Hi All,

I followed the iFixit guide to upgrade the hard drive in my 12" 800 mHz G4 iBook (http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iBook-G4-12-Inch-800-MHz-1-2-GHz-Hard-Drive-Replacement/166/1). Felt pretty confident about having followed instructions to the letter (no guessing about replacing screws, no forcing to close it back up, etc.).

When I rebooted, optical drive and hard drive seemed to be making all the rights sounds, but nothing came up on the screen. The new HD needed to be formatted and the OS installed, but I expected to see some sort of prompt. Am I right about that, or did I need to start with an OS install DVD in the optical drive? I don't believe there was any step in the upgrade process where I was messing with the display connector. Any ideas?

Next try was to reboot with the OS install DVD in the optical drive. But I was physically unable to insert the disc into the slot. The center area had an obstruction, although the sides seemed clear. The optical drive was empty when I started the disassembly. I think the center spindle, head or whatever it is called may be locked as if there were a disc inserted. Does that sound right, or might the whole mechanism not be fitted properly from the reassembly? I didn't need to remove the optical drive to do the HD replacement, and don't recall that any screws I removed/replaced were holding the optical drive. Also don't recall disconnecting it as part of the instructions. Any ideas?

Thanks for any advice (besides not trying to do this at home or letting a certified Mac tech do the job next time ;-)).

Joe

[quote|jbehaylo]Hi All, I followed the iFixit guide to upgrade the hard drive in my 12" 800 mHz G4 iBook (http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iBook-G4-12-Inch-800-MHz-1-2-GHz-Hard-Drive-Replacement/166/1). Felt pretty confident about having followed instructions to the letter (no guessing about replacing screws, no forcing to close it back up, etc.). When I rebooted, optical drive and hard drive seemed to be making all the rights sounds, but nothing came up on the screen. The new HD needed to be formatted and the OS installed, but I expected to see some sort of prompt. Am I right about that, or did I need to start with an OS install DVD in the optical drive? I don't believe there was any step in the upgrade process where I was messing with the display connector. Any ideas? Next try was to reboot with the OS install DVD in the optical drive. But I was physically unable to insert the disc into the slot. The center area had an obstruction, although the sides seemed clear. The optical drive was empty when I started the disassembly. I think the center spindle, head or whatever it is called may be locked as if there were a disc inserted. Does that sound right, or might the whole mechanism not be fitted properly from the reassembly? I didn't need to remove the optical drive to do the HD replacement, and don't recall that any screws I removed/replaced were holding the optical drive. Also don't recall disconnecting it as part of the instructions. Any ideas? Thanks for any advice (besides not trying to do this at home or letting a certified Mac tech do the job next time ;-)). Joe[/quote]