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ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 02:32 PM

hello... after a very poor experiance with apple support (I will discuss later). I have decided to replace my Powerbook's hard drive myself. Powerbook G4 1.33 al.

I am a design student and I need the computer for my homework so I want to try and find a replacement drive today if i can.

the main question I had was, will this drive be compatable?
Hard Drive

also if any of you have done this before is it that hard to do? thanks

uicandrew · Jan 22, 2006, 02:36 PM

i think all hard drives are compatible. (just make sure you have an IDE instead of the SATA hard drive)

why not got to compusa.com and look thru their weekly ad. i think i saw a 100gb hard drive (seagate!) for a laptop for roughly the same price after rebate. I have a Seagate 100gb 5400rpm hard drive in my laptop (the one in my signature, and i've been really happy with it)

ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 02:42 PM

is this the one you saw?

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...403&pfp=BROWSE

it says it's an ata drive, will this work with my powerbook?

Voch · Jan 22, 2006, 02:47 PM

I refer you to the great xlr8yourmac.com drive compatability database.

Try entering Hard Drive as the drive type, Seagate as the drive brand, and ST9100823A-RK as the drive model and see what pops up.

Voch

uicandrew · Jan 22, 2006, 02:58 PM

it should work. ata/ide is interchangable.

ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 03:02 PM

ok thanks thats what I needed to know... IDE... ATA... i dont care lol...

right now it's looking like this one http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Seagate/ST9100824A/\

good? yes? my stock drive is a 5400rpm 60gb

thanks for all the help and advice guys, I really appreciate it.

uicandrew · Jan 22, 2006, 03:13 PM

um, was there any particular reason why the one from compusa (i don't work for them) isn't striking your fancy? it is at least $20 cheaper

On the day after thanksgiving, compusa had 200gb desktop hard drives for $20 after rebate. the instore ad said that the brand may vary, but all of them were seagates.

good luck installing it. my friend has an ibook and he refuses to try to replace his hard drive. apparently, you have to practically disassemble the whole laptop to get to it.

ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 03:20 PM

well actually, I found the same seagate 100gb on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148090

for 165... that is the same one right?

uicandrew · Jan 22, 2006, 04:43 PM

the actual product is the same, i believe. but the difference is that the compusa.com is a retail box whereas the newegg.com is oem. oem stands for original equipment manufacturer, and that means that it is intended for companies in the manufacturing business instead of regular customers

in general, oem products are cheaper than retail products and don't have the fancy packaging, manuals, cables, etc. of course, every product will vary as to what is included.

but i think you have nothing to worry about. the cable for the powerbook harddrive is already there. good luck!

ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 05:37 PM

just one more question...

seagate 100gb 5400rpm

vs.

Hitachi 80gb 7200rpm

opinions?

JKT · Jan 22, 2006, 05:45 PM

If you are planning on replacing it yourself, you may want to take a look at the Apple manual for your model (assuming it is listed... the very latest PB's aren't there). Taking apart the AlBooks is not for the faint hearted...

tkmd · Jan 22, 2006, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by ICD2k3

just one more question...

seagate 100gb 5400rpm

vs.

Hitachi 80gb 7200rpm

opinions?

I am in the process of replacing my hd too. I wanted a 7200 model so it came down to the seagate and the hitachi. From the reports that I read the hitachi is faster but noisier - especially when the heads park. So I went with the seagate. Its suppose to be here tomorrow - I'll report then. BTW I HATE loud hd's.

romeosc · Jan 22, 2006, 06:57 PM

If you have a Sam's membership you can get a Western Digital external USB 2.0 5400 drive for $80. I swappped drive out and put the old drive out of PB in the case for an external photo Drive!

rparke1 · Jan 22, 2006, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by tkmd

I am in the process of replacing my hd too. I wanted a 7200 model so it came down to the seagate and the hitachi. From the reports that I read the hitachi is faster but noisier - especially when the heads park. So I went with the seagate. Its suppose to be here tomorrow - I'll report then. BTW I HATE loud hd's.

seagate all the way. ive had 2 hitachis fail on me in under 2 months, plus they were loud as

i have the seagate 100 gig 5400 rpm in my 1 ghz tipb,

cant wait to get the 160 gig from seagate though

ICD2k3 · Jan 22, 2006, 09:25 PM

well, I ordered the Seagate 100GB 5400 just now with next day air (worried my HD might crash any minute). My computer seems to be working fine now, I just don't want to take the risk... once it gets here it'll probably be another 4-5 days until I can get it installed, but I'll let you guys know how I like it...

im excited though, moving up from a 60gb 4200rpm... so more speed and space... can't beat that

ICD2k3 · Jan 25, 2006, 08:46 PM

So I just got my hard drive today and dropped it off at a mac store (not a certified apple store... they said that to do that HD swap it has to be a hard drive I buy though them).

