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PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement

What you need

  1. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, Battery: step 1, image 1 of 1
    • Use a coin to turn the battery locking screw 90 degrees to the right.

    • Lift the battery out of the computer.

  2. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, EMI Finger: step 2, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the four Phillips screws from the memory door.

    • Slide the memory door away from the memory compartment.

  3. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the long black Phillips screw next to the memory card.

    • Remove the small EMI finger beneath the black screw.

  4. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, Keyboard: step 4, image 1 of 1
    • On the keyboard, remove the F1, F2, F11, and F12 keys.

    • This is scary - take a deep breath before continuing. Place your index finger under the upper left corner of the key and lift up until you hear a click. Then, transfer your finger to the left edge of the key and lift up to pull the key off.

    • You're freeing the two tabs on the left of the key from the two small holes in the plastic scissors mechanism.

    • When replacing the keys in the keyboard, place the key directly over the slot where it will go and press down until you hear the key click into place.

  5. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 1 of 1
    • Use your fingernail or a small flathead screwdriver to peel up the gray stickers covering each of the screws.

  6. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 6, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two short Phillips screws.

  7. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 7, image 1 of 1
    • Lift the keyboard by the 'esc' and 'eject' keys and gently lift up until the keyboard is vertical.

  8. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 8, image 1 of 1
    • Grasp the keyboard connector ribbon near the connector and disconnect it from the logic board.

  9. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, Upper Case: step 9, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the three 2.5mm Phillips screws from within the battery compartment.

  10. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 10, image 1 of 1
    • Turn the computer 90 degrees clockwise and remove the two Phillips screws from the casing.

    • Outside case screws are aprox. 1/4 in long

  11. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 11, image 1 of 1
    • Turn the computer 90 degrees clockwise again, and remove only the bottom screw on either side of the hinge.

  12. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 12, image 1 of 1
    • Turn the computer 90 degrees clockwise just one more time, and remove the two Phillips screws on the exterior wall of the battery compartment.

    • Note: For reassembly the two screws have long necks.

  13. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 13, image 1 of 1
    • Turn the computer over and open it up.

    • Remove the following 14 screws:

    • Six 2.5 mm Phillips on either side of the keyboard area.

    • Five 4.5 mm Phillips on the left half of the keyboard area.

    • One 7 mm hex in the upper left corner of the upper case (a T6 Torx driver will do the job nicely).

    • One 15 mm Phillips in the upper middle of the keyboard area.

    • One 16.5 mm hex in the upper right of the upper case (again, a T6 Torx driver will work well).

  14. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 14, image 1 of 1
    • This step is extremely tricky, and has the potential to ruin your computer. It is easy to pull the plug with the red and black leads (the power) out of the motherboard. If you do that, it is nearly impossible to fix.

    • Peel up the two pieces of foil tape on the left side of the keyboard area.

    • The connectors at the ends of the cables are attached very firmly to the sockets on the logic board. Pulling directly on the cable will either separate the cable from its connector or the socket from the logic board.

    • Carefully disconnect the microphone and power cables from the logic board. Using your fingernails or a dental pick, carefully pry the connectors from their sockets. Make sure you're pulling only on the connector and not on the socket.

  15. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 1 of 1
    • Starting at one of the upper corners near the screen, work around the frame, separating the upper case from the lower case.

  16. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 16, image 1 of 1
    • Using a screw driver, gently release the two grey plastic clips inside the battery compartment in order to remove the right part of the upper case.

    • There are two more grey plastic clips holding the left part of the upper case. They are not easy to release as they are hidden from view prior to disassembly. They are in the same position as the two in the battery compartment, but on the opposite side of the trackpad. Try to stick a flat pry tool into the clip holes and push the clips inward (toward to screen) so they disengage and release the left part of the upper case.

    • Lift the upper case off the computer.

  17. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 17, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two Phillips screws from the hard drive bracket.

  18. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 18, image 1 of 1
    • Use the orange plastic loop to disconnect the hard drive cable from the logic board.

  19. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 19, image 1 of 1
    • Use the orange cable to pull the hard drive up, then pull it and the hard drive bracket out of the computer.

  20. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 20, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two Phillips screws on the bottom of the hard drive.

  21. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 21, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two Phillips screws and black rubber bumpers from the right side of the hard drive bracket.

    • Lift the metal bracket off of the hard drive.

    • Carefully peel the orange hard drive ribbon up from the bottom of the hard drive.

  22. PowerBook G4 Aluminum 12" 1-1.5 GHz Hard Drive Replacement: step 22, image 1 of 1
    • Disconnect the hard drive cable from the hard drive by applying even pressure on both sides while maintaining a firm grip on the drive itself.

    • This is a bit tricky. Try holding the drive against your body while pushing the cable away from you, or rocking the cable gently from side to side while applying even pressure, or both. If you bend the pins, do your best to straighten them, using the hard drive cable as a guide.

    • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

244 other people completed this guide.

Attached Documents

iRobot

Member since: 09/24/09

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636 Guides authored

14 Comments

I suggest you also have a #0 Phillips screwdriver and a T7 Torx screwdriver

slessard - Reply

I did this. It takes time but you do get there eventually.

A big help for me was to have a square of cardboard(corrugated fiberboard to be precise) the size of the mac next to it as I took out the screws. As I took a screw out I pushed it into the cardboard and made a simple reminder of what layer it came from.

This kept all the screws separate, safe and quick to remember.

Of course I some soft material underneath as well just in case something did slip out.

David Pagan - Reply

To whomever put this guide together, a big thank you. My 14 year old son replaced the drive in his system over the weekend following these steps picture by picture. Also,the idea for using a cardboard template to hold the screws was a wonderful organizer.

Dave Anderson - Reply

Quote from David Pagan:

I did this. It takes time but you do get there eventually.

A big help for me was to have a square of cardboard(corrugated fiberboard to be precise) the size of the mac next to it as I took out the screws. As I took a screw out I pushed it into the cardboard and made a simple reminder of what layer it came from.

This kept all the screws separate, safe and quick to remember.

Of course I some soft material underneath as well just in case something did slip out.

I print out any of the pictures showing a number of screw positions and then stand the screws on their equivalent locations on the picture. Makes steps like 13 really easy when it comes to reassembly.

chris Hands - Reply

What a fantastic guide. I've never done anything like this, other than increasing RAM, but 2 hours later and I've got a new hard disc in place and operating. The added comments help clarify enormously. And the tips to use pots and cardboard press-in's for the screws were invaluable. True to form, stage 16/17 was the hardest bit (a plastic lollipop stick helped me) followed, bizarly, by getting the screws back into the battery compartment - two are still a bit squint, but the battery fitted so no matter. Thanks again ifixit!

joolz - Reply

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