Lombard Hard Drive replacement

Denison:

The inside of the Lombard is essentially the same as the Pismo. Here are directions for the Pismo which you can adapt. You will see that you don't have to remove quite as much to get to the HDD.

Does the new disk have to be formatted in a certain way? Like should I boot up with an install CD and format the HD? I'm planning on putting OS9 and OSX on the same partition.

The HDD will need to be formatted either from the OS X install disk or the OS 9 disk. The Volume Format is Mac OS Exended which is the same as HFS+. Here are directions for Clean Panther Installation from OS 9. Lombard will support Panther natively. For Tiger you will need XPostFacto.

Post back with questions I may have left unanswered.

Good Luck.

cornelius

Message was edited (spelling corrected) by: cornelius

Cornelius,
Just a quibble with your blog. Panther does not support "clean installs". It has erase and installs. See my user tip here:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607614

The reason I quibble here is a matter of communication. Some authors will call an erase a clean install, while others an archive. Mac OS X never has had a "clean install", and the last Mac OS that did was 9, which was closer to Mac OS X's archive and install. I suggest titling your blog differently to avoid confusion as to what you mean.

a brody:

I don't mind the quibble at all, if you don't mind my quibbling back. There is not even a hint in the procedure outlined in my blogspot that this was an installation "option" in Panther. Indeed, the procedure outlined does not begin with Panther at all, so that any inference that a clean install is an installation "option", is just that, an inference. It may well be that a "clean install" was an option in OS previous to OS X, and is no longer the case in OS X. There may be some protocol for giving the appropriate titles to procedures of which I am not aware, in which case I welcome being pointed in their direction. Changing from a Clean install to something like Reformat and Install is at one level only an editorial change. However, at another level it suggests that one is correct and the other is not. In terms of the procedure itself, the one is as accurate as the other. So, while I am open to suggestions and willing to be instructed, I don't understand the need in this case.

Respectfully,
cornelius

The title suggests a clean install of 10.3. That's my only quibble. If it said how best to install 10.3 and 9 side by side, I wouldn't mind it as much.

a brody:

I understand and respect your preference. I could title it "Reformatting with Drive Setup, installing OS 9 and OS X", which would be the most accurately descriptive. However that is a bit cumbersome. Since I do not mention a Clean install as a Panther install option, I believe my title is still both descriptive and accurate. It is, indeed, a clean install of OS 10.3 as it installs from a clean (reformatted) HDD. Again, I am not averse to changing the title; I just don't see it as being necessary in the interest of accuracy or propriety.

cornelius

Message was edited by: cornelius

Denison,

The modem in fact does not have to be removed. The iFixIt Guides are a step-by-step disassembly of the powerbook; I am sure many have had the same question as you.

It is safer to remove the microprocessor card to avoid damaging the HD ribbon cable. If you had done HD replacements several times, then you would know how to handle the components, so play it safe.

Just make sure the microprocessor card is fully seated when replacing. Remove the top memory module so you can apply more pressure to the right side of the card without damage to the RAM. It is easier to seat the card in the Lombard than the Pismo because of a different connector.

Also make sure the HD ribbon cable is fully seated in the logic board.

Here's some helpful laptop sites.

Fix It Guides for Mac Laptops & Mini
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
The guides can be viewed on-line or you can download a PDF file.

How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble an Apple/Macintosh Laptop or Notebook
http://repair4laptop.org/disassembly_apple.html

PowerBookTech
http://www.powerbooktech.com/

Cheers, Tom

To change the hard drive all you need to remove inside is the heat sink cover and the processor card to get to the hard drive ribbon connector. A plastic credit card is a helpful tool. Disconnecting the pram battery is a good idea. The first time I changed a hard drive I followed the step-by-step instructions and after I was finished I realized the modem didn't need to be removed. The trickiest part for me was rethreading the cable through the slot in the drive sled.

Denison:

You are getting a lot of good advice. Before I changed the HDD on my Pismo I was very nervous and followed the directions, reading each step over twice to be sure I had it right. I am sure such caution was helpful. However, as it turned out, it was not necessary. With the processor in place I was able to lift and wiggle the HDD in the holder out, unplug and remove, plug the new one in and slide that baby back in place. I can now do it in a couple of minutes. The trickiest part of the job was finding a Torx 8 screwdriver, and keeping track of the tiny screws. However, being cautious the first time is a good idea. So, if you feel more comortable removing the processor, that is what you should do. jpl's advice of being sure it is seated properly when you replace it is good advice as we see a lot of posts about computers not starting after removing and reinstalling the processor, including my first post a while ago.

Good luck.

cornelius

I disconnect the Pram battery because I believe disconnecting all electrical power sources (AC, modular battery, Pram) is a good safe practice. I changed RAM and a video card in a G4 the other day and forgot to unplug the AC cord. Nothing bad happened, but I guess I could have fried everything.

Denison,

Nice work. There is satisfaction in accomplishing a task you thought was beyond your skill.

Unfortunately not having a working optical drive on a Wallstreet or Lombard is a real handicap. Since you cannot boot to a USB HD on the Lombard or boot to a FireWire HD through a FireWire PC card, you options are few.

To install OSX on the Lombard, you must...

- boot to the OSX CDs from the Lombard's optical drive;
- boot the OSX CDs on an external FireWire CD-RW;
- connect the Lombard in SCSI Disk Mode to a host Mac with a SCSI port and install OSX via the host Mac;
- boot to an external HD containing OSX and using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to clone OSX to the internal HD.

You cannot do any of the above. Are you sure the optical drive is bad. Generally (not always) if you can boot a CD on the drive, it is still good. Try carefully cleaning the laser lens on the drive, then see if OSX will boot.

You cannot drag-copy OSX from one volume to another like 9.x...you need a utility. The only option I see for you is to remove the Lombard's internal HD, place the HD in a FireWire or USB HD enclosure, and either clone your iBook's HD or make a fresh install from the iBook, then return the HD to the Lombard.

I think you should solve the Lombard's optical drive issue first, if possible.