Replacing internal hard drive - Any tips?

Hi all. I've found various posts on this but nothing covering start to end process. I'm on a PowerBook G4 15" Aluminium running osx 10.4. I've run out of space on the 90GB internal hard drive and so have bought a WD3200BEVE (320GB internal hard drive). I've also bought 1GB SD Ram to speed it all up.
I have all the required tools and instructions for swapping the drives. I also have 2 external hard drives - both connect via USB.
What do I need to do in order to be able to transfer everything from the existing internal hard drive to the new one? Is there anything I need to be specifically mindful of? Needless to say I'm looking for the most cost effective option here as have already shelled out enough on the drive and Ram.
Any pointers would be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
John

If your existing external USB case has the correct drive interface (parallel ATA/IDE for 2.5inch HDs), you should be able to put your new drive in it, clone the existing internal drive onto it, then do the physical drive swap. Newer drive cases usually have a different HD interface (SATA), though.
If your external cases do not have the right HD interface, I would buy an empty Firewire HD case such as this:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Macally/PHR250CC/
as it will give you a faster external drive afterwards you can use for a bootable backup HD with your old drive. Yes, you can also just buy an external USB case if you prefer, but you can't boot from a USB drive.
If your external cases do not have the right interface, I don't know is whether it's possible to clone the internal HD to one of your existing drives, put the new, unformatted HD into the PB, boot from the OSX DVD, reformat the new internal HD, then reclone from the external to the internal. It would require running the cloning application from the external drive, and I just can't remember if that is possible. I never run into that, as I always use the correct case for the drive method.

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WD Caviar Black 2 TB Internal hard drive...
http://tinyurl.com/2bywnvz
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Replacing Internal Hard Drive

Having deposited an AlPb4 into an Apple Service Centre for a new Logic Board, whereas I had hoped to upgrade the Hard Drive from 80Gb to 500Gb or 1Tb, the Service Centre reported that they couldn't accomodate this request - implying that the user could replace it with the maximum capacity available being 720GB. However, research suggests that "The PowerBook 15inch's internal hard drive is very difficult to get to, and is not classified by Apple as a user installable part".
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2. Is the Internal HDD classified as a User Installable Part by Apple.
Thanks

1. 320GB, and there's only one of those. The only larger 2.5" drives are SATA, and can't be used in any Powerbook.
http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Ntk=Primary&Ns=P_Price
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Can I replace internal hard drive using only my system recovery disc?

Hello Everyone and thank you so much for your help!
I have a Vista Desktop and have determined that I need to replace the hard drive.
I am hoping that I can set the jumper pin on the new hard drive to primary, remove the old drive, install the new drive and turn on the computer with the System Recovery (SR) Disc in my DVD drive, boot off of the SR Disc, and run the SR. Will this work or am I just dreaming?
On thing that might cause issues is that the original hard drive is 640GB, and it is no longer available, so the new one I have is 500GB..Everything else about the 2 drives is the same. Old drive: WD6400AAKS, New Drive: WD5000AAKS.
Thank you extra much for any advise you can provide!
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1) removing power from the computer
2) disconnect then reconnect both connectors to the hard drive
3) reconnect power to the computer
4) depress the computer On button
that the computer will boot and all is good for the day. However, I turn off the computer at night and the next morning have to follow the above procedure. Only removing power from the computer for 30+ minutes does not work, it seems to be necessary to disconnect the hard drive connectors.
This all started at the same time I got a virus on the computer that I was supposedly able to remove.
I have done the following to try to resolve the problem with no success:
1) Ran the diagnostics and passed all Tests, tests say hard drive is okay. (day 1)
3) Cleared the CMOS by removing the battery on mother board (day 1)
2) Did a System Recovery (day 2)
3) Ran Boot.exe /FixMbr (day 3)
4) Ran Boot.exe /FixBoot (day 4)
5) Ran Boot.exe/rebuild bcd (day 5)
I am thinking I must also have a virus on the boot sector that did not get written over when I did the System Recover...but I am a novice computer geek, so I know I could have missed something. :-)

Its easy Pal! You check your HDD first but not in the way you did. Just follow the steps with your old HDD.
1. Try a clean install(delete the partitions while installing OS) of other OS like linux or XP or Windows 7.
2. If it works properly the your HDD is OK.
3. Then work for some days with the OS installed to check the condition of HDD.
4. If any problem happens then you need to buy a new one or if its recently bought, go for RMA.
5. If there is no problem, then do a clean install(delete the partitions while installing OS) with your Vista Recovery.
6. Use a Better Security with MSE/Avira/Trand Micro
For Replacing with a different HDD, you must consult nearest HP Service Point for the change in your hardware configuration, so that they will register with Microsoft with the new HDD.
Note: Give the old and new HDD to HP Service Point employee.
** If your problem is solved then Mark this as Answer! **
** Please give Kudos If you want to Thank Me! **

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Ticking is a death rattle for drives and below are some helpful sites with pix.
http://www.kodawarisan.com/imacintel/imacintel01.html
http://xlr8yourmac.com/systems/imacisight_internals/imac_g5_isightinside.html
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=iVgL9u7ySUk
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=fI_QmBueWg4&feature=related
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Replaced internal hard drive, time machine doesn't recognize as same volume

Howdy,
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Actually, the backup I deleted above was the backup for the new internal drive. Apparently TM had created the (incomplete) backup during the failed attempt that ran out of space on the backup device. Since the new internal drive had the same name as the old internal drive, I didn't initially realize that's what I was deleting. Not that deleting it causes any harm, but it didn't address the original problem of freeing up space on the backup device.
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- MacIntouch: Bad RAM
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For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody/
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Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Aluminum-External-Enclosure-Capacity/dp/B000XPS3U6/r ef=pd_cp_pc_3
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HT4718 Follow the instructions in "Installing Lion on an external storage device" also if you are REPLACING an internal hard drive.

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jolly....
I had mine open last week and removed the faulty hd (160GB) and put it in a USB drive adapter. I was able to see it on a linux machine so I put it back in my iMac and it worked just fine for about a week. I was able to make a bootable copy on a 160GB usb drive and save all my data. Good thing too since it just died again (clicking a whirring sounds).
Any way... to answer your question. I recall that once you get to see the drive there is a clip and catch type connection where the drive and a metal plate come out as a single unit. It has 2 pins that fit into holes toward the bottom of the case and the catch is on the top. Once you pop the catch you can take the drive out with the plate. The pins screw out of the mounting holes on the drive and so does the metal plate.
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WinClone - check the faq and forum for tips and read the docs
http://www.twocanoes.com
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Replacing internal hard drive - Any tips?

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