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Date Created: 06/08/2008
SWMBO is a Mac person, which I'm kind of proud of, since I converted her a
couple of laptops ago. Funny thing is, recently, I'm mostly on Kubuntu,
remote'ing into my XP laptop to do MS-centric work.
Anyhow, a few weeks ago, the optical drive on SWMBO's 2 ghz Intel Macbook went
tits-up. With a disk in it. No magic key combinations, command-line voodoo, or
other attempts to grab or sneakily eject the disc worked. Nada. El Dead-o.
The machine is old enough to be out of warranty, and we didn't have Applecare on
it. Apple's plan to fix it? $400 to replace the optical drive.
WHAAAT? Nope. No way.
So, your faithful HBT goon decided to do it the old fashioned way. I ordered a
replacement drive, and decided to max out the memory in the macbook at the same
time, since SWMBO does a fair bit of photoshop work. She's a pretty decent
photographer, really.
Once the parts arrived, I sat down with the Powerbook Medic repair guide, and
started tinkering.
27 screws. It required removal and reinstallation of 27 teeny-tiny 1.5 and 2mm
diameter screws, as well as removal and replacement of four thin and delicate
ribbon connectors, several glued-on components, and a couple of thin and
knife-sharp brackets.
Now, I'm a big guy, at 6'5", and I have hands to match. I've rarely had such a
hard time maneuvering my hands into tight spaces to remove a screw. The inside
of this Macbook makes my Subaru's engine bay look like the wide-open prairie. I
have cramps in my hands after all that prying. Argh!
And that, my friends, is why you never see a tall Mac technician. The tall
ones, with their big hands, go crazy and find a new job.
PS: The MacBook's fine, the optical drive works, and Photoshop works a lot
better with 2Gb of memory. Time for a beer. |
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