Possible Failing Hard Drive...advice for moving forward

I've been having lengthy delays caused by spinning beach ball of death and decided to get serious about my back-ups while I figured out what was wrong. In addition to Time Machine, have purchased a drive just to have a clone copy of hard drive and a bootable startup drive. While using Carbon Copy Cloner to do this, it reported bad sectors on my drive. Suggested deleting those files which I proceeded to do (deleting those took forever as it initiated the sbbod for each one). But the SBBOD keeps occuring.
I need help and advice to think this through...(actual questions in bold)
5 bad sectors aren't a lot but even 1 that causes the wretched SBBOD is too much. Is there a way to avoid that sector or is it just a precurser of future bad things to come? (let me say here that my drive is not a Seagate).
Do those bad sectors corrupt my clone?
I don't want to weigh this discussion down with too many questions...but these are my thoughts about moving forward
If I decide that, indeed, my hard drive is failing I see the following options:
Replace hard drive (have received local quote of $100 for labor + cost of drive approx $100) - this is certainly the cheapest, easiest and most logical solution.
Take this opportunity to replace the laptop I gave to my daughter when hers was stolen. I would only do this if I could use the iMac's screen as a 2nd monitor. However, the early 2009 iMacs don't support being used as 2nd monitor. I would have to use ScreenRecycler & a VNC. How do those affect performance? If there is no adverse affect, I like this solution.
Any and all advice appreciated. iMac specs in signature.

Thanks for your reply Linc
Linc Davis wrote:
Rule out other hardware failures such as a damaged SATA cable or a bad logic board.
Do you mean in addition to the hard drive, as that failure seems pretty evident at this point? I guess the cable would be a visual inspection. How would I know about the logic board?
I'm pretty well convinced to replace the Hard Drive. Now the fun question is do I want to go with an SSD drive? I'm reading up now - obviously we're talking expensive for the size I would need. Not sure about these hybrid drives? Small amount of SSD combined with large amount of hard disk? Also reading about using the optical drive slot with something like OWC's Data Doubler. So many options. Any thoughts are welcome

Similar Messages

  • On my third iPod classic, possibly failing hard drive, again

    i've been using 160gb ipod classics for a few years now, they're the most easily available and affordable music players for the amount of music i listen to regularly, and for a while they worked perfectly for me. after the first one i owned was stolen, my second ipod lasted a good while but then started having problems that were attributed by myself & apple to a failing hard drive. now i'm on my third one, and while attempting to sync music to it, all of my music was randomly removed from the ipod. the ipod itself seems to work fine, but now itunes is giving me error 1439 and i can't restore it or format it. is the hard drive failing on this one as well? is something wrong on my end, or are all new ipod classics generally this bad, or am i just coincidentally getting faulty ones? how do i proceed?
    here's the stats on it which actually do not look good
    Retracts: 7
    Reallocs: 2648
    Pending Sectors: 0
    PowerOn Hours: 61
    Start/Stops: 5451
    Temp: Current 35c
    Temp: Min 10c
    Temp: Max 54c

    You're not supposed to let the iPod get hotter than 50c.  Not good for the components.  2648 reallocs is not good, but none pending suggests that any bad clusters have been successfully mapped out. Try a DFU restore and the "break up large transfers" method from Corrupt iPod classic.
    tt2

  • Hard Drive Advice for FCP

    Hello Forum!
    I have a documentary project I am working on which needs approx a 500 gig drive. I want it to be backed up to a secondary drive at all times in case of failure. I was reccomended the LaCie Two Big 1 terabyte drive. It has 2 500 gig drives in one enclosure which included software keeps up to date at all times, it also needs a PCI card to work with my G5. My question is this... WHY BUY this instead of two 500 gig Firewire 800 drives from La Cie, I save 200$, I can install a similar backup program to backup at the end of each day, and they are in seperate enclosures in case I want to take a part of the project somewhere.
    What do I get by going with a RAID type drive, is it faster? safer protection from data loss? why spend the extra 200 bucks?
    P.S. thanks for helping me so much over the past couple years APPLE forums!
    - Best
    Cosmos

