Breathe deeply. Trying times are ahead, but we promise the lower case does come off.
Push the thin rims of the lower case surrounding the battery compartment in, bending them past the tabs, and then lift up to free that corner of the lower case.
There is a slot on the wall of the battery compartment that locks the lower case in place. Use a small flathead screwdriver to pry out the slot's lower rim and pull up on the lower case to free the slot from the tabs holding it.
Run a spudger along the seam between the lower case and upper case on the front of the computer to free the tabs locking the lower case. Pull up on the lower case and continue to use the spudger as necessary until you hear three distinct clicks.
Continue to run the spudger around the front, right corner. There are two tabs on the port side of the computer, one near the front corner and one near the sound-out port.
There are three tabs over the optical drive that must be released before the lower case can come off. Slide the spudger into the lower case above the optical drive and run it toward the back of the computer until you hear three distinct clicks.
Once the front and sides of the lower case are free, turn the computer so that the back is facing you and pull the lower case up and away from you until the back tabs pop free.
Before you can yank the upper case off, you must disconnect the trackpad connector, the blue and white power cable, and speaker cable as described in the next steps.
Lift the upper case from the right side and use a spudger or your finger to disconnect the trackpad connector hidden beneath the white plastic tab. Due to model variatons your trackpad connector may be different from the one pictured.
Carefully lift the upper case about half of an inch and move it so that you can access the power and speaker cables.
If the upper case is sticking, it may be necessary to free the tabs holding the upper case to the metal framework along the outer edge of the battery compartment.
The connectors at the ends of the cables are attached very firmly to the sockets on the logic board. Pulling directly on the cable will either separate the cable from its connector or the socket from the logic board.
Lift the upper case enough to disconnect the blue and white power cable from the logic board. Using your fingernails or a dental pick, carefully pry the connector from its socket. Make sure you're pulling only on the connector and not on the socket.
Lift the upper case off completely and disconnect the multicolored speaker cable from the logic board. As before, make sure you're pulling only on the connector and not on the socket.
Tip: the multi-coloured cable may be easier and less daunting to disconnect after removing the top heat shield. Prop the top case upright while removing the shield - the connector is then much more accessible.
Use the transparent orange loop to disconnect the large orange ribbon cable from the hard drive.
This is a bit tricky. Try rocking the cable gently from side to side while applying even pressure. If you bend the pins, do your best to straighten them, using the hard drive cable as a guide.
If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.
Wow! I just needed to remove the functioning hard drive from a 2003 iBook (not sure which model). We hadn't used it in a few years because the screen was shot and I suspect the motherboard was on its way out. These instructions were close enough for this slightly different model. What a pain and I am so glad I didn't need to put the thing back together! Thanks a bunch, iFixIt, because I don't think I could have figured it out without this guide.
Thanks for the guide. I had to use this a few years back to replace a hard drive. It was a challenge, took a couple hours, but go slow and steady and be patien. The guide was perfect. I would suggest printing the screw guide, sticking double sided tape over the screw diagrams, and placing your screws on there as you disassemble. This make reassembly a ton easier. Trickiest part for me was actually removing the lower case. Don't forget step 16 and go slowly.
Wow! Just followed this guide to remove a drive from an old machine before disposing of it. Glad I don't have to put it back together again and hope it still works! It should not be this difficult to take a HD out!! Thanks for the guide, would have been almost impossible without it :)