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Level 1

59 points

Replacing the internal hard drive???

Hello,

I'm going to to replacing my internal hard drive (R.I.P.) and I'm looking for advice on the best one to choose.

The machine is a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo from 2007 (I think that is the right year anyway).

Are hard drives in Mac's the same as PCs? I had assumed they are, but surfing around some sites like Western Digital there are extenal drives that are specified for Macs. I just want to be sure.

Could my Mac handle a 2TB hard drive? Or should I go for a smaller capacity?

I have a preference for Western Digital, based on passed experience, though I am not limited to that if someone has a better suggestion.

If I go for a 2TB Western Digital, my choices seem to be the WD Caviar Green and the WD Caviar Black.

Does anybody have any suggestions or advice?

Cheers

Posted on May 9, 2012 2:48 PM

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Posted on May 9, 2012 2:54 PM

Stay away from any "green" drives. You can install up to 3 TBs (I don't think 4 TB drives are yet available.) Disassembling an iMac is not a trivial task. I would visit OWC to find suitable drives and tutorials. OWC also sells drives with toolkits needed for the specific computer model.

Personally, I'd avoid WD drives. WD is not the best supporter of Macs. I would stick to Seagate, Hitachi, or Samsung for large capacity drives. Stay away from drives that have built-in sudden motion detection as these conflict with the SMS in the computer. If a drive has a SMS then be sure you can disable it via software from the manufacturer or by configuration jumpers on the drive.

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38 replies

WZZZ

Level 6

13,226 points

May 11, 2012 4:54 AM in response to NeddySeagoon

You can buy the drive and have an Authorized Apple Repair service install it. Check with them first.

NeddySeagoon Author

Level 1

59 points

May 11, 2012 5:03 AM in response to WZZZ

Yes, that is a good.

The last few times I have started up the iMac (from the external bootable drive) I have got a message saying "Mac OSX cannot repair Macintosh HD (which is the internal drive)" and for the last week I can hear a "shutdown" sound coming from the Mac.

Can I run my iMac indefinitely from a bootable drive?

Or will the iMac eventually stop running? Can I get the summer out of it?

WZZZ

Level 6

13,226 points

May 11, 2012 5:30 AM in response to NeddySeagoon

Not sure of the answer to this. I have heard of certain scenarios of internal drive failure that prevented proper use of the external as the boot drive. In those cases, it may boot but doesn't function 100%. I don't remember right now just what that sticky scenario was. If I recall, the solution was to disconnect the internal completely. But of course if you could do that, you could just go ahead and replace it.

Anyway, once booted from the external, you should go into Sys Prefs>Startup Disk and set the external as the startup drive. Then always have the external turned on before you boot the Mac. See how it goes.

Maybe someone else will be able to chime in on this.

NeddySeagoon Author

Level 1

59 points

May 11, 2012 5:29 AM in response to WZZZ

Already set to that. 😉

I'm leaning towards attempting the replacement myself and if it goes pear shaped, then so be it, I can just make do until I get to a tech.

Of course, I could that guide again in five minutes and change my mind again. 😝

Strgzr

Level 2

252 points

Oct 19, 2012 11:20 PM in response to Kappy

Kappy, you mentioned finding info at mfg website re HD info. As a side note, how can I find out what name and model of HD I have inside my iMac? I look on DU and only see a bunch of numbers like: "1 TB ST31000528AS Media", and below that says it is "disk description" and Connection Bus says "SATA". I then tried to look on "System Information" and under "hardware" it only shows Model Name, iMac, and other things but I don't see any model or name of HD. Reason, I got note saying I probably am in list of those who have Seagate hard drives which may fail so I will get free replacement, but I like to see the name someplace before I haul my whole iMac in to store (and I first need to erase all and have to reinstall EVERYTHING on new HD-which scares me)! (I have backups going to an iomega external HD). Thanks for info, sorry if doesn't "fit" in here, but thot just info re HD might be ok to ask about instead of starting whole new area.

WZZZ

Level 6

13,226 points

Oct 20, 2012 5:26 AM in response to Strgzr

It's this Seagate drive. But, note, the Apple OEM model will probably be different for temperature monitoring, depending on the model/year of your iMac.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433&name=Internal-Ha rd-Drives

Jan 28, 2015 12:04 PM in response to NeddySeagoon

I have an iMac 21.5 inch, mid 2010 with 3.06 GHz Intel i3, 4GB DDR3.

I have an Iomega Personal 1TB External, i am wanting to replace the 500GB hdd that is in the mac, would my external be a good replacement?

It is having issues running on a usb port, the port is continuously getting replaced, i am wanting to put it into the computer to eliminate all issues with it.

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,700 points

Jan 28, 2015 12:25 PM in response to OscarXcore

Oscar,

You are attempting to revive a 3 year old thread, I would recommend posting your own thread and asking your questions.

Replacing the internal hard drive???