Q ab. Hard Drive upgrade; PATA/SATA, S.M.A.R.T., HDD Controler

Question

I have a few questions about replacement hard drives for my PowerBook G4 12" 1.0 GHz DVI. (I am also going to upgrade the hard drive in my wife's Powerbook G4 15" 1.33 GHz Combodrive, but I think the questions/answers below will apply to both. I'll just deal with my 12" for ease here.)
I have read Apple's specifications and searched all over to find detailed information about ATA ratings and compatibility, and I'm still in the dark about a few things. I'm interested in a 160GB or a 250GB internal drive to replace my 80GB (which did come standard as an optional feature, although this is my second 80GB--I burned the first one before my Applecare expired), and I'm looking at the following drives, for instance:
HITACHI Travelstar 5K160 HTS541616J9AT00 (0A28419) 160GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822146200
Western Digital Scorpio WD2500BEVE 250GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136159
Questions:
1. HDD Controller limit to internal drive capacity: I've read that older powerbooks (whatever this means, it wasn't specified) may have a 128GB limit, supposedly meaning that the HDD controller will only recognize 128GB on an internal drive. Anyone know if this is true? How do I find out? It isn't published on Apple's spec page for my machine. And, if such a limit does exist for my machine, can I install a 160 GB and get the full 128GB? (b/c a 120GB will only give me 100+ usable after all.) Will the fact that the drive is lager than the total recognizable amount mess up the cataloging, data retrieval, reliability, stability...?
2. ATA-100 vs. ATA-6 vs. ATA-7 vs. PATA vs SATA. My present 80GB TOSHIBA MK8025GAS just says ATA in the System Profiler "Protocol" field for the ATA drive. I presume that the SATA is a later, more recent, non-backwards-compatible format/pin configuration/?. I presume the 100 refers to the 100mb/s data transfer rate, which is what the Apple specifications have for my machine. The drives I am looking at, by and large, are rated at 100mb/s. They all have other specifications, however (ATA-6, ATA-7), and I am hoping to hear that they do NOT refer to pin configuration differences.
-Q- will PATA and SATA drives both fit my machine, or does the "Ultra ATA/100 hard drive" listed in the Apple Specs for my machine mean that the pin configuration/compatibility will only work with PATA drives? Thus, Is Parallel ATA what I have and need?!?! Will a faster SATA drive work in my machine? Would I be able to swap it out into a MacBook Pro when I upgrade next year? (i.e. are SATA drives &/or boards backwards compatible with PATA drives? And are PATA drives &/or boards forward compatible?)
3. S.M.A.R.T. verification capability. I am unclear as to whether this capability is essential and which drives provide it. Some information states that Hitachi Travelstar drives DO support S.M.A.R.T. verification, but such is not listed on their information about the drives. My present 80GB Toshiba DOES have this capability, so System Profiler says. Before my previous drive failed, SMART notification may have saved me (though it's unclear if it actually made any difference--it's just notification, after all, right?), alerting me that the drive was failing and thus giving me enough time to get the last bit of un-backed-up data off the drive before it died altogether. (This is a presumption based on changing S.M.A.R.T. status notifications in System Profiler and from Disk Utility Repair Disk reports). In fact, however, I don't really know what SMART verification is, and thus I don't know how important it is.
-Q- How important is S.M.A.R.T. verification capability? And what is it really?
-Q- which manufactures support it?
Many, many thanks for any insight.

Answer 1

Jeremy:
does, that the Seagate Ultra ATA/100 which I'm about to buy will not work with an Intel-based Mac?
Your Intel-based Mac needs a Serial ATA (SATA) HDD instead of ATA or ultraATA, PATA etc. Not knowing the specs of your IntelMac select your Intel Mac here and navigate to your Model for a list of compatible HDDs.
I do intend to install them myself. I haven't had this G4 open, but I put 2 HDDs in my previous G3 without issue, so I think I'll brave it, armed with iFixit instructions.
Since you have done it before, this addition may be superfluous, but here are few tips you may find helpful:
• Print out the ifixit directions as well as the screw guide ahead of time.
• Be sure you have the right tools. You don't want to damage the screw heads or you may never get them out. And the correct size Torx screw driver is critical.
• I use small medicine cups one for the screws in each step. I nest them so that the last ones out and the first to go back in are on top. You can use an ice cube tray, egg carton, dixie cups etc. (Some users report cutting up the screw guide and placing the applicable section in each container.)
• Be very careful pulling out leads. Hold the lead as close to the plug as possible and wiggle (the plug ) to loosen its grip. Don’t hold the wires and pull as that can damage the cable, or worse, in some instances pull the wires out of the plug. Indeed, some users have pulled the socket off the logic board! Use needle nose pliers or tweezers if you can access the plug, or nudge the plug with a small instrument to help loosen its grip.
• Use force gently in removing parts. Separating upper and lower case takes some doing. Use a plastic tool (spudge) so as not to leave marks.
• Refer to the screw guide when reassembling computer. Putting longer screws in the wrong place can perforate the circuit board.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Cheers
cornelius
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