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User profile for user: Mathiss01
Mathiss01 Author
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Updating HD in a mini

I don't know if this question has been asked before but i didn't find it. My question is have a G4 mac mini , i want to install a bigger hard drive. Now i have a 40gig but i want to go larger. How do I get leopard on the new hard drive? Or when i install the new hard drive it wont have a operating system on it what do i do?????

Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Oct 14, 2008 8:02 AM

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User profile for user: AndyO
AndyO
User level: Level 6
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Posted on Oct 14, 2008 8:10 AM

A new hard drive will certainly not have Leopard on it, and may actually not even be initialized correctly for Mac use. That isn't a problem however because all you need to do once the new hard drive is installed is to boot the system to your Leopard install disk (hold the C key down during startup with the Leopard DVD in the optical drive). If the hard drive is already prepped for MacOS use, then the installer will simply go ahead and install for you once you have selected the drive. If the drive is not correctly prepped for MacOS, with the system booted to the Leopard installer, select Disk Utility (from the Utilities menu) and you can then partition the hard drive correctly (Apple Partition Map for a G4 mini) and then install Leopard.
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User profile for user: AndyO
AndyO
User level: Level 6
17,064 points

Oct 14, 2008 8:10 AM in response to Mathiss01

A new hard drive will certainly not have Leopard on it, and may actually not even be initialized correctly for Mac use. That isn't a problem however because all you need to do once the new hard drive is installed is to boot the system to your Leopard install disk (hold the C key down during startup with the Leopard DVD in the optical drive). If the hard drive is already prepped for MacOS use, then the installer will simply go ahead and install for you once you have selected the drive. If the drive is not correctly prepped for MacOS, with the system booted to the Leopard installer, select Disk Utility (from the Utilities menu) and you can then partition the hard drive correctly (Apple Partition Map for a G4 mini) and then install Leopard.
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User profile for user: AndyO
AndyO
User level: Level 6
17,064 points

Oct 14, 2008 8:36 AM in response to Mathiss01

I don't know that OWC is 'the best place' for Mac stuff, but it is certainly amongst the best. The drive should come ready partitioned for MacOS use, and as long as it is one of the drives offered via their G4 Mac mini internal drive upgrade page, it'll come pre-partitioned for use so it should be ready to simply run the MacOS installer. If you have problems at that point, post back here with details and we should be able to help you.

If your Leopard installer is a full retail copy, then yes, you can use that!
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Updating HD in a mini

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