Turning my iBook hard drive into a external hard drive

My old 2002 G3 iBook died in January. The best diagnosis is that it was the logic board failure... you know, it started up for awhile while pinching on the left side of the track pad.
Now I have a new MacBook, and would like to use my old hard drive as an external hard drive. Is this possible?
Not knowing too much about logic boards, I wonder if this is something that is part of the hard drive, or not. Obviously, if the logic board is one of the components of the hard drive this would not be possible, but if it's not, is there a place with instructions on removing the old hard drive and mounting it on a sled so I can access it with firewire?
Thanks a lot!

No, Trevor, the hard drive and logic board are separate entities.
To remove the hard drive check out iFixit's website:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/50.12.0.html
You would need an enclosure like this one which accommodates a 2.5-inch, 9 mm hard drive.
It should mount easily in such an enclosure. (Be sure not to buy an enclosure that is for an SATA drive. Those are for the newer drives like the one in your MacBook.)
With a Power PC Mac (like the iBook), you needed FireWire if you wanted to boot from it, but with the Intel Macs (like your new MacBook), USB booting is an option (however FireWire will still be faster).
Good luck.

Similar Messages

  • Can I drag and drop entire hard drive into and external hard drive?

    I want to back up my MacBook Pro before I send it in for optical drive replacement. However, the Time Machine back up app wants me to erase my external drive and reformat before it can back up my files. I already have information from other computers on the external drive, so erasing and restoring is out of the question.
    Can I just drag and drop my hard drives (Macintosh HD and BOOTCAMP) into the external hard drive?
    Will that transfer everything?
    As a side note, can anyone tell me why Time Machine doesn't work with the external drive? My dad has files on it from his Mac and I have a couple movies saved on it from this one. Is it possible to maybe partition the external drive to accommodate both and reformat only one partition without losing the other saved files?

    Hi
    +"So does reformatting make the external hard drive only usable by Macs/Time Machine?"+
    Not really. If the external drive is formatted as FAT32 you can read/write to that drive from any Mac as well as any PC. If the external drive is formatted as NTFS you can only read from it but you can read/write from any PC. You can write to an NTFS formatted volume if you use a 3rd-Party Utility such as MacFuse. If the drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended you can read/write to it from any Mac. Unless you install a 3rd-Party Utility (I don't know of any offhand) you won't be able to read/write to it from any PC. PCs don't know what a Mac OS Extended format is.
    As already mentioned TimeMachine will not work with any other format other than Mac OS Extended.
    +"Will I be able to use the same external hard drive to back up multiple Mac computers with Time Machine?"+
    Yes but only if that external drive has been formatted as Mac OS Extended. If there is existing data on that drive that you don't want to lose back it up first.
    +"Will I still be able to drag and drop movies into the external hard drive for basic storage?"+
    If you leave the external drive exactly as it is - ie no formatting - and you have already drag/dropped files to it from your mac or any other mac then you will be able to continue to do this.
    Tony

  • How Do I Make My Hard Drive Into An External Hard Drive

    I've had a lot of problems with my iMac G5 power supply and since I have newer computers I've decided to get rid of this computer.
    I want to save the hard drive and put it in a case, then use it as an external drive on my other Macs.
    What sort of case do I need to shop for? Should I look for SATA or what exactly is the proper nomenclature.
    Is USB 2 the preferred choice, or Firewire, or what? Is there a USB 3? I use a mid-2010 27 inch iMac with the intel processor, and I needed to buy an adapter to use my older Firewire external drive. Is Firewire a dodo?
    Thanks!

    You can get adapters that go from FW400 to FW 800 and you can get an enclosure from macsales.com, you can also use a bare doch, Google for them.

  • Can I take my old mac and make it into an external hard drive

    Can I take my old mac and make it into an external hard drive? It does not work anymore but I would like to make it into an external hard drive. I heard it is not to hard to do myself but I have important information I would like off of it and only really trust the apple store to do it. I know it is possible because I have had a friend that had it done after water went on her laptop. I would like to also know how much is this going to cost and if it is even worth getting done at the store or just do it myself.

