PS. I am trying to avoid spending more dough on the ATA enclosure or OS. I have backed up to another firewire drive and was going to just install the new 320Gb HDD and then format it and load the back up. Will that work? Seems all the info here has formatting and data installation being done before install.

[quote|char]PS. I am trying to avoid spending more dough on the ATA enclosure or OS. I have backed up to another firewire drive and was going to just install the new 320Gb HDD and then format it and load the back up. Will that work? Seems all the info here has formatting and data installation being done before install.[/quote]

You haven't said what your backup is. The other problem is that you have to have something in your iBook for it to run, either a hard drive or CD or something.

I would install the 320 in your firewire drive. Then connect your iBook and make a clone to the FW drive (Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper will do this). Then test the 320 by booting from it when it's in the external enclosure. Then shut down and put the 320 into the iBook and with some luck and perhaps a small sacrifice to Steve J maybe it will run. I've been able to do that in the past. You might need to have the old internal in the FW enclosure just in case you need to boot from it and perhaps run Disk Utility on the internal just to make sure it's working OK. Good luck.

[quote|robgendreau]You haven't said what your backup is. The other problem is that you have to have something in your iBook for it to run, either a hard drive or CD or something. I would install the 320 in your firewire drive. Then connect your iBook and make a clone to the FW drive (Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper will do this). Then test the 320 by booting from it when it's in the external enclosure. Then shut down and put the 320 into the iBook and with some luck and perhaps a small sacrifice to Steve J maybe it will run. I've been able to do that in the past. You might need to have the old internal in the FW enclosure just in case you need to boot from it and perhaps run Disk Utility on the internal just to make sure it's working OK. Good luck.[/quote]

another option, assuming you have enough free space on your macbook pro, or your firewire drive. put the ibook into target disk mode, make a disc image of the ibook's drive with carbon copy cloner, install the new drive, target disk mode the ibook again, format the new ibook drive with the disk utility (remember to set the partition scheme to Apple partition map, not GUID - then restore the disk image to the new ibook drive.

[quote|matthewfrey]another option, assuming you have enough free space on your macbook pro, or your firewire drive. put the ibook into target disk mode, make a disc image of the ibook's drive with carbon copy cloner, install the new drive, target disk mode the ibook again, format the new ibook drive with the disk utility (remember to set the partition scheme to Apple partition map, not GUID - then restore the disk image to the new ibook drive.[/quote]

What is the difference between a clone and my disc Utility backup? Also my external is a USB 520gb so not sure I can use the FireWire option. Can I just make a restore boot disc, boot from it once the new hdd is installed and point to the USB external from DUtility to restore?thought it would be that easy but seems it would be worth spending the loot for leopard and starting fresh?

[quote|char]What is the difference between a clone and my disc Utility backup? Also my external is a USB 520gb so not sure I can use the FireWire option. Can I just make a restore boot disc, boot from it once the new hdd is installed and point to the USB external from DUtility to restore?thought it would be that easy but seems it would be worth spending the loot for leopard and starting fresh?[/quote]

FYI, I just went through the painful task of replacing my iBook G4 (12") HDD. Unfortunately I waited until my drive died, so the backup part wasn't an issue. The guide on this site is quite helpful, but getting the case apart is tough. Take special care of the trackpad and audio cables... I can tell they would be very easy to break.

[quote|vorski]FYI, I just went through the painful task of replacing my iBook G4 (12") HDD. Unfortunately I waited until my drive died, so the backup part wasn't an issue. The guide on this site is quite helpful, but getting the case apart is tough. Take special care of the trackpad and audio cables... I can tell they would be very easy to break.[/quote]

Yes broken G4 connectors are a ''"Known Issue" with DIY repairs.

These need to be "worked" off gently - a note to that effect should probably be added to any G4 DYI case instructions.

N.

[quote|machead3]Yes '''broken G4 connectors are a ''"Known Issue"''' with DIY repairs. These need to be "worked" off gently '''- a note to that effect should probably be added to any G4 DYI case instructions.''' N.[/quote]

You can use a free software like http://www.dmailer.com/dmailer-backup.html , they also have feature to store your files online but from what i see you only need to backup and restore it on a newer hdd.

Give it a try and hope it will solve your problem.

[quote|wineasycom]You can use a free software like http://www.dmailer.com/dmailer-backup.html , they also have feature to store your files online but from what i see you only need to backup and restore it on a newer hdd. Give it a try and hope it will solve your problem.[/quote]

How can I backup my iBook G4 HDD and restore it to a new 320Gb?

[quote|Protea]How can I backup my iBook G4 HDD and restore it to a new 320Gb?[/quote]