Upgrading the ATA MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8585 drive in a G4 AGP

I noticed an earlier DVD upgrade article and saw the Pioneer DVR-112 mentioned. I am wondering if anyone could suggest an ATA DVD disk burner that I could use to replace the one in the G4. It would of course be nice to find something that is mac compatible.
best regards,
vilppu

Fortunately, you can buy the same standard ATAPI DVD±RW drives that are used in PCs, and don't need one with a Mac ROM or firmware, as is the case with a graphics card upgrade. I upgraded a pair of B&W G3 towers with Toshiba DVD-ROM/CD-RW drives, and the B&W G3 has the same form factor as your G4-AGP. The replacement is very straightforward, but I'll pass along one suggestion. Avoid a drive that has a designer faceplate. By faceplate, I'm referring to the entire plastic front of the drive, not the small piece of plastic that snaps over the front edge of the tray. Some manufacturers want the drive to be more stylish, and create a raised plastic faceplate for it. In a PC with a wide-open 5.25" bay, that's not a problem. In the G4, the optical drive's faceplate must be relatively flat, because it sits directly behind the hinged bezel. The plastic actuator lever on the outside of the computer must be able to contact the drive's open/close button. Some Sony drives come with a plastic faceplate that recesses the open/close button, so that it doesn't protrude out forward enough for the G4 bezel's actuator lever to contact. The retail-boxed Sony drives include a flat faceplate (in black) to install on the drive, if the other type causes problems. I had a nice Phillips CD-RW drive that I would have installed in a B&W G3, but it had an incompatible faceplate that wouldn't fit behind the blue bezel. Most drives follow convention and have the same basic design, but some PC component engineers try to be creative.

Similar Messages

Is it possible to upgrade the OS without a working CD drive?

Hi,
I have an older Powerbook G4 running OS 10.3.9. It's still (mostly) working, and I've managed to get by without updating my OS, because I was told that it would compromise performance if I tried to update to OS 10.4 or later.
However, I just bought a lovely new iPhone 3GS, only to discover to my dismay that I can't synch it with my laptop without running OS 10.4.11.
I would be willing to compromise performance to be able to synch my iPhone and be able to use the contacts and calendar and iTunes, etc. on both devices.
But that leaves me with a bigger problem, which is that my laptop's CD/DVD drive died ages ago. Which really hasn't been a problem (I just use flash drives and an external hard-drive to transfer files, etc.). And it hasn't seemed worthwhile to fix it because the computer is so old, so I'm just trying to squeeze a bit more useful life out of it until I can afford to buy a new one. But now I imagine it probably means I'm unable to upgrade my OS.
Unless it's possible to do the upgrade some other way, which doesn't require using the CD drive?
And if it is possible to upgrade some other way, how much will performance be compromised? (It's a 1GHz PowerPC G4 (3.2) with a 1 MB L3 cache, and 1 GB SDRRAM, or so my "About This Mac" tells me!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You could buy an external DVD drive. It needs to be firewire and bootable by Mac OS. If you have another PPC with firewire, you could try target Disk mode and installed tiger that way.
outoforderorder explains how...
By the way, here it is how you find the terminal application.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
From: san francisco,ca
Registered: Apr 27, 2007
Re: Do the widgets drain system resources and power?
Posted: Apr 28, 2007 2:51 PM
I tend to think dashboard is neat, but not neccesary for my everyday workflow.
it is possible to enable and disable it as needed,
by entering the following commands into the terminal:
#To turn Dashboard off:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
#To turn Dashboard on:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean NO
#*You have to restart the Dock after making either change for it to take effect:
killall Dock
Bye Bye Dashbaord
http://www.kainjow.com/kermitsoft/downloads.html
Disable Spotlight, Bonjour and Dashboard:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8749558#8749558

Is it possible to upgrade the Mac Pro with SCSI/SAS drives?

