Pull the keyboard release tabs toward you and lift up on the keyboard until it pops free.
If the keyboard does not come free, use a small flathead screwdriver to turn the keyboard locking screw 180 degrees in either direction and try again. The locking screw is in between the F5 and F6 keys and is a clear piece of plastic.
Flip the keyboard over, away from the screen, and rest it face-down on the trackpad area.
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 toward you until the back tabs pop free (it may be helpful to jiggle the case up and down).
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. Be especially careful with these cables; never pull directly on the cables, but use a spudger to pry up the connector directly.
Lift the upper case 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 than the one pictured.
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.
Carefully 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.
The screw circled in orange may not be present in some models.
Remove the following 16 screws:
Thirteen 3 mm Phillips.
One 3 mm Phillips. (actual screw not present in image)
Two 4 mm Phillips.
Be sure to fit the screw near the left hinge through the loop in the display data cable, securing the cable to the upper case.
Missing in this photo is the Bluetooth antenna present in some iBooks. It is located at the upper right corner of the battery compartment, just above the 4mm screw. You can see the bracket for the antenna in the photo. It is the two I-shaped holes just above the 4mm screw that must be removed in this step. To remove the antenna, slide it toward the LCD, and tilt it vertically back towards yourself.
Lift the top shield up from the right side, minding the upper left corner, which may catch on the metal framework.
If your iBook has Bluetooth, as discussed in the previous step, you will need to slide the antenna through the lower I-shaped hole in the shield before completely removing the shield.
Turn the computer over and disconnect the fan cable from the logic board.
If present, remove the 4 Phillips screws securing the fan to the metal framework (one screw is hidden by the hand in the image) and lift the fan out of the computer. If no screws are present, continue on.
Due to variations between iBook G4 models, your heatsink may have either 5 or 6 screws. We've noted all possible positions for screws in the step below. If there's no screw to remove, then skip to the next screw. Be sure that you remove all necessary screws before attempting to remove the heat sink.
Remove the following 6 screws and 3 nuts from the heat sink:
One 2 mm Phillips extending from a finger on the left edge of the heatsink and adjacent the firewire port (not present on some models)
Three 3 mm Phillips from around the fan (some models may only have 2 screws).
One 3.5 mm Phillips on the left side of the heat sink (not present on some models).
One 4.5 mm Phillips at the top right corner of the heat sink.
One 6 mm Phillips at the lower left corner of the heat sink.
One 4 mm nut from the right side of the heat sink.
Two 4 mm screw nuts with attached springs from either side of the heat sink.
It may be necessary to soften the thermal paste between the logic board and heat sink. You can soften the thermal compound using a hairdryer. Move the hairdryer back and forth over the ribbed metal section of the heat sink for one minute. At this point, the heat sink should come free easily.
Use a spudger to pry the heat sink up on the left side, near the hard drive.