Old Hardware: using the drive possible?
I'm wondering about pulling the drive out of my old G3 beige desktop to use as a second drive with my Mini. I'm not sure how to tell if it's an IDE/ATA or SATA, or something else (...since I really don't know what I'm talking about there) in order to get the proper enclosure for it, if it will even work.
I have the original drive to look at for clues. All I see is "AT Compatible". The one in the G3 is a larger replacement. The original drive was dying. I'll put it back in and recycle the whole shebang.
I have the original drive to look at for clues. All I see is "AT Compatible". The one in the G3 is a larger replacement. The original drive was dying. I'll put it back in and recycle the whole shebang.
Comments
I'm wondering about pulling the drive out of my old G3 beige desktop to use as a second drive with my Mini. I'm not sure how to tell if it's an IDE/ATA or SATA, or something else (...since I really don't know what I'm talking about there) in order to get the proper enclosure for it, if it will even work.
I have the original drive to look at for clues. All I see is "AT Compatible". The one in the G3 is a larger replacement. The original drive was dying. I'll put it back in and recycle the whole shebang.
Most likely it is an IDE, also known as Ultra ATA.
Getting a bus-powered drive means you don't have to use up a power socket.
You could spend $29 on an IDE -> USB enclosure and have a slow 40GB drive, or spend $59 and get a faster/quieter 320GB drive!
Of course, if money's that tight... then yes, it's probably an IDE drive (the connector on the back of the actual drive will be two long rows of very small pins... attached by a flat ribbon cable inside the Mac.) Enclosures for that type of drive aren't HARD to find, but they are less common than those for SATA drives these days, which use a much different connector.
I would leave the drive in the old machine....
The G3 does not have firewire, and it does not burn CDs. The files were moved when I bought my Mini, at the Apple Store, but not for free. Newer is probably better, but old is good enough for me in this case. (no pun intended)
Wow... a beige G3!! ...
Yeah, I think the original drive is 40GB, but that drive was retired as it was starting to fail. The replacement is 120GB, and is installed. (I think the Mini is 120GB as well. But, I have 36.4GB available. I don't have lots of music, videos, photos on it; in fact no music, no videos.
The cost aspect is not a significant factor. But, money is tight these days, for most folks I think. I just like the idea of using the drive rather than tossing it. I wasn't even thinking of getting one set up until I came across this idea in Macworld.
I think there are ribbon cables inside, and the pins on the original drive are as you describe. So the enclosure I need converts IDE to USB, correct?
So the enclosure I need converts IDE to USB, correct?
Correct. If this is your computer:
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP130
Then you'll see that the interface is IDE. So get a cheap IDE->USB box and you'll be fine. Just keep in mind that you'll be storing data on a hard drive that could be 5+ years old and so you may not want to put anything too irreplaceable on it.
Correct. If this is your computer: ...
Yeah, some of that geek speak looks familiar. A picture is worth a thousand specs though.
I looked on the three web sites suggested by MacWorld's article, and none of them had an IDE to USB enclosure. I suppose I could call, as I'm sure not everything they sell makes it to the web page. I'm not an eBay person, so that's not under consideration. It's not a burning desire either, I might just drop the idea. It sounded appealing, but may be more trouble than it's worth.
Thanks!
Yeah, some of that geek speak looks familiar. A picture is worth a thousand specs though.
It would the one on the left?
According to MacTracker that one was shipped with internal HDDs of 4 and 6GB...
Two questions:
1) how much chance is there to still find a working and reliable 4 or 6GB HD?
And if you do
2) why would you prefer that over a USB-stick the size of a gum stick of the same or greater capacity and much better data security? For a couple dozen bucks!
mactracker://2774DF9B-21D1-41E4-9CD2-B73880323650
According to MacTracker that one was shipped with internal HDDs of 4 and 6GB...
Two questions:
1) how much chance is there to still find a working and reliable 4 or 6GB HD?
And if you do
2) why would you prefer that over a USB-stick the size of a gum stick of the same or greater capacity and much better data security? For a couple dozen bucks!
.....
Yeah, I think the original drive is 40GB, but that drive was retired as it was starting to fail. The replacement is 120GB, and is installed.
It would the one on the left?
According to MacTracker that one was shipped with internal HDDs of 4 and 6GB...
Two questions:
1) how much chance is there to still find a working and reliable 4 or 6GB HD?
And if you do
2) why would you prefer that over a USB-stick the size of a gum stick of the same or greater capacity and much better data security? For a couple dozen bucks!
Yes, the one on the left. I wasn't expecting you to post a photo. I was just commenting on the omission of one on that page. So it's a 4GB drive, not 40GB. Faulty memory... (mine).
1) The original drive was going bad, and was replaced. "If I do?" I own it, as well as the 120GB replacement. (if memory serves)
2) I am using a USB stick, but it's not 120GB. I explained the "why?" above. I just like the idea of using it rather than sending it to a landfill. Will I? I don't really know, but probably not. If the enclosure is not readily available, I'm not wasting my time on it.
Link
I bought this one and it works great.
I've bookmarked that in "case" I decide to do it soon. With over 35GB available, it's not an emergency.
Yes, thanks. I did visit that site, and found a page of Enclosures, but none were IDE.
I've bookmarked that in "case" I decide to do it soon. With over 35GB available, it's not an emergency.
I enjoyed your joke, but take another look at the link. All of those cases are IDE; I subset it to IDE before capturing the URL. Newegg's awesome; I regularly order from them in the morning and receive it the next day, and only pay for standard shipping.