Hi guys I am considering to move on to a Mac Pro from my old PC.
The Mac Pro enclosure is quite unique in its hard drive holders as no cables are used and all drives are connected with a plugin mechanism.
So I am curious if that will allow me to upgrade to a SCSI/SAS storage system which requires cable connections between drives and the SCSI/SAS card on the PCI-E slot. I dont know if this will be possible with the Mac Pro enclosure.
Has anyone tried to do this？
Btw is there any Ultra320 or SAS(preferably) interface card available for Mac OS X?

The connectors for SATA drives can be used with SAS drives. However, the controller needs to be SAS compatible. I have never installed a SAS drive in the Mac Pro bay to see what happens. If some one has a SAS drive and wants to try this I would be interested in the results.
My guess is that the Mac Pro would not see the drive.
Areca sells the Mac Pro PCIe bootable ARC-1680 SAS controller in several configurations. This controller allows the user to utilize SAS or SATA hard drives connected to the card. The ARC-1680x comes with two external mini SAS connectors that can support eight direct connect hard drives or up to 128 devices (in theory) when used with SAS expanders.
The ARC-1680LP has one internal mini SAS port and one external mini SAS port. I looked at the Mac Pro internal SATA connectors and they can unscrew from the frame but there is only about 1/2" of clearance in that area of the case. In addition, I would want the hot swap bays to still operate and I did not see an easy way to patch into the existing SATA connectors. It would be nice if the Mac Pro factory connectors used snap on SATA connector on the back of the backplane so that users could interface the 4 SATA bays with an internal PCie controller. However, its hard wired in the existing configuration. With the new Mac Pro PCIe RAID 5 card on the market there must be alternative connectors that allow this type of installation to work properly.
Based on the ease at which the Areca SAS controller can be added as an external using the ARC-1680x I went with that option. I am using it with eight direct connect SATA hard drives now. I plan to expand the storage by adding a SAS expander in the form of a hub or an enclosure with SAS capabilities. I have been looking at a 16 bay SAS enclosure but I am not sure how loud it will be
Details on the ARC-1680 can be found here:
http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcietosas1680series.htm
Its very cool to have SAS or SATA capability along with a bootable card that can support tons of hard drives and RAID levels 0, 1,1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60 or JBOD . I booted the Mac Pro with a 2TB Mac OS X 10.4.10 RAID 6 volume and ran Xbench. It shows a 400MB/sec. hard drive setup and raises the overall Xbench score substantially.
While I doubt I will boot the Mac Pro from the RAID 6 volume much, it is very cool that that function is available. This is the only PCIe host adapter I have found with boot capabilities besides Apples new $999 4 port SATA internal card. SAS has lots of expansion capabilities. Users that want pretty much unlimited hard drive connectivity will enjoy the new ARC-1680x.
Have fun!

Should I upgrade the RAM, the Processor, and add an ATA/133 card?!

Hello!
I have a few more questions...
I only have 2 internal drives...
(one 300GB which is the main one that runs the applications and one 60Gb used as extra storage mainly for my video projects)
Do I need an ATA/133 PCI controller card for them?
will it really be worth it?
(meaning will it actually make a difference in speed or not?)
or do you only need one of those cards if you have 3 or 4 drives?
also,
would adding more RAM (up to the 2.0 GB limit)
(my comp is currently at 1.25 GB)
make a huge difference?
and the processor...
if i upgrade it to the 1.8 GHz
(it's currently at 867 MHz)
will it be a major improvement?
i guess I'm asking if i would benefit in upgrading
everything:
the RAM,
the processor,
and adding an ATA/133 PCI controller card
or would just upgrading/adding one or two of these be suffice?
I'm seriously looking into upgrading my comp but I want to know
what benefits me and what won't really make a difference
-Cristina-
p.s.
I know I posted this somewhere earlier,
but I'm just so anxious :/
I've been looking at so much information that my head feels like it's going to explode!

