Apple iBook G4 Review

I have a dilemma. G4 laptop HD has crashed (I had no back up... never learned how to use my la cie... aaagh but £170 later and a wonderful bunch of guys in a remac company have saved the data...phew). Now I need to decide whether to renew HD or buy new macbook. Money is an issue, so fixing is appealing and I really liked that mac. I'm a bit concerned that other bits may start to go. Anyone got a word on that? Am I stretching it a bit too far expecting more than 5 years from my faithful ibook?

(Iwould have liked to have clear guidance on how to back up to an external HD autmatically esp how to back up All in the 'Mail')