History
This page covers the Aluminium 15" PowerBook G4. That is all PowerBook G4s with a 15.2" display, a silver keyboard and FireWire 800 ports.
Apple improved on its 15" PowerBook line in September 2003, with faster processor speeds, and
a new logic board including Airport extreme, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 and double data
rate (DDR) memory.
They shipped in either 1.0, 1.25, 1.33. 1.5 or 1.67GHz configurations, with
a Combo or SuperDrive as standard.
Apple changed the case to a more hard
wearing aluminum finish, rather than the titanium of previous machines, and replaced the black keyboard
with a matching aluminum one.
The screen size was stretched to 15.2 inches, giving an 1280 x 854 screen resolution (1440x960 on the last model).
The Aluminum range all shipped with Mac OS 10.3/10.4, and will not run OS 9 (except as
Classic emulation).
The first 15" PowerBook G4 Aluminium was released in September 2005 with 1GHz and 1.25GHz processor speeds, replacing the PowerBook G4 Titanium in the 15" form factor. Apple specs here.
The refresh in April 2004 saw the 15" PowerBook move to 1.33GHz and 1.5GHz processor options and an upgraded graphics card. Apple specs here.
In January 2005 the 15" moved to 1.5GHz and 1.67GHz processors. Apple specs here.
The last revision was released in October 2005. This was a major update, increasing the screen resolution and moving from DDR PC2700 RAM to DDR2 PC4200. This machine came with a 1.67GHz processor. Apple specs here.
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How to Identify these Machines
The G4 Aluminum 15" has a silver keyboard and a 15.2" display. They can be distinguished from the earlier Titanium PowerBook G4 by the fact that
the earlier machine had a black keyboard. The Aluminium 15" also looks similar to the MacBook Pro, and the easiest way to tell the
difference is by opening System Profiler and checking the CPU type - the MacBook Pro has an Intel Core Duo processor, the PowerBook has a PowerPC G4.
There were also 12" and 17" models made - to tell them apart (without measuring), look at the edges of keyboard. If there is no gap then the machine is 12", if there is a 1" gap between the keyboard and the edge then its a 15", if its more like 1.5" then you have a 17" PowerBook.
Apple System Profiler (Apple Menu>About this Mac; click on "More Info") can be used to tell what processor speed you have. Clicking on the PCI/AGP Cards item in Apple System Profiler will also tell you what resolution your PowerBook runs at.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412, or by email for confirmation. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install your upgrades then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.
Memory Upgrades
The PowerBook G4 15" Aluminum has two memory sockets. The machines can accept up to 2GB in RAM in two 1GB chips.
The October 2005 revision of this PowerBook changed from DDR to DDR2 RAM. These PowerBooks can be distinguished by the fact that they are the only PowerBook G4 15" to run in 1440x960 resolution. Clicking on PCI/AGP Cards in Apple System Profiler will tell you what resolution your PowerBook runs at.
| 1 | Only compatible with 1.67GHz 15" PowerBooks running at 1440x960 resolution. |
| 2 | Compatible with 15" PowerBooks with CPUs up to and including 1.5GHz, and the 1.67GHz models that run in 1280x854 resolution. |
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 RAM is accessed via a cover on the bottom of the machine secured by four screws. Remove the holding screws and install the new RAM. Apple's own guide on fitting RAM for these machines can be found here.
CD & DVD Drive Upgrades
All PowerBook G4 Aluminums came equipped with a Combo or SuperDrive.
We sell both internal and external CD/DVD writers for this laptop. We also offer an installation service for the internal parts.
| INSTALL SERVICE - Internal CD/DVD Drive in a PowerBook, MacBook, MacBook Pro or Cube | Stock:  | £29.00 + vat (£34.80) | |  |
| Internal DVDRW for Al PowerBook, iBook G4, G4 Cube, iMac G5 or Intel, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro | Stock: | £119.00 + vat (£142.80) | | |
| REFURB 8x Internal DVDRW for Al PowerBook, iBook G4, G4 Cube, iMac G5 or Intel, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro | Stock: | £49.00 + vat (£58.80) | | |
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 Hard (internal)
The optical drive on the PowerBook G4 15" is not classified by Apple as a user installed part. Mac Upgrades can install drives for you, please contact us for details.
You can purchase the drive for installation yourself, but Mac Upgrades cannot provide instructions or support for the install process.
Internal Hard Drive Upgrades
This range of drives will work in your PowerBook G4 15", 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 | IMPORTANT: This caddy allows you to fit any 2.5" SATA hard drive into the optical drive bay. These hard drives are used by Intel Mac laptops such as the MacBook and MacBook Pro and can be found on the pages for those machines. It will not fit the drives listed on this Mac\'s page. |
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 4 / 5 Difficult
The PowerBook 15inch's internal hard drive is very difficult to get to, and is not classified by Apple as a user installable part. Installing a replacement drive during warranty will void any remaining warranty.
Mac Upgrades does sell drives for user installation, but we cannot offer instructions or support for the install.
We do offer a drive fitting service, but this is for out of warranty machines only. To preserve warranty, a drive must be fitted by an Apple Authorised Service Centre.
Graphics Card Upgrades
This laptop can take a secondary graphics card through it's PCMCIA (Cardbus) slot, to allow it to control a wider range
of external displays that it can by default.
There are no graphics card upgrades available for these Macs
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy.
Install any supplied software, turn off the machine, and insert the PCMCIA card into the socket on the left of the machine.
Connect it to your monitor and your finished.
Expansion Card Upgrades
Your PowerBook G4 Aluminum has one available PCMCIA socket for connectivity expansion. The slot is located
to the left of the machine.
These credit card sized sockets allow users to take advantage of newer, or additional, connectivity.
| 1 | Compatible with 15" PowerBooks with CPUs up to and including 1.5GHz, and the 1.67GHz models that run in 1280x854 resolution. |
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.
Install any supplied software, turn off the machine and insert the PCMCIA Card into the socket on the left of the machine.
Restart machine and away you go.
For fitting an Airport card, see Apple's instructions here.
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
This Mac can use any of the following external hard drives.
| 1 | Requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later. |
| 2 | Only suitable for this Mac if you have a version with USB 2.0 built in, or if you have added USB 2.0 or eSATA with an expansion card. Will not boot 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
Install any supplied software and connect the new device.
You will need to format the drive before use. This is done with the "Drive Setup" utility, which can be found in Applications > Utilities.
