[Fijibuni4]

I just got a Clamshell iBook Lime 366 MHz and it makes a constant noise and with some gurgaling noises, is this normal?????? I have never owned an older computer from what i heard its normal but does anyone elses make noise all the time?

[shifuimam]

Depends. It could be the CD-ROM, if you're trying to read any discs. The drive that came with my 300MHz tangerine model was unbelievably loud.

The hard drive may be going, as well. iBooks use a fanless design, and the only moving parts in the entire machine are the hard drive and the optical drive. Replacing either component is possible, but tedious. It takes about an hour from start to finish to dismantle the computer to replace the hard drive and then reassemble the computer.

If you think you'd like to replace either component, check out the clamshell mod thread in my sig. It's really pretty easy to upgrade the optical drive to a combo or superdrive (and, no, you don't have to get a slot-loading one)...there's a freeware patch available to enable disc burning in OS X on a non-Apple drive. I'm going to guess your laptop has the 10GB drive, so you can always consider upgrading to a larger drive.

[Fijibuni4]

Thanks, its the actual computer, the cd drive makes noise but thats normal its the actual computer having a constant sound. Does anyone else have this problem?

[gooser]

my old hard drive "chatters" a bit when starting up. other than that it's silent.

[All_Insane]

Mine's quiet, if I recall correctly (haven't used it in a while). Except for the CD drive, which purrs.

Make sure you're backed up in case your HD is on the verge of crapping out.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Fijibuni4 

Thanks, its the actual computer, the cd drive makes noise but thats normal its the actual computer having a constant sound. Does anyone else have this problem?

Then I'm going to vote that it's the hard drive. If you KNOW it's not the CD drive, the only other component in that computer that would make a constant sound is the hard drive. Nothing else moves or is even capable of making a constant noise.

Now, if it's a crackly or buzzy noise, then I suppose that could be a bad power connection somewhere on the boad.

[DmbShn41]

Hey there,

I got a 366 Graphite with the sound you're describing. Its the HD. Kind of like a buzzing whirling sound. My HD chatters on start up too, much like the old Apple II (...) I've had mine since Sept 06, and its not crapped yet. I'm seriously debating on a new HD really soon. ANyone with a suggestion? I put a 100 GB in a 300 Blueberry for my brother, and theyre not that bad. But for mine I don't want a large size drive, being as I use multiple 250GB external drives for backup, music, and file storage so I can easily take them on the go. What Hitachi's? Toshiba's? Any good? As far as your HD, I would consider replacing farily soon...Go to memorytogo.com or Crucial.com for some good prices.

[shifuimam]

I would recommend getting a new hard drive, DmbShn41 - the sooner the better if you have important data on there.

As far as drives go:

It depends on how much you want to spend (not to state the obvious or anything... ).

I believe that the 9.5mm drives (I think it's a less common size, at any rate) are too thick for the iBook's casing, so stick with the 2.5" standard-size laptop drives. Buy from NewEgg or ZipZoomFly or check PriceGrabber. Whatever you do, don't buy in an actual local store. They generally cost a lot more going that route.

Brands: Avoid Hitachi at all costs. Most laptop manufacturers - including Apple - use Hitachi in many of their products because they cost the least to purchase in mass quantities. They are also the most unreliable drives you can buy. Maxtor and Western Digital are so-so, but they recently dropped their standard three-year warranty to a one-year.

Toshiba drives are better - that's what I've used in my own laptops - and come with a three-year warranty. Seagate, however, is the absolute best you can get IMO, but they sometimes cost a little more. They come with a five-year warranty and are extremely reliable.

The warranty is important in a hard drive. If your drive craps or shows signs of crapping, you can generally get an advance RMA replacement drive. The way it usually works is that the drive manufacturer will take your credit card information over the phone and send you a new drive. You have a certain amount of time - 10 days or so - to return the defective drive. If you don't, they charge you an insane amount (I RMAed a 40GB drive around two years ago, and Toshiba's MSRP on it was $250, compared to the $75 I spent on the drive) on your credit card. If you do mail it back - they provide the prepaid shipping labels, IIRC - no harm, no foul.

