Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

AlfaMunky · Jan 11, 2003, 02:48 PM

Hi,

I was wondering if any one here has been brave enough to upgrade an emac to a Super Drive (Pioneer dvd-r) themselves or has links to such a project. I'm seriously considering getting a refurb eMac and putting it under the knife.

ie. Super Drive G4 for under a grand.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

iDriveX · Jan 11, 2003, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by AlfaMunky:
Hi,

I was wondering if any one here has been brave enough to upgrade an emac to a Super Drive (Pioneer dvd-r) themselves or has links to such a project. I'm seriously considering getting a refurb eMac and putting it under the knife.

ie. Super Drive G4 for under a grand.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

I used to do it and sell them, but Apple had a problem with that and shut me down. It's a fairly simple procedure that involves taking off the chasis, taking off the media board and then removing the drive and replacing it. The only dangerous part is that you are near the CRT the whole time which is charged and if you don't have a discharge tool, you could seriously hurt yourself if not kill yourself from electrical shock. Be Careful! Cuidado!

Mac Zealot · Jan 11, 2003, 05:13 PM

Just dont' touch anything near the CRT.

I've opened up TVs many times myself to replace power wires and such, never hurt myself, but I've pretty much entirely given up on doing that for fear of hurting myself.

AlfaMunky · Jan 12, 2003, 10:48 PM

thanks for the info... yeah crt are unsafe.
I've taken CRT iMacs apart so hopefully the eMac is similar.

PS. does the new DVR-105 Pioneer drive work well in the eMac. Most importantly does it work w/ iDVD?

COmie JOe · Jan 13, 2003, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by AlfaMunky:
thanks for the info... yeah crt are unsafe.
I've taken CRT iMacs apart so hopefully the eMac is similar.

PS. does the new DVR-105 Pioneer drive work well in the eMac. Most importantly does it work w/ iDVD?

a bit diffrent layout/it shockenly resembles the old 17 in CRT ADC monitor...

jubbly · Apr 23, 2003, 10:51 AM

yep - it works. i've just done it, with the upgrade kit available from mcetech.com (use the one designed for the imac). works with idvd, itunes etc. nasty, fiddly job tho - this may help:

http://www.wilko.com/emac/

Originally posted by AlfaMunky:
thanks for the info... yeah crt are unsafe.
I've taken CRT iMacs apart so hopefully the eMac is similar.

PS. does the new DVR-105 Pioneer drive work well in the eMac. Most importantly does it work w/ iDVD?

Colonel Blimp · Apr 24, 2003, 06:40 PM

Thanks for the great info. Question "use the one designed for the iMac" from MCE. Why use this specifically, what are the disadvantages using a regular Pioneer IDE kit?

carnagex2000 · Apr 25, 2003, 01:52 AM

go here for the service Manual on taking it off.

http://angbandcvs.homedns.org:8081/guides/emac.pdf

jubbly · May 6, 2003, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by Colonel Blimp:
Thanks for the great info. Question "use the one designed for the iMac" from MCE. Why use this specifically, what are the disadvantages using a regular Pioneer IDE kit?

i just went the mce path because my local apple-approved guy deals with them. i don't suppose there'd be any difference using the standard pioneer kit. but you never know!

Colonel Blimp · May 16, 2003, 05:36 AM

Originally posted by jubbly:
i just went the mce path because my local apple-approved guy deals with them. i don't suppose there'd be any difference using the standard pioneer kit. but you never know!

Thanks for the minor $ difference I guess the MCE path is the go.

bstieritz · May 23, 2003, 12:17 AM

Originally posted by Colonel Blimp:
Thanks for the minor $ difference I guess the MCE path is the go.

I think you'll love the superdrive . . . it adds so much life to the emac. I have a new 1ghz eMac with the superdrive and it's extrememly fast.

Luck with your upgrade.

cheers,
brian

Obi Wan · Jun 18, 2003, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by carnagex2000:
go here for the service Manual on taking it off.

http://angbandcvs.homedns.org:8081/guides/emac.pdf

Linky no worky.

Is there another link to this around somewhere?

I'm also curious about the CRT. Obviously by asking that, I display the fact that I don't know jack about the internal workings of computers. I'd like to know what it is one should avoid.

Also, folks in a couple of different local repair shops have told me that a special drive is needed to fit into an eMac chasis, but I've been told that this is not the case. I'm told that if the bezel is removed a standard drive will fit just fine. The local repair shop people seem to not want to believe that this is the case, and want to charge me an outrageous amount of money ($580 up to $616) just for the drive that is "custom fit" for the eMac. I would much rather have a professional do the installation, since as I said, I don't know jack about computer repair, and since I already have a Pioneer 104 drive, it seems silly to buy an outrageously expensive one. Is there any documentation online about the fact that a standard Pioneer drive will fit into an eMac that I can point the local repair people to?

Colonel Blimp · Jun 21, 2003, 07:41 AM

Originally posted by Obi Wan:
Linky no worky.

Is there another link to this around somewhere?

This was enough info for me (from the top of the thread), so it would work for anyone if it worked for me!

http://www.wilko.com/emac/

bradoesch · Jun 21, 2003, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by Obi Wan:
Linky no worky.

Is there another link to this around somewhere?

I'm also curious about the CRT. Obviously by asking that, I display the fact that I don't know jack about the internal workings of computers. I'd like to know what it is one should avoid.

Also, folks in a couple of different local repair shops have told me that a special drive is needed to fit into an eMac chasis, but I've been told that this is not the case. I'm told that if the bezel is removed a standard drive will fit just fine. The local repair shop people seem to not want to believe that this is the case, and want to charge me an outrageous amount of money ($580 up to $616) just for the drive that is "custom fit" for the eMac. I would much rather have a professional do the installation, since as I said, I don't know jack about computer repair, and since I already have a Pioneer 104 drive, it seems silly to buy an outrageously expensive one. Is there any documentation online about the fact that a standard Pioneer drive will fit into an eMac that I can point the local repair people to?

What do they mean by "custom fit?" Methinks they're just trying to rip you off. The eMac uses a standard 5.25" drive and that's that. Perhaps they think the eMac uses a laptop drive like the slot loading iMacs did.