Put the iBook on a smooth and clean surface, the operation requires:
√ Torx #8 screwdriver, Philips medium screwdriver
√ Small (both philips and regular) screwdrivers
√ A very big screwdriver, in order to open the shell

This guide is related to 12" iBooks, 14" iBooks are slightly different.

Put the iBook face down

Remove the battery

Remove rubber feet

By using a small screwdriver remove the 3 rubber feet, below feet there are screws.

Here are the screws below rubber feet

Remove screws below rubber feet

Using a medium sized philips screwdriver remove the 3 screws, together with their metallic retainer.

Unlock the keyboard

Turn the iBook face up, open it and pick up the keyboard.

Remove Airport spring

Unplug and remove Airport card (newer iBook models don’t have a separated Airport card).
When closing the iBook and re-connecting the Airport card be very carefull, and hold down the antemna connector on its top.

Remove AirPort bay

Airport bay is locked down by four small screws (orange in the picture), remove them.

Unplug additional RAM, if any

Touch some mettallic part of iBook, then remove the RAM additional SO-DIMM module. It’s locked on the sides with two small hooks.

The magnetic trap

In the middle of the high portion of keyboard bay there is a small metallic disk. It’s magnetic, and a screw is cloacked below it…

Remove the magnetic disc

By using some big metallic tool (very bigger than the head of the screw), take away the magnetic protection.

Remove keyboard connector

Act on its sides with a small screwdriver. Be very carefull, don’t damnage wires or te connector itself.

Remove screws in keyboard bay

Screws to be removed (left side) are highlighted in orange.

Remove screws in keyboard bay

Screws to be removed (right side) are highlighted in orange.

Remove bottom Torx screws

Turn the iBook face down, use a #8 Torx screwdriver and remove the screws that lock the shell lower panel.

Remove bottom Torx screws

Torx screws to be removed are highlighted in orange.

Remove the screws on the sides of the battery connector

Remove the screws holding down battery bay

Let’s start opening the bottom portion of the shell

Bottom panel of the shell is locked by small plastic hooks. By using a large tool (the bet tools are nylon ones) start with the separation of the bottom portion of iBook shell.

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Unlock the plastic hook in battery bay

A small plastic hook locks down the bottom panel, open it by using two scredrivers (see the picture).

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Go ahead opening the bottom panel of the shell

Complete opening the bottom panel of the shell

Now the panel has been freed.

How to handle removed screws

The most common storage way in complex operation is to store screws and parts in schemas shaped like their original position, one schema per plan.

Turn the iBook face up

Turn the iBook face up, and open its cover carefully.

Pick up the upper panel, just a bit and carefully

We won’t remove now the panel, as it is locked by 3 cables.

The audio cable

Audio cable is locked to the chassis with an adhesive strip, the we are going to reuse later.

Free the panel on the side of power connector

Sightly free the audio cable, without stretching wires

Slide the panel, don’t force

Unplug power and audio connectors

WARNING: on some G4 12" 1.33GHz iBooks the power switch connector socket has been soldered on the motherboard very weakly.

Be very careful while removing it, and consider the idea to keep it plugged during the entire operation if you are working on a G4 12" 1.33GHz.
In case the connector socket gets unsoldered it will be very hard and complex to fix it, quite more complex than the entire hard drive replacement.

The power switch connector

Be sure that adhesive strip on audio cable remains attached to the cable itself

The iBook is almost naked

Very very carefully, unplug audio connector

The upper panel should be free, now

The trackpad connector

This connector locks the upper panel to the iBook, too.
On several iBook models it’s so simple to unplug it that you don’t really need to take care of it. In any case don’t forget this connector, especially when closing back the iBook!

Remove shield screws

In orange are highlighted the 14 screws to be removed.

Remove shield screws

Remember to store screws in a kind of “map”, in order to be able to distinguish between them when you’ll close the iBook.

Free side connectors block

The metallic shield is locked below the plastic bay of side connectors.

Metallic shield is almost free

Remove the stand-by magnet

It’s on the right side, locked with an adhesive strip.

Remove the metallic shield

You can see the hard drive, now

Remove the metallic bar located over the drive

Pick up and slide the drive, in order to remove it

Remove hard drive connector

4 Torx screws are used to keep the drive in place, we are going to reuse them

Upper shield screws schema

Upper panel screws schema

© and credits

All material used is orginal and specifically produced for faqintosh.com - Credits:

⌘ Marco Balestra (operator, author)

⌘ Fabio Cipparone (pictures)

⌘ magma (iBook owner)

In case of translation errors, please notify them to info (at) faqintosh.com