    The 1TB LaCie may have two drive inside, but they are hardware Raided to look like one big drive. Just like the Lacie D2 and the G-Raids.
    BUT...I'd recommend the G-Raids over the Lacies any day of the week. Better quality drives inside and better cooling. Cooling is a big factor. G-Raids have vents and fans.
    Shane

  • Trying to copy ANY file from my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive spins for 45 minutes then fails. I hate this computer and WISH I never would have wasted my money. Any ideas? WD My Passport 2TB Drive, had to buy a program to make the POS write

    Trying to copy ANY file from my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive spins for 45 minutes then fails. I hate this computer and WISH I never would have wasted my money. Any ideas? WD My Passport 2TB Drive, had to buy a program to make the POS read files. Copies that would take seconds from a Windows based machine never complete. I have to close the transfer or shut off the machine half the time. Worst computer I have EVER owned, crashes non-stop, constantly freezes, and seems like EVERY operation is more complicated with this thing. Literally, my 1997 Compaq was FAR MORE reliable and user friendly.

    This is one of the messages I keep getting; The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in -- File Whatever -- can’t be read or written.(Error code -36)
    I have copied things to the hard drive in the past, but it has always been incredibly slow, and now just seems to freeze and fail

  • Macbook Pro failing hard drive - visited Genius but haven't received follow-up support - details inside

    I received my Macbook Pro a week ago, July 24th as a gift. Since then, I've been having prominent clicking noises and beeps coming from the right side of the laptop. I took the Macbook Pro to an appointment with a Genius at the Apple Store yesterday, July 30th, and he confirmed that the problem was a bad hard drive. He told me that he could just replace the hard drive right then and there, or I could just get a whole new replacement Macbook Pro since it was so recently bought. I chose the replacement and he informed me that an email would come soon in the form of a voucher, in which I would call Apple and also use the Apple Online Store to order the new one.
    I still have not received an email about the replacement, or any email in general from Apple. The clicks and beeps are becoming more apparent, and I fear that the Macbook will fail soon, which would be inconvenient as I will be moving to a new residence quite soon. I know sooner or later this will be fixed, but I strongly hoped sooner than later.
    Any advice, insights, comments? Thanks for your time.
    TL;DR: Failing hard drive, taken to Genius, getting an email regarding a replacement, haven't gotten the email, laptop is dying as I am moving.

    Thanks for the very quick reply,
    I failed to mention that the gift Macbook Pro is a refurbished Late 2011 Macbook Pro 15". That's why the only two options was hard drive replacement or full replacement. I took the full replacement option both prevent any accidental and unneeded scuffs that might happen during a possibly rushed procedure and to in general take advantage of any replacement I can get.
    Lastly, the largest problem in the end is that the nearest Apple Store (and only Apple Store) in my current state is two-and-a-half hours away from me (Iowa). Luckily I had other business to attend to and the Apple Store was nearby.
    Again, thank you for your advice, if it does end up me having to go back there, I will be able to visit next Monday, as it is en route to my moving destination near Seattle.

  • Could this be a failed hard drive?

    My daughter bought a new 20 GB gen 3 iPod in August of 2004. Now, when she turns it on, she gets the sad face along with a triangle and exclamation point. She has followed the steps in the Apple KB article for this scenario here and I have tried to help her - but all is to no avail.
    A reset does not fix the problem. We have tried to restore it. But when the iPod is put into disk mode and attached to her computer, the iPod does not show up anywhere. It is not recognized by iTunes or iPod Updater. When the iPod is removed from the computer, the computer gives a message saying that the device was not recognized and asks if we want to re-initialize. (Curiously, it does not ask that while the iPod is attached.)
    After the last attempt at this, we could hear the hard drive of the iPod trying to repetitively spin up, about every 3 or 4 seconds. It wouild spin up and stop, spin up and stop, etc. At least, it sure sounded like the hard drive to me.
    If anybody can shed some wisdom on this, I would appreciate it. My opinion is that there has probably been a hard drive failure. Has anyone experienced similar symptoms? And if so, what was the solution? If this is a hard drive problem, I am disappointed that it did not last more than 16 months. Are there any statistics anywhere about the lifetime of these devices?
    Thanks,
    Rich
    EMAC G4 1.0 GHz   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

    You might try a PRAM reset and see if this does any good.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US
    It sounds like the hard drive itself is toast based on how it looks in an enclosure. So you won't be able to boot from it. Possibly after a PRAM reset you could option boot to a disc or to your external drive.
    I had the experience of a failed hard drive totally messing up my PowerMacG4, and it took some doing to get it going again. I finally got it going again, and it has been working ever since without issue.
    The MBP is a different machine, but having experienced first hand what a dying hard drive could do, I think it's well worth doing any resets you can.
    If no joy, make an appointment at the genius bar and ask them if they can run a hardware test from their store feed. If you do have other issues, they should show up then.
    If you end up being able to boot to the optical drive, you could try running the extended version of the Apple Hardware test yourself.
    Good luck!

