Replacing old iBook - Intel? Powerbook?

Thanks to Ronda who tried to help when I posted a question a few days ago.
I took the iBook to the computing service. Turns out my hard drive is pretty much on the way out (though it still functions fine for up to a day at a time). A new HD is only £500 less than a new computer. Also, the casing is damaged, which I'm told may cause the computer to break down at any point in the future. So I've decided to keep this one for the time being and just use it for internet and DVDs, until it gives up on me completely. Then I'm going to get a new one.
I've heard rumours that Apple is going to bring out Intel portables later this year. Does anyone know if this is true? Also, does anyone know if Powerbooks are more physically durable than iBooks? I do a lot of travelling (including field research in remote locations) so I'd like to get a model that is as robust as possible.
I hope this is the right section to ask this question!

Having had two 12" Powerbooks and now a 15" MacBook Pro and having used my girlfriends 12" iBook several times, I can say that the iBooks are built to take more of a beating. However, the plastic on the iBook seems to show sratches, where as the Powerbook/MacBook Pro is fairly scratch resistant. I pulled one of my 12" Powerbooks off my desk once (thank goodness for the new magsafe plug) and the thing got pretty dented up & I had to replace the hard drive. I would guess that the iBook would have handled the fall a bit better (or it possibly would have cracked instead of denting). The new iBook (due by the end of the year, hopefully sooner) may be thinner (they made the MacBook Pro thinner) which may or may not effect its durability. There are plenty of places to go to talk about upcoming Apple product releases, but for now, the current iBook is built to last.

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Ibook or powerbook

hi everyone,
i am looking to buy an old ibook or powerbook but not sure what to get i am only going to be using it for playing music and the internet and msn, but what i want to no is , what i should get? And where can i get it from for cheap maybe a refurb or ex stock but if its an online store it needs to be able to ship to uk?
ok thanks for ur time
rob

The most common Quicktime 7.1 problem I've seen is someone's audio settings get messed up by a certain software. Go to the Audio Midi Setup application in Applications -> Utilities and see if your audio output has set for 96 Hz. If you drop it to 44.1 Hz, the audio issues some may have with Quicktime 7.1 would be fixed. If you are having other Quicktime issues, you may want to post to the Quicktime board your question by clicking on Post a New Topic at the beginning of:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=932
rather than posting at the end of someone else's thread. That way you'll get a wider audience, and potentially someone who knows the answer.

Just downloaded 4.0 - replaced old Firefox in Applications on my Apple Powerbook OS 10.5, moved icon - but won't open, says "won't support" now i have no Firefox at all!

Downloaded 4.0 - replaced Old firefox in Applications, (dragged icon into Applications folder though icon had bar through it - should have been a "clue" big mistake, apparently) dragged new icon into toolbar, tried to open it, won't open says "not supported" now i have no Firefox at all.
Have Apple Powerbook OS 10.5 - which apparently won't support it? Too bad you don't put "Warning! about this in bold print on same page as download page
So how do i get my "old" Firefox back?

Firefox 4.0 needs an Intel x86 processor. <br />
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0/system-requirements/
For older Macs that aren't supported in Firefox 4.0, try TenFourFox for PowerPC's running Mac 10.4.11 & 10.5.8 . <br />
http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/

Migration Assistant Won't Recognize My Old iBook

Well ... my brand new MacBook ... all set to move an account from my old iBook ... over ... and it won't go ...
I have followed the instructions exactly ... restarted my iBook in Target Disk Mode .... firewire attached ... and Migration Assistant says ...
"There are no versions of MacOS X available on your old Mac .....
Any suggestions .... it's not my firewire cable ... I use it all the time ... everythings hooked up right ..

