Any internal hard drive upgrades available for iMac?

I have a 19 Gigabyte hard drive in my Imac running OS 10.4.11 and would like more storage. Is there a larger internal hard drive available from Apple or anyone else and at what approximate cost?

Your iMac uses the same 3.5" IDE/EIDE, Parallel ATA (PATA) - not Serial ATA (SATA), hard drives that are used in PCs. The onboard IDE controller will not recognize a capacity larger than 128 GBs, so any standard drive that's larger than that (160 GBs ->) will have unused capacity. A 120 GB drive was the optimal drive to install, but many manufacturers have discontinued that size. You should be able to find a 160 GB drive at any electronics, office supply, or computer store in your area, or you can check online retailers (like newegg.com) for a comparable drive. As an example, Micro Center is selling the Western Digital 160 GB (PATA) drive for $55. Seagate's drives are also a good choice, because of their 5-year warranty. After installing the drive, you should boot the iMac from the Tiger installer disk and use Disk Utility to format the new drive as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. You can also partition the drive into multiple volumes, if desired. This Macworld article will provide useful directions for opening up the iMac's lower housing and replacing the hard drive. As an alternative to replacing the internal hard drive, you could connect a FireWire external hard drive. The FireWire-connected drive wouldn't be subject to the 128 GB limitation, so you'd be able to use a mega-sized drive.

Similar Messages

How can I browse T.M. backups made BEFORE internal hard drive upgrade?

Hi, all. I have googled and googled with no info on my particular situation. Maybe one of you can help. Here's hoping...
I have a MacBook Pro and use Time Machine to back up to a Firewire hard drive. I do not back up my System and Applications, just files. Consequently, when I recently upgraded my internal hard drive I restored all my data and settings from the original internal hard drive (not the Time Machine).
From there Time Machine began making NEW backups of the NEW hard drive, no problem, but I cannot browse the backups of the previous internal hard drive. Is there any way I can get Time Machine to recognize all of these backups as existing from the same machine and let me browse back beyond the internal hard drive upgrade?
Any help is greatly appreciated!

I think you have to browse them separately, but you should be able to do so by right-clicking (control+click) on the Time Machine icon in the dock or by holding the option key when clicking the icon in the menu bar.
Choose "Browse other Time Machine Disks" and you should see the old series of backups.
~Lyssa

Internal hard drive upgrade for 15" MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo) late 2008.

I need to upgrade my internal hard drive to something larger (it is currently 250 gb). What hard drive will be compatabile? I will really appreciate any help with this. Thank you!
Specifications:
Model Name:
MacBook Pro
Model Identifier:
MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name:
Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:
2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors:
1
Total Number Of Cores:
2
L2 Cache:
3 MB
Memory:
2 GB
Bus Speed:
1.07 GHz

The largest HDD that can be installed in a MBP has a 1 Tb capacity. I suggest you go to the OWC website and examine the choices available there. Any of the 2.5" HDDs will work. They cater specifically to the Mac market and and have an excellent reputation.
Ciao.

Installing internal hard drive on an old iMac

I am an absolute novice when it comes to taking apart a computer and know nothing about any technical terms or parts. I was able to install a new battery when the original died, so when the "genius" at the Apple Store said I could install an additional internal hard drive, I gave it a whirl. Before I try to return the hard drive, I thought I would give this a shot.
My iMac is a 400 MHz PowerPC G3, one of the early generations, if the not the first (see-through cobalt blue exterier). I am running with 256 MB of memory and the CPU type is PowerPC 750 (83.0). I have Mac OS X Tiger, version 10.4.6 and this machine had been working great until we recently purchased our first iPod. Now with all the music being loaded in iTunes, the iMac has slowed down and even frozen when trying to use a few applications at once.
I figured I needed more hard drive space and/or memory and the people at the Apple store suggested I purchase a Seagate 80 GB Barracuda and install it myself.
Well, I got the computer apart and found the old hard drive, but that is about as far as I can go. I read about making the new hard drive the "slave" hooking up the BLUE, BLACK and GRAY connectors on the new cable, but I don't know a motherboard from a jumpdrive and the new connectors do not match up with the old one (the Blue connector is not the same size as the old one that I think was going into the motherboard). There is also something about an unused power cable in the old computer for the new hard drive, (which I did not see) and a suggestion that I get a Y-shaped power cable from an electronics store, which even if I knew what it was, I would not know where to begin connecting it. Not only does the new connector not match up, it is about 10 times as long as the old one, which leads me to the final issue: if I could get this all hooked up and power-supplied, where in the world would I put the new, additional hard drive? There is no room I can see adjacent to the current hard drive. Do I have to take the thing further apart?
I realize this may provide a great laugh for anyone who knows how all this works. If trying to walk someone through this process using Apple Discussions does not make sense, I completely understand. I had nothing to lose (except possibly the cost of the Seagate drive if they won't take it back).
I was able to put everything back together after taking the old hard drive out, so I think I could do this if the parts were all there and matched up....but I would still need to know where to put the new drive!
Any suggestions are appreciated. I have already resigned myself to the fact I may just need a more expensive external drive...I just have few available ports.
Thanks,
Conrad Farner