  • External hard drive used for Time machine is full and having a hard time backing up. what should I do?

    External hard drive used for Time Machine is full and having a hrad time backing up. What is my best option moving forward? NAS?

    For All things Time Machine see Pondini's Excellent Infirmation here...
    http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
    Start with FAQs and Troubleshooting.

  • Can Time Machine back up a failed hard drive, and how long will it take to prepare?

    1. The hard drive in my 2009 MBP has failed. My Time Machine external drive failed about three weeks ago, and I don't know if I'll be able to restore from it. Is it ever possible to backup a failed hard drive with Time Machine? The machine boots, it just comes up beach balls if I use any applications for very long.
    2. I'm trying to back it up right now. I have Time Machine running to a new external drive. It has been stuck on "preparing backup" for about 20 minutes. Everyone says that preparing a first backup takes some time, but no one says if "some time" is 15 minutes or one hour or more. What is a typical length of time for preparing first backup? At what point should I walk away?
    If it's not worth trying to back this drive up myself anymore, I'd love to just drop the thing off and get the hard drive replaced -- but if it's worth doing, I'll take the extra day to back up what I can.

    You might have better luck using a clone.
    Clone  - Carbon Copy Cloner          (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)
    Clone – Data Backup
    Clone – Deja Vu
    Clone  - SuperDuper
    Clone - Synk
    Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested
    Commonly Used Backup Methods

  • Failing hard drive, unable to start, trying to back up data

    My apologies in advance, I'm not terribly computer saavy.
    I purchased an HP Pavilion dv6-1350 us Notebook PC in May 2010 from Newegg.com as my home computer. 
    About 2 weeks ago I fell asleep with the computer on (internet connected via dial up) and when I woke up, I was getting hard drive failure imminent warnings and warnings to back up my data.  I ran several tests as per what directions the computer could give me and got the following results:
    Start up test failed
    Hard disk smart 301
    Hard disk 1 QUick 303
    100% system memory OK
    4,156,358,656 bytes OK
    Hard disk 1 QUick (303)
    I purchased some larger USB memory sticks to recover my data on, but unfortunately, the computer cannot start up and I cannot back up my data before I send the computer for service.  (I'm assuming the hard drive needs replacing). 
    However, I am slightly suspicious because the error message has an odd grammatical error, something to the effect of "hard drive failure imminent, to avoid not data loss, back up files immediately'. 
    Unfortunately I cannot offer any further details at this time as I am at work and the computer is at home.
    So my questions are:
    is this a hard drive failure or a nasty viral/computer takeover?
    is there anything I can do start the computer enough to back up my data before getting the computer serviced?
    does anyone have suggestions as to where I should get an HP serviced?
    Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

    Hi,
    Well 301 and 303 are genuine error codes relating to the Hard Drive ( so it will need replacing ) - I presume the tests you ran were from the Bios menu, if that is correct, it's unlikely to be Malware as bios viruses are extremely rare so it probably is just a grammatical error in the message, nothing more.
    One possible way to try and retrieve your files from a non-booting drive is to follow the process detailed in the link below.  The Ubuntu operating system CD you create can run from the CD alone ( ie it doesn't have to install on the Hard Drive ) and I've often found it to be successful in retrieving data even from a failing Hard Drive.  When you've created the CD, follow the instructions and see if you can back up your existing files to the USB drives you've purchased. 
    http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/use-ubuntu-live-cd-to-backup-files-from-your-dead-windo...
    Regards,
    DP-K
    ****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
    ****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
    ****I don't work for HP****
    Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

  • I keep getting "error occurred while attempting to import file *******. The disc your are attempting to use is full." I have an external hard drive that I moved files over to, but apparently they're also still on my hard drive? HELP!