I have the exact same problem. When setting up the new MacBook, I attached the firewire cable and restarted the PowerBook into target disk mode. The Firewire symbol appears on the screen but the MacBook gives the error message "There are no versions of MacOS X available on your old Mac". I wanted to test if it is a problem with the MacBook, and found that the MacBook will recognize and mount a portable firewire hard drive. Furthermore, when I tried attaching it to an intel iMac, it recognized it and was ready to import files from it. Therefore it seems that the problem is that the OS X 10.4.11 on the PowerBook is somehow 'invisible' to the MacBook migration assistant. I tried repairing permissions on the old PowerBook, but that didn't help. In the meantime I also ran software update on the MacBook, which brought it up to the very latest version of Leopard.
Could it be that the version of OS X needs to be the same on both machines? Next I am going to backup the PowerBook, then upgrade it to Leopard, then try again. I am surprised more people haven't had this problem, at least I have seen few postings about it.

Old iBook with airport card

Hi,
I have a little problem and am an absolute novice in this field. I have a network set up at home with a Netgear router and 3 x G3/300 happily
connected via wire.
My son got himself an old iBook (in very good knick...) and the thing is equipped with an airport card.
Can I connect the iBook to the Netgear router (the router has also wireless capabilities).
I have tried, but to no avail. The green pins in the control strip are all green,
and if I open the airport, the signal is very strong (but the status says "not available'.
Also, when I open the router settings on my G3, my router detects the wireless iBook, but still I cannot get on the web from the iBook.
oh... most importantly, the iBook is running os 9.2.2, and the other machines on the network are in mixed configuration (OS 9/X).
Any suggestions??

try removing, then replacing the airport card in your comp
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58535

Old iBook, new Panther

I dusted off the old Blueberry clamshell, put some more memory in it, and got ready to install 10.3.5 from a gray&white installation disk, which I used on my Pismo. But - the disk is a DVD, and my old iBook has a CD drive ! I don't suppose I can Carbon Copy the DVD to a CD. Are there cheap DVD drives for the Blueberry? Buy a new copy of 10.3 on a CD ?
All I want is the ability to run a medern browser so my wife won't be using my new powerbook all the time !

All:
You can get Panther CDs at AppleRescue
Good luck.
cornelius
Pismo400, 100GB 5400 Toshiba internal, 1 GB RAM; Pismo 500 OS (10.4.4) Mac OS X (10.3.9) Beige G3 OS 8.6

Same admin user from old iBook to new MacBook Leopard?

I have an old iBook 10.4.11 and .Mac (MobileMe). I am going to buy a new MacBook. I won't be using the iBook anymore. I am admin user - minimal usage - I have a .Mac website, email, DSL (no networking), no synching to another computer.
Can I create the admin user on the new MacBook with the same name, shortname, and password as the old iBook? One reason I want to do this is that it appears to be simpler as far as accessing the iDisk and transferring the .Mac (MobileMe) account to the new computer. Also it's the login I'm used to. There seems to be no reason to change it that I know of.

Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply! I don't plan to use Migration Assistant at all. I am hoping to set up the admin user, .Mac connection, and then pull mail settings and Safari bookmarks using this:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1872713
A few relevant files/folders have been copied to my iDisk>Documents using these instructions, like Mail and Safari bookmarks. I also have the iDisk>Sites (custom html .Mac webpages) folder. I have a few actual album CDs that I will insert and import into iTunes. I like the idea of a clean start with the MacBook and intel Leopard.

How soon for an intel powerbook?

My new 12" powerbook arrived today, however I haven't opened the box amidst speculation that a new, intel powerbook will be launched on the 10th of january. Any ideas on how long it would take after a new powerbook has been announced before it would be availible to buy? And are these machines likely to be expensive (in comparison to the current price of a powerbook) when first launched? I'm desperate to get started with my lovely powerbook but would be devestated if there was to be a high spec and more future-proof new machine availible in under a weeks time!
I've heard that sales of powerbooks and ibooks have been down recently, in anticipation of intel. Should i return my powerbook and hold out for intel? Any ideas?
eMac Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Hi Lizzie;
I know that there is a lot talk about the Intel version of the Mac being release in a week or two. I seriously doubt that this will happen. Besides that when Steve announced the migration to Intel he said the first to go over would be the iBook and the Mac Mini. So even they are announced next week I doubt that it will be a PowerBook.
Personnaly I would go ahead and open your PowerBook and start enjoying it.
Allan

