[mike one]

Hey Gang,

My under warranty G4 PB had a hard drive meltdown yesterday.
I found an apple certified shop that will swap a HD i buy and allow me to save the old HD (apple makes you pay big time to keep the crapped out drive). I think i can recover some stuff and also there is some confidential stuff on it that I won't be able to secure erase.

But I need advice as to what to purchase....

I need the PB for about 8 more months, and I had a 80GB 5400rpm drive in it.
I'd like to replace it with a 5400 rpm drive in either 60,80,or 100 GB size for around $75.

any advice on a drive i should purchase? It can take any 2.5" drive except for SATA, is that correct?

if i go to a place like newegg, does OEM vs. RETAIL drive make a difference vis-a-vis mac compatability.

1,000 thanks in advance,
mic1

[mrmister]

As long as it is ATA/100, you will be fine--OEM vs. RETAIL makes no difference.

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by mike one 

Hey Gang,

My under warranty G4 PB had a hard drive meltdown yesterday.
I found an apple certified shop that will swap a HD i buy and allow me to save the old HD (apple makes you pay big time to keep the crapped out drive). I think i can recover some stuff and also there is some confidential stuff on it that I won't be able to secure erase.

But I need advice as to what to purchase....

I need the PB for about 8 more months, and I had a 80GB 5400rpm drive in it.
I'd like to replace it with a 5400 rpm drive in either 60,80,or 100 GB size for around $75.

any advice on a drive i should purchase? It can take any 2.5" drive except for SATA, is that correct?

if i go to a place like newegg, does OEM vs. RETAIL drive make a difference vis-a-vis mac compatability.

1,000 thanks in advance,
mic1

Retail vs OEM is all about warranty and bundle. The product itself is almost always the same (although some retail drives used to be formatted. Edit: You should check whether you need an ATA100 or an ATA-6 drive. I know my 1Ghz Ti used an ATA-6 drive. What model is the powerbook?

-Xy

[macboy]

Originally Posted by Xyrrus 

Retail vs OEM is all about warranty and bundle. The product itself is almost always the same (although some retail drives used to be formatted. Edit: You should check whether you need an ATA100 or an ATA-6 drive. I know my 1Ghz Ti used an ATA-6 drive. What model is the powerbook?

-Xy

I'm eager to know how exactly do you check whether its ATA100 or ATA-6? I see nothing in the ATA section of the About this Mac.

[spice003]

the only thing different about oem vs retail is retail comes in a retail box like in the store and oem come in a plastic HD case. i just got one yesterday but its a desktop hd, work perfect. i been buying oem's for quiet some time now.

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by macboy 

I'm eager to know how exactly do you check whether its ATA100 or ATA-6? I see nothing in the ATA section of the About this Mac.

I was mistaken; they actually appear to be the same darn thing (ATA-6 is the 6th version of the ATA standard)

http://www.buildorbuy.org/atapi.html

-Xy

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by mike one 

also there is some confidential stuff on it that I won't be able to secure erase.

mic1

After you get everything you want off drive, get a big vacuum and put next to drive or set it next to a vacuum cleaner.