what do i need to support a 400gb or 500gb or larger HDD in a G4?

[kenmasters]

hello i will be updating my powermac G4 with a bigger HDD and need to know whats the largest size i can use thats supported by macosx 10.4.

i know i need a controller but which one is the best to use i looked at owc and seen something called SIIC controller card can this one support a 500gb or larger hdd?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Go to OWC and get yourself an ATA or SATA PCI expansion card. These should be able to handle whichever HDD you buy.

 

[dpaanlka]

This:

http://sonnettech.com/product/tempo_sata_x4p.html

 

[iPhil]

This:

http://sonnettech.com/product/tempo_sata_x4p.html

the one your linking to an external SATA card not an internal SATA card..


Like Lord Blackadder said : Here


I got total of 700GB of drives internal via one the sata cards in my PM G4 GE file server..

 

[dpaanlka]

the one your linking to an external SATA card not an internal SATA card..

oops... either way the OP needs a SATA PCI card

 

[drummingcraig]

PCI Card in "Quicksilver" G4 PowerMac???

Hi there,

I was going to ask this in a new thread, but its similar enough to this one.

I am helping my buddy upgrade his 733Mhz G4 PowerMac. Amongst other things we are upgrading his HD setup. He currently has the 40GB drive which came installed. Now, my understanding is that if he wishes to upgrade and/or add HD's he needs to either stay BELOW the 137(128)GB threshold -OR- add a PCI ATA card in which case he can run as large of a drive as he wants with no additional hardware/software.

Does that sound correct, and if not what is wrong?

Thanks in advance,

Craig

 

[iPhil]

Hi there,

I was going to ask this in a new thread, but its similar enough to this one.

I am helping my buddy upgrade his 733Mhz G4 PowerMac. Amongst other things we are upgrading his HD setup. He currently has the 40GB drive which came installed. Now, my understanding is that if he wishes to upgrade and/or add HD's he needs to either stay BELOW the 137(128)GB threshold -OR- add a PCI ATA card in which case he can run as large of a drive as he wants with no additional hardware/software.

Does that sound correct, and if not what is wrong?

Thanks in advance,

Craig

Adding SATA card will break the barrier of 128 GB limit under some PM units.. Sata is easier to install.. no need to figure out the pin config on ATA hard drives..

SATA has 2 connections.. Power/Data no pin config needed..

 

[Blue Velvet]

I've just put a Sonnet Tempo Serial ATA (SATA) 2-port card into a 733 G4 QS that I'm using as a server, took about 15 mins to put in with the new drives. I went for SATA as it's a bit more future-proof and the larger capacity drives are available in SATA.

Works perfectly, boots fine.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

My Digital Audio G4 has an SIIG 2-channel SATA card controlling two Hitachi 250GB drives. They've been humming along for almost 2 years with no problems, and as Blue Velvet said installing a PCI cards is pretty quick and painless.

These two drives replaced the original 40GB drive, and the improvement in HDD perfomance (aside from the capacity increase) was pretty significant.

 

[drummingcraig]

Adding SATA card will break the barrier of 128 GB limit under some PM units.. Sata is easier to install.. no need to figure out the pin config on ATA hard drives..

SATA has 2 connections.. Power/Data no pin config needed..

I've just put a Sonnet Tempo Serial ATA (SATA) 2-port card into a 733 G4 QS that I'm using as a server, took about 15 mins to put in with the new drives. I went for SATA as it's a bit more future-proof and the larger capacity drives are available in SATA.

Works perfectly, boots fine.

My Digital Audio G4 has an SIIG 2-channel SATA card controlling two Hitachi 250GB drives. They've been humming along for almost 2 years with no problems, and as Blue Velvet said installing a PCI cards is pretty quick and painless.

These two drives replaced the original 40GB drive, and the improvement in HDD perfomance (aside from the capacity increase) was pretty significant.

Thanks for the info! I wasn't sure if SATA would work on the older machines so this is good to know.

My friend is on a budget so I wasn't counting on having to install a PCI card, but we'll make it work. Also, he isn't really looking for massive storage. I was actually considering getting him either an 80GB drive to install next to his 40GB. I think that I am going to try and up-sell him on the SATA route though.

Craig

 

[drummingcraig]

more questions

OK folks...so now I have a couple more questions (and my sincere applogies to the OP for hijacking this thread).

I have been reading ALL kinds of forums, databases, FAQs, etc on the various things we are looking at upgrading so I am getting a bit cross-eyed here.

So, i know that I can either: Ad an 80GB drive directly to the QS G4 using the existing wiring without adding a PCI controller -OR- I can add a PCI controller and add a second drive which is not size limited.

BUT, if we go the PCI route with say a 160GB drive, is it bootable? In other words, can I boot off of the Tiger install DVD and install it onto the new drive running off of the PCI card thereby making it the "master" drive?

Craig

 

[Lord Blackadder]

That should work...I used to have the original 40GB drive in my drive running OS 9.2, while my 2 SATA drives booted OS X.

It might be an issue with older PCI controllers but anything you can buy today should be bootable and work alongside the G4's built-in ATA controller.

 

[drummingcraig]

That should work...I used to have the original 40GB drive in my drive running OS 9.2, while my 2 SATA drives booted OS X.

It might be an issue with older PCI controllers but anything you can buy today should be bootable and work alongside the G4's built-in ATA controller.

