PB FixIt Rules
I’ve been working on an iMovie of my trip to Ireland and concluded that my PowerBook (17″ 1.33GHz 1GB RAM) is too slow. Interestingly, when I boot from a 7200rpm Firewire drive, my system is much faster. This has led me to covet a 7200rpm laptop drive to replace the anemic 4200rpm 80GB drive that came with the PowerBook. I was debating the value of the upgrade versus voiding my AppleCare warranty, on which I have 10 months left, but decided that I could always swap the disk back if needed for warranty work.
Having decided to take the plunge, I needed to pick a hard drive and learn how to install it. Enter PB FixIt. This site is fantastic. They have walk-throughs for all of the common maintenance and upgrades for all PowerBook and iBook models, including a list of the tools required before getting started. Even better: if you’re like me and don’t know a Spudger from a T6 Torx Screwdriver, they let you purchase the tools directly from them! It was so convenient, I went ahead and ordered the three tools I’d need for the job. They arrived just two days later.
I poked around a picked out the Hitachi TravelStar 7K100 (which was just reviewed in a notebook drive round-up) as my new hard drive. I also ordered a MacAlly 2.5″ external case to house the 80GB drive I’ll be taking out of my laptop. When those arrive, I will walk through the procedure and let you know how it all turns out.