    Can it boot to Target Disk Mode
    How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
    Otherwise just take the HD out and put it in an external enclosure.

  • Can I make combo drive into an external device?

    Okay, so I have a 14" iBook G4 1Ghz with a bad combo drive. I purchased a replacement from Amazon but then I looked up the directions for installing it and I am not sure I want to go through all of that. So, I have the following questions:
    Is it possible to make a CW-8123-C combo drive into an external device? If so where can I get the case that would be compatible with that?

    I'd do a google search for "slimline optical drive enclosure." I actually just did one and a fair number came up for USB, but I didn't see any for firewire. They're out there, but you'll probably have to hunt for them.
    If worse comes to worse and you need to do something like reload the OS, and you have access to another Firewire Mac (remember, firewire 400 ports aren't available on all Macs any longer) you could always do the following:
    1. On the borrowed Mac, put the optical media into the optical drive, and let the OS load it.
    2. Connect a firewire cable between your Mac and the borrowed mac.
    3. Reboot the borrowed Mac in target mode.
    4. Reboot your own Mac, holding down the "alt/option" key. The screen will turn blue and in about a minute or so, the drives on your system as well as the hard drive and optical disk on the borrowed system will show up as bootable devices.
    5. Select the optical drive by clicking on it then clicking on the icon that looks like a right arrow.
    The system will boot off the optical drive on the borrowed system, but you'll be able to do stuff like use disk utility to repair your volume, change passwords, etc. Just make sure you're doing this to YOUR disk and not the disk on the borrowed system.
    When you put a Mac into target mode, it really just turns the computer into one big firewire interface to the computers drives whether they be optical or hard disk.
    It's obviously not the most convenient way to do stuff but in an emergency it can do the trick.
    Hope this helps.

  • Can I set Time Machine to backup both my hard drive and an external hard drive?

    Hi. I've been working with a lot of family video lately and my internal hard drive has filled up significantly. iMovie doesn't seem to have a good archiving facility like Adobe InDesign which I use at work were all the relevant files are gathered together into one folder. Apple advised me to relocate my movie files to an external hard drive and herein lies my query.
    Is there a way for me to set Time Machine to backup both my iMac's internal drive and the external hard drive that would contain my movie files? I've been using Time Machine for my backups for a few years now, but backing up the external as well has me stumped. If Time Machine could be used then all the necessary file accociations etc would be safely backed up as well - that's why I don't want to have to manually backup the external.
    Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

    7string48 wrote:
    Thanks so much Pondini!!  You just quickly answered a question that none of the Mac people in 3 stores or Apple Care have been able to answer.If you can format it HFS+ (any variation of Mac OS Extended), it will work.  If not, it won't.  
    I'm not too surprised about the Apple Stores, as they don't get much training on Time Machine.  But AppleCare sure ought to know. 
    Oh...what about if the external drive is an array...like a Drobo with it's own proprietary formatting...I guess that would not work...??
    I've never used a Drobo.  A number of folks here have used them as their Time Machine drives, but I don't recall seeing anyone try to back one up with TM, so can't say for sure.  But if you can format it as HFS+ (any variation of Mac OS Extended), it will work.  If not, it won't.
    At least part of the reason is, Time Machine uses the File System Event Store, a hidden log of changes that OSX keeps on each Mac-formatted disk/partition, to figure out what's changed and needs to be backed-up.  See How Time Machine works its Magic for details.
    See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #32 for details and considerations of backing-up multiple volumes with Time Machine.
    However, even if it will work, that may not be your best strategy, depending on your circumstances:
    Since Time Machine keeps copies of things you've changed or deleted, the destination needs to be considerably larger than the data being backed-up.  How much larger varies widely depending on how you use your Mac, but a general "rule of thumb" is, it needs at least twice the space to be able to keep a reasonable "depth" of backups for you.
    If you have a large internal HD, fairly full, plus a large external HD, and the files on the external don't change frequently, you might want to use Time Machine for the internal, and a different app to a different disk or partition, on a different schedule, for the external.  Especially if space is a consideration, you might not need to keep previous versions of files on the externals.  See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #27 for some alternatives.

