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Replacing a clamshell ibook's internal hard disk (light version)

As usual, I cannot be responsible for any damage to your machines when you will experiment the following tutorial.

1)

First of all, remove the power plug. Now removing the battery.

-> turn the two wedges.

2)

-> remove the cover, grasp the little plastic piece and take the battery away of its housing.

3)

We open the CD tray by pushing onto the small button, just near the commonly used "big" one.

4)

The CD tray is opening...

5)

... now showing a cruciform screw we have to remove.

6)

We upturn the machine to remove the 4 Torx screws.

7)

They are all the same and we can see the traces of the blue glue.

When we will put back these screws, we will put on them a little bit of Loctite glue or some varnish: this will impede them to fall away.

8)

We can next remove (yellow arrows) the long Torx screws (blue arrow) on the handle side.

9)

We can now upturn the iBook again and remove the keyboard:

1) the yellow arrows show the classical latches.
2) the blue one points to the bolt: only unlock this bolt if the keyboard cannot be removed through its latches.

10)

We upturn the keyboard on the hand rest. Be carefull to the ribbon: we will only remove it when the Airport card (if any) as well the plate which protect the RAM boards will be both removed.

11)

As indicated on the right: we removed the Airport card after having unhook the cable and the clamping spring.

12)

1) The yellow arrows show the screws which fix the RAM cover plate.
2) The white one shows the keyboard's ribbon.
3) the blue one the opening, the which this ribbon passes through.

13)

Unplug the keyboard ribbon..and, if necessary the trackpad's ribbon on the right...

14)

The yellow arrows show the screws to be removed for removing the upper cover.

The blue ones point to connectors which has to be smoothly unplugged.

15)

Screws are out, double cable of the top unhook. Now, we have to remove the trackpad's ribbon.

16)

The blue arrow shows the keyboard's connector, the yellow one the trackpad's ribbon.

17)

Now we can unhook the top cover...

18)

... apparently, a difficult operation...

19)

... but if we step-by-step unhook it while following the cover edge, we finally free the whole shell...

20)

... and there is it !

21)

Removing the CD (or DVD) drive.

a) remove the first nut (yellow arrow).

22)

b) unhook the whole craddle (two lugs near each other).

23)

Open the tray...

24)

Unplug the drive's ribbon (yellow arrow). The blue arrow points to the side frow which we have to extract the drive (or put it back).

Extract it by slightly raising it from the lugs side.

25)

Less and less unhook pieces... but no hard disk!?!

Here it comes...

26)

Remove these two screws...

27)

... then the two ones which calmp the armoring: the yellow arrow points to a big one, the blue arrow one "standard" screw!

28)

Just one left to remove the armoring (yellow arrow).

The white arrow shows the starting switch, the blue one the reset switch.

29)

The big screws clamping the armoring.

30)

Now removing the modem connector.

31)

Unwrap the armoring by its two corners (yellow and blue arrows).

32)

A small high-tech area ;-)

33)

The yellow arrows show the screws which fix the modem's connector, the blue one the sticker to be removed.

34)

To extract the RJ-11 connector without damaging it, just move apart the iBook's shell in the yellow arrow direction.

35)

Unstick the cable.

36)

Now, unplug the video cables connector (yellow arrow).

The blue arrow points to the removed sticker.

37)

The yellow arrow clearly show that the modem is NOT integrated to the motherboard...despite some technicians infer from ;-)

We have to remove the screw as shown on the black plastic piece.

38)

Finally, we can remove the RJ-11 connector and the modem itself.

39)

On this picture, we can see that the little pieces which firmly lock the RJ-11 are still there (blue arrows)

40)

We can remove the cooling piece (blue arrow): 3 screws.

The yellow arrow shows the modem's connector.

41)

Astonishing cooling unit indeed: the processors (yellow arrows) are only isolated by a king of "sticking foam" (blue arrows).

42)

We unplug the other screen cable.

43)

This big screw fix the right hinge in place.

44)

Same operation for the left hinge.

45)

We remove the sticker which clamp the Airport antenna.

46)

One more screw on the axis which maintain the video cable and the whole screen can be detached.

The two blue arrows point to the small lugs we will to carefully put in place when we will rebuild the whole machine.

47)

We remove the two cruciform screws (yellow arrows) and the screw located in a small area next to the cable which connect the loudspeaker.

48)

We unhook the other end of the video cable.

49)

And only now, the metallic armoring can be removed...

50)

Finally, we see the hard drive !

51)

It is locked on a metallic craddle clamped onto the ibook's cover by 3 screws.

52)

These 3 screws are the same..which is not the case of the screws which fixed the motherboard.

53)

We can remove the hard disk...

54)

..and unplug the connector from the IDE drive itself.

55)

The 9.5 mm thick drive (try with a bigger one in such a machine!) lays down onto bases pointed by the yellow arrows.

56)

Who believes the number of screws inside an clamshel ibook? ;-)

57)

... and the different tools required to dissamble/re-assemble it?

58)

As usual, follow the instructions above in a reverse order to re-assemble the machine. Be carefull:

1) to place the armoring under the palstic shield (yellow arrow).

59)

2) and to slide the screw (yellow arrow) under the ibook's ledge.

One can also read my famous "how to reweld an G3 ibook clamshell RJ-11 connector" (only in french now).

Or, from the same author: "how to reweld an G3 ibook clamshell USB connector" (only in french now).

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