Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
60GB hard drive for laptops now available
- Thread starter AlphaTech
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you have any mechanical ability (can you use a screwdriver??) it is not hard to do. The enclosure dimensions are listed on OWC's site for the FireWire enclosure (http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=3479&Item=OWCMEFW). They are 1.5"x9"x5.5" (not a bad size). The drive fits snuggly into the case too.
The 160GB drives are the same size as the 40GB drives (physically) and will fit into the enclouser. At least the Maxtor drives are, I am sure that you could find a thicker drive, but I know I wouldn't want it.
The 160GB drives are the same size as the 40GB drives (physically) and will fit into the enclouser. At least the Maxtor drives are, I am sure that you could find a thicker drive, but I know I wouldn't want it.
a 60 gig hard drive is a great idea but what i am waiting for is a hard drive that big which is external and very affordable so if you buy a computer every year or two, you can keep the same external hard drive which makes a lot of sense
i would then have no need to upgrade the internal hard drive, which is all i can afford now
i am a techie and i wouldn't recommend changing out your own laptop's hard drive yourself, but once you do it a few times, you can probably do it a hundred times in your sleep
i would then have no need to upgrade the internal hard drive, which is all i can afford now
i am a techie and i wouldn't recommend changing out your own laptop's hard drive yourself, but once you do it a few times, you can probably do it a hundred times in your sleep
my 32gb ibm drive is a dream. this drive was the first in the series of these new ibm drives. i would NEVER buy a toshiba drive or any computer or component with a toshiba drive in it (yes i know the ipod is toshiba). the things are loud and break down. you cant get better than ibm for quality.
swapping in a hard drive is very simple. and there are plnety of photo tutorials on the web for you to take you step by step through the process. i would totally reccommend doing it yourself if you ever consider upgrading your hardware. Dont take your computer into a tech to have them do this, this is just about the worst advice ive ever heard. If you really dont feel comfortable doing it have a knowledgable friend help you. Techs are expensive and not any more qualified than a monkey with a blind fold. If there is ever something wrong with your computer take it to apple, never take it to some idiot with a storefront. These people are like car mechanics they will lie cheat and steal from you, and you will probably be worse off when you leave.
advising people to take your computer to a tech for a hard dirve upgrade?!?! crazyness. next he will tell us that installing ram in a powermac is far to technical and you must take it to a tech for that as well.
o and if you are going to insert a cd into your cd drive you better pay a tech to help you with that too.
nonsense! complete and utter nonsense!
swapping in a hard drive is very simple. and there are plnety of photo tutorials on the web for you to take you step by step through the process. i would totally reccommend doing it yourself if you ever consider upgrading your hardware. Dont take your computer into a tech to have them do this, this is just about the worst advice ive ever heard. If you really dont feel comfortable doing it have a knowledgable friend help you. Techs are expensive and not any more qualified than a monkey with a blind fold. If there is ever something wrong with your computer take it to apple, never take it to some idiot with a storefront. These people are like car mechanics they will lie cheat and steal from you, and you will probably be worse off when you leave.
advising people to take your computer to a tech for a hard dirve upgrade?!?! crazyness. next he will tell us that installing ram in a powermac is far to technical and you must take it to a tech for that as well.
o and if you are going to insert a cd into your cd drive you better pay a tech to help you with that too.
nonsense! complete and utter nonsense!
Yeah, personally I would never bring my PB G4 to a tech to have them upgrade my HDD. It cracks me up that some places charge $30+ to throw in a new drive in a desktop. For G4 Powerbooks, it's somewhat understandable (maybe $10 worth), since you have to pop off the whole bottom casing very gently to prevent warping. But, then again, I used to work as a PC tech so for me it's no big deal and it's *gasp* actually enjoyable.
With that said, I think there are a group of people that need to rely on techs to upgrade their hardware (i.e., my parents). Mostly, people who have never seen a motherboard, or wouldn't know where to start in popping out/popping in their drives. If you want to do it yourself, and have a fairly good sense of computer logic (what goes where and why), then I say go for it! Only, remember to respect the components and don't use excessive force. (so when the motherboard starts cracking in half because you've screwed it on too tight, you might have a problem)
http://www.pricewatch.com shows 60GB 7200rpm firewire external drives going for ~$190. Not bad.
With that said, I think there are a group of people that need to rely on techs to upgrade their hardware (i.e., my parents). Mostly, people who have never seen a motherboard, or wouldn't know where to start in popping out/popping in their drives. If you want to do it yourself, and have a fairly good sense of computer logic (what goes where and why), then I say go for it! Only, remember to respect the components and don't use excessive force. (so when the motherboard starts cracking in half because you've screwed it on too tight, you might have a problem)
http://www.pricewatch.com shows 60GB 7200rpm firewire external drives going for ~$190. Not bad.