The place I left it at is charging me $80 to swap out the HD which is fair in my opinion, afterall I don't want to mess anything up trying to do it myself.

rparke1 · Jan 25, 2006, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by ICD2k3

So I just got my hard drive today and dropped it off at a mac store (not a certified apple store... they said that to do that HD swap it has to be a hard drive I buy though them).

The place I left it at is charging me $80 to swap out the HD which is fair in my opinion, afterall I don't want to mess anything up trying to do it myself.

$80? you got a steal for that, good work, and enjoy your new seagate, i have the same one you got and the only thing you might hear is a click from the hd on occasion. this is normal, and to me, not annoying, but asuring that its still alive, heh, and ticking.

ICD2k3 · Jan 25, 2006, 11:30 PM

haha yea... im really glad they have the 5 year warranty too. Should have my PB back in a couple days. I'm excited!

mduell · Jan 26, 2006, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by ICD2k3

So I just got my hard drive today and dropped it off at a mac store (not a certified apple store... they said that to do that HD swap it has to be a hard drive I buy though them).

The place I left it at is charging me $80 to swap out the HD which is fair in my opinion, afterall I don't want to mess anything up trying to do it myself.

Ouch. CompUSA does hard drive swaps for $30 and they're an Apple Authorized repair shop.

ICD2k3 · Jan 26, 2006, 01:29 AM

D'oh... I didn't even think about compusa

Big Mac · Jan 26, 2006, 01:40 AM

Originally Posted by mduell

Ouch. CompUSA does hard drive swaps for $30 and they're an Apple Authorized repair shop.

Yeah, I don't know if I'd trust CompUSA with that task. I think it's smarter to go with a dedicated Apple retailer.

AppleCello · Jan 26, 2006, 10:57 AM

It is not that difficult to replace your HD, but it does take some patience and a little bit of preperation and organization. you want to be sure to have some directions before you just start taking screws out, if you can find any. if you cant, be sure that you write down exactly what you are doing and where, so that you can retrace your steps when you put it back together.

Make sure you have a means of keeping each screw and little piece organized and seperated from eachother (you can use strips of scotch tape to hold and label pieces, or dixie cups work well).

A final warning on doing this: Be Careful when you handle the case and any parts like shielding that have to be removed. A lot of the pieces in side are very thin metal sheets and tabs and the like, and even thought they may appear flimsy, the edges can be EXTREMELY sharp. I have a nasty scar on my thumb to prove it... just so be careful with any metal edge. This happened when i was upgrading my Ti, but I am sure that there are similar things going on inside the Aluminum models.

romeosc · Jan 26, 2006, 11:19 AM

I replaced Hard drive in TIPB in 10 minutes..... Pismo in 5 minutes......

Boy isn't Apple make sure we don't upgrade ourselves!

ICD2k3 · Jan 26, 2006, 11:48 AM

i dont trust myself with such tasks. I took my PS2 apart plenty of times to fix stuff and mess around with the innards (hehe I have to remember to use that word more often), but my PS2 is not an $1,800 piece of equipment... If I messed something up I would be so mad at myself.

I did find a mac store that isn't "the apple store"... so they know macs, but don't charge me an arm and a leg for stuff. Some places wanted $80/hour for repair work.

ICD2k3 · Jan 28, 2006, 04:00 AM

Well, I just got my powerbook back and this HD is so quiet... much more soft than my previous one, and it's so nice to see 80GB free after replacing most of the stuff I need on it.

Didn't notice much of a speed boost going from 4200 to 5400, but the extra space and noise reduction are so nice

very happy

analogika · Jan 28, 2006, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by JKT

If you are planning on replacing it yourself, you may want to take a look at the Apple manual for your model (assuming it is listed... the very latest PB's aren't there). Taking apart the AlBooks is not for the faint hearted...

Better:

http://pbfixit.com/Guide

Step-by-step guides including relevant notes for tricky bits; you tell them the model and the part you want to replace. Clear photographs as well.