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torz · Oct 17, 2006, 08:38 AM

Hi,

I'm looking at upgrading the hard drive of my Aluminum PowerBook G4. I've found some nice
tutorials on the net and it looks fairly straight forward to do.

The question is what to do after the upgrade. Can I simply just insert a 10.4 DVD and will it start installing? or will the disk require some sort of pre-formatting?

Any help would be appreciated

Sherman Homan · Oct 17, 2006, 09:20 AM

In most cases it will need formatting. The installer will do that for you.

amazing · Oct 17, 2006, 09:26 AM

Welcome to the forums! That's quite an ambitious project in a first post!

Using the install disk, you have to startup Disk Utility to format the HD. The system installer won't do formatting.

Which model AlPB do you have? Some are more of a nightmare than others--so you might want to consider the $30 install from CompUSA...there are tons of stories of people finding themselves with leftover screws after reassembling their AlPB.

houltmac · Oct 17, 2006, 01:26 PM

I agree with , amazing. It all depends on the model you own as to how easy it really is. In all honesty, if you have worked on a notebook before then you shouldn't find it too hard, but be careful. There are "hidden" (viz. less obvious) screws to remove in the larger models and tons of screws (every single one being very important) in the 12" model. The 12" also has the extra pain of needing keys removed, which are easy to break and would require buying a new keyboard if you can't find spares online.

I would also be wary of the tutorials online. Some of the best I have found have been the ones over at iFixit - iBook & PowerBook Parts but they still have errors and so forth (I actually found 6 over the weekend when I was bored).

Any which way good luck, and don't forget to format the drive in Disk Utility (choose Utilities from the Menu Bar, Disk Utility, select the drive, Partition tab and give it a name ("Macintosh HD" is the standard).

torz · Oct 17, 2006, 03:39 PM

Thanks for the replies!

So this installer you speak of... are we talking about the OS X disk or is it something else?

Sherman Homan · Oct 17, 2006, 03:43 PM

Yes, the Installer is the OS X install disk.
After the language selection window you can choose a couple of fun Utilitites, Reset Password, Disk Utility, etc.

houltmac · Oct 17, 2006, 03:50 PM

Also be aware that you can choose to "Customize" your install (different to the first "Options" button (bottom left during the destination stage) where you can choose not to install other languages, printer drivers and bundled software. This saves a lot of time, space and often second disk depending on which disk you use to start the process.

EvanV · Oct 17, 2006, 04:23 PM

I just did a HDD Replacement and found it very straight forward (have never installed anything on a laptop or desktop before.. well the RAM in my PB, but that was too easy). from iFixit - iBook & PowerBook Parts (thanks amazing

). It helps if you have a #0 screwdriver (when I opened it, I was just using tools I found around the house, used a plastic knife as a sponger etc. etc.).. Got so frustrated with one screw surronding the HD, I went out and bought a #0 and what a difference! Once I got that sucker off, I installed the HD and re-assembled the whole thing in less than 15 minutes (didn't even have to refer to the manual when re-assembling, I found it very easy, and organize the screws in tupperware or something like that). The hardest thing is getting the keyboard off with the hidden latch.

EvanV · Oct 17, 2006, 04:25 PM

Oh I also forgot to mention, I thought I had done it wrong, once I booted the computer up, it did not come up with the new HD. But I found out through trial and error all you have to do is hit disk utility, format (format takes like 8 seconds) and you are good to go!

Cottonsworth · Oct 17, 2006, 06:38 PM

Does one need to update the bios when doing a hard drive upgrade to 7200rpm?

JKT · Oct 17, 2006, 07:08 PM

Macs don't use BIOS. Prior to the Intel Macs (which use EFI, fwiw), the PowerPC Macs had Open Firmware. And, no, you don't need to update the firmware to recognise a 7200 rpm drive in an AlBook.

cbrfanatic · Oct 17, 2006, 11:18 PM

so if i buy the 160GB hd, my 1.67ghz 15" wont have problems recognizing it? what is the easiest way to get all my data from one HD to the new one?

amazing · Oct 18, 2006, 12:32 AM

Put your new HD in an external case, like this $35 firewire/usb 2.0 case (on the Mac, even now, firewire 400 is much faster than usb 2.0, in spite of what the published stats say). Just remember that you need an IDE drive and not an SATA drive.

Buy.com - Macally PHR-250CC - storage controller - IDE - FireWire / Hi-Speed USB - PHR-250CC

Then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone to the external firewire disk. When that's done, simply switch the disks. You'll always have a need for an external portable disk the size of a pack of cards, even if you get a MacBook eventually.