CYB3RBYTE
Well-known member
I've been looking for a 12" iBook G4 on and off over the years as a means to relive my experiences with my first Mac a decade ago. It was a 1.2 GhZ 12", and I took it apart more times than I can count trying to understand its workings and improve its performance. Unfortunately I was young and dumb and damaged the speaker connector on the logic board, and I then sold it off for $40.
It feels like decent iBooks are harder to come by, it was only a few years ago when you could get a snow iBook for $20 shipped. I finally found my white whale (literally white) on the Goodwill auctions for $21, a 1.33 GhZ Mid-2005 iBook G4 12", in good overall shape. It was listed as untested but I had a good feeling so I took a gamble on it.
It showed up and with some initial triaging it seemed to be fully functional, with a lower-cycle count battery too, lol.
![IMG_1631.jpeg IMG_1631.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68941-ebc18fece78799bafee46929df51a7bf.jpg)
Someone clearly cared about this one, it was all the way updated and had an email last used in 2018. I don't snoop too much before I erase and reinstall my Macs but sometimes understanding the stories behind them is fun.
![IMG_1632.jpeg IMG_1632.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68942-2ad9b9a63205815cd6b197faf82697f0.jpg)
It was then time to strip it down and get an SSD in there. The original 40GB drive was performing well still but I really prefer all my stuff to be solid state so I can just use it without worrying. It interestingly came with 1GB of RAM from the factory, that was an expensive option back then, even for a school, where this one came from.
![IMG_1635.jpeg IMG_1635.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68943-65bebc60f729aeab2ef635ede18e138c.jpg)
I loaded Sorbet leopard onto a partition using my bench Mac mini, and it couldn't initially find any bootable partitions. I then used a Tiger installation disc to boot it and afterwards it booted into Sorbet just fine.
![IMG_1648.jpeg IMG_1648.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68944-76c8e8ad0758564be8d0e32d60582296.jpg)
My plans for this machine are to get it to be a writing / DV editing station using iMovie and potentially Final Cut, but we'll see. Should be a good traveler for coffee shops and other places
, just like the good old days.
It feels like decent iBooks are harder to come by, it was only a few years ago when you could get a snow iBook for $20 shipped. I finally found my white whale (literally white) on the Goodwill auctions for $21, a 1.33 GhZ Mid-2005 iBook G4 12", in good overall shape. It was listed as untested but I had a good feeling so I took a gamble on it.
It showed up and with some initial triaging it seemed to be fully functional, with a lower-cycle count battery too, lol.
![IMG_1631.jpeg IMG_1631.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68941-ebc18fece78799bafee46929df51a7bf.jpg)
Someone clearly cared about this one, it was all the way updated and had an email last used in 2018. I don't snoop too much before I erase and reinstall my Macs but sometimes understanding the stories behind them is fun.
![IMG_1632.jpeg IMG_1632.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68942-2ad9b9a63205815cd6b197faf82697f0.jpg)
It was then time to strip it down and get an SSD in there. The original 40GB drive was performing well still but I really prefer all my stuff to be solid state so I can just use it without worrying. It interestingly came with 1GB of RAM from the factory, that was an expensive option back then, even for a school, where this one came from.
![IMG_1635.jpeg IMG_1635.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68943-65bebc60f729aeab2ef635ede18e138c.jpg)
I loaded Sorbet leopard onto a partition using my bench Mac mini, and it couldn't initially find any bootable partitions. I then used a Tiger installation disc to boot it and afterwards it booted into Sorbet just fine.
![IMG_1648.jpeg IMG_1648.jpeg](https://forumbucket.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/data/attachments/68/68944-76c8e8ad0758564be8d0e32d60582296.jpg)
My plans for this machine are to get it to be a writing / DV editing station using iMovie and potentially Final Cut, but we'll see. Should be a good traveler for coffee shops and other places