I need a new drive for my G4 Mac mini - where to start??

Question

Hello all,
I have a approximately 4-5 year old 1.5GHz Power PC G4 Mac mini with 1 GB DDR SDRAM memory and an 80 GB hard drive. I was having issues with it running slow, not being able to access different files/applications, etc. so I ran Disk Warrior on it and received the warning that it was not able to replace the directory and that I should save all files from the Preview directory (which I have been able to do).
I took the mini to my local Genius Bar and was told that the most likely problem was a failing drive. Unfortunate as that is, I am happy I was able to make back-ups of all important files on it, and have resigned myself to making the necessary repairs to get it running again.
As I have yet to ever run across this type of problem (replacing a drive to a computer) I obviosuly have a few questions to that end. As some of them may be buried in threads that might be hard to find, I was wondering if folks out there would have the answers to a few simple questions I had regarding this upcoming task.
First, would this be a failing optical drive or hard drive from the way I've described the problem? I seem to be able to get the mini "running", that is able to copy files, etc. if I first run Disk Warrior on it and ten restart - but it is still unable to open things such as Safari or iTunes.
Second, what are the best options for replacement in terms of price/speed/memory? I would love to have the newer intel processor in it, but don't even know if this is something that would be replaced with a new drive (shows how much I know! :^) I don't need as much hard drive space since external drives are fairly cheap - my main focus would be a faster processor and RAM.
Is this something a pretty capable person should attempt to replace themselves, or is going to Best Buy or something along those lines a better choice for the security of not messing the mini itself up? I feel fairly comfortable doing it if it is possible, I would just hate to fry the entire computer if it is a really tricky process.
Thanks in advance for whomever replies to this rather "wordy" question. I think forums like this are one of the best ways to learn and get answers on electronic questions!
Cheers,
Kev

Answer 1

would this be a failing optical drive or hard drive from the way I've described the problem?
Hard drive. DW and other such utilities don't even work on optical drives, and an optical drive problem would not cause boot problems and the other symptoms that you describe. But before you replace the drive, I'd suggest you try reformatting the drive ("erasing" in the terminology used in Disk Utility) and reinstalling Mac OS X. That may fix the problem. If not, then you can look into replacing the drive.
Second, what are the best options for replacement in terms of price/speed/memory?
You can find options here, among other places:
I would love to have the newer intel processor in it, but don't even know if this is something that would be replaced with a new drive (shows how much I know! :^) I don't need as much hard drive space since external drives are fairly cheap - my main focus would be a faster processor and RAM.
Sorry, but replacing the processor can't be done. If you want a faster processor, you'll have to purchase a newer mini.
Is this something a pretty capable person should attempt to replace themselves, or is going to Best Buy or something along those lines a better choice for the security of not messing the mini itself up?
Avoid Best Buy like the plague. They're far more likely to cause problems for your mini than you would be doing it yourself. There are a number of sites on the web that have instructions. Here's one:
http://www.sterpin.net/uk/ddMacMiniuk.htm
OWC/MacSales has video instructions as well:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/
It is a bit tricky - lots of disassembly - but it's not beyond a reasonably dexterous user.
Regards.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer