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".
Two questions arise:
1. What is the maximum capacity drive available for the AlPb4.
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
2. No, but if you're a reasonably adept do-it yourselfer, you can do it yourself:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Browse/PowerBook
Choose your particular model and click on it.

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Looking for replacement internal hard drives for a MacPro

Looking to replace internal hard drives in a MacPro. Was thinking about 3TB. Any recommendations?

Look in System Report for the link speed available. (Mine says 3 Gigabit.) Get drives with at least that speed; going beyond that won't get you any more performance.

How to replace internal Hard Drive on iMac G5 iSight 1.9GHz

Hello everyone,
The internal hard drive of my iMac has died (apparently), and is no longer detectable by Disk Utility. It occasionally makes a "click/tick" sound so I know it's still spinning inside. I currently am booted up from an external firewire drive with Tiger (10.4.11) installed.
I have been attempting to locate a service manual that shows how to open the case to my 17" iMac G5 iSight 1.9GHz model. I have found a service manual from the previous generation iMac G5 NON-iSight models, but the bottom access panel and screw locations differ from my iMac.
I have purchased an internal 500GB Seagate 7200.12 replacement drive.
Does anyone know where I can find a manual with pictures showing how to disassemble this particular iMac so I can install the new hard drive?

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
The reason Apple don't publish pix of the insides of the iSight is that they say that there are no user serviceable parts.

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!
Cindy
P.S.. In case it would be helpful to know why I think I need to replace the hard drive...in the mornings when I go to turn the computer on, the hard drive activity light never flashes even a single time and the computer doesn't boot. Through trial and error I have figured out that by doing this:
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! **

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.

Replaced internal hard drive, time machine doesn't recognize as same volume

Howdy,
The hard drive (call it drive "X") on my iMac (one of the 2005 models) was dying so I had it replaced. I rebuilt the new drive (drive "Y") from my most recent time machine backup (from external drive "A"). I am now having problems with one of my backup devices, in that time machine doesn't recognize that the new disk is conceptually the same thing that had been backed up before (same volume name).
More details... I rotate my backups monthly through three external drives (I store the most recent offsite). After the disk replacement and restore process, I continued to use that backup drive (drive "A") without noticing any problem. Then it came time to rotate my external drives, and time machine doesn't find enough space on the next backup drive (drive "B"). Presumably this is because it doesn't realize that the drive I am backing up ("Y") is a copy of the drive that had previously been backed up on "B" ("X").
Is there any way to convince it they are the same? Or am I in the same boat as this poster:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2770362&tstart=0
Basically I just want to verify that I am in that same boat before I remove old backup files on "B". If I do decide I need to remove those, are the instructions linked in thread 2770362 correct, or are there better ones?
Thanks for any help,
Bob H

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.
Not to worry though. I've figured out how to get at the backups for the old internal drive, and am in the process of deleting those. I was about to follow the instructions in your troubleshooting items E3 and E2, but upon attempting to enter time machine I stumbled into the right place. Since I had previously told TM to do no backups (because there was still not enough disk space), and since I'd left the backup device connected, when I pulled up the TM menu from the menu bar, the usual "Enter Time Machine" menu was replaced by "Browse Other Time Machine Disks" (or perhaps "Disks" was "Backups"). This then gave me a list of the machines that I'd backed up on this backup device (in my case machine names and internal drive names are the same). Of course one of those was for the old internal drive, and after choosing it I roughly followed the same course of action as I did a few days ago, to initiate deletion.
I also saw how I could delete each of those old backups individually, but decided against that as I did not expect it would free up enough space. My expectation is that nearly all the space is shared among all the backups for the same source drive, since relatively very little changes between backups.
Bob H

Best replacement internal Hard Drive for a Mac Pro 3

I am looking for a replacement Hard Drive for my Mac Pro 3. It currently has an Intel ATA drive. Can I replay it with a SATA drive or a Solid State drive to upgrade it? Thanks.
Craig

I need to inform you there are no SATA. hdd in your or any Maqc Pro. Serial ATA only.
Buy yourself a 250GB Samsung SSD $150 or 500GB $250 are best.

Is it possible to install two OSX`s on one internal hard drive?

I tried to make a new, 30GB free partition formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but I can`t install OS X 10.6 from my original DVD there. Says "Mac OS X can`t be installed on this computer". Why?

I thought about some solutions,but I don`t know if any of them is true.
1) The original OS X DVD recongizes, that it has been installed and not erased yet and it doesn`t allow second installation.
2) My MacBook has replaced internal hard drive because of an error. In an authorised Apple service they gave me a new one with preinstalled OSX. But I don`t think that OSX install DVD is matched with hard drive.
3) DVD is broken.
Please help.

Can i use seagate goflex 3tb external hard drive for 2010 27" imac internal hard drive replacment if i take it out of the goflex case.do i need to format it before installation due to it allready having goflex software on it from manufacturer.

i have 3tb seagate goflex external hard drive.its brand new in package.i took it out of case and deleted partitions that were created by manufacturer.so now i have 2800 gigs.its formatted ntfs.will it work for late 2010 27" imac internal hard drive replacement.i found a apple repair place that will charge me 50$ to swap drives for me assuming i have the drive.i will have to install leopard myself at this price.i dont want to have to pay for anything other than the swap.will this hard drive work with this format or do i need to format it differently.

