from a Compaq laptop (the drive is NOT bootable - only certain models of drives pulled from non-Apple laptops are known to be bootable; I used a Powerbook and target disk mode to reinstall Panther)

Drilling out a hole for the firewire port was pretty easy - the plastic is quite soft. A steady hand and a Dremel (or some similar tool) is all you need. It's very much worth the upgrade - I can use my iPod much more easily now, and the ability to play DVDs is really nice. I did have to reinstall Panther in order for it to recognize the upgraded video adapter...after that, however Apple's DVD player software ran just fine.

The tangerine color is definitely my favorite.

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by gooser 

what are the specs of the new one?

Gooser and chase,

The iBook is a 466 MHZ model. MINT, MINT, MINT condition. It has a 60 gb HD, 576 MB ram, dual boot, etc. I can't wait for this thing to get here so I can crack it open! Now I just need to figure out how to sell my lime clammy because I can't afford both..

[mBurns]

Hi everyone. I'd thought I post with my progress. I got my new iBook in the mail today. It really is a looker! Wow, this thing is a beauty. I'll post some pictures. Also, I'm selling my lime clamshell to help fund this one. Also, 10.4 is not that slow on my new clamshell. I'm not sure if I just got lucky.

Specs of new machine:
466 MHZ
576 RAM
DVD-Rom
60 GB HD

Also, it was supposedly barely used by the original owner. The trackpad looks like it has literally never been used. It even has the original styrofoam. I'm going to take it on my trip to Chicago next week and watch some movies on the plane. I'm not going to ever sell this iBook. It's mine forever! I may wait to post some good pictures until I have a desk, etc for this machine. I've had a lot going on these past few week.

One more thing.. do you guys think apple would install the airport card for me? I live very close to an apple store and I've been there before with my MacBook Pro. I have applecare on my MacBook Pro, do you think they would do it as a favor?

Please tell me your thoughts..

[gooser]

they may or may not install your card, but if you don't carry it in you will never get to show it off.

[ChasingApple]

Airport cards are very simple to install, just plug em in under the keyboard and attach the antenna wire.

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by ChasingApple 

Airport cards are very simple to install, just plug em in under the keyboard and attach the antenna wire.

Chase, I know they are easy to install but I'm not sure if I want to risk it on this machine because it's really in non-used condition.

[rach]

DmbShn41 thank you your advice I think that I will stick there with it now in terms of upgrading it anymore.

I was wondering with these Clamshells how do some of you find the Yo Yo power adapter does it fall onto battery power sometimes even when plugged in so that you have to push in the adapter again so that it goes into power adapter mode?


MBurns good find there getting one in such a good virtually unused condition. Inserting an Airport card is not hard. Maybe if you are unsure on doing this though you could see if somebody will do this for you but it is not something that i would pay out for though myself.

[gooser]

clamshells for everyone. life is good. weekend's a comin'.

[discotronic]

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Chase, I know they are easy to install but I'm not sure if I want to risk it on this machine because it's really in non-used condition.

Here is a link to the owner's manual for your Clamshell. I will show you how to install the Airport card.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iBo...ltilingual.PDF


It's like this. I would trust myself to install something before I would trust a complete stranger. It doesn't matter to me if they work at an Apple Store or not.

[rickame]

Originally Posted by rach 

I have changed my hard drive twice in my clamshell. The first time i found it hard and i took my whole laptop apart basically. The second time i managed to get my hard drive out without having to nearly take the whole board apart. After taking the bottom casing of and loosing a few screws I loosened the screws around the hard drive and managed to manoeuvre it out and insert a new one in without taking the display of. This i found very easy to do and completed it within 30 -40minutes. I wish that i did it my way from the beginning.
These clamshells take 2.5" 9.5mm drives.
Good luck with your upgrade iDek

Hi Rach, Could you give a little more detail on how you did the hard drive change without taking all apartl like ifixit instructions tell you to. I have a few indigo ibooks i'd like to upgrade hard drives in and not make the error i did on a 466 graphite...In taking it all apart, i had to remove the plug/cable for the back light before taking the screen/top case off and the plastic receptical came off the motherboard...its the little 1/8in by 1/4in white plastic a J4 location...Not sure if it just slips on or if it was soldered...little bit of plastc broke of each side...looking for part from used motherboard on ebay, hope I don't have to solder or worse yet, get new motherboard...any ideas welcome on this too...This is why, I'd love a shortcut...Thanks, Rick

[rickame]

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Gooser and chase,

The iBook is a 466 MHZ model. MINT, MINT, MINT condition. It has a 60 gb HD, 576 MB ram, dual boot, etc. I can't wait for this thing to get here so I can crack it open! Now I just need to figure out how to sell my lime clammy because I can't afford both..

how much for lime clammy, and the specs...I know someone very interested in France.

