History
The iBook G3 was introduced in September 1999, and brought Steve Jobs'
vision for consumer and professional level Macs a step closer. The iBook G3
was designed for the American college market, with its robust perspex case
and carrying handle. The machine joined the iMac in Apple's "i" line up, and
came in colourful "Blueberry" and "Tangerine" shades. The iBook was about
$1000 less expensive than the nearest PowerBook - making it a cheap portable
Mac for the masses. The units are still sought after today, and have become another
Apple icon.
As with all of Apples consumer level "i" series machines they are not very
upgradeable. Only the RAM and the hard drive may be
upgraded. They shipped with Mac OS 8.6 and can run anything up to 10.3.9 (they will not take 10.4 or higher).
|
|
How to Identify these Machines
The G3 iBook Clamshell has a distinctively styled case, and can be distinguished easily from Apple's other portables.
There were two ranges of Clamshells made - this page deals with the first generation of machines, which came in blueberry and tangerine, are translucent, and do not have a FireWire port.
The second generation came in indigo, lime green and graphite, and have a FireWire port.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412 or by email for assistance. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install your upgrades yourself, then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.
Memory Upgrades
The iBook G3 has 1 memory socket available for upgrade. The machine will support up to 288MB or 320MB of RAM
- it has one socket available which will accept up to a 256MB chip, and either 32MB or 64MB soldered onto the logic board.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 3 / 5 - Reasonably easy.
Turn off the machine and remove the power cable and battery.
The hard drive and RAM are
housed below the keyboard. To remove the keyboard release the catches at the top of the keyboard. (between ESC & F1 and
F8 & F9). This reveals the internal parts.
There is a metal protective plate secured with 2 screws. Remove the plate to reveal
the RAM socket. The top socket is easily reached and replaced.
Reassemble your machine and the upgrade is done.
CD & DVD Drive Upgrades
The iBook G3 original came equipped with a CD-ROM drive, loaded by a tray, on the left hand side of the unit.
At present we don't stock internal CD or DVD writers which fit internally to the machine.
It is possible to use an external device
via USB (the iBook G3 original has no FireWire connectivity). Please bear in mind that the slow speed of the USB port means that you will only be able to burn at around 4x speed, whatever the rating of the CD-RW you buy. DVD-RWs will not work with these iBooks.
There are no optical drive upgrades available for these Macs
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Easy (external)
Install any supplied software, connect the drive, and away you go.
Internal Hard Drive Upgrades
This range of drives will work in your iBook G3 Original - Although user installation is advised against
(see below).
If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.
Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.
| 1 | Professional installation recommended. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 5 / 5 - Very Difficult (internal)
The iBook Original's internal hard drive is very difficult to get to, and is not classified by Apple as
a user installable part.
Mac Upgrades can install drives for you, please contact us for details.
You can purchase a drive from us to install yourself.
However Mac Upgrades cannot provide instructions, or support your install.
Graphics Card Upgrades
The graphics card in your iBook G3 Original is part of the main logic board. Unfortunately therefore it is
not possible to increase or change the graphics card. It may be worth expanding your memory to its maximum
to try and compensate, although this will have a limited effect at best on the iBooks's 3D capabilities.
There are no graphics card upgrades available for these Macs
Expansion Card Upgrades
Your iBook Original has no available PCMCIA sockets for connectivity expansion.
There are no expansion cards available for these Macs
Keyboards & Mice
The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy
Keyboards plug into the relevant port on your Mac. Mice can either be plugged into your keyboard, or they can be plugged directly into your Mac.
Power Supplies & Batteries
Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Cables & Tools
Listed below are power cables, tools and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
External Hard Drive Upgrades
Due to the old connectivity, and lack of expandability of these Macs, no external hard drives are available for them.
There are no external hard drive upgrades available for these Macs.
