New Hard drive advice & help

[Feste]

I need to replace an internal hard drive in my Power Mac G4. Here are the specifics:

Machine Model: Power Mac G4
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per CPU): 1 MB
Memory: 768 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.5.7f1


I basically have tree questions:

1) What internal hard drive would you recommend? (Brand, model, etc)

2) How difficult is it to remove and install an hard drive on this model? Is it as easy installing RAM/SIMMS ?

3) What should I be aware of or watch out for if I install a new hard drive myself?

Any input would be welcome??

 

[jsw]

I would buy at least a 250GB drive. I prefer Seagate Barracudas, although, really, most drives you can buy today are going to be fine. Opinions differ on who has the best drives, and that changes with each new announcement.

I have never replaced a drive on a PM G4, just the G5s, where it is a piece of cake. Having replaced numerous PC drives, I'd expect that, at worst, replacing your G4 drive will take a bit of time but will not be difficult.

As with any internal changes, be sure to properly ground yourself when mucking around in there.

Is your old drive fried, or could you keep it as a 2nd internal drive?

 

[Feste]

Is your old drive fried, or could you keep it as a 2nd internal drive?

The speed of my computer often slows down to a crawl. I had the drive checked out and reformatted last Spring and it has slowly slow down again. The local Apple shop suggested I put in a new hard drive and restore my system to i. There idea is that the drive is simply worn-out. It seems like a better option than forking out the cash for a new Mac. I do use my computer for a wide variety of things from video prod. audio prod to simply word processing. I have another internal hard drive that I use for audio production only (Pro Tools). I’m thinking I might be able to take the old drive and put it in a external drive case and use it that way... is that possible??

 

[jsw]

The speed of my computer often slows down to a crawl. I had the drive checked out and reformatted last Spring and it has slowly slow down again. The local Apple shop suggested I put in a new hard drive and restore my system to i. There idea is that the drive is simply worn-out. It seems like a better option than forking out the cash for a new Mac. I do use my computer for a wide variety of things from video prod. audio prod to simply word processing. I have another internal hard drive that I use for audio production only (Pro Tools). I’m thinking I might be able to take the old drive and put it in a external drive case and use it that way... is that possible??

It's absolutely possible - cases abound; search the forums for advice, but there are many good options out there.

 

[desenso]

Ilthough, really, most drives you can buy today are going to be fine.

I would really disagree with that. Make sure you check the warranties on the drives, as they differ quite considerably.

Seagate is the way to go, though

 

[G5Unit]

I would really disagree with that. Make sure you check the warranties on the drives, as they differ quite considerably.

Seagate is the way to go, though

I am stuck with an 80gb hardrive. I would want a 10,000 rpm boot drive then a 500gb drive. I personally like seagate.

 

[Feste]

Okay, so once I have a new hard dive how do I go about installing it? Also, I understand I can restore my system and eveything that is currently on my current hard drive on a new drive. Is this true? If so, how do I do this?