[rach]

Hi rickame, i took the bottom screws of and then the keyboard as you should. I took the screws of that rest over the hard drive and loosened a few others around it. I was able to lift up the metal housing a bit so that it allowed me enough space to get the hard drive out and the connector and to put a new one in. It was that simple really. I didn't have to take my DVD drive out or my screen of either. I just looked at it and i thought there must be an easier way of doing it and i tried it worked perfectly. It was a few months ago that i did it now so i cannot give more detail than that as that is all i remember. I am sure that i am not alone to do it this way either.
Sorry to hear about what happened when you tried to upgrade. I nearly caused a mishap with my display first time round.

Originally Posted by rickame 

Hi Rach, Could you give a little more detail on how you did the hard drive change without taking all apartl like ifixit instructions tell you to. I have a few indigo ibooks i'd like to upgrade hard drives in and not make the error i did on a 466 graphite...In taking it all apart, i had to remove the plug/cable for the back light before taking the screen/top case off and the plastic receptical came off the motherboard...its the little 1/8in by 1/4in white plastic a J4 location...Not sure if it just slips on or if it was soldered...little bit of plastc broke of each side...looking for part from used motherboard on ebay, hope I don't have to solder or worse yet, get new motherboard...any ideas welcome on this too...This is why, I'd love a shortcut...Thanks, Rick

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by rickame 

how much for lime clammy, and the specs...I know someone very interested in France.

Hi rick,

The specs are 366 MHZ | 128 RAM | 10 GB HD

Also, it comes with its original box, etc. Do you live in the states?

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by discotronic 

Here is a link to the owner's manual for your Clamshell. I will show you how to install the Airport card.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iBo...ltilingual.PDF


It's like this. I would trust myself to install something before I would trust a complete stranger. It doesn't matter to me if they work at an Apple Store or not.

Disc..

I have the original manuals. I just don't want to mark the thing up if I can avoid it..

[iDek]

Originally Posted by rach 

I have changed my hard drive twice in my clamshell. The first time i found it hard and i took my whole laptop apart basically. The second time i managed to get my hard drive out without having to nearly take the whole board apart. After taking the bottom casing of and loosing a few screws I loosened the screws around the hard drive and managed to manoeuvre it out and insert a new one in without taking the display of. This i found very easy to do and completed it within 30 -40minutes. I wish that i did it my way from the beginning.
These clamshells take 2.5" 9.5mm drives.
Good luck with your upgrade iDek

I have replaced it today I have followed the tutorial of ifixit.com (great people!), no broken no problem at all Now my Graphite S.E. has a Samsung 80 Gb, 8 Mb cache, 5400 RPM against the original Toshiba 10 Gb, 1 Mb cache, 4200 RPM. Tiger runs smooth. Really a good choice. I really love my clamshell, six years of daily activity, it looks like a new computer, the keyboard and trackpad are perfect, so the display.

Can I repalce the DVD ROM with a DVD with CD R/W?

All the best

[mBurns]

I decided to put the airport card in myself and it was a success.

[ibugv4]

You guys make me feel more normal for having a Pismo still (and a B&W G3). I had a blueberry clamshell for a while, but it had a dead backlight (and inverter board swap didn't fix it). I remember taking it apart, it was a little more complicated I thought than the iBook 12". I really, really loved the concept of the handle on the clammy. I also really love the key lime green and tangerine...and hearing that shifuimam upgraded his tangerine with a FireWire-model board, I'm thinking that I should look into one of these little guys again. There is also the option of USB-based RALINK 2500 wireless adapters, just for those who can't find an original 802.11B airport card or want the compatability (but not necessarily speed) of G. I use a Rev B D-Link G USB adapter (the B adapter came WITH Mac OS X Drivers!) on my old G3, and it's actually pulling a decent speed both internet and network. Anyway, there are lots of options for all the older PowerPC-iBook/PowerBooks. I would definetly be down for a Psimo thread!