I'd recommend getting the biggest drive you can afford - you never know when you're going to need it, and if you want to upgrade again later, you already know what a PITA it is to put a hard drive in one of these laptops.

[edit]
I should add that you can also look on eBay and get some pretty good prices - just make sure that the serial number of the drive still shows up as having a valid warranty (you can check at the hard drive manufacturer's website) - a lot of times, people will sell OEM drives pulled from laptops, and those don't come with the standard warranty that you get on a separate retail-box drive.

[accozzaglia]

OK. My 2¢ here would include the following:

Fujitsu. Just don't. The 9-month-old Fujitsu 40GB 5400rpm drive I installed in my indigo clamshell failed at perhaps the humanly worst moment possible. Its failure doesn't render the data lost forever, but it means I have to fork over a cool 10 C-notes for a drive recovery team to surgically take it apart in an inert argon chamber and move the platters to another drive casing. Damn Fujitsu.

Its replacement was Toshiba, also 40GB 5400RPM. I have experienced no trouble at all.

Maxtor scares me to death, though post-Seagate, who knows? Post-Quantum, they didn't exactly improve.

WD Caviar series (not the laptop Scorpio) for external enclosures and IDE internal bays have been solidly reliable for me. WD Scorpio drives are average, I'm told, and not one of their biggest sellers.

Hitachi have a chequered past, but since taking over the IBM storage device series, the quality has improved somewhat.

Best bet for the clamshell, without spending a ton? I'd say the Toshiba 40GB (or these days, the 60GB). If you're in the U.S., pick through pricewatch.com for the best posted prices. My Toshiba doesn't get as hot as the Fujitsu did, and it's adequately faster than the 10GB OEM 4200rpm drive which came with Rev. C clamshells.

For no internal fan in clamshells, less heat produced is less heat to disperse.

[megasad]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I believe that the 9.5mm drives (I think it's a less common size, at any rate) are too thick for the iBook's casing, so stick with the 2.5" standard-size laptop drives.

I've not much to add, just to clear up for anyone who doesn't know that the 2.5" refers to the diameter of the platters inside of the hard drive. All laptop hard drives will be referenced in this size (well, unless you get something crazy tiny that uses iPod like 1.8" drives...)

As for 9.5mm, that refers to the vertical height of the whole hard drive... box... thing. There are 12.5mm ones out there that will definitely not fit in any Mac laptop since the first PowerBook G4 in 2001. There used to be 17mm drives that were in the Wallstreet PowerBook G3s but I don't think that's an issue here...

So, 9.5mm is the standard size and should fit in any modern laptop, including the iBook. I don't know of any 2.5" hard drives that are thinner.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by megasad 

I've not much to add, just to clear up for anyone who doesn't know that the 2.5" refers to the diameter of the platters inside of the hard drive. All laptop hard drives will be referenced in this size (well, unless you get something crazy tiny that uses iPod like 1.8" drives...)

As for 9.5mm, that refers to the vertical height of the whole hard drive... box... thing. There are 12.5mm ones out there that will definitely not fit in any Mac laptop since the first PowerBook G4 in 2001. There used to be 17mm drives that were in the Wallstreet PowerBook G3s but I don't think that's an issue here...

So, 9.5mm is the standard size and should fit in any modern laptop, including the iBook. I don't know of any 2.5" hard drives that are thinner.

Ah, snap. Thanks for the clarification.

Is is indeed the 12.5mm drives that cause a noticeable bulge in the casing/keyboard; a 9.5mm drive should be just fine.

As a side note, speed of a drive does matter. iBooks were fitted with 4200rpm drives (I don't even know if a faster drive existed back then in a financially feasible form). I have heard of people putting a 7200rpm drive in a clamshell, and the extra heat was a non-issue. If you're concerned, use a 5400rpm dirve. It will make a difference in how fast applications load and how fast the OS boots.