I used to do a lot of hardware repairs. I knew the Wallstreet Powerbook inside and out and could do a logic board swap (or sound card/power plug replacment; very common in that model) with my eyes closed. For awhile, I was taking apart the Titaniums, but then my job changed and I began focusing more on the software side of things. Around this time, Apple shipped the first of the white dual-USB iBooks. I'd taken apart pretty much every thing else Apple had shipped for the last five years without many problems, so I readily agreed to help an acquaintance upgrade the 10GB HD in his iBook to a 20GB HD. How hard could it be, right? I couldn't have been more surprised at how significantly more complex was the take-apart for the dual-USB iBooks. Even with the official Apple take-apart manual (available to certified Apple hardware techs working for ASAP's), it still took me about six hours to do the job. Suffice it to say, the dual-USB iBook is a tough repair. Lots and lots of screws, complex wire routing, and a high propensity for damage to components unless you're very careful. To this day, I refuse to upgrade a white dual-USB iBook. Most people who want an upgrade or repair aren't willing to pay me adequately for the time it'd take to do the job properly and professionally. Nor am I willing to revisit that headache. I'm more than happy to allow somone else with more patience than I to do the upgrades and repairs on these units.Which leads me to what I found earlier today. A
Very well done. This one is definitely getting printed and filed in my hardware tech file.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-16-2005 @ 10:43AM
Chris said...
While I'm not doubting the quality of his break down, I have used PBFIXIT.COM for all my repair guide needs. With this guide I was able to swap out a faulty HDD in about 3 hours. Take a look, it is well worth it.
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11-16-2005 @ 10:56AM
matt said...
Um, you're a Mac tech and you didn't know about how hard it is to disassemble the dual-usb iBook? I am surprised you didn't mention www.pbfixit.com 's complete tear-down and rebuild instructions - complete with handy screw guide.
I guess its a good thing you are passing on fixing other people's iBook. I wouldn't want some tech just jumping in and tearing things apart just because he knows the "WallStreet" model...WallStreet??? Isn't that from like 5 years ago. Maybe its time to brush up on some current models...like say, maybe the iBook line.
I am no ASAP certified mac tech, but I have taken apart two dual-usb iBooks to replace faulty logic boards. I did both in under 3 hours with no trouble whatsoever, so I guess that doesn't give me much faith in the average weblogging mac techs out there.
Not to sound like an ass, or anything...just say'in.
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11-16-2005 @ 11:03AM
C.K. Sample, III said...
"Not to sound like an ass, or anything...just say'in."
Too late!
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11-16-2005 @ 11:06AM
Damien Barrett said...
Matt, did you bother to read the article?
Or did you skip past the part where I talked about taking apart the white dual-USB iBook having jsut been released, and therefore, it was my first experience with the model.
"Around this time, Apple shipped the first of the white dual-USB iBooks. I'd taken apart pretty much every thing else Apple had shipped for the last five years without many problems, so I readily agreed to help an acquaintance upgrade the 10GB HD in his iBook to a 20GB HD."
PBFixit.com's take-apart didn't exist when I was doing this upgrade, in late 2001.
I guess it's easier to send rude and snarky comments instead of actually comprehending the article. I don't want to sound like an ass or anything...just saying...
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11-16-2005 @ 11:27AM
Brian said...
[applauds] Love to hear/see a jerk be put in his place. I only wish I had the liberty in my job to tell people what I really think of their rude electronic rampages which really just end of making them look and sound stupid .
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11-16-2005 @ 11:58AM
anna Vinding said...
I used pbfixit's guide when I installed an 80 GB drive in my G3 dual-USB ibook (replacing the stock 20 GB drive). With the 30- or 40-something screws (of different sizes and types), the experience was quite harrowing. I used double-sided tape to tape the screws to the guide printout as I went along, making it a little easier when I had to put everything back together.
Still, it was the worst 3 hours of my life, and I never ever want to do that again. I was just relieved that I didn't have any leftover hardware when I was done. It's great that I (and my ibook) survived the experience, but next time I need to open up one of those white ibooks, I'm hiring a tech.
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11-16-2005 @ 1:21PM
Sonyc said...
Andre Sterpin, from Belgium, who owns the website you just linked, is someone very active in the french Mac community. Lots of his new tutorials are linked in french Mac news sites and he is present almost every year at Apple Expo in Paris where he can fix number of hardware problemes and make some new articles. At last Apple Expo, he committed this one on an PowerBook of another french Mac news team guy. How to clean air ventilation inside a PowerBook at the Apple Expo bar.
http://www.sterpin.net/RadiateurAlu12Pouces.htm (only in french sorry)
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11-16-2005 @ 1:43PM
Damien Barrett said...
Ok, he's not British, but Belgian. I had assumed he was British because the site URL has "UK" in there. No offense intended.
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11-16-2005 @ 6:42PM
Hugh said...
And I think you'll find that this guy isn't British, but Belgian. So that would be " 'arry le ceramiste" or similar.....
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11-16-2005 @ 7:11PM
Andr?terpin said...
Thank's for the link!
I'm Belgian, and it is "uk" in the url because the version without "uk" is in my mother tong, so in French!
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11-16-2005 @ 7:53PM
anthony said...
Nicely documented tear down :) How the heck did that wire get so pinched??
I have to wonder though - I have a first gen 12" iBook and recently upgraded the HD while using the PBFIXIT instructions and it took me less than an hour. Are you guys watching TV while you're doing the swap?
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11-16-2005 @ 11:11PM
Kate said...
I've used these instructions to pull my DVD drive apart and get it replaced--took 2-3 hours, total, and only because my boyfriend was brilliant and said, "yeah, I plugged the drive back in." Still lost a couple screws in the process, even with the chart drawn out.
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