A new DVD drive for a Powerbook G4? (possible?)

[LonelyRoad]

Hi all,

If you didn't hear the story about my genius act of getting a mini Albertsons card in my internal DVD/CD drive of my powerbook from another post, the good news is I got it out.

The thing is is it took a lot of poking in the drive itself to finally get it to come out and when I put a CD into it (to test it) it takes it in and spits it out after a few seconds. I probably messed it up somehow.

My question is what are my options for a new DVD drive (sorry if it's a dumb question). Would it be possible to install a new "internal" drive or is my only hope for an "external." Also what drives are compatible with Powerbooks (Macs)?

I do have AppleCare for the Powerbook but I don't think they would cover it being it was my fault in the first place; however with the card out and the drive not working I'm not sure they would know if I sent it in.

Thanks for listening.

LonelyRoad

[AntnyMD]

If you live near an Apple Store, take it to a Genius and see what s/he says. It worth the trip if they'll replace it under AppleCare. If its a no, then get a self-install kit from MCE Technologies (www.mcetech.com) or PowerBookResQ (www.powerbookresq.com). I upgraded my TiBook drive last year, after it had been dead for essentially 6 months, and the self-install was remarkably easy. I had a problem with my original upgraded drive and MCE replaced it right away at no additional cost.

[LonelyRoad]

Thanks for the reply.

I was under the impression (after trying to open my poweberbook to fix it) that Apple has special tools and only they can open up their powerbooks. Wouldn't replacing a drive involve opening the whole computer?

Thanks.

[Frobozz]

If you don't feel comfortable installing a replacement drive yourself you can have MCETech do it for you. Their replacement will have no effect on your Applecare warranty, except that the DVD drive is now covered by MCETech's warranty.

[AntnyMD]

Yeah, you have to open up the computer, which intimidated me at first. I had to buy a special screwdriver from a local hardware store for the screws. That cost $1.49. MCE's self-install kit comes with instructions (with pictures!!). Once I replaced the optical drive, I went back to them for a larger hard drive and threw that in myself as well.

[LonelyRoad]

Thanks everyone.

However, what are the really weird screw type things above the built in speakers and also at the bottom of the LCD? They looked like they took alen wrenches and when I went a hardware store (when I was trying to open my computer) non of them matched. My computer tech store told me only Apple has these tools as they don't want other techs to be able to work on PowerBooks. Is this true?

Also how much would a new Superdrive cost?? I want to burn DVD's as well as CD's.

Thanks!

[AntnyMD]

To replace the optical drive you'll be going into the computer from the bottom battery side. I wouldnt go near the screws on the display unless you want a serious problem.

On my PowerBook, a TiBook 667, the only thing you do on top is lift the keyboard to replace the RAM, and its like moving a little plastic slider and the tray pops right up.

Check out those websites I posted above for pricing .. as Frobozz said, theres the do-it-yourself price, and the ship-it-and-they-install-it price.

[miksu]

Apple Service Manuals:
http://www.whoopis.com/computer_repair/#new