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ginop1 · Feb 1, 2005, 04:19 PM

I have a PowerMac G4 500 (Sawtooth). The 27 Gig internal is getting a little small for me. I would like to replace that drive with a drive that is anywhere from 80 to 100 Gigs (I will go higher if the price is right). Also, what enclosure should I use for the 27 Gig drive to make it an external for quick backups?

Luca Rescigno · Feb 1, 2005, 04:38 PM

Without making any modifications, you should be able to add a second internal hard drive without removing your original one. The largest drive you can use in your Sawtooth, without adding a PCI card, is 120 GB. I'd suggest heading over to NewEgg.com and looking up hard drives.

The cheapest is a Hitachi, which should work just fine: $82 shipped
If you're willing to spend a bit more, you can get a Seagate which has a 5-year warranty (the longest available): $94 shipped

MORT A POTTY · Feb 1, 2005, 04:45 PM

yeah, don't waste your money putting a 27GB HD in an external enclosure. you've got room for at least 3 HDs inside. you could even add Serial ATA (via a PCI controller card) and use as big of an HD as you want

bbales · Feb 2, 2005, 10:21 AM

I just added a 120 GB Seagate to my gigabit ethernet G4. It really wasn't hard at all. I had the same 128 GB limitation you face. Check to make sure your existing one isn't a Western Digital, b/c those have some special issues with the master/slave jumper settings. (This was pointed out to me on an Apple support discussion site -- where I discovered my existing drive was recalled before I even bought my machine!)

I got a deal on my Seagate (which I bought for reputation reasons, and its 5-year warranty). I picked it up for $99 at Best Buy and then sent in for my $50 in rebates. Total end cost will be only $50. So look around at some of the stores to see what deals are currently in place with rebates.

The extra space is fabulous. I still have all my original data on the existing drive. I want to make sure everything is working as it should, and then I'll erase the original and put all my photos on it.

I am fairly compulsive on the backing up issue, so I also bought a 160 GB Seagate on ebay (it was new in the box), plus a a FW enclosure from Other World Computing, and that will be used for backing up the new internal. I have another external that had been going for that purpose and that's also going to be used for backups.

ginop1 · Feb 2, 2005, 12:51 PM

From what I gather from all of the above, I can keep my 27 Gig internal where it is. Am I correct? I just have to change the Master / Slave jumper settings. Is "changing jumper settings" the only thing I have to do? Or is the Master / Slave orientation more involved? Please let me know.

MORT A POTTY · Feb 2, 2005, 01:19 PM

jumpers are what determines the master/slave settings, correct.

mad cow disease · Feb 2, 2005, 04:09 PM

Be wary of Hitachi - they currently own the former hard drive division from IBM, which has had substantial quality control issues.

My personal preference for hard drives goes as follows: Seagate, Maxtor, WD, everything else.

In my experience Seagates are rock solid and although a bit slower, they tend to be DEAD silent. You can usually find cheap ones AR (after rebate) at Outpost.com - less than 0.50/GB, which is what you should generally be paying.

MORT A POTTY · Feb 2, 2005, 05:36 PM

bah! Hitachi isn't bad. IBM wasn't the greatest I'll definitely give you that, but Hitachi isn't bad.

they've fixed some issues since the sell-off.

ginop1 · Feb 3, 2005, 01:15 PM

If I do keep the 27 Gig drive internal too, doesn't that mean that I have to order a bracket for the drive that I am going to order (the Seagate 120)? Please let me know.

jcadam · Feb 3, 2005, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by ginop1:
From what I gather from all of the above, I can keep my 27 Gig internal where it is. Am I correct? I just have to change the Master / Slave jumper settings. Is "changing jumper settings" the only thing I have to do? Or is the Master / Slave orientation more involved? Please let me know.

The master is usually on top, as it is the dominant position.

OldCodger73 · Feb 3, 2005, 05:05 PM

<<If I do keep the 27 Gig drive internal too, doesn't that mean that I have to order a bracket for the drive that I am going to order (the Seagate 120)? Please let me know.>>

No, the original drive is the bottom drive in a two-drive carrier. Check your manual for instructions on how to add a drive or, if you no longer have the manual, go to the Apple support site where you can download one.