Hi-
You don't need a controller card.
If you keep your main drive(s) on the ATA/100 bus (rear carrier), and add (if you like) up to two drives to the ATA/66 (forward carrier) bus, for storage, archives, etc., you will have fine performance from all drives.
If you are going to add a drive, I would add a larger drive to the ATA/100 bus, and move the smaller (60gb) to the ATA/66 position, relegated to storage. Your graphics work (is it?) will then run well on the two drives on the ATA/100 bus.
In a G4, running with maximum RAM (2gb) is always a good performance move, and helps reduce the "spinning beachball", especially with large graphics files. As for "huge difference", not as such, but, RAM is one of the cheapest (especially now) performance buys that can be had, and more RAM is always better than less.
Upgrading to dual 1.8ghz processors would be a "Wow!" type of upgrade, compared to the current dual 867mhz processors. Be advised, that processor upgrades require that you be able to boot to OS 9 prior to installing the processor upgrade. This is to apply necessary "patches" to allow the system to use the new processors. If you don't still have a boot-able OS 9 installed on your machine, you will need to have that ability prior to a processor upgrade.
Another processor upgrade option, would be to change your processors to dual 1.25 or 1.42mhz processors from another MDD. The difference from a 11.25 dual processor, and the dual 1.8, is really between 10-15% increase in performance, with the 1.25mhz providing about 20-25% increase over the dual 867mhz processors. The main problem with this approach, is that there are some modifications that must be made, which aren't the average "do it yourself" type of work.
In the end, though, you may want to take the upgrade money, $600+, sell the MDD, $300+, and put the money on a new Mac. Don't get me wrong, I like upgrades, but it is as much to tinker, as it is to boost performance. And, at the end of the day, I don't need a new Mac. If you don't, either, you will be happy with the upgrades.

Should I upgrade the internal hdd on my 2008 8.1 iMac or use an external drive?

I have an external hdd right now it is a 500gb go seagate goflex with a number of iTunes folders that I put on from my windows pc. I just received this 2008 2.4ghz core 2 duo 8.1 iMac and tried to import the files. The internal hdd is only 250gb so they would not fit, when I tried to get iTunes to run from the external drive it would but I would have to manually open each artist then album then song I wanted in the Finder for it to play. The songs do not show up automatically in iTunes, even though I think I followed all of the instructions for external hdd support. I was going to buy a new iMac and have the genius set it up, but now I think I am going to upgrade the RAM myself and am deciding wether or not I should also replace the internal hdd to 2TB or just get an external hdd so when I get a new iMac, maybe next year, I could still use it. However, I don't want to get another, larger external hdd if I'm going to have a hard time transferring all of my media to iTunes. Can I pay to have an apple genius do this at the store? I just upgraded the operating system to Snow Leopard and am waiting to upgrade RAM before moving to Mountain Lion. I just want my iTunes to sync up, at this point I will do just about anything, short of buying a new Mac. Thanks for any help.

You can keep your iTunes collection on an external drive. You can also keep just bulky items that you may not want to see often such as movies and just keep smaller items on the internal drive. This split option is more tricky but there are several ways to do it.
If all you have is a modest music collection, you can manage with an internal drive. Most modern media collections with huge movies files fast outpace even larger internal hard drives and you will have to resort to an external drive. Your computer dating from 2008 is (according to Apple's coproration standards) on its way to becoming a museum piece (hey, I still use a 10 year old computer, but Apple gave up hope for me years ago). I would not upgrade the internal drive. That will cost you a lot and be tricky to take with you to your next computer. An external drive you can just plug into a new computer.
Some of the issues you are encountering are because you do not yet know how to properly manage and transfer iTunes files. We can help you, or you can pay somebody a lot of money to do this for you on a regular basis.
Your GoFlex drive was used with Windows. Macs and Windows use different drive formats. If you are now using Mac-only then you will need to reformat the drive (you will need to store all those files elsewhere while you are doing this).
Do not buy just one external drive. When that drive fails (oh, and believe me, it will) your whole collection will be lost. Some of it you may be able to download again from Apple, but Apple does not "store" your iTunes collection, it is up to you to ensure its safety.