    I keep getting "error occurred while attempting to import file *******. The disc your are attempting to use is full." I have an external hard drive that I moved files over to, but apparently they're also still on my hard drive? HELP!

    So you have backed up the content of the computer's hard drive, too?
    That usually is a great idea since it is possible to lose use of the system
    if parts of it have accidentally been removed or get over-written, or the
    main system files get corrupted, when the hard disk drive gets too full.
    If you have not trashed the originals of your created content, that remain
    after you made copies on an external hard drive or other device, then
    that is what you'd have to do to reclaim the capacity still in use by them.
    What are specifications of the hard disk drive? The unused capacity
    verses the used, in GB? If the hard drive has less than 15 to 20%
    free or unused capacity, you could run into trouble. Mine are 40-50%
    unused hard drive space, so ample room is available for automatic
    Virtual Memory to use that capacity as temporary swap file space.
    This is helpful when the computer could use more physical RAM
    memory capacity, but doesn't have it. Or if the RAM is maxxed out
    and you can't add any more. Virtual Memory is part of OS X and the
    system automatically can use as much as is available, but it is better
    to be sure there is plenty of resources available to include chip RAM
    as well as unused or free hard drive capacity for use as VM.
    If for some reason your files in Trash won't go away when you empty
    it, you may have to restart. Be sure you have not included any System
    files in the content in the Trash, or the Mac may not start up later on.
    You may have to boot the computer from the install-restore OS X DVD
    and run Repair Disk from its version of Disk Utility, to be sure it's OK.
    I'm guessing that by now you know enough about the vintage system
    in the older hardware to figure it out, so I won't write about it now.
    In any event... hopefully you can simply trash the files, but check them
    carefully, & you may need to remove (copy to archive first) even more.
    Good luck & happy computing!

  • Hard Drive configuration for speed

    I've got a question regarding the best hard drive configuration for my mac pro. I'm looking to increase the boot speed, application load speed and particularly the speed with which hard drive intensive photoshop processes complete. Right now I'm just using some normal SATA II drives. I'd appreciate it if you could give me some feedback on the various options I am currently considering.
    -2x 64GB SSD in a RAID 0 for OS X and applications with some large SATA drives for storage
    -4x 300GB VelociRaptor 10k RPM SATA HDD in a RAID 0
    -2x 147GB SAS 15k RPM HDD in RAID 0 with some large SATA drives for storage
    I am particularly in the dark about the controllers I'd use for each solution. Clearly, I would absolutely require a PCIe card for the SAS drives, but would there be a marked advantage to using a hardware RAID card for the SATA drives over the software RAID in OS X? Also, how easy is it to get the mac pro to boot off drives connected to a controller card rather than the standard setup? And lastly, if there is good reason to use a card, are there any in particular that you would recommend?
    Thanks a lot!

