iBook G4 12" 800 MHz-1.2 GHz Optical Drive Replacement

Use a coin to rotate the battery locking screw 90 degrees clockwise.

Lift the battery out of the computer.

Pull the keyboard release tabs toward you and lift up on the keyboard until it pops free.

Flip the keyboard over, away from the screen, and rest it face-down on the trackpad area.

Push the wire clasp away from the AirPort card and toward the display, then rotate up to free it from the RAM shield.

Grasp the clear plastic tab on the AirPort card and pull toward the display.

Hold the AirPort card in one hand and use your other hand to remove the antenna cable.

Remove the four silver Phillips screws that secure the RAM shield.

Grasp the metal bracket on top of the RAM shield and pull upward to remove the shield.

Pull the keyboard cable up from the logic board, holding the cable as close to the connector as possible.

Use a pin (or anything you like) to remove the three rubber feet from the lower case.

Remove the three newly-revealed Phillips screws.

Use a spudger or small flathead screwdriver to pry up the three metal rings that housed the rubber bumpers.

Remove the three Torx screws using a T8 Torx screwdriver.

Remove the two Phillips screws on either side of the battery contacts.

Push the thin rims of the lower case surrounding the battery compartment in, bending them past the tabs, and then lift up to free that corner of the lower case.

There is a slot on the wall of the battery compartment that locks the lower case in place. Use a small flathead screwdriver to pry out the slot's lower rim and pull up on the lower case to free the slot from the tabs holding it.

Run a spudger along the seam between the lower case and upper case on the front of the computer to free the tabs locking the lower case. Pull up on the lower case and continue to use the spudger as necessary until you hear three distinct clicks.

Continue to run the spudger around the front, right corner. There are two tabs on the port side of the computer, one near the front corner and one near the sound-out port.

There are three tabs over the optical drive that must be released before the lower case can come off. Slide the spudger into the lower case above the optical drive and run it toward the back of the computer until you hear three distinct clicks.

Once the front and sides of the lower case are free, turn the computer so that the back is facing you and pull the lower case up and away from you until the back tabs pop free.

Remove the small greasy springs with white plastic caps from either side of the battery contacts.

Remove the 4 Phillips screws from the bottom shield.

Lift the bottom shield off.

Remove the two Phillips screws securing the DC-In board.

Disconnect the DC-In cable from the logic board.

Deroute the cable from around the optical drive, removing tape as necessary, and angle the DC-In board out of its compartment.

Remove the two Phillips screws from the battery compartment.

Turn over the computer and open it.

Pry up the magnet covering a Phillips screw near the middle of the computer.

Remove the following 7 screws from the edges of the keyboard area.

Three 2 mm Phillips along the right edge.

One 4.5 mm Phillips underneath where the magnet was.

One 6 mm Phillips with a small head in the lower left corner.

Two 6 mm Phillips with large heads, one in the upper left corner and one in the middle

Lift the upper case from the right side and use a spudger or your finger to disconnect the trackpad connector hidden beneath the white plastic tab. Due to model variatons your trackpad connector may be different from the one pictured.

Carefully lift the upper case about half of an inch and move it so that you can access the power and speaker cables.

Lift the upper case enough to disconnect the blue and white power cable from the logic board. Using your fingernails or a dental pick, carefully pry the connector from its socket. Make sure you're pulling only on the connector and not on the socket.

Lift the upper case off completely and disconnect the multicolored speaker cable from the logic board. As before, make sure you're pulling only on the connector and not on the socket.

Remove the following 15 screws:

Fourteen 3 mm Phillips.

One 5.5 mm Phillips in the upper left corner.

Lift the top shield up from the right side, minding the upper left corner, which may catch on the metal framework.

Remove the following 4 screws:

One 3 mm Phillips in the channel between the optical drive and fan.

Two 6 mm Phillips from either end of the drive bezel.

One 6 mm Phillips with a collar from the bracket extending from the lower left corner of the drive.

Disconnect the orange optical drive ribbon from the logic board.

1) With your fingernails, grasp the locking bar on either side and pull up a small amount (about 1/16" or 2 mm).

2) After disengaging the locking bar, slide the cable out of the connector.

Release the optical drive ribbon clamp as described above. Slide the optical drive ribbon out of its connector.

Lift the optical drive from the metal framework.

Remove the two Phillips screws securing the metal bracket and cable to the back of the optical drive.

Peel the orange cable up from the top of the optical drive, removing tape as necessary, and disconnect it.

Remove the single Phillips screw securing the bezel at the front of the optical drive.

Use a spudger to carefully depress the two tabs on top of the bezel.

Hold the optical drive on its side and depress the remaining tab to free the bezel from the drive.

Turn the drive over and remove the two Phillips screws from the bracket on the side of the drive.