HT201250 I recently replaced my 2009 Macbook Pro's hard drive. I had the Apple store upgrade the OS to Mountain Lion while it was being repaired. I want to restore all of my old files and data, if I restore from Time Machine, will it revert to the old O

I recently had to replace my 2009 Macbook Pro's hard drive. I had the apple store upgrade the OS to Mountain Lion while it was in being repaired. I want to restore all of my old data and files. If I perform a restore from Time Machine, with a date prior to having the hard drive replaced, will it revert back to the old OS?

No, it won't revert to the prior OS X but you you may have third party apps installed that were compatible with Lion that may not be compatible with Mountain Lion.
App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps - App compatibility and feature support for OS X & iOS
After you restore from TM, check HD > Incompatible Software

Is it possible to upgrade the internal Hard disk drive on the iMac

Is it possible to upgrade the internal Hard disk drive on the iMac?

Yes but it's definitely not advised. If you have a machine newer than 2009 Apple uses drives that have integrated heat sensors. This makes upgrading much more difficult but not impossible. If you have a machine still under warranty then definitely DO NOT do this yourself as you may void the warranty not to mention it isn't for the faint of heart. Take the machine to an AASP to have the work done, you will need to find one in your area willing to do so.
If you are considering a new machine then simply buy the configuation you need.

Can anyone make a recommendation on the purchase of an external hard drive for my Macbook Pro? I am currently using OS 10.6.8 because I can't upgrade until I clean out my start up disc space. I have a ton of pictures to transfer. Thanks!

Can anyone make a recommendation on the purchase of an external hard drive for my Macbook Pro? I am currently using OS 10.6.8 because I can't upgrade until I clean out my start up disc space. I have a ton of pictures to transfer.Thanks!

best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package) $117
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST portable external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

I want to upgrade the 500gb HDD to an SSD on an S230u with windows 8 but want clone the drive

I want to upgrade the 500gb HDD to an SSD on an Thinkpad Twist S230u with windows 8 but don't want to lose the data and programs installed on the drive and have to start over. I tried to clone it but no software could do it. I tried acronis and EasyToDo. I was able to clone it with a duplicator but it wasn't bootable. Am I to assume that what I need to do is the following - 1- Create the recovery media on a 32gb usb stick. 2- back up the drive using Acronis (or other) 3- Physically replace the drive 4- boot to the USB Recovery Media and bring the system back to it's original state out of the box but with the SSD Drive. 5- Use Acronis (or other) to restore back up made of the 500gb prior to removal. Thanks in advance! Scott Fischer

Before you start cloning your HDD with acronis, you have to prepare the SSD:
at first: connect your SSD with USB to your notebook and
1. Start CMD.EXE as Admin
2. type: "diskpart"
3. type: "select disk x " x = Letter of your SSD
4. type: "list partition" the drive should be unformatted
5. type: "create partition primary align=1024"
6. type: "active"
7. type: "format fs=ntfs" --> wait some minutes
8. type: "assign letter=x" --> For example "x"
9. type: "exit"
Start acronis true image 2013 (trial version)
select "Backup" without empty sectors
you can select any partitions, so also the the invisible lenovo backup paritions
The Backup can be "Restore"-d to the SSD, incl. GPT (MBR like in UEFI Systems)
After all, the SSD is ready to use. Booting on USB gives here a blue screen. I tought it was my fault. It isnt. You can build in the SSD into your SATA Port and Windows 8 will boot very well.
Sorry for my bad english

My iMac suddenly can't read the backup hard drive I've been using for Time Machine. I did NOT just upgrade the OS or anything. The external HD is an OWC Mercury Elite All Pro. It's worked fine since I got the iMac 4 years ago.`

