Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Apple_John · Jul 23, 2002, 05:57 AM

I want to swap the Stock 20gb from Cube and IBM (60gxp??) from OWC FW case.

1. Where is the link of QT form Apple.com showing the HD swap?

2. Do I need to set any jumper on stock HD for FW case?

3. Do I need to flash some kind of ROM on FW bridge for stock HD?

3. Do I need to set any jumper on IBM HD?

4. Should I install OS on IBM via FW (using stock HD in MAC to startup) or intall OS after HD swap?

5. Stock is 5400rpm, will I 'waste' 911 FW chip speed? (I may want to buy a brand new 7200 for cube...)

6. It looks straight toward, anything else I should know?
.
.
.
99. Just Guessing here. I read Mac can start up with ext FW HD (ie ipod) w/o any int. HD, is it correct? If so, I may want to just remove the HD inside the Cube and use ONLY FW HD, since the HD is quite noisy for cube (no fan here)

, and the another plus is heat problem, More space for video card upgarde heat problem.
Speed?? On Icebook, I find 7200 FW HD (connect to ibook) is much faster than int. HD. How about cube? Icebook seems to have a newer controller FW chip than cube, right? My 450 cube is slow enough on OSX now...

Xyphoid Process · Jul 23, 2002, 09:37 AM

Why did I bother posting?

[ 07-24-2002, 03:02 AM: Message edited by: Scotttheking ]

Why am I modding comments at 3 in the morning?

[ 07-24-2002, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: Xyphoid Process ]

saru boy · Jul 23, 2002, 10:08 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Apple_John:
Speed?? On Icebook, I find 7200 FW HD (connect to ibook) is much faster than int. HD. How about cube? Icebook seems to have a newer controller FW chip than cube, right? My 450 cube is slow enough on OSX now...<hr /></blockquote>The hard drive in an iBook runs at 4200rpm. Of course an internal 2.5 inch 4200 rpm drive will be slower than a regular 3.5 inch 7200rpm hard drive (even if it's in a FW case).

As for swapping the hard drive, it's not brain surgery. Just make sure the jumpers are set to master before installing in the Cube. And the original Cube drive should already be set to master so its just a matter of sticking it in the FW case. There's nothing to flash (or shake, burn, throw or yell at).

Evangellydonut · Jul 23, 2002, 12:34 PM

1. dunno...

2. no...both should be already set to Master-Single

3. no

3. see 2

4. after

5. probably yes, but so what?

6. DON'T DO IT!!! The IBM GXP drives are pretty infamous when it comes to HD failues, and tests show that the problem can be alleviated through proper cooling. I do not consider Cube to have "proper cooling" for a 7200 RPM internal HD...if you must replace the HD, replace it with another model...either Segate if you want it to be quiet, or WD if you want raw speed, but NOT IBM...

saru boy · Jul 23, 2002, 11:10 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Evangellydonut:
6. DON'T DO IT!!! The IBM GXP drives are pretty infamous when it comes to HD failues, and tests show that the problem can be alleviated through proper cooling. I do not consider Cube to have "proper cooling" for a 7200 RPM internal HD...if you must replace the HD, replace it with another model...either Segate if you want it to be quiet, or WD if you want raw speed, but NOT IBM...<hr /></blockquote>I had an IBM 75GXP in my Cube for about 8 months (no fan in my Cube either). It worked fine. (It's not in my Cube anymore because I swapped it for a faster WD1000JB 100GB 8MB cache drive. The 75GXP is now in a FW case and it still works fine.)

The point here is that Apple John already has an IBM 60GXP and wants to swap it with his OEM drive. Telling him to buy a new hard drive isn't going to be of much help.

Plus, you hear plenty of stories from people whose Seagates and WD's have died too. Hard drives fail, no matter who the manufacturer is - it's a fact of life. Also, the 75GXPs are supposed to be the ones with the problems, not the 60GXPs.

lx · Jul 24, 2002, 06:53 AM

I swapped my Cube drive for an IBM and it burned after a few months, losing me a load of data.

I'm with EvangellyDonut on this one - you don't need an unreliable drive in the Cube since the tolerances are already pretty tight wrt temperatures.
Apple_John did say that he may want to put a new drive in the Cube...

...and here's my recommendation - Barracuda ATA IV - not only fast, but very quiet as well. Been running like a dream.

PS - not all IBM drives were dodgy, it was particular batches, but Cubes are pretty nasty environments for hard drives so I wouldn't risk it unless you know exactly which batch numbers and that your drive is not one of them. Just my tuppence...

Sword of Orion · Jul 25, 2002, 12:56 PM

1. There is a knowledge base (text) article on replacing a hard drive at

<a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58686" target="_blank">http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58686</a>

and the QuickTime movies for all of the customer installable parts are at

<a href="http://www.info.apple.com/support/cip/g4cubecip.html" target="_blank">http://www.info.apple.com/support/cip/g4cubecip.html</a>

2. I didn't

3. I didn't

3. I didn't (note that my answers to the two #3 questions are the same, so it doesn't matter what order you read them in...)

4. What's on the HD now? If it's new unformatted, I'd be tempted to install it first, then run Drive Setup from an OS install CD and install the OS.

5. Don't know

6. There is a small plastic guide rail on the side of stock Cube hard drive that needs to be moved to the new hard drive. It's easy to miss (I missed it.) The guide rail is on the side of the HD that faces down once the HD is installed.

awcopus · Jul 26, 2002, 01:10 AM

I cannot highly enough recommend going with the 40 GB Seagate Barracuda internal hard drive. Incredibly quiet, reliable, just do it.

I often start my Cube up from my QPS ext. 80 GB drive because that's my only way of booting into OS 9 which (boo hoo) I have to do for Quark projects and the occasional Unreal Tournament game. My internal drive switch was absolutely a piece of cake, and it's an opportunity to appreciate the engineering brilliance of this computer. Enjoy it. And definitely don't rely solely on an ext. HD. The Seagate is about $100 and worth every penny.

Good luck.