Blueberry iBook Clamshell (1st Gen)

pleased report proud owner of blueberry, 1st gen ibook g3 clamshell! first time i've held clamshell ibook in hands since 2001.

hardly see of these macs less $1/mhz here in australia, lucky spot 1 in decent condition relatively low price (about $75 usd inc shipping). ibook listed untested seller because didn't have power supply run it. when arrived though, plugged in pismo's power supply, hit power button , appeared in working order.

booted mac os 9.1 previous owner's files scattered on place, plus installation of old mac classic "where in world carmen sandiego". tried launching it, game wouldn't run without disc. system folder curiously tucked away inside documents folder on desktop - gotta love os9's "i don't care reside" system folder approach. judging date modified information on existing files/hdd, looks mac hadn't been touched since 2003.

appears stock config;

• 300mhz g3 512k l2 cache @ 150mhz.
  
• 3.2gb hdd - slow , barely enough install mac os 9 + mac os x together.
• 64mb of ram - 32mb on-board + 32mb pc100(?) so-dimm
• battery dead. appears charge while machine sleeping , have seen charge reach 25%, pulled power switched off , lost pram settings/date , time.

to surprise there retail copy "mac os x jaguar 10.2 install disc 1" in tray loading cd-rom drive. tried booting off disc , got installer window after time, unfortunately 64mb of ram made slow experience.

shut down , installed spare 256mb pc133 so-dimm tibook, popped in panther install disc 1 , began installation. after time installing , running of software updates, have ibook running beautifully it's highest supported os x config (10.3.9)

updated boot rom 4.1.7 downloaded via archive.org [direct download link].

here's mac shot , included low xbench disk test report.



i've ordered 32gb kingspec msata ssd + jm20330 msata ide 2.5" 44pin adapter. once these come in go through trial of stripping machine down , replacing hdd.

noticed gauge pro under os9 reporting high cpu temps 50°c. pismo sits around 30 - 36°c (tops). redo thermal paste when ssd+adapter come in china. despite high temps, ibook feels warm on underside.

1 thing found ati rage mobility gpu, has 4mb of vram , maximum resolution of 800x600 @ millions of colors, capable @ keeping in , around os x panther dock magnification, exposé, genie effect, etc, struggles (and in cases, fails) opengl related.

until now, have not seen os x supported mac fail show smooth "flurry" screensaver. forest/cosmos/beach slideshow screensavers unbearably slow cross-fading , zoom/pan enabled. pismo it's 8mb rage 128 mobility flies smooth 30fps on these 'savers in comparison.

overall, admire ibook , put unsupported tiger installation on once ssd arrives. i've ordered 512mb so-dimm max out + original 802.11b airport card.

give me kick make genuine first attempt @ battery rebuild , while i'm @ it, rebuild dead powerbook g3 battery give pismo dual-battery setup. believe ibook, powerbook g3 , powerbook g4s use same battery cell type.

-aphoticd

 

the g3 clamshell interesting, albeit challenging unit disassemble/remove logic board re-pasting. indicated in previous post, manipulation apprehend removal of dc-in receptacle lower case. due tight tolerances feel break. far good, slowly care required (as nun said abbot)....
i've been tempted install ssd in clamshell, far other tasks have taken priority. , fact 1st gen clamshells 300/366mhz exceedingly slow, , frankly frustrating in use todays standards. imho due work involved, ssd installation more suited 466mhz firewire model maxed out 576mb ram. have 2 powerbook2.2 (m6411) 466mhz models, may accomplish change 32gb ssd before year out.

 

Forums Macs PowerPC Macs

• iPhone
• Mac OS & System Software
• iPad
• Apple Watch
• Notebooks
• iTunes
• Apple ID
• iCloud
• Desktop Computers
• Apple Music
• Professional Applications
• iPod
• iWork
• Apple TV
• iLife
• Wireless