"...when the "genius" at the Apple Store said I could install an additional internal hard drive, I gave it a whirl... if I could get this all hooked up and power-supplied, where in the world would I put the new, additional hard drive?"
Your iMac has room for one hard drive and the optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW, etc.). Any ribbon cable supplied with the hard drive or a Y-splitter power cable is of no use in the iMac. The new drive must replace the original, because the two can't coexist internally. Additionally, you need to configure the new Seagate as "master," since the optical drive is "slave." Refer to Seagate's accompanying documentation, for instructions on setting the small jumper(s) to designate the drive as "master." The drive may have been factory-configured for "cable select," which isn't supported in your iMac. After you get that straightened out, you'll need to boot the computer from the Tiger installer CD and use "Disk Utility" to format the new drive as a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volume. You may also want to partition it as well.
Incidentally, you should post any future questions about your iMac in the Forum dedicated to the CRT-style iMacs. You'll receive informative answers to any questions that you might have, from those who are thoroughly familiar with your model iMac.

Power Mac G4 will not Recognize any Internal Hard Drives

My G4 was working fine and I wanted to install a driver for a 'Twin Turbo Mac Video Card' I had in a PCI slot but it required OS9 running. At the time, I had two internal drives 230 and 120 G running 10.4.11 but no OS9. However, I did have an external Firewire Drive with OS9 and OSX. I set my "Startup Disk" preference to boot from FW drive and selected OS9 then shut down my G4. When I powered back on I got the standard "gong" but on my display I saw a "Mac Folder and a Question Mark". I believe that means the system can't find a drive. Is that correct? I reverted back to my original configuration with the internal drives and the FW drive disconnected and I still see the "Folder and Question Mark". I inserted the Tiger DVD, held down the "C" key and it still will not boot from the DVD either. I once again tried connecting a FireWire External drive with OS 10.4.11 installed and the internal drives disconnected and still no bootup. I swapped out Memory, replaced the Motherboard and the battery and even tried resetting the PRAM. Still that stupid Question Mark is showing!! This has really got me puzzled. Any ideas or suggestions out there?
bh

Depressing/holding the Option key at startup activates the Startup Manager (not open firmware). The resulting window shows all of the available startup volumes (hard drives, CD, DVD, etc).
Look at A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
Will it boot in Safe Mode? See
What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392
*Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck*
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
I'm not sure it would resolve your problem, but try a PMU reset. See Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial
 Cheers, Tom

Cannot recognize any internal hard drives, hard drives good

Hi,
My macbook pro 13" (bought in august 09) recently stopped being able to recognize its internal drive. I've run it through all sorts of diagnostic software, but none has been able to recognize it at all.
I've tried swapping out the hard drive to one that is brand new, but it still cannot recognize it. Everything is physically connected as it should be, and I'm running out of ideas for what to try.
I do not have easy access to an apple store to bring it in. If it is the only option, I could try to get it to one. Does anybody have any suggestions? Does this seem like a hardware problem that would need to be repaired?
Thank you,
Jack

Hi Jack,
It sounds like you have done a good job of troubleshooting. At this point we know you have a hardware issue. Fortunately you are still under the MacBook's hardware warranty, so Apple should repair it without cost to you.
Apple's retail stores are not the only source for service. Two other options available to you are 1) [Apple authorized service providers|http://solutionprofessionals.apple.com/aasp> and 2) call Apple (800-275-2273 in the USA) and set up mail in service.

Internal Hard drive upgrade unsuccesful !!

