How difficult would it be to replace my 250 gb hard drive with a 500 gb hd?

Question

Would it be something that I could do on my own or would I need to take my iMac to the Apple store or other authorized reseller to have upgraded? Any suggested posts, Apple or other, for instructions? What kind of drive would I need to get and what brand would you suggest?
Thanks much!

Answer 1

Hello,
Starting with the iSight version of the G5, Apple redesigned the entire machine in a way that it is now major surgery to replace the hard drive.
It is possible for the end-user to do it. But, the end-user needs to be comfortable with opening the case, and literally removing every part inside the computer to perform the task.
If you want to see what's ahead of you, take a look at these pictures for an idea of what disassembly will be like:
http://www.kodawarisan.com/imacintel/imacintel001.html
Of course, that doesn't show you the method to get everything taken apart. But, it shows you what is in your way.
You can find a large file containing a disassembly guide here:
http://www.baconeggs.co.uk/manuals/index.htm
Understand that you will clearly void your warranty by performing these tasks, and that is a risk you need to be prepared to take.
If you are not comfortable with that, you need to take the machine to an authorized service provider for servicing / upgrading.
As for drives, you need a Serial-ATA (SATA) hard drive. It should be a 7200 R.P.M. drive with at least 8 MB of Cache memory built-in. And, it should be labeled as SATA-150 or SATA-300. Either will work, but you will only get the performance of the SATA-150 drive either way (the 300 will slow to 150 to communicate with your system).
As for brand, I would recommend Western Digital or Seagate. Both are great companies with excellent warranties. Be sure to buy a retail boxed hard drive if you want a warranty. The OEM drives have a 1 year warranty, but that cannot be claimed by an end-user (it is only honored for legitimate OEM system builders).
Retail drives will be very obvious. They'll come in a colorful retail box, and be shrink-wrapped. They'll come with a 3 to 5 year warranty, and the consumer / end-user can claim that warranty directly if needed.
The majority of the hard drives sold in small shops and on the Internet are OEM drives. If one of those fails, the manufacturer will direct you to go to the OEM who sold it to you for replacement. So, basically they are as is if you buy them as a single component. They are only intended to be sold as part of a complete computer or external hard drive package. In that arrangement, the company who produced the finished package would provide their own warranty, and any claims would be between them and the manufacturer.
So, know what you are buying.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have other questions.
P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.