switched at last! but need some advice...

Hi everyone,

I finally got round to switching my IBM Thinkpad notebook for a lovely G3 600mhz iBook, with 640mb RAM, a 28gb HDD and Panther. The only problem is, the DVD drive on it doesn't work; it got broken...

It's a Mat****a something or other (my iBook's at home, and I'm at work), and I can only eject once from a cold start, then it simply refuses to eject. It also doesn't read any media.

Anyway, my question is, can I update it with any notebook optical drive, or does it have to be a specific one? I've searched google and to be honest, I'm still pretty vague on it

If i can just fit any, that'll be great - I can probably pick one up cheap. If I have to get a specific one, that'll probably be harder and more costly...

Any help would be very much appreciated. Glad I finally made the switch!

Don't you just love how the board filters Matsh1ta - it's Japanese not foul language

Unfortunately all notebook optical drives tend to be different. Especially with Apple...

Maybe look for the exact model on ebay?

I bet it would probably cost quite a bit too, you may be better off just getting an external one to be honest, after all, you can't expect to use that system forever so you could put the extra money you save on to getting an up to date Mac like the Mini.

Drive: http://www.pbfixit.com/cart/catalog/category_78_Optical_Drives_iBook_G3_page_1.html
or http://www.powerbookmedic.com/White-iBook-G3-Dual-USB-p-1-c-369.html or check eBay.

Howto: http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/50.15.0.html

thanks guys, i'm going to have a look at it tonight (with my technically proficient brother!) and see if we can fix it

if not, i'll just buy a replacement; i know it'll be costly but i don't really want an external drive as i want to keep it as portable as possible (i'll be using it for music mainly, including playing live).

Thanks again for all your advice and making me feel welcome in the wonderful world of Mac!

a little bit of searching and it turns out that the DVD drive in my iBook - a matsh1ta DVD-ROM SR-8176 - is exactly the same as the one in my old Thinkpad laptop! this is fantastic news, as they're really easy to get hold of, should I not be able to fix the one that's in there now. They're cheap too!

Hurrah, life is good

You are very lucky. That is great news. I'd rip the drive out of the thinkpad and pop it in the iBook, lol.

well, i've had my iBook a few days now... and all I can say is 'wow'. I'm so glad I made the switch, I can't get over how good it is! My poor PC desktop hasn't had a look in

As well as switching to a mac, I've switched from Cubase SX to Logic Express (I'm a musician, you see). Apart from some initial difficulties in working out how to use it - I'm one of those people who uses a manual as a last resort - I've found it absolutely brilliant. I'm quite impressed that it runs on my G3 600mhz, and even though I've been using software instruments, it's not fallen over once. I can't get over how good it is... this is going to give my music making a new lease of life! Can't wait till I fix the DVD drive. Once I get paid, I think I'm going to purchase an M-Audio Ozone, a USB mouse, and a nice firewire DVD writer. Hurrah for Apple, and hurrah for this forum!

I am now a happy man