Looking for help on this one.....
Briefly: iMac 24" aluminium early 2008 (model 2134) trying to upgrade the original 320 gb HDD. So I bought a WD Caviar Black 64 mb, 6gb/s 1Tb drive, intalled it pretty smoothly and then using an install disc restored it from a time machine back up. That went fine then I could not restart the mac (kernel panic). So i trouble shooted with an extended hardware test, disk repair and everything seemed fine. I reinstalled my old HDD again and worked perfectly so I figured my iMac doesn't like this Caviar (due to sata3 perhaps??) so I went and bought a Seagate barracuda sata2 1 TB 7200 rpm and repated the whole process. Again everything went super smooth until the restoring process ended and the iMac was restarted. Kernel panic again. Already tried PRAM, option key. Booting from the CD or my old drive is not a problem at all but from the newly installed drive (x2) ... Impossible
Any thoughts....
Thanks a lot !!

Hi Gus
The SATA 3 should be backwards compatible, but all that I have read suggest that the iMac's will not benefit and in some case's may actually slightly slow down the performance.
Not only that, but the WD Blacks tend to run a little noisier and hotter then there WD Blue counter part. Thus I will always suggest a Blue over a Black in an all and one system like the iMac.
As for the problem you are having, how did you setup the new drives Partition Map Scheme and Format? Most off the shelf drives come setup Master Boot Record and MS-DOS FAT-32 and the Intel iMac's require the drive to be setup GUID Partition Table and Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
If the drive is in the iMac
+1. Boot from your install DVD or Bootable Clone and open Disk Utility.+
+2. Highlight the new HD in the list of drives and select the Partition tab.+
+3. Under Volume Scheme select 1 Partition and click on the Options... button.+
+4. Select GUID Partition Table in the drop down window and click OK.+
+5. Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Apply button.+
+6. Once thats done then you can do a clean Install or Restore from your Backup.+
If you have an External Enclosure
+1. Put the drive into the Enclosure and open Disk Utility.+
+2. Highlight the new HD in the list of drives and select the Partition tab.+
+3. Under Volume Scheme select 1 Partition and click on the Options... button.+
+4. Select GUID Partition Table in the drop down window and click OK.+
+5. Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Apply button.+
+6. Once thats done then you can do a clean Install, Restore from Internal HD or backup.+
Dennis

Please help, which internal hard drive is best for a MacBook Pro mid 2010?

Hello,
My hard drive on my macbook pro is done for it's 3 years old and I am getting the beach ball constantly, with loads of page outs. I can't afford a SSD so other than that whats the fastest drive I can get? I am guessing a 1TB 7200? Can anyone recomend any? These are the ones I found so far, any thoughts/ advice would be really apreciated.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MacBook-MB470LL-Laptop-Internal-7200rpm/dp/B00DF2GKO0/re f=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1381746696&sr=1-6&keywords=MTXtec
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Seagate-inch-5400RPM-Drive/dp/B007NVGWV0/ref=dp_ return_2?ie=UTF8&n=340831031&s=computers
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC729ZM/A/1tb-sata-hard-disk-drive-kit-for-mac -pro - this is so much more expensive and doesn't give the spec. I would like to avoid that markup if poss, without having an inferior product.
Many thanks.

My personal experience is as follows. I initially installed 1 TB HGST 5400 rpm HDDs and then were replaced by 1 TB HGST 7200 rpm HDDs. Both performed satisfactorily.
Currently I have 1 TB Seagate SSHDs (Hybrid) in my MBPs and they have reduced the boot and shutdown times by over 50%. They are also satisfactory.
Note that there will be cheerleaders and detractors for all brands of HDDs. I merely report my empirical results.
Ciao.
Note that I also have a 2010 MBP as well as a 2011 MBP.

Is a hard drive upgrade possible for an old Powerbook G4?

I just recently got a Powerbook G4 400 (the first version, I think). It only has a 10 GB hard drive and 256K memory. I would like to know if it is possible, or worthwile to buy a newer, bigger hard drive, memory and a new OS. If so, can anyone give me ideas about what to look for, models, etc...???
I am completely lost so thanks for any help!

It is possible to upgrade your RAM and hard drive and install a fairly recent version of OS X on your Powerbook, but I wouldn't call it worthwhile. You'll spend as much or more doing so as the machine is worth afterward.
Your machine is now over nine and a half years old (it was released in January 2001). It has a DVD-ROM drive, so it can't burn CDs or DVDs unless you replace that drive, and its non-upgradeable graphics processor is completely obsolete for any sort of multimedia or streaming video on today's websites, or for gaming. Its CPU, blazing fast for a notebook of its time, is ten to forty times slower than the ones in today's Macs.
The most recent OS X version you should consider is Tiger (10.4.x). To install it, you would have to replace your hard drive and you'd want to add RAM. A new 80GB or 120GB hard drive (you can't use one larger than 120GB in that machine without third-party commercial software and a lot of caveats) will cost $60-$75. 512MB of RAM would cost $35-50 and 1GB would cost $55-80. The kicker is that even a decent used copy of the retail Tiger installer DVD is likely to cost over $100. So at a minimum, you'd be putting $200 into a machine that right now isn't worth that much, and wouldn't be worth any more than that afterward. If you're OK with that, go ahead, but don't expect that the result is going to resemble the experience of getting a new Mac in 2010.

