iMac Classic HD Replacement

altivec_2.0

How do you take apart the classic G3 iMac, My harddrive, is just about to dye and I need to somehow get a new one in there. I think the colored cassing looks like it comes off and then apart after that. Could someone post some graphical "guides" in how to take it apart. Thanks much

colby2000

Depends if you've got a a newer iMac or an older one. I've done it on a DVSE and it wasn't that bad.



If you've got a newer one go here-

http://www.nelsonbc.ca/mactech_suppr...ard_drive.html



If it's a really OLD one go here-

http://www.theimac.com/drive_steps.shtml



The old one doesn't look fun.

8)



Good Luck!

kingofsomewherehot

I've had mine apart a few times .... it's actually fairly easy even without instructions .... just think it through and remember how to re-assemble it



I've now got a 266iMac with a 120GB 7200rpm drive .... on Jag.

spart

Nod, if you do it once, you've pretty much got it down.



Do not follow all the instructions from theimac.com if you have a Rev. A-D (233-333MHz) iMac. Those people must have smoked a few kilos of laced crack before writing those instructions. They have obviously only done this once, and consulted not a single other source. They even take the trouble of removing the hard drive from the hard drive bracket while the bracket is still bolted in...idiots. Follow the instructions up to step six. Before removing the logic board/drive cage assembly, familiarize yourself with how the various cables are plugged in and arranged. It's a tight squeeze when you put the rear panel back on.



Then, push back the CD-ROM drive so that the hooks under it are free, then pull it up and out. Disconnect the cable behind the drive, and set it aside. Next, with the front of the logic/drive cage facing you (the end where the front of the CD-ROM drive was) pull the clip over the hard drive towards you and set it aside. Unscrew the two screws retaining the hard drive bracket and set them aside. The next part is a little bit tricky, but it will save you a world of hurt.



Again with the front end of the cage facing you, pull up a little bit on the hard drive bracket and push back as far as you can without pushing two hard. Then, lift the front end of the bracket up higher and pull the cage out.



If you cannot manage this, place the drive very carefully in your lap and flip it on its side, so that you can see the bottom. If you look at the smooth underside, you will notice two little pieces of metal sticking through, like hooks. Carefully now, move the hard drive bracket around so that both hooks come out of the holes in the bottom of the cage. Then, flip it back right-side up, and pull the front of the hard drive bracket up, then pull it out.



Next, remove the power cable (the smaller of the two) from the hard drive. This may be a bit difficult, just remember not to force it out all at once, you may rip the cable from the motherboard as it is very short. Then, pull the IDE cable (the bigger of the two) from the rear of the drive. It is also hard to pull this out the first few times, so I recommend grasping it on the longer sides, fingers partially onto the wires, and pulling it out.



Next, unscrew each of the four screws on either side of the drive cage, and pull the drive out. Boom, you're done.



When installing the drive, make sure that the jumper settings are correct, or you will be taking the machine apart again. Between the female power cable connector (the short one) and female IDE connector (the long one) there will be two rows of five pins, and two should have a piece of plastic that connects the two (the jumper) inserted over them. If the jumper is not inserted on the fourth pair from the power cable connector, remove it and place it there. If your new drive doesn't have a jumper, take the one from the old drive and insert it in the new drive correctly.



Just remember that when putting the iMac back together, to get the drive bracket's hooks properly inserted. Same goes for the CD-ROM drive. Do not leave out the clip between the hard drive and the CD-ROM drive, as I believe it helps reduce vibrations between the two.



If you have the October 2001 issue of Macworld, it contains the steps to do this on pages 64-67. Beware, though, it does not mention the hooks on the hard drive bracket. I had to figure that part out myself. So it is probably best to have a copy of my instructions handy as well.

thegelding

my daughter has an iMac DV 400 (slot loading) and i see she is down to about 500 mb left of open space...thinking of getting her a new HD...probably 60 to 80 mb is more than enough...what would people recommend?? 5400 vs 7200 rpm?? ibm vs maxtor vs seagate??



thanks g

scottib

Quote:

Originally posted by thegelding

my daughter has an iMac DV 400 (slot loading) and i see she is down to about 500 mb left of open space...thinking of getting her a new HD...probably 60 to 80 mb is more than enough...what would people recommend?? 5400 vs 7200 rpm?? ibm vs maxtor vs seagate??



thanks g

I have a 7200 rpm Western Digital 80GB "Jumbo" (8MB of cache) in an iMac DV/400--works great. I didn't need the Jumbo, but it was on sale. I've had IBMs, Seagates, and WDs in various iMac-CRT and G4s and never had a problem with any brand.

chopper3

thegelding (like the name BTW, snip snip!) if I were you I would just get as cheap a 60Gb 5400 as you can. It really doesn't sound like you need the extra performance and generally 5400's run cooler than 7200's - they're almost always cheaper too. Be aware that you machine will only support drives less than 138Gb.

agent302

I replaced the stock 10 GB 5400 RPM drive in my iMac DV 400 with a 40 GB 7200 RPM drive about a year ago, and the speed gain was noticeable. Don't worry about the heat, the convection system is more than capable of handling the extra spindle speed despite its lack of a fan.

colby2000

I've got a 120 GB IBM 7200 RPM drive (forget the model) in my 500 DV SE. Works great...it's a little warmer than the stock drive, but not that bad. The only problem I've got is that sometimes, after the iMac goes to sleep, the drive spins back up...kind of annoying.

bigmclargehuge

Can I use the same procedure (well... up to a point) to yank out the CD player and replace with a CDRW or DVD?



I have a slot-loading 3G 350

colby2000

Yep, done that too. The CD drive sits directly on top of the HD (or the other way around...I don't remember) in the cage. Seems to me they take half-height CD drives though..the slot-loaders do anyway. I replaced my DVD slot-load with a CD-RW...wanted a Combo, but I haven't found anywhere that has them.

voxapps

Spart is right: theimac.com's instructions are ridiculously complex. Kind of like asking you to disassemble the suspension to change a car tire.



Macworld has an excellent set of instructions with illustrations for both original and later rev CRT iMacs Here I followed them to upgrade my Rev B iMac's RAM and swapped the original 4 Gig drive for a Maxtor 40 Gig 5400 RPM unit. Probably could have gone 7200 RPM, but the 5400 RPM unit was really cheap and it isn't as if the hard drive is the major bottleneck in a Rev B's performance.

formerlurker

Quote:

Originally posted by scottiB

I have a 7200 rpm Western Digital 80GB "Jumbo" (8MB of cache) in an iMac DV/400--works great. I didn't need the Jumbo, but it was on sale. I've had IBMs, Seagates, and WDs in various iMac-CRT and G4s and never had a problem with any brand.

I'll second this recommendation. Just ordered this model from newegg.com today for a client's G4 tower and it's on sale.