can anyone help me get into my clamshell to see if my cd-rom is working

Usually, you do not have to open a computer in order to determine whether a CD-ROM drive is working or not.

What happens if you put a CD (you may want to try various types) in the CD-ROM drive? Does the disc show up on the Desktop? If not, are there any sounds from the CD-ROM drive? Any messages on screen? Does Apple System Profiler (the Apple menu) say anything about the drive as such?

The CD-ROM drive and its lens may or may not need cleaning.

If you really must open the iBook computer, a disassembly guide at (for example) ifixit.com could possibly be of help.

Jan

It is unclear to me whether it is at all possible to boot a Clamshell iBook from USB. If it in fact is, you should find details about how to prepare a USB drive in the Ubuntu documentation, or you could try an Ubuntu forum.

Getting back to my previous message, did the CD-ROM drive not show any reaction with an inserted disc? No icon, no message, no sound?

BTW, please note that one would have to hold down the C key when booting from a CD.

Jan

'c' key doesn't always work. Option key works in many situations when 'C' key does not. See this tip on Startup Manager:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4672

Of course all iBooks are PowerPC (PPC).

What kind of CD is in the drive? Original from a manufacturer or a magazine? Or did you burn a CD on another computer?

No message on screen?

Jan

No CD burnt from another computer is likely bootable. You'll need to figure out what iBook you have:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1772

Then see what the minimum system is:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2191

Then use only a newer retail release, or find its original discs as the minimum system describes it.

iBook G3 without Firewire can upgrade up to 10.3.9 with 10.3.5 retail.

iBook G3 with Firewire and iBook G4 up to 800 Mhz can upgrade up to 10.4.11 with 10.4.6 retail.

iBook G4 867 Mhz and higher (1 Ghz is higher) can update up to 10.5.8 with 10.5.6 retail (installing 10.5 or later will disable Classic, and there is no Mac OS 9 booting on the iBook series as an alternative, though 10.4.11 can be on a separate partition or Firewire external hard drive to maintain Classic).

>burned from another computer

With the Clamshell iBook running (the Desktop visible), the following simple test can be carried out:

a) If you insert a blank CD-R, a message saying that the disc is unreadable should appear.

b) If you insert a CD containing a readable file system, the disc should appear on the Desktop with an icon. You may also be able to have a look at files inside by double-clicking on this icon.

If you have an appropriate original Apple system CD, you would be able to boot from it (restart the computer while holding down the C key).

A properly created Ubuntu CD (for PowerPC) would be bootable as well. Use CD-R (not CD-RW) to burn a CD from an iso image at a low speed (see the Ubuntu documentation for the exact procedure).

>it had osx on it but shut it down turn it back on few days later and came on as os9.2

When booting to 9.2, if you choose Startup Disk under Control Panels (in the Apple menu), is there another system that can be selected?

Jan