Is it possible to add a second internal hard drive to my 27" iMac?

Just wondering if the above is possible.
If so could anyone recommend which hard drives to use (which are available in the UK)
Thanks in advance.

The Apple store might install what you buy from them, but not something you bought elsewhere. I am not sure if they offer one of the larger capacity drives so you would have to contact the store and ask them about it. They will charge you a premium price for the hardware.
If you are concerned about doing the drive installation, check for an Apple authorized service center close to you as they can do an installation without you having to worry about warranty.
User installation of memory and drives is allowed under the warranty, unless you break something

The manufacturer / provider of Hard drive 500 GB for iMac 20" Core Duo

Does anybody know the manufacturer / provider of Hard drive 500 GB which Apple Computer use in iMac 20" Core Duo

Hitachi HDS725050KLA360
Glor

Driver upgrades possible for iMac

I am fairly new to Mac and recently purchased a new iMac. I have a question regarding the display driver. Is there a way of upgrading the display driver for MacOS, NOT Bootcamp? I did a search and I see drivers on the Apple site, but the file dates back to 2005. The display on my iMac is the ATI Radeon HD 4670.
Thanks.

Hi ZS
Go up on the menu bar to Apple > Software Update and check, but to be honest the latest iMac should be fully up to date except for maybe the most recent Safari 5.0.1 release.
Dennis

What internal hard drive should I get for a 2007 Mac Pro?

Hello, I have a 2007 Mac Pro in which I would like to install two additional internal hard drives. I want to use one to run Time Machine and I want to use the other as an archive for my photos. What is the best internal hard drive to get for these purposes? Thanks for any help.

System:
SSD: Samsung 840 128GB
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-120GB-internal-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06/
Icy Dock $15
http://www.amazon.com/2-5-3-5-Ssd-sata-Convert/dp/B002Z2QDNE/
Sonnet Tempo Pro
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempossdpro.html
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technologies/TSATA6SSDE/
WD Black 1TB $85
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Internal-Desktop/dp/B0036Q7MV0/
WD 3TB $225
Western Digital 3TB WD Black SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Desktop Hard Drive WD3001FAEX
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2UWTHE/

Installing Internal Hard Drive in iMac possible or reliable?

Is it possible to install internal 2TB hard drive in iMac? I have my complete internal Hard Drive full in the iMac. And I work heavily on Final Cut Pro and always have heavy work data, so should I get external 2TB for editing and working in FCP or is Internal more reliable?
Thanks in Advance!

Apple doesn’t ship an iMac with anything larger than 1TB and opening up the current iMac voids your warranty and isn’t easy. I’ve cracked open every computer I’ve ever owned and have a large amount of experience with modding. This iMac will be the first computer I won’t be opening. So if you want a larger drive, external will be the way to go. Look at the LaCie Thunderbolt drives. I’ve not pulled the trigger yet but when I do get a TB drive, that’s probably where I’ll go.

Hard Drive Upgrade - Incorrect Capacity Shown In Disk Utility After Installation

I have an older model Macbook Version 2.1 that had an 80GB hard drive installed. I have just installed a Western Digital Scorpio Black 500GB internal hard drive upgrade and successfully cloned my data over using Carbon Copy Cloner. The problem I have encountered is that only 98.1GB of capacity is shown in Disk Utility for the new hard drive. After starting the computer using my bootable copy via an external USB drive, I formatted the newly installed 500GB drive with the appropriate Apple formatting (e.g. GUID and Mac OS Extended Journaled) but it only shows 98.1GB of space available on the new drive. I was able to successfully clone the information from my bootable back-up of the old drive to the new drive but I just don't have the full 500GB capacity available to me.
What should I do? Is this a problem with the new hard drive or is there something I need to change on my Macbook to "see" the whole capacity of my new drive?
Thanks for your advice,
Dave

Hi Andrew,
When I formatted the new drive did it with 1 partition and it displays a TOTAL of 98.1GB free space (both in Disk Utility and About This Drive). As far as I can tell, the Macbook is treating the new WD drive as if it is only a 98.1GB drive rather than the 500GB drive that it is.
Thoughts?
Dave

Any internal hard drive upgrades available for iMac?

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