Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Anyone ever have a problem installing a drive over 200GB in a G5/1.8 17-Inch ?

I

Ice1889

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
3
0
I have a G5/1.8 17-Inch non intel that came with a 80GB HD I want to upgrade it to a 500GB HD but the OS will not see the HD can this Mac support that size HD?


Thanks
Ice1889
 
Is there even an OS on the HDD? You bought it new I suppose, thus it is not formatted yet and has no data on it. As Mac OS X is stored on the old internal HDD, you need to either clone the old HDD to the new HDD or you need to install Mac OS X again on the new HDD.
To do so, you have to format the HDD first via Disk Utility.


The following is an excerpt from MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD
but it also works with the iMac.

3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD​


  • Making a clone (1:1 copy)

    A "clone" is direct 1:1 copy of the contents of one HDD to another HDD and allows the target HDD to be bootable.
    • In order to clone your old HDD to the new HDD, you need to get an enclosure for your new HDD. If speed is not an issue, any USB 2.0 enclosure for S-ATA HDDs will do (examples of USB 2.0 enclosure).
    • If you move around a lot of data or need a faster interface, you can also go for enclosures with a Firewire 800 interface (examples of Firewire 800 enclosure).
    • There are also eSATA/USB docks for 3.5" and 2.5" S-ATA HDDs (example).

    After you put the new HDD into your MacBook or MacBook Pro and put the old HDD into the enclosure (you can do it the other way around too), you need to boot from your old HDD via holding down the OPTION/ALT key right after the Startup Sound chimes. After you successfully booted from the old HDD in the external enclosure you either get CarbonCopyCloner (CCC) (free) or SuperDuper (SD) (free, but buying it gives you additional options) and install them appropriately.


    • How to use CarbonCopyCloner
      CCC offers you to select a SOURCE DISK, in this case your old HDD, and a TARGET DISK, in this case your new HDD. After you made your selection, there is only the CLONE button to click and to enter your account password. There are more options of course, but they are meant for backing up instead of making 1:1 copies.​
    • How to use SuperDuper
      SD offers you to select the source disk (COPY ...) and a target disk (TO ...). It has additional options for backing up only system or user files and to create a disk image and some more, but for the cloning process the above will do and the free version will suffice.​

    [*]Using Time Machine and the Migration Assistant

    If you use Time Machine as means to back up, you can just replace the old HDD with the new one and re-install Mac OS X via the Restore or Upgrade or Retail DVD and select the connected Time Machine HDD via the Setup Assistant to import ll your data and even your entire Mac OS X (if you backed it up too).

    If you didn't use Time Machine and want to start with a fresh installation of Mac OS X, you can either use the Setup Assistant during the installation process to import some of your data (including applications) or you can use the Migration Assistant to import the data after the installation is finished.

    Further reading upon Time Machine and Setup and Migration Assistant:

    [*]Deleting the old HDD's content

    If you want to use the old HDD for storing other data than your OS or using it as Time Machine, manual deletion can be quite a hassle. Thus it is easier to delete the HDD's content via Disk Utility.
    Therefore start Applications / Utilities / Disk Utility, select your old volume on the left side (not the actual HDD, but the part below that, the volume, which is indented to the right), go to the ERASE tab and click the ERASE button. The following message only tells you, that you are about to erase all data on that volume.
    If you want to use the old HDD in the external enclosure for Mac OS X only, the standard settings will do, if you want to use it with Windows too, look at the guide GGJstudios provided on file systems.
    ​
Click to expand...


A more descriptive and precise thread title will help cater to the right audience and get you more responses. (see rule #3 under Minor Problems)
To edit your thread title, just click on the
edit.gif
button on the bottom right of your original post and then click the "Go Advanced" button below your message.

Have you also taken a look at MRoogle, since that question may have been asked several times?
Click to expand...
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
G5/1.8 17-Inch ?

spinnerlys said:
Is there even an OS on the HDD? You bought it new I suppose, thus it is not formatted yet and has no data on it. As Mac OS X is stored on the old internal HDD, you need to either clone the old HDD to the new HDD or you need to install Mac OS X again on the new HDD.
To do so, you have to format the HDD first via Disk Utility.

Click to expand...

that's the problem disk utility will see the HD i tried two different 500GB HD and the same issue disk utility will not see them i tried a 200GB that worked i think there is a size limit. any ideas?
 
Anyone ever have a problem installing a drive over 200GB in a G5/1.8 17-Inch ?

spinnerlys said:
Do you have an enclosure for 3.5" S-ATA HDDs to see if you can see it while running Mac OS X from the original HDD?

What exact model of 500GB HDD did you buy?

Btw, the iMac can have HDDs bigger than 500GB, iFixIt even links to 1TB HDDs in its HDD replacement guide.
Click to expand...
I have a 500GB WD5000AAKS. yes i can see the HD from and enclosure i even reformatted the drive while in the enclosure.

thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back