    2. No. Do not make two partitions unless you do not plan to use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows on that partition. If you plan to create a Boot Camp partition then you must partition the drive as one Mac OS X volume. Boot Camp Assistant will then create the Windows volume.
    3. This drive must be repartitioned and reformatted as follows:
    Extended Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two. Use the graphic resizer to set the desired sizes for each volume as you want. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the first volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    7. Select the second volume you created and repeat Steps 4-6.
    4. Now here I don't know what you think is your best option. You can buy any two hard drives you want. The ones I identified were only an example of what you could purchase for under $300. There are others, slightly more expensive, that would work, and you would still be under your $300 budget. The Samsung drives are good drives and reasonably priced, but they are just one of several alternatives. You should do some checking on your own before making your decision. I'm just giving some guidance, not trying to tell you what you should do. I've provided three sites where you can read reviews and benchmarks before you decide. You need to "own" your decision.
    As for how you configure these two drives that's a secondary issue. I would recommend using them for backup. Two possible arrangements are a Mirrored or a Striped RAID array. A mirrored RAID array would create one volume that has a 1 TB capacity. Everything saved to that volume is essentially saved twice - once on one drive then a copy is mirrored to the other drive. This is not what you described in your Item 4. That's not how it works. Anything saved to the mirrored RAID array is saved the way I described it just above. It makes no difference where the files come from.
    Now you can use the mirrored RAID array as a Time Machine backup drive if you want, but then you should not use it for other data storage. You would need the entire capacity as backup for both of the 500 GB drives you currently have. A mirrored RAID provides some data redundancy by having a copy of everything one each drive. Thus, if one drive fails the other drive still functions and your data backup is intact. Mirrored RAIDs are generally no faster than an individual drive that makes up the array.
    The second suggestion was to make a Striped RAID array. This type of array produces one volume that is twice the size of the the two drives that make up the array. Thus, you would have a single volume that is 2 TBs in size. You can use this volume for your Time Machine backups also. Striped RAIDs do not provide any data redundancy. If one drive fails all the data stored on the RAID will be lost. However, Striped RAIDs are nearly twice as fast as either drive that makes up the array. This would give you very fast storage and backup.
    You could also just leave the two drives to operate independently. Use on for Time Machine backups, use the other for more storage space.
    Other possibilities abound. It's pretty much up to you to decide what will fit best into your needs today and in the future. Don't feel obliged to do what one person tells you. Five different users on the Discussions will give five different opinions.
    I suggest you educate yourself a bit on backup and restore by reading the FAQ about backup and restore at The XLab FAQs.
    Following is more information on RAIDs:
    RAID Basics
    For basic definitions and discussion of what a RAID is and the different types of RAIDs see RAIDs. Additional discussions plus advantages and disadvantages of RAIDs and different RAID arrays see:
    RAID Tutorial;
    RAID Array and Server: Hardware and Service Comparison>.
    Hardware or Software RAID?
    RAID Hardware Vs RAID Software - What is your best option?
    RAID is a method of combining multiple disk drives into a single entity in order to improve the overall performance and reliability of your system. The different options for combining the disks are referred to as RAID levels. There are several different levels of RAID available depending on the needs of your system. One of the options available to you is whether you should use a Hardware RAID solution or a Software RAID solution.
    RAID Hardware is always a disk controller to which you can cable up the disk drives. RAID Software is a set of kernel modules coupled together with management utilities that implement RAID in Software and require no additional hardware.
    Pros and cons
    Software RAID is more flexible than Hardware RAID. Software RAID is also considerably less expensive. On the other hand, a Software RAID system requires more CPU cycles and power to run well than a comparable Hardware RAID System. Also, because Software RAID operates on a partition by partition basis where a number of individual disk partitions are grouped together as opposed to Hardware RAID systems which generally group together entire disk drives, Software RAID tends be slightly more complicated to run. This is because it has more available configurations and options. An added benefit to the slightly more expensive Hardware RAID solution is that many Hardware RAID systems incorporate features that are specialized for optimizing the performance of your system.
    For more detailed information on the differences between Software RAID and Hardware RAID you may want to read: Hardware RAID vs. Software RAID: Which Implementation is Best for my Application?
    OS X has software for creating RAIDs by using Disk Utility. Open Disk Utility and select DU Help from the Help menu. Search for "raid" without quotes. You will find information on how to set up mirrored and striped RAIDs using Disk Utility.

  • Which is the optimal hard drive configuration for Logic Pro ?

    hello people
    i would like to ask your advices about possible hard drive configurations for Logic Pro
    I have a Mac Pro and thinking to buy 4 x 500GB drives .
    there are several combinations in my mind to configure , but first of all i would like to ask which is the best for an optimal system for Logic Pro
    model 1 :
    1 stripe Raid 0 array drive for ''System'' (500+500 = 1000)
    1 stripe Raid 0 array drive for ''recording + sound banks'' (500 + 500 = 1000)
    which means to using 4 hard drives as 2 drives
    model 2 :
    1 stripe Raid 0 array drive for ''System'' (500+500 = 1000)
    1 Single drive for Sound banks (500)
    1 Single drive for Recording (500)
    which means to using 4 hard drives as 3 drives
    Or , it is more healthy to use the drives as single , without raid , stripe sets but with its own capacity instead of combining .
    and also if someone has an idea regarding to compare of Seagate and Westerndigital drives (which is the best for audio recording) , would be really helpfull
    I am kinda rookie for these subjects :/
    thanks in advance

    heelo blayzay
    thanks for the reply and assistance.
    1) how can i create a back up set for the 4th HD to be make back up of the 2nd and 3rd HD
    2) what about to make 1st HD for system and 2nd3rd4th (1.5TB) for audio recording, and an external drive for backups ?
    For the back ups , is there a special process for the backing up HD (internal or external) ? Or should i just need a Clone software to make the back up
    thank you again.