Hello
formatted ntfs
NTFS format not work on mac system , need to be formatted as Extended Mac os Journaled format and partition table need to be GUID
how to do that in video
HTH
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How can I replace my internal hard drive on my Macbook?

I have a 13 inch aluminum late 2008 MacBook. The processor is 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 running OS X Lion 10.7.4. The hard drive is currently set up as follows:
Macintosh HD 132.5 GB (with only 1.32 GB free)
BOOTCAMP 26.69 GB (with 6.15 GB free)
I am unsure if this matters but here is the info just in case:
On my Macintosh HD I have:
Audio 3.04 GB
Movies 33.11 GB
Photos 36.98 GB
Apps 15.27 GB
Backups Zero GB
Other 42.78 GB
I only use 1 software program on my Bootcamp (which I hardly use but must keep to run an electric vinyl cutting machine). I have thought of re-partitioning the drive. But then I got thinking that maybe the drive is just too small and it's no use.
I also have an older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use to keep all of my iTunes Library, most of my iPhoto library and most of my data. I have another older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use exclusively for my Time Machine back ups.
I also have a Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive that I use to put all of my movies on so that I can play them on any of my computers or plug into my Play Station 3 and play them on any of my TV's.
I have considered just getting another Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive to use for virtually all of the files/pictures/movies/music etc. on this internal hard drive.
Right now I am unsure what the best move is to make. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with Apple Tech Support today trying to buy an internal hard drive to install myself. They were not very helpful (in fact he told me I would have to ship in my machine just to replace the battery which is NOT true). Is there anyone out there who can give me some advice on this situation? Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

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/
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
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
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

I have a power pc (g5) computer that I will soon be replacing with a current i5 or i7 mini. How do I transfer the Time Machine files from the internal hard drive on the G5 to an external drive that I will later use with the Mini?

I have a Power PC G5 computer that I will soon be replacing with a current i5 or i7 Mini. How do I transfer the Time Machine files from the internal hard drive on the G5 to an external drive that I will later use with the Mini?

Hi, likely the easiest is to just poll the drive & get something like this...
Get MacScan...
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/macscan.html
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/
But if you have a good external drive already, just clone it.
Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
Or SuperDuper...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/

HT4718 Follow the instructions in "Installing Lion on an external storage device" also if you are REPLACING an internal hard drive.

Even though you are using Internet "Recovery", the program will not format your hard disk for you. In fact, once you get to the recovery screen, it will show no hard drive is even available, which at first caused me to believe I had been delivered a dead on arrival hard drive. Instead, exit the Recovery program and enter the Disk Utility program and partition your new, uprade hard drive as apple instructed for an "external" hard driver. After that just proceed with the Recovery program.

"...when the "genius" at the Apple Store said I could install an additional internal hard drive, I gave it a whirl... if I could get this all hooked up and power-supplied, where in the world would I put the new, additional hard drive?"
Your iMac has room for one hard drive and the optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW, etc.). Any ribbon cable supplied with the hard drive or a Y-splitter power cable is of no use in the iMac. The new drive must replace the original, because the two can't coexist internally. Additionally, you need to configure the new Seagate as "master," since the optical drive is "slave." Refer to Seagate's accompanying documentation, for instructions on setting the small jumper(s) to designate the drive as "master." The drive may have been factory-configured for "cable select," which isn't supported in your iMac. After you get that straightened out, you'll need to boot the computer from the Tiger installer CD and use "Disk Utility" to format the new drive as a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volume. You may also want to partition it as well.
Incidentally, you should post any future questions about your iMac in the Forum dedicated to the CRT-style iMacs. You'll receive informative answers to any questions that you might have, from those who are thoroughly familiar with your model iMac.

Can I replace the internal hard drive if my old one died?

I guess the questions should be should I replace it? My iMac's (early 2006 model) internal hard drive is totally dead, but I think if I install a new internal hard drive it will work again. If I get it up and running, I will use it in my classroom. Would this work? Can I put Tiger on an external hard drive and run the machine from there? (I am thinking the answer is no to the last question but thought I would ask. LOL!) I have already upgraded the RAM to 1 gigabyte (easy to do).

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.
Hope this helps. I'll take some pictures of mine when I take it apart again since I have to get a new drive soon myself.

How can i get an internal hard drive cable replacement?

how can i get an internal hard drive cable replacement?

I believe iFixit sells them:
http://www.ifixit.com/
You can also go to an Apple store, they won't sell you the part, but they will replace it for a fee.

How do I replace my internal hard drive and not lose windows partition?

Hello,
I am wanting to swap my internal hard drive out for a larger one. What do I do about my windows partition? I only use boot camp, and there is some stuff on my windows side I don't want to lose. I know how to make a clone for OSX, and I know how to replace the actual hard drive, it's just the windows that I am a little sketchy on.
Thanks for your help.

WinClone - check the faq and forum for tips and read the docs
http://www.twocanoes.com
Pull your hard drive and put it in external case, OWC sells such kits, you could probably use a good windows clone program too.
but you need room on an (external) hard drive to hold the Windows image (uses a sparse disk image file is all).
Paragon Software has been busy releasing programs and updates to help Mac users running Windows, using NTFS (and EXT2/3), as well as CampTune (free for now) for resizing Windows or linux boot camp partitions.
http://www.paragon-software.com/downloads/demo.html

Replacing Internal Hard Drive

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