[ChasingApple]

I've been tossing around the idea of upgrading my clamshell as well. Mostly just a hard drive upgrade but while I have it open I am going to replace the CD-Rom drive. I'm not sure I can load up a DVD drive in there, I will have to do some research. I should get a nice speed boost from the new HD though!

[DmbShn41]

Chasing,
I know we've all had this conversation before about optical drives in the Clammy, but from what I know, and have seen, there a few options. First with the extreme. Find a compatible Apple SuperDrive with slot loading. Modify the bezel and mount to the Clammy. This has been done, I've seen two now, one on eBay, the other was a friend who after seeing the one on eBay, had to do to his. The drive is costly, around $150-$200, but if you're looking for modern, life extending options for the Clammy this is coooool!! Next is to see if you can get an optical drive from a 466, with DVD features, and see if that is compatible with the 366 board. I'm not quite sure about this, but theoretically, it should work, right? And then there is to go with the same as in there before, but no DVD features. Let me know what you decide, and you owe us pictures if you go for the SuperDrive. Shifu would be interested in that too!

[ChasingApple]

I doubt I would ever bother with a Superdrive in a clamshell. DVD-Rom is a possibility but I will probably just get a CD-Rom drive for it. I have noticed over the last few months that I am becoming less and less of a Mac guy and more of a PC / Windows guy again. I went 3+ straight years with ONLY Macs and now that I use my Alienware m5550 laptop ona daily basis I find I actually like what Windows XP has evolved into. Spyware is under control more now, and I still have yet to get a virus on any PC. I'm even using the latest IE 7 and finding that it is an excellent browser.

Dunno, ever since Tiger came out I have enjoyed Macs less. I thought Panther was a much better and less bloated OS.

[mBurns]

Hey guys! I'm going to be taking a flight with my iBook Clamshell tonight. Yes, I decided to bring it instead of my MacBook Pro. Wish me luck!

[shifuimam]

Hey all...

I haven't caught up on this thread until now.. :/

If you check out my main clamshell mod thread (link in my sig), there's quite a bit of info in the first page of posts about upgrading the optical drive in one of these babies.

There is a wide range of manufacturers and models of laptop optical drives that will be 100% physically compatible with the clamshell. Certain models are confirmed to also be bootable. There is something wonky with the firmware Apple loads on their drives to make them bootable (unlike a Windows-based PC, where anything is bootable), and some models of drives simply don't work. I found that out the hard way - the drive I bought isn't, but since my boyfriend has a PowerBook G4, I just use target disk mode to install OS X on my clamshell - this wouldn't be possible (obviously) on a clamshell with no firewire, so it's something to consider.

I have noticed that the certain drive models that are 100% confirmed bootable on an Apple laptop tend to sell at higher prices on eBay. My CD-RW/DVD combo drive cost me about $20, while a confirmed model would cost $50 or more.

I can also note that it was definitely worth it. I don't like how the slot-loading drives look in a clamshell; I modded my CD-ROM faceplate and glued it to the replacement drive. There's a small gap on the underside of the laptop when the drive is closed, but it's no big deal for me. After installing the necessary patch and finding some freeware burning utilities that were better (IMO) than Apple's built-in capabilities, I have used the burner and the DVD player multiple times. At 24x, the burner is plenty fast, and as I have no firewire external hard drive (working on that right now..), burning CDs is a lot faster than USB to transfer files between my clamshell and my Windows machines. If you're going to replace the drive, why not upgrade while you're at it?

I personally have found more enjoyment in finding third-party parts to mod my clamshell. I like my iBook, but I certainly don't like the overinflated prices on eBay for Apple-branded parts.

FWIW, the original Airport (802.11b only) base stations had a Lucent Orinoco Silver PCMCIA card in them, which is identical to the Airport card except that it's a little longer. With some modding to the case of the clamshell, you could have a much cheaper - and internal - wireless solution than spending $75+ on an Airport card. I should also mention that I tried several USB and PCMCIA wireless adapters in my iBook. It appears that one of the main compatible G adapters, from Belkin, no longer uses the right chipset and isn't natively recognized by OS X. Just an FYI...