  • How to backup external hard drive to another external hard drive using time machine ?

    Hello,
    i have an external hard drive which i store all my drum samples and sound library on and files are contantly changing, adding new sounds, deleting old ones etc ..
    So my method of back up as of now is to just copy all the edited files and click and drag to the back up disk.
    Now, my question is, how do i back up my external hard drive to another external hard drive using time machine ? I read somewhere that you can do this, i cant find the post however. It would be nice to automate the back up process rather than manually finding the files to copy over.
    Thanks in advance !

    The question you pose is conditional, in that you should have more than an exact
    capacity replacement for a clone, if the drive you are going from (or one going to)
    has insufficient free space and that has a bootable clone on the drive; any space
    tied up in a partition for Time Machine backup, takes away from the running space
    if you should need to run the computer from a clone on the external HDD's other
    partition.... Better to have a good capacity of additional reserve unused free space.
    Be sure any clone copy that you hope to use as a re-close, that each in turn is tested
    after a clone operation. Also consider using each running system's Disk utility and
    have First Aid 'repair disk permissions'. Preparation of a new drive or even an old
    drive that may have questionable artifacts or errors on it, should be reformatted. To
    even go as far as Secure Erase (overwrite) at least one-pass before reformatting it
    again, could help.
    However, I'm not sure if the drives and situation you are looking at would necessarily
    be a good match. It could work, but you'd need a reasonable size partition or hard
    disk drive for a system. Snow Leopard and all its associated applications, can do
    OK in a 100GB HDD. (My computers have more storage capacity than is used; so
    for mine to have 60% free space, is good.) Virtual Memory is drive space used by
    OS X, that can be a substantial amount for swap and temp files. Some applications
    make duplicates of works-in-progress, for each change in an open file; that adds up.
    {This question (& my reply) should've been in their own thread & not at the end
    of one that is nearly three months old, + marked 'solved' by the original poster.}
    So I guess I don't have a direct answer to your question; having just returned from
    a few hundred miles and automobile issues, too. I'm not really thinking on-topic...
    The clone should be on its own separate drive, and up to 3TB drive dedicated to
    Time Machine may be overkill, however that software will consume old backups first
    when it uses up all the space. Or usually that is what happens in TM backups. If
    that isn't happening, there may an issue in how Time Machine is set up.
    Good luck & happy computing!

  • Data rescue 3 external drive recovery .Invisible external hard disk 1 tb., I want a refund.

    data rescue 3 external drive recovery .Invisible external hard disk 1 tb., I want a refund.

    I personally would use Disk Warrior before attempting to recover any data for that exact reason.

  • I got a new computer and backed up my iTunes library to an external hard drive.  The external hard drive is not allowing me to access the drive.  Is there a way to transfer the songs from my iPod touch to my new computer?

    I got a new computer and backed up my iTunes library to an external hard drive.  The external hard drive is not allowing me to access the drive.  I no longer have access to the old computer.  Is there a way to transfer the songs from my iPod touch to my new computer?

    That's a bummer, didn't realize the exHD files were corrupt, esp if you have tried from another PC and not just this new computer.
    You can get purchases from the itunes store transferred from an iPod using these directions:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848?viewlocale=en_US
    If you want everything (meaning non-itunes songs, app data, photos, etc) you need to buy a 3rd-party ipod manager that support iTouch. Here is an iLounge article to start your research:
    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/P2/

  • Moving picture from laptop hard drive to larger external hard drive

    I am not changing anything in my system.  I am using windows 7 and will continue to.  No change in elements version (10).  Please give me a step by step instructions on how to move my pictures from my computer hard drive to an external hard drive (this will NOT be a back up) but the primary locaton for my pictures.  I will keep elements program on my computer and when I want to work on my pictures or download more pictures from my camera  I will connect to the external hard drive. 