  • Can I set up multiple usb hard drives- one for time machine and a second for media? Can one also print wirelessly with an old HP C6280 printer?

    Can I set up multiple usb hard drives- one for time machine and a second for media?
    Can one also print wirelessly with an old HP C6280 printer?

    Can I set up multiple usb hard drives- one for time machine and a second for media?
    Yes.
    Can one also print wirelessly with an old HP C6280 printer?
    Possibly by using an Airport Express, but depends on what type of port connection the printer requires.

  • I am attempting to replace a failed hard drive on a F500 Vista laptop. I have a home premium recover

    I am attempting to replace a failed hard drive on a F500 Vista laptop. I have a home premium recovery DVD (1 of 1) and It runs the recovery after a while of loading, and it creates a 24GB partion and loads about 2.6Gb of information on it. the it ejects the disc and asks if I have any suplimental disks, which I don't have. Then it reboots it's self and cycles through reboots for 5 hours, yes I let it do this for 5 hours as the HP site says it could take several hours.
     After this I finally shut down the computer and loaded the hard drive in an ext case and retrieved the above information. I also note that the 250GB drive is shown as a 24GB drive, so I guess it hasn't completed the partions?
    I never get to a Vista window.
    This hard drive does pass the laptop's Bios hard drive check (the former 80GB drive did NOT) and was used to store Old Time Radio shows, until I went to a larger drive.
    The Laptop has a dual core Athlon TK-53 processor and the recovery disc is for 32 bit Vista (and the label in front and license on back don't state Vista 64, just Vista)
    So, Do I need a Vista 64 recovery disc? Should I download the available driver on the HP site and slap in that disc when the Recovery disc finishes and asks for supplimental discs? Might thngs indicate other issues with the laptop?
    I've loaded from scratch XP several times, but this is my 1st Vista experience. Thank you for any help!

    Okay. So I was able to install, and format the new internal HD. Was able to install Lion then Mavericks.  Next, is to try to retrieve my data from my failing old HD.  I bought an enclosure (sled), and have my HD hooked up to my laptop, and it finally showed up in Finder.  So.  Now.  What is next?  I am seeing a screen that shows these folders:  Applications (translate for the PC me = Programs), Library (I am assuming?? these are my various files such as docs, photos, music, etc.) System, opt, and Users.  Should I just try to drag and drop some/all of the folders onto my desktop, then open up the folders and do something with the contents?  Sorry to sound so vague and frankly, rather dumb-sounding, but the nomenclature with a Mac is a bit different than with a PC, and Finder is a little different looking to me than Windows Explorer.  I am relieved to see that I was even able to get this failing drive to show up in the first place, so I feel a little like I could be on borrowed time with it.  I think it may just be bad sectors, since I don't hear any clicking or other mechanical issues with the drive as it spins.  But, any further help with retrieving the data would be VERY much appreciated!!

  • Replacing a failed hard drive on a mid-2007 white macbook

    Replacing a SECOND failed hard drive on a mid-2007 white macbook (Intel core duo 2.16GHz), this time on my own
    Need to purchase a serial ATA drive, but I keep reading that trying to format and/or partition the drive for use with the original Tiger install disk is unsuccessful and that I would have to update to a newer OS before I can do that.
    I have Leopard as the current OS, and that is in my backup files from Time Machine, but I do not have a disk with Leopard.
    Wondering the best course of action and/or if someone had success wit ha particular Serial ATA using the Tiger disks
    Thanks!

    All Intel Macs have always use SATA drives, so all Intel versions of OS X support them including Tiger. I don't know what you've been reading. However, since you have Leopard I don't see what the problem would be because you don't need to install Tiger unless your Leopard disk is strictly an updater disc.
    How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop
    Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive.  Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure.  You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.
    Step Three: Boot from the external drive.  Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears.  Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID  then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive
    1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
    3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
    5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Destination means the new internal drive. Source means the old external drive.
    Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume.  Click on the Restart button.  You should boot from the new drive.  Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

Maybe you are looking for