First things first, the OS?

I have an old iBook in front of me. The hard drive is dead. I have no disks. I only have the model# from the bottom cover. The model# from the bottom says M8413 14" iBook. What do I need to do to get this running? I can buy a new hard drive but what and how do I get an OS? Do I call Apple? What info about this laptop will they need?. That's all I got can you help?

Thanks

These (Lookup Mac Specs By Serial Number, Order, Model & EMC Number, Model ID @ EveryMac.com) are the specs for your iBook. Being a PowerPC-based Mac, you can install OS X Leopard on it, but depending on the amount of RAM not sure how well it will perform.

Additionally, finding the Leopard installation discs can be quite tricky..

I believe you have this iBook.

iBook G3/600 14-Inch (Early 2002 - Tr) Specs (14.1 LCD/Early 2002, M7701LL/A, PowerBook4,2, M8413, N/A) @ EveryMac.com

Newest OS that will install is OSX 10.4 Tiger. You would have to find a Full Retail 10.4 on Ebay as that OSX is very old now.

10.5 Leopard needs an 867Mhz G4 to run and that machine is a 600Mhz G3.

Also be sure that iBook has a DVD drive. Most Tiger retails were a DVD but a CD version can be found.

You'll need a IDE 2.5in HDD, and a Tiger Retail disk. You should be able to get the hard drive from any electronics/computer parts store. The Tiger disk you'll have to resort to eBay or something like Craigslist as they aren't produced anymore.

Wow, 3 of us are on top of things.

Raz0rEdge said:

These (Lookup Mac Specs By Serial Number, Order, Model & EMC Number, Model ID @ EveryMac.com) are the specs for your iBook. Being a PowerPC-based Mac, you can install OS X Leopard on it, but depending on the amount of RAM not sure how well it will perform.

Additionally, finding the Leopard installation discs can be quite tricky..

Click to expand...

Razor, it says it's a G3 600. Leopard will not install on that CPU.

Also another note, URL says it's a Combo drive, so it should play DVD's and burn CD's, so it will work with a Tiger DVD.

dtravis7 said:

Razor, it says it's a G3 600. Leopard will not install on that CPU.

Also another note, URL says it's a Combo drive, so it should play DVD's and burn CD's, so it will work with a Tiger DVD.

Click to expand...

Dennis, you're right..forgot about the minimum CPU requirements..I have to imagine that a Tiger install CD is a lot more harder to find than Leopard is too..

Thanks to all for replying and to a few of you that mentioned the Mac Specs, Prices, Answers & Comparison @ EveryMac.com, Est. 1996 link. I found that to have a lot of good info and printed it out. As far as getting a Tiger disk from ebay I think i read somewhere to NOT try that because it will probably be fake. So where are you suppose to get an old copy of Tiger and if i get used can I register it? I don't even know if I am suppose to register it. I know if it was windows I would. I know zero about this Apple.

Can someone give me a comparison of where Tiger and my G3 600 Mhz lies in comparison to a Windows machine. For example if you say my G3 can be compared to a Win 98/ Pentium 2 or whatever, I might better understand where I'm at.

How much should I expect to pay for a copy of Tiger,,,if i find one? Where do i begin to look for a legal copy and can i legally install a used copy on my laptop?

I see the sticky says $80 do you agree?

Yes about $80 and auction sites alas are about the only place you will find a copy. Have a look through the for sale section of this forum, or maybe post a wanted thread.

The thing on Ebay or anywhere to watch for is: A Black Tiger DVD and not a Gray. The Black DVD's are the full retails and will work on any machine.

Also read the description for Full Retail. Also check the users feedback.

If I do score a black tiger does it come with a serial number or does the laptop have it on it somewhere. I know how Windows OS serial numbers work but never did a mac before.

OSX does not use a Serial or a Key. That is why I am so adamant about people paying for it so we can keep it that way and not upset apple! Makes reinstalling so much easier!

Right i understand. Obviously this iBook had a legal version at one time but must have been misplaced.

skulldrinker said:

Right i understand. Obviously this iBook had a legal version at one time but must have been misplaced.

Click to expand...

That machine probably came with 10.2 Jaguar as it's a G3. Just a guess.