Got a question.

[btcomm]

I know there are a lot of very knowlegable people out there I don't know if this is really the right forum but I've got a question about an Imac g5 17" that has a SATA HD in it. When I open it up, I notice that it has kind of a weird connector on it. Doesn't look like a normal SATA connector. Can you buy any SATA HD for a replacement? Will that connector fit on any normal SATA HD or do you have to buy a special SATA HD that will fit in the imac?

Also the reason I've been thinking about replacing it is because twice on the AHT the computer freezes up on testing the HD and once while opening disk utility while booted off the cd it froze up. Do you think it's the HD or something else?

 

[WildCowboy]

What does the connector look like? There should be two cables...a 7-pin one for data and a 15-pin one for power.

 

[btcomm]

Here let me show you.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/imacG5_17inch_harddrive.pdf

If this explains how to install it.

On page 9 it shows the other cable, is that connector on a normal SATA HD?

 

[WildCowboy]

Okay, the two that are at the same end are the data and power connectors. The one at the opposite end is (I believe) a temperature sensor cable. Note that this doesn't attach directly to the drive, but to the drive frame. Apple's do-it-yourself instructions assume you're installing a drive sent to you by Apple, which looks like it includes the frame.

If you buy a third-party drive, you would have a couple of additional steps of removing the frame from the original drive and putting it on the new drive. It looks like it just a few Torx screws though.

That said, I haven't done this repair myself, so I'm not 100% about everything I just said.

 

[btcomm]

Thanks man.