iBook Clamshell Original Upgrades
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This page covers all the upgrades we sell for this range of Macs. Choose the type of upgrade you are looking for from the tabs below.

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If you want specific upgrades for your exact model, choose it from the Model ID links below, or enter your serial number here:


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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.

There are none available.

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/Blu-ray 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 & SSD 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.

Installation Services

INSTALL SERVICE - Internal Hard Drive in an iBookStock: Available£39.00 + vat (£46.80)
INSTALL SERVICE - Clone Original Internal DriveStock: Available£25.00 + vat (£30.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Fit Customer Supplied PartStock: Available£17.50 + vat (£21.00)

Internal SSD Drives to Replace Main Hard Drive

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 Cards and Displays

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.

Trust 3 button USB Optical MouseStock: Available£6.75 + vat (£8.10)
Cherry Strait 3.0 USB Keyboard - UK Mac LayoutStock: Available£32.00 + vat (£38.40)

Power Supplies & Batteries

Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products we supply for this Mac.

There are none available.

Cables & Tools

Listed below are power cables, tools and related products we supply for this Mac.

Precision Screwdriver Set, 31 Piece - Phillips/Torx/TR6Stock: Available£12.50 + vat (£15.00)
Anti Static Wrist StrapStock: Available£8.50 + vat (£10.20)

External Drives & Enclosures

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.

Complete Machines - Refurbished

Any complete machines of this type or similar that we have for sale are listed here. Please note that these are refurbished models with a 3 month warranty, and that delivery is likely to take 3 - 5 working days. These can be purchased online with the standard website courier delivery charge for the mainland UK only. Please contact us for a quote on shipping to other areas.

Repair Services for this Mac

Here are the various repair services we offer for this Mac. You can have us take the machine in for evaluation, or book a fixed-price repair if you already know what the fault is and the service is listed below (for services without parts, please see the relevant tab on this page for compatible parts that we sell). If you know what the fault is, but we don't have a fixed-price repair listed below, please contact us for a quote.

Evaluation Services

Mac Repair - Evaluation ServiceStock: Available£39.00 + vat (£46.80)

Installation Services (parts not included)

Collection ServiceStock: Available£24.68 + vat (£29.62)
INSTALL SERVICE - Internal Hard Drive in an iBookStock: Available£39.00 + vat (£46.80)
INSTALL SERVICE - Clone Original Internal DriveStock: Available£25.00 + vat (£30.00)