OK. I was pretty sure that the PCI controllers I was eye-ing at OWC said "bootable" in their descriptions, but I want to ask first.

Now I have to figure out if I replace his CDRW drive with a Pioneer 18x superdrive, if I can boot the Tiger disc right off, or if I have to change anything else.

 

[Consultant]

OK folks...so now I have a couple more questions (and my sincere applogies to the OP for hijacking this thread).

I have been reading ALL kinds of forums, databases, FAQs, etc on the various things we are looking at upgrading so I am getting a bit cross-eyed here.

So, i know that I can either: Ad an 80GB drive directly to the QS G4 using the existing wiring without adding a PCI controller -OR- I can add a PCI controller and add a second drive which is not size limited.

BUT, if we go the PCI route with say a 160GB drive, is it bootable? In other words, can I boot off of the Tiger install DVD and install it onto the new drive running off of the PCI card thereby making it the "master" drive?

Craig

PCI ATA or SATA is bootable if the card say it's bootable for Mac.

 

[Consultant]

THERE IS A SOFTWARE SOLUTION:

Intech ATA Hi-Cap Driver (speedtools2.com), available at OWC.
Someone I know said the drive speed is a little slower, not sure about that claim, but it's low cost.

If you want to get a PCI card, get SATA.

 

[drummingcraig]

OK. So here's my grocery list for my friend's G4. Please chime in if you see any issues and/or have feedback on any of these particular items. Again its a 733Mhz Quicksilver with 128Ram/40GB/CDRW drive and OS 10.1.5.

• OWC 512MB PC133 SDRAM
  
• Pioneer DVDR-112D
  
• SIIG SATA PCI Controller
  
• Hitachi "Deskstar"SATA 160GB HD

The plan is to install all above the above, then boot to the Tiger DVD and go from there. I will leave his 40GB ATA drive (original factory drive) in there so he will have all of his stuff backed-up. He doesn't have much on there, but still good to have it close at hand.

So, does this looks solid?

Craig

 

[iPhil]

OK. So here's my grocery list for my friend's G4. Please chime in if you see any issues and/or have feedback on any of these particular items. Again its a 733Mhz Quicksilver with 128Ram/40GB/CDRW drive and OS 10.1.5.

• OWC 512MB PC133 SDRAM
  
• Pioneer DVDR-112D
  
• SIIG SATA PCI Controller
  
• Hitachi "Deskstar"SATA 160GB HD

The plan is to install all above the above, then boot to the Tiger DVD and go from there. I will leave his 40GB ATA drive (original factory drive) in there so he will have all of his stuff backed-up. He doesn't have much on there, but still good to have it close at hand.

So, does this looks solid?

Craig

I would go above 1GB on Ram total for Leopard if you can .. Remember 512MB Ram is minimum required..


I've always used Seagate drives since bought my mac, 2 yrs + ago ..


The rest of items sound fine ..

 

[kenmasters]

your friend might like a bluetooth usb dongle.

with the dongle you can use a wiimote as a front row remote an as a gaming controller.

also in the future he could use the ubber cool apple bluetooth keyboard which looks awesome BTW.

 

[drummingcraig]

I would go above 1GB on Ram total for Leopard if you can .. Remember 512MB Ram is minimum required..


I've always used Seagate drives since bought my mac, 2 yrs + ago ..


The rest of items sound fine ..

He's going to upgrade to 10.4 not 10.5. That's why I am shooting for 512 (plus the 128 that he's already got) as 256 is the "minimum for Tiger". I would get him a second 512, but he's on a budget and I think he'll be fine with 640MB for now.

I looked at the Seagate and WD drives as well and I picked the Hitachi for the price. Again, budget concerns. I just installed a 2.5" Hitachi 160GB in my Powerbook and so far its working great. Nice and quiet too.

 

[drummingcraig]

your friend might like a bluetooth usb dongle.

with the dongle you can use a wiimote as a front row remote an as a gaming controller.

also in the future he could use the ubber cool apple bluetooth keyboard which looks awesome BTW.

Thats something he can easily go with later on. He's not the most technically savvy guy either so he wouldn't get excited about the wireless keyboards like we would.

And again...sorry for hijacking your thread.

 

[Consultant]

I would get a 500GB SATA with 5 year warranty. They can sometimes be had for $100 shipped.

But seems like you don't need much storage space? If you just need to put in 1 drive, then you can do IDE drive along with Intech software I mentioned earlier (works fine as server).

650gb at frys.com ST306504N1A0A-RK, $120 shipped.

 

[cv66seabear]

G4 Powerbook Upgrades and a glitch

Hi all!
I had seen this thread, but can't find it again, so pardon me for bursting onto this one, but it is similar, and I see Consultant is talking about the Intech software.
I have a Mac Titanium Mercury Powerbook G4 500Mhz. (I gave up on PCs last Feb).
So far, I have upgraded the ram to 1gb (2x512) and have just added the Westgern Digital Scorpio 250gb hard drive to replace the little 20gb it came with.
You already know the question! Do you have to have the Intech HiCap software, or is there a way to partition the drive without it, so it will recognize the other 128 gb?
By the way, the next upgrade is to either replace the cd/dvd rom driv e with a superdrive (costly due to the extra pieces for Mercury), or just replace it with another cd/dvd rom, as I have already purchased a fw dvd/cd r/rw external drive. Any thoughts?
Us there anyway to replace the old non 2.0 usb ports with 2.0?
Thanks!
I will never give up my mac for a pc!