Sorry for the long-winded post.. it's a bad habit of mine!

[ChasingApple]

We appreciate ya!

[shifuimam]

mburns, would you be interested in selling the lime's boxes separately? PM me if you think we can work something out.

[rUUBY]

Hey! I'm looking at getting a clammy but I have NO idea how i go about upgrading the RAM. Ive found out how to put it in but I dont know what is compatible, I dont know what im searching for. HELP!

[iDek]

Originally Posted by rUUBY 

Hey! I'm looking at getting a clammy but I have NO idea how i go about upgrading the RAM. Ive found out how to put it in but I dont know what is compatible, I dont know what im searching for. HELP!

Hi, you need for your clamshell: SDRAM PC66 or better (i.e. I put a PC133) 3.3V 144-pin SO-DIMM
I have found a 512 MB on eBay. So the maximun of RAM will be 576 (512+64 built-in).
All the best.
Alex

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by rUUBY 

Hey! I'm looking at getting a clammy but I have NO idea how i go about upgrading the RAM. Ive found out how to put it in but I dont know what is compatible, I dont know what im searching for. HELP!

Hi rUUBY. Are you looking to buy a clamshell? If so, I have a Key Lime 366 I need to sell! Just a thought..

Anyways, you're going to want to upgrade the ram to 512. Make sure you get a 366 (not graphite 366) or 466 model because they had firewire. Also, after awhile you *may* want to upgrade the HD in the machine. Honestly, clamshells are a matter of how much money your willing to put into old technology in order to make your machine run better. It's hard to stop upgrading clamshells so I'm warning you!

[rUUBY]

Ok, I have bought a clamshell with the following specs:

366MHz
576MB RAM
ATI Rage 128
10GB HD

As the RAM is maxed out I am looking to expand my hard drive. 30GB would be ample but I have no idea what is compatible? Will any old laptop hard drive fit? I want one which will speed up performance slightly maybe?

Thanks.

[rach]

I sold my Clamshell today the specs of it was 466mhz key lime, 576ram, 60 HD 5,400RPM, Airport, DVD-ROM, CD-RW and install disks 9.1/10.3.9 it had a good battery and the TV out leads and a few other extras as well. I got £415/$800 for it i didn't sell it through ebay but through a local listing which meant that i had no paypal or ebay fees to pay. I did pretty well with what i got for it. I needed to sell it because i bought a TV last week and i wanted the money to cover it.
I have seen a 466mhz Key lime that had 10 HD, 192 ram and dead battery with Airport go in the UK on Ebay for £325 but they were lucky to get that as they don't normally sell that well with those basic specs.

I must admit that i do quite like those Ego laptops the mirrors on it are a bit OTT maybe but i wouldn't mind owing one but the price is a rip of. They retail for £2,750 in the UK and $5,000 in the US. https://www.wi5.com/detail.asp/sku=EGO

If they could bring the price down a bit then that would be good. If they did i would consider buying one and make Windows OS look like Mac OSX it is possible these days if you download some software that does this of the net.

I still have 2 other Mac laptops to use right now but i will soon be down to one as i am selling one of those as well.

[mBurns]

Rach,

Good luck with your other macs. Do you think you'd buy another clamshell in the future? Based on american prices, selling your clamshell for approx. $800 was a great deal for you! I also sold my Key Lime clamshell via Craigslist to a guy looking to buy an extra for himself.

[rach]

Thanks, i doubt it whether i would buy an Apple Clamshell again but you never know. I do think that they are getting on a bit in age and whilst they are perfectly fine for everyday tasks or as a main laptop for some people or even as a second laptop i think that if i wanted a 2nd laptop now that i may want something a little newer.
I do also have a feeling as well that the Clamshell's may have reached their peak resale value wise. If the higher end Clamshell's will not be able to run Leopard ok then the price may well start to drop.
I bought my Clamshell mainly because i liked the design of them and because i needed a second laptop. Right now i don't need a second laptop and i have had the pleasure of using one to appreciate what they are and look like.

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Rach,

Good luck with your other macs. Do you think you'd buy another clamshell in the future? Based on american prices, selling your clamshell for approx. $800 was a great deal for you! I also sold my Key Lime clamshell via Craigslist to a guy looking to buy an extra for himself.