Actually, I am a tech (supporting both Mac and peecee desktops and laptops), so to change the drive is a snap for me. I have all the tools I need to do the job right. What I intend to do at this point, is back up my entire 20GB drive to one of my external drives (while booting off of a cd). Remove the 20GB drive, install the 60GB, boot off the cd again, initialize the drive and then copy everything back onto it. That should allow me to be back up and running faster, and with little to no issues. I will probably run my full set of utilities before booting off the new drive for the first time, just to make sure everything is kosher.
I am still waiting for an exact price on the 60GB drive, but was told that it will be under $400. I really do hope to be able to post an exact price tomorrow, since I am itching to get the drive.
On a side note, they are selling iPods for $369 (plus shipping if you are not in MA, and close enough to pick it up). I would get one, but at the moment, I don't think I would use it enough. I am getting ready to have a cd player installed into the dash of my vehicle, to do away with the portable cd player plugged into the tape deck. I have been putting up with that for almost 3 years now, and have had just about enough. I don't use any tapes, only cd's, so changing that makes more sense at the moment. Eventually I will get an iPod, but not yet.
I am still waiting for an exact price on the 60GB drive, but was told that it will be under $400. I really do hope to be able to post an exact price tomorrow, since I am itching to get the drive.
On a side note, they are selling iPods for $369 (plus shipping if you are not in MA, and close enough to pick it up). I would get one, but at the moment, I don't think I would use it enough. I am getting ready to have a cd player installed into the dash of my vehicle, to do away with the portable cd player plugged into the tape deck. I have been putting up with that for almost 3 years now, and have had just about enough. I don't use any tapes, only cd's, so changing that makes more sense at the moment. Eventually I will get an iPod, but not yet.
techs
ambitiouslemon,
if you are a tech or a high end user, go for the upgrade yourself which goes without saying
but most people, and those not likely to be on this board, only know how to do word processing and surf the net and still half of america do not have a computer and this is called the digital divide
of the people who do have computers, they usually often have two
i do agree that some techies charge too much and some are ripoff artists, but if you can do a lot of technical stuff, you should consider making a little extra money on the side and you will be astonished how many people don't know the simplest things and would rather hire a tech than do it themselves
i am still a tech with a moderate amount of knowledge but some of my super tech friends (in silicon valley) wonder why i don't write my own software drivers and can't imagine why i buy compatible gear and not just buy what i want and write the drivers from scratch...but not all of us have those skill sets and that is the reason there are so many storefronts
btw, i really like your personal site and the designs you have
ambitiouslemon,
if you are a tech or a high end user, go for the upgrade yourself which goes without saying
but most people, and those not likely to be on this board, only know how to do word processing and surf the net and still half of america do not have a computer and this is called the digital divide
of the people who do have computers, they usually often have two
i do agree that some techies charge too much and some are ripoff artists, but if you can do a lot of technical stuff, you should consider making a little extra money on the side and you will be astonished how many people don't know the simplest things and would rather hire a tech than do it themselves
i am still a tech with a moderate amount of knowledge but some of my super tech friends (in silicon valley) wonder why i don't write my own software drivers and can't imagine why i buy compatible gear and not just buy what i want and write the drivers from scratch...but not all of us have those skill sets and that is the reason there are so many storefronts
btw, i really like your personal site and the designs you have
Here is an update on the 60GB IBM TravelStar drive...
The drive should be available next week (before the end of the week, we hope). The exact price has not been determined as of yet, but it will be sub $400. The store that I will be getting it from is called 'The Geek Boutique' with a phone # of 888-FYI-GEEK. If you do call, ask for Travis. They are located in MA and can ship anywhere.
I am just waiting for the exact price and time when it can be ordered to get mine.
The drive should be available next week (before the end of the week, we hope). The exact price has not been determined as of yet, but it will be sub $400. The store that I will be getting it from is called 'The Geek Boutique' with a phone # of 888-FYI-GEEK. If you do call, ask for Travis. They are located in MA and can ship anywhere.
I am just waiting for the exact price and time when it can be ordered to get mine.
Sub $300 would be less then the 48GB drive... so I don't think that is going to happen until at least after they come out with an even larger drive. 60GB in a laptop for under $400 is a hellofa price.
Considering that I have been waiting for this for a few months now, I can hardly wait to order mine up. I hope to have it before the end of them month (installed and hummin). I will be letting everyone know how it works at that point.
Considering that I have been waiting for this for a few months now, I can hardly wait to order mine up. I hope to have it before the end of them month (installed and hummin). I will be letting everyone know how it works at that point.
changing one's own hard drive...
I was going to do it myself when I replaced my 10 with a 30....but once I cracked open that case, I got scared and called upon a friend of mine who works for the Apple reseller here. The procedure took him nearly 5 minutes...
I know it's not worth the $30 to have someone "professionally" install it for u, but if u are unsure about what u are doing then don't chance it....those PowerBooks are too damned expensive to play around with....
I was going to do it myself when I replaced my 10 with a 30....but once I cracked open that case, I got scared and called upon a friend of mine who works for the Apple reseller here. The procedure took him nearly 5 minutes...