I have an old Mac computer Powerbook G4 with Mac OS 10.5.8 and Safari 5.06 can I use Flash 11? Gly

I have an old Mac computer Powerbook G4 with Mac OS 10.5.8 and Safari 5.06 can I use Flash 11? Gly

OS 10.5.8 was the LAST "Universal Binary" OS that Mac released. It could be run on PPC or Intel Macs.
You can use Flash, but NOT the current version. Flash Player 10.3.183.90 is the latest version that will run with 10.5.8.
Apple ended all support for ALL PowerPC hardware and software just over four years ago, so there will be no further development of ANY apps that run with PowerPC Macs, from ANY developer.

I would like to upgrade my old iBook 10.4?

How would I upgrade my old iBook 10.4?

Others have provided useful information. Realize though that even if you update to OSX 10.5.8 you will still be 7 years behind the newest system. People stopped writing software for 10.5 several years ago, and your computer is part of the pre-Intel series which means many of those who still wrote for 10.5 wrote for Intel and not PPC. Your computer can never be upgraded to Intel so you're stuck there. That's not to say you shouldn't upgrade but if your intent is to have the best iBook you can have and one that can survive in the modern world, you may end up spending several hundred dollars on upgrades that still will leave you with a computer that's years behind and can never do some of the things modern computers can do. For those several hundred dollars you could jump ahead to an early Intel model which still has a few more years useful life before it too is hopelessly outdated.

Can I put the Hard Drive from old iBook into new iBook?

I need a new motherboard for my old iBook which has no other damage. New motherboard costs about the same as a new iBook;
so can I have the drive from the old iBook put into a new iBook? Old iBook is about 2 years old.
Thanks!
Gareth
< Edited by Host >

Gareth; there are no iBooks with Intel processors. These are MacBooks.
As for your question, it's unlikely that you could, as the new Macs appear to have different firmware on the drives. It would also invalidate the warranty on a new computer.
Far easier to put the old drive into an external FW or USB enclosure and use it to transfer your files, applications and settings during first boot of the new Mac using the Setup Assistant.

How 'old' is my PowerBook?

As this is my first Mac, I'm just looking to the future... Despite the shiny new Macbooks/Pros, I still love my PowerBook. I laughed inside as my stubborn boyfriend dealt with his HP desktop crashing, and I humbly nod when people are amazed by the things my computer can do.
With the pending release of Leopard, I'm just wondering about my PowerBook and how it compares after almost 2 years. Will I have difficulty running Leopard on my non-intel PowerBook?? And in the world of Macs in general, how old is 2 years in a functional sense? Should I be thinking about (somehow) purchasing a new machine in the near future, or can I relax for another couple of years? I haven't had any serious problems with my PowerBook, and I'm doing pretty good on memory, etc...
Just looking for any more experienced Mac users' opinions.
Thanks, everyone!
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

We know you have a G4 powerbook and it should run Leopard when that OS comes out. It's important to indicate which model you have (processor speed) and how much ram is installed. Go to the blue apple in the menu and select About This Mac. That should give you the basics. I love my 1.67 G4, however, I like to upgrade every two years to the latest model.

Bluetooth on old iBook G4

My daughter has an old iBook G4 (iBook G4 PowerBook 6,3. Os 10.4.11 800 MHz power Pc g4. 640 mb DDR sdram); it looks as though it should have bluetooth on it (if you search for blutooth it offers a System preference, but when you click n that it goes to the System preference window, with no Bluetooth preferences. I've got a USB bluetooth dongle ordered, but wonder if I need to download some software too. Any ideas/help? Many thanks.

