Clamshell iBook CD drive swap

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Clamshell iBook CD drive swap

I've always found the native 24x CD drive in the G3 Clamshell iBooks to seriously stink, and was wondering if anyone has compiled a list of suitable replacement CD, CD/R, or DVD drives? I've swapped one out for a Toshiba CD drive which works like a champ but the CD bezel won't fit on it's face. Anyone?

westieg3's picture
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found this on macmod: http:/

found this on macmod:
http://www.macmod.com/content/view/604/192/
this person had a toshiba drive as well, so it should be very similar for you. doesn't look difficult.

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re: Clamshell iBook CD drive swap

There aren't really any other drives that will accept the CR-17X face, sorry. You've already done pretty much the best you can with what's out there. You might though check the xlr8yourmac drive database to see what others have used.

Just FYI, I have a page on post-EBM Apple portable's optical drives where you can find some details on stuff like this.

dan k

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you can use the trayload imac's

You can use the Trayload iMac's CD-Rom, but that's about it. I know that those are the only two drives that have interchangeable faceplates iirc.

not much you can do, sorry...

doug-doug the mighty's picture
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elaborate, please...

I have a spare clamshell with no CD drive and the original CD drive from my iMac (Rev A) that was replaced by a slot loatding CD-RW.

So you are saying I could mount the iMac CD drive into the case of my iBook (Blueberry 300MHz)? I have the plastics, but I never thought it would fit on the connection side.

I am kicking myself for missing something so obvious (just need to dig out the drive from wherever I hid it...).

Anything else I should consider before trying this out?

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Yes, all the fittings (with t

Yes, all the fittings (with the exception of a few bits of adhesive padding) can be transfered to another drive, the front bezel being the tricky part. I had a few combatablitiy issues with a Toshibe CD/RW drive, but now I suspect that the drive was the problem.

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maybe i was wrong about adapt

maybe i was wrong about adapting the original fascia. if you can't modify it to fit in any way, i suppose you could also turn it into a door with some creativity. just depends on how clean you want it to appear. that, however, i think would be rather difficult.

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