I know it's not worth the $30 to have someone "professionally" install it for u, but if u are unsure about what u are doing then don't chance it....those PowerBooks are too damned expensive to play around with....
well put!
i should clarify that a new or relatively new user should not try and open up their own laptop, because, it is an expensive and sometimes delicate item
...as any tech in the field knows, there are power users capable of doing things far beyond paid techs because they are naturals, and steve wozniak was destined to be a pro bono tech until the other steve twisted his arm into making apple a "business"
talking about what some high end users can do, check out www.woz.org and read some of the stories
and of course, there are those who are fearless and those who are truly knowledgeable and think that i am a newbie talking nonsense about approaching going into a laptop with caution
don't think that something is "easy" because someone on this forum says so...a lot of claims are like the hot air of a puffing male turkey during spring
i should clarify that a new or relatively new user should not try and open up their own laptop, because, it is an expensive and sometimes delicate item
...as any tech in the field knows, there are power users capable of doing things far beyond paid techs because they are naturals, and steve wozniak was destined to be a pro bono tech until the other steve twisted his arm into making apple a "business"
talking about what some high end users can do, check out www.woz.org and read some of the stories
and of course, there are those who are fearless and those who are truly knowledgeable and think that i am a newbie talking nonsense about approaching going into a laptop with caution
don't think that something is "easy" because someone on this forum says so...a lot of claims are like the hot air of a puffing male turkey during spring
warning: Maxtor 160gig drives will not work completely in just any firewire enclosure.
The firewire enclosures currently available only support ATA/100... so you can only format 120gb of that 160gb drive. The ONLY option is Maxtor's 160gb firewire all-put-together drive. It has a special version of the Oxford 911 which supports ATA/133
arn
that drive is sweet
I have one of those 60gb drives in my Dell Inspiron. It was about $425 delivered from Dell upgrades section of their site. It's fast, not noticably louder than the 20gb travelstar that was in it before, and I have space enough on top of OS, games, and 3D toys to work with about 3 and half hours of DV video.
I have one of those 60gb drives in my Dell Inspiron. It was about $425 delivered from Dell upgrades section of their site. It's fast, not noticably louder than the 20gb travelstar that was in it before, and I have space enough on top of OS, games, and 3D toys to work with about 3 and half hours of DV video.
How does the performance compare between the 20GB that you had, to the new 60GB drive? I know that it should be better, but it would be good to hear from the real world perspective. Also, which os are you running??
performance vs. 20gb
I didn't benchmark so I don't have anything objective, though boot up did seem snappier. General use I have not noticed a difference.
I didn't benchmark so I don't have anything objective, though boot up did seem snappier. General use I have not noticed a difference.
hey ummm off the topic post...
i did not want to start a whole post about this possible stupid question.
so Ill ask here....someone can answer... and this question can fade away...
okay i meet a couple of people who told me that these so called CDRW powerbooks might not be CDRW. Whats the deal with this?
i did not want to start a whole post about this possible stupid question.
so Ill ask here....someone can answer... and this question can fade away...
okay i meet a couple of people who told me that these so called CDRW powerbooks might not be CDRW. Whats the deal with this?
The new TiBooks have a combo drive that is a dvd-rom/cd-rw unit. Look here for the spec.'s http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html. The drive reads dvd's at 8x, reads cd's at 24x and writes to cd-r and cd-rw disks at 8x. Not too shabby for a laptop.
finally ordered
I finally just placed the order for the IBM 60GB hard drive to go into my TiBook. Price before tax comes to $425. That is the best price that I have been able to locate.
I really need the new drive since I am about to use the laptop for everything. My G4 tower is about to get a new home (between March 15 and 22) so I need to be able to install all my software onto the TiBook.
Now for the real decision... Do I not even bother with loading OS 9.2.2, or do I install it?????
I finally just placed the order for the IBM 60GB hard drive to go into my TiBook. Price before tax comes to $425. That is the best price that I have been able to locate.
I really need the new drive since I am about to use the laptop for everything. My G4 tower is about to get a new home (between March 15 and 22) so I need to be able to install all my software onto the TiBook.
Now for the real decision... Do I not even bother with loading OS 9.2.2, or do I install it?????
I have just installed the new drive into my TiBook and decided to just go with OS X (10.1 then updating to 10.1.3). I copied EVERYTHING off to my 30GB VST/SmartDisk drive (thin/titanium) so that I have all my files and software intact. I have enough software that runs native under OSX to give this a good shot. Worst case, I can always install OS 9.x back onto it later... although I am hoping that I don't need to.
I will probably be purchasing Photoshop 7 once it is available (can get the slightly reduced price since I have lesser versions that qualify).
I will post again when the drive is completely set up and running.
I will probably be purchasing Photoshop 7 once it is available (can get the slightly reduced price since I have lesser versions that qualify).
I will post again when the drive is completely set up and running.