My iMac suddenly can't read the backup hard drive I've been using for Time Machine. I tried unplugging the cord that connects the HD to the iMac and plugging it back in, but I still get "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" below which are buttons for Initialize, Ignore and Eject. I was using a cord that went from larger square plug to larger square plug. So then I tried one that went from smaller square plug to what I think is USB (thin rectangular plug) of the sort that connects the keyboard and mouse. It's the type that my printers and scanners use to connect to the iMac. I did NOT just upgrade the OS or anything. The external HD is an OWC Mercury Elite All Pro. It's worked fine since I got the iMac 4 years ago. What else can I try before just trying to initialize and

Thanks, Michael! I do hear it at times spooling up and running. Just after I bumped the thread I looked for troubleshooting for this drive online and found the manual which suggested using Disk Utility which I've seen before accidentally (if I hit Command Shift U instead of Shift U to type "Unit" on a new folder for a student's homework ) but had never really noticed. Disk Utility does see it and also a sub-something (directory?) which might be the Time Machine archives on the disk, called disk1s2), sort of the way that my iMac's hard drive shows up as 640.14 GB Nitachi HDT7... and has a sub-something titled DB iMac, which is what I named my iMac's hard drive.
Anyway the owner's manual just shows the image under the formatting section, not the troubleshooting section, but as soon as I saw it in the manual I remembered seeing it accidentally a few times, went to it, and am now verifying the disk. Right now it's telling me that it will take 2 hours to complete the verification, so I guess I have a bigt of a wait. :-)
Does that fact that Disk Utilities can see it mean it's not failed, or just that it hasn't completely failed?
I can see the virtue in having multiple redundant backups, or at least two backups. What do you suggest? Two external hard drives? I had this one linked by ethernet, and but I also have a cord that could link it by USB (like a printer), so if this one is reparable I could get a second one and link it by USB. If this one is not reparable I could get two and do the same thing. I do have an Airport so I suppose it's possible to get some sort of Wi-Fi hard drive (my new printer/scanner uses only the network and not a cable, although it has a cable that I used for the initial installation), but I'd suspect a Wi-Fi hard drive might have a higher price.
What hard drives, if any, do you recommend? I seem to recall that when I was looking at external hard drives 4 years ago, Apple's were substantially more expensive, which is why I got the OWC Mercury Elite All Pro.

HI, I HAVE A MacBook Pro 2.3GHz dual-core Intel i5 AND I WAN'T TO UPGRADE THE HARD DRIVE UP TO 750GB AND ALSO THE RAM MEMORY TO 8GB. WHAT SPECIFIC MODEL OF HARD DRIVE AND RAM MEMORY SHOULD I BUY??? THANKS

HI, I HAVE A MacBook Pro 2.3GHz dual-core Intel i5 AND I WAN'T TO UPGRADE THE HARD DRIVE UP TO 750GB AND ALSO THE RAM MEMORY TO 8GB. WHAT SPECIFIC MODEL OF HARD DRIVE AND RAM MEMORY SHOULD I BUY??? THANKS

No need to type in all caps - we HEAR you!
I would take a look at the internal drives offered by both Crucial (click the link "Internal Hard Drives Now Available") and OWC. I would stay away from Western Digital drives as they seem to have problems on a number of Mac models.
You can also shop for RAM at Crucial and OWC - just select the System Scanner tab at the Crucial website to find out which memory is right for your machine.
Good luck,
Clinton

Upgrading the Hard Drive - can it be done by Apple?

So, I bought a standard, from the store, in a box Macbook. I have discovered that 250gb is WAY too little for my needs, and would like more. However, I am not about to tackle this myself, so is it possible to take my Macbook into an Apple Store and have an employee do it for me, transferring my current Hard Drive's contents onto a 500gb Drive? Is there a charge for this, beyond the cost of the Drive? How much would the drive be?
Thanks.