    Jan9368 wrote:
    A few questions
    When I drag and drop my pictures am I looking at my pictures in elements organizer?
    No, there are two ways to see your folders in PSE11 and PSE12 :
    By default, it's the 'My Pictures' view. It shows a flat list of all the folders containing images registered in the catalog; all the folder of the last level, without the tree organization. You may have missed (like many, many users...) the 'Pictures' view which you obtain in clicking on the small yellow icon in the title bar of 'My Pictures'. You are shown all your folders and subfolders, all your different drives. It's very close to the folder view of Windows explorer, and you can do most of the operations you would do in the explorer.
    You'll understand better if you take the time to play with the 'Pictures' view, where you can collapse or expand subfolders, or right click to show 'display all folders' when they are collapsed.
    Let's say you have all your pictures under the default 'Pictures' folder of Win7. You should see the list of your drives in the lower part of the same left panel.
    I suppose you don't want to change the default 'Pictures' location in Win7. If your external drive has the letter F:, you'll create a new master folder : 'F:/My Pictures bis' for instance. To test the process, you'll select one of your folders under Pictures, drag and drop on F:/My Pictures bis. Then you can check the result by viewing your pictures in different order, by testing your tags, albums etc. All should work exactly the same as before as long as your external drive is plugged in. (If it is not, you'll get 'missing files' warnings which will disappear if you plug in your external drive).
    When you are satisfied with the process, you can move other folders (their subfolders will follow).
    You could move only the upper level 'Pictures' folder of Win7 in a single step, but you'll feel more secure by doing this in several moves, since moving a big amount of files takes a long time (not longer than a move via the explorer,  moving a library of 150 GB like mine requires maybe 2 hours...)
    Since you are on Win7, be sure to give all the access rigths to your external drive...
    Another Windows trick : the catalog will remember and register the letter drive, F: in our example.
    If you plug-in another  accessory in the meantime and the drive is now assigned G:, you'll have problem.
    The best way to avoid such a case would be to assign a letter like M: so that your external drive will be recognized in all cases.

  • My MacBook Pro keeps making copies of a document that I am trying to save. I don't want to duplicate the file. I only want to save it on both my hard drive and my external hard drive. I do not want to change its name for every save, which the computer see

    My MacBook Pro keeps making copies of a document that I am trying to save. I don't want to duplicate the file. I only want to save it on both my hard drive and my external hard drive. I do not want to change its name for every save, which the computer seems insistent on doing. Help!!

    11lizzyp wrote:
    can't be saved because the file is read-only.
    I did not create the file to be read-only. I created to be able to continue to add to it as I work on it.
    More on versions here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4753
    local snapshots:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4878
    Sounds like a permissions problem ie read only.
    If running repair permissions from your DiskUtility.app does not sort it,
    Someone should jump in here with erudite and concise fix.

  • How do i transfer files from my hard drive to an external hard drive as FAT files?  Laptop hard dive is full and I need to clear space.

    How do i transfer files from my hard drive to an external hard drive as FAT files?  Laptop hard dive is full and I need to clear space.

    In Disk Utility use MS-DOS
    Try http://www.mactip.net/guide-how-to-format-an-external-drive-to-work-seamlessly-w ith-macs-and-pcs-without-third-party-software/ for additional directions.
    Allan

  • How do I move a partition on my mac hard drive, to an external hard drive so that i can run windows when the external hard drive is connected

    How do I move a partition on my mac hard drive, to an external hard drive so that i can run windows when the external hard drive is connected

    Are you talking about a Bootcamp partition? You can't boot Windows from an external drive.

  • I am unable to save from a thumb drive to my external hard drive. i am not running Lion.

    I am unable to save from a thumb drive to my external hard drive. I am not running Lion.

    How is each drive formatted? If you don't know it's easy to find out. In Finder highlight each and click Command I (that's I as in Ivan) and it will tell you. Both drives should be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) assuming you are only using each with your Mac. If you share with MS Windows machines then it get's more complex.

  • How do I transfer "backups" from my macbook pro hard-drive to an external hard-drive

    how do I transfer "backups" from my macbook pro hard-drive to an external hard-drive

    Are these the 'backups' you see in the storage display?
    If, so ignore them.  Please read this:
    http://pondini.org/OSX/LionStorage.html
    If not, please provide more information.
    Ciao.

Maybe you are looking for