History
This page covers all versions of the PowerBook G4 17" - which have a silver
keyboard and a 17" display.
In January 2003 Apple revamped the PowerBook
range and brought the biggest available LCD, with a
resolution of 1440 x 990 pixels, to this top of the range offering.
These machines were designed as powerful
desktop replacements, aimed at digital video and design professionals.
There
have been several different models of the 17" machines - with an increase in CPU clock speed each time.
All the units use DDR or DDR2 RAM and have USB, FireWire, Ethernet, Airport Extreme and a front
mounted slot loading SuperDrive. The later models have USB 2.0.
The first PowerBook G4 17" was released in January 2003 with a 1GHz CPU, Apple specs here.
An upgraded model with a G4 1.33GHz processor, a better graphics card, and USB ports replaced with USB 2.0, was released in September 2003, Apple specs here.
In April 2004 the 17" PowerBook G4 moved to a 1.5GHz CPU, an upgrade graphics card and SuperDrive as standard. Apple specs here.
January 2005 the processor was upgraded to 1.67GHz. Apple specs here.
The last model of the PowerBook G4 17" was released in October 2005. This was a major update, with a higher resolution screen and a move from DDR PC2700 memory to DDR2 PC4200. The processor speed remained at 1.67GHz. Apple specs here.
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How to Identify these Machines
The G4 Aluminum 17" has a silver keyboard and a 17" display.
There were also 12" and 15" 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 17" Aluminum has two memory sockets. Models up to and including the 1.67GHz running at 1440x900 resolution 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 also run at 1.67GHz, but can be distinguished by the fact that they run in 1680x1050 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 PowerBooks running at 1680x1050 resolution. |
| 2 | Compatible with 17" PowerBooks with CPUs up to and including 1.5GHz, and the 1.67GHz models that run in 1440x900 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 sockets are underneath the
machine - turn the machine over on a soft cloth. There is a plate held in place with 3 screws remove these
to reveal the RAM sockets.
Place new chips in sockets and reassemble the machine.
Apple's own guide 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.
| INSTALLATION - Internal CD/DVD Drive in a PowerBook, MacBook Pro or Cube | £29.00 + vat (£34.08) | |  |
| Internal Combo Drive for Aluminium PowerBook, G4 Cube, iBook G4 or Mac Mini | £85.00 + vat (£99.88) | | |
| Internal DVDRW for Al PowerBook, iBook G4, G4 Cube, iMac G5 or Intel, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro | £119.00 + vat (£139.83) | | |
| REFURB 8x Internal DVDRW for Al PowerBook, iBook G4, G4 Cube, iMac G5 or Intel, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro | £59.00 + vat (£69.33) | | |
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 17" 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 17", although user installation is advised against.
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
The PowerBook 17inch'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 | Requires Mac OS 10.4 or later. |
| 2 | Requires MacOS 10.3.5 or later |
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.
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.
| 1 | Only suitable for later models of the Mac (those with a FireWire 800 port). |
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 | Only suitable for versions of this Mac with USB 2.0 built in, will not boot this Mac. |
| 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.