How about buying an external drive to store your extra data? Easy as plugging it in to a usb port.
Any opinions on how this may limit how you work with the external drive that the OP may want to consider?
Personally I would upgrade the drive, use a firewire case to transfer your data(clone the old drive onto the new) and windup with your old drive in the case as a external backup/extra storage drive. This is totally a totally new idea to me, but told it is easy; this will be my spring break upgrade project, should be a total under $150 I think.

Do I need an OS Disc to restore my macbook after I upgrade the hard drive?

I need to upgrade the hard drive in my 2009 macbook. I have a Time Capsule. I'm not clear on whether I need to install OS on the new drive using a disc, or whether I can do that from the Time Capsule? The issue is that my disc drive is broken, and I don't really want to replace it as I never use discs in it anyway. But i don't want to get stuck with a new hard drive and be unable to get an operating system on it.

I prefer this process:
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.
However, you could simply reinstall OS X on the new drive after prepping it, the restore all your files from your Time Machine backup.
Hard to say what if any other options there may be since you haven't told us what version of OS X is in use and backed up to your Time Capsule (and if it is a full system backup.)

I have a rather old iMac 20" (mid 2007) and I want to upgrade the Hard drive. How do I change it? How do I transfer all my applications? May I just copy the old hd into the new one? Thanks.

I have a rather old iMac 20" (mid 2007) and I want to upgrade the Hard drive. How do I change it? How do I transfer all my applications? May I just copy the old hd into the new one? Thanks.

There are many online tutorials on how to change out the HD on a mid 2007 iMac. One of the originals is from 2007 and is Upgrade your iMac 20" or iMac 24" aluminum (mid 2007) to 1TB Hard Drive and 4 GB RAM - DIY Guide. As far as migrating your system Apple helps out with that in Setup Assistant which automatically starts when you turn on a new Mac for the first time. After you have installed the new HD you will have to format the new HD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then you will have to install OS X. The first time you turn it on Setup Assistant will start. Follow the directions and you will be fine. In order to restore your information you will need to backup what is on the current internal HD first. I'd recommend using Time Machine (Assuming you are using Leopard or later) AND also creating a bootable clone using either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.
Please complete your profile so at the very least we know what version of OS X your machine has installed.

I want to upgrade the hard drive in my MacBook Pro

I bought one of the first MacBook Pros that only came with a 100gb drive. I want to buy at least a 250gb drive for it. The problem is that I would like to maintain what I already have on the existing drive. I am getting Leopard on Monday so I'm not sure if using Time Machine will help. I guess what I am trying to say is that I like my computer just like it is as far as what I have installed and configured on it. Can anyone offer suggestions to how I can upgrade the drive and maintain all of my stuff. I have an externl drive much larger than 100gb to use should I need to back some stuff up. Any hel would be greatly appreciated.

The hard drive is not a user upgradeable part. This means that technically speaking if something goes wrong with your installation, you may void your warranty/AppleCare. Some authorized service centers may be able to maintain your warranty while doing such an installation, but that really varies by service center. I know when I install a new hard drive in my iMac, I had to put back in the original hard drive before before Apple would be willing to diagnose the logicboard of my iMac. So consider that before installing a new hard drive. You can put the SATA 2.5" drive inside a Firewire enclosure which supports it to maintain your hard drive contents while you put in the new drive. http://www.ifixit.com/ and http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ are the most common places to find instructions to do such installations yourself. Mind you, because as an external drive, it is more liable to fall, and break, backing it up before you take it out is highly recommended as my FAQ* explains:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
And that's highly recommended before you install Leopard in anycase. So do that first, and worry about whether Time Machine will give you the abilities you need later. There is a new Leopard forum on the board where you can see what people have found out about Time Machine.
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=235
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Upgrading the ATA MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8585 drive in a G4 AGP

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