If you click on "See more technical details," this pops up:
O.S. Driver Support
Windows 98, 98SE, 2000, ME, XP
Since it doesn't list the Mac OS as far as driver support is concerned, I would worry that it won't be supported.
Edit: Upon further searching, I found this on Amazon reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R156T2XEGNCBV6/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R156T2XEGNCBV 6
I bought this to use with my Powerbook G4 running OS 10.4 Tiger. It worked perfectly as soon as I plugged it into the USB port - no drivers or software to install on the Mac. It has a very small profile and only protrudes from the port by about 3cm.
My principal use is for connecting my Sony Ericsson W800 phone and my Mac. When I did this using the USB cable my Mac would invariably crash following disconnection (it had never crashed on me before that). Now the Bluetooth connection allows me to transfer files without any hassle. The transfer speed is pretty good too (for Bluetooth, as an earlier reviewer pointed out).
If you want to Bluetooth-enable an older Mac running OS 10.2 and above, this product will do the job.
So, it looks as if you're good to go!
Good luck with it.

Migrating from old iBook

Since the new MacBook has no Firewire I started the migration from an old iBook to the new MacBook by ethernet. However, the Assistant on the DVD that comes with the new MacBook does not run on 10.3.
Now what?
Apple, what the &^%#*? Are you indeed turning into M$?

I used Migration Assistant (MA) to transfer all my files and media from my old PowerBook G4 to my new MacBook. When I opened MA on the old computer, I was asked to put the OS X CD that came with the new Mac into the old optical drive. Something was downloaded onto the old Mac that made it compatible with the new Mac. I assumed it was to sync the versions of MA but I was never told. All I know was that I was then able to begin the transfer.
I used my wireless connection rather than the ethernet ports. To my dismay, the transfer took over 11 hours. To give you some scale, I had over 6000 photos and videos, about 1200 songs, less than 100 docs. As I primarily use the old computer for the internet and iLife, I had very few applications other than the ones that came with it when I bought it. However, I wanted the settings and bookmarks - especially Safari - so I included Applications in the transfer. That's where I think I made a mistake because it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time checking versions and transferring. You never really know what is going on during the transfer but there are vague one-liners like, "Transferring Applications" that are displayed under the sliding thermometer that tracks your progress. I left the two computers open, side by side, and went to bed with my fingers crossed.
I got up the next morning and immediately looked at the new Mac to see if everything/anything had come over. I couldn't find a thing but I had lost 40 Gigs of memory somewhere. I searched frantically through every folder on the new hard-drive but couldn't find the new files. I finally had to take it down to the Apple store where I have bought it and get a Genius to help me. First thing he did was check my Users folder to see how many logins there were for this computer. To distinguish the old Mac from the new Mac, I had forgotten that I had added my middle initial to my name. A simple logoff and login as my new personna and Voila! Transfer completed!! Everything right where it should be and all my settings. MA was slow but it worked.
Sorry for relating the total saga but I it might be useful to others. I don't know if using an ethernet cable would have speeded things up. Maybe someone else can tell that story.
I'm happy with the new MacBook, although I miss the size and convenience of my old beloved 12" G4. I don't have any glare issues because I tilt the screen and change my seat for better light - which is why I thought most of us bought a laptop and not a desktop. It's mobile, faster, bigger, and brighter. I'm happy. Hope this helps.
Peter

IBook use Powerbook charger?

My iBook charger has begun to work intermittently. I had a Powerbook G4 titanium before this iBook and the same time happened to it. Eventually, it began to spark, and I had to replace it.
My question is, can I use the Powerbook charger on my iBook? I thought I read somewhere not to do that, but it seems that since the replacement chargers Apple sells is for both the Powerbook and iBook that I should be able to do this. I just wanted to ask before I tried it.
Thanks!
Sharon

Hi Sharon,
Yes, you can use it. iBooks and PowerBooks use the same 65w adapter.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=M89 43LL/A
John

Replacing old iBook - Intel? Powerbook?

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