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All SATA HD for iMacs?? (AL 2007)

Loa

Loa

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 5, 2003
1,733
79
Québec
Hello,

I've seen a tutorial on how to swap your iMac's HD, and I'm willing to attempt it.

Now, can I use any SATA drive, or is there limitations due to size, heat, etc...

Thanks

Nisaea
 
Hello,

Thanks for the info.

No model yet, but at least 500GB, and very fast. This is my first iMac and although I'm really enjoying the machine, I'm starting to realize that its Achilles's heel is its hard drive. Often the RAM isn't maxed out and the processors are far from 100% - 100% and the system is slowing down.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Nisaea
 
Nisaea said:
Hello,

Thanks for the info.

No model yet, but at least 500GB, and very fast. This is my first iMac and although I'm really enjoying the machine, I'm starting to realize that its Achilles's heel is its hard drive. Often the RAM isn't maxed out and the processors are far from 100% - 100% and the system is slowing down.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Nisaea
Click to expand...

Hi-

You mentioned in the title of your OP that it is a 2007 iMac that your are wanting to upgrade and that you had instructions, but I just wanted to make sure you have instructions for that particular model- as dis-assembly and replacing the drive are considerably different from most of the instructions that are out there for models prior to the AL iMacs!

Here is a good one on the AL series that goes into detail about removing the front glass and such- http://www.amfiteatar.org/content/view/155/57/lang,en/ While it describes replacing the internal with a 1Tb drive, the procedure is the same for any size drive.

Just a couple of notes about it- be extra, extra careful about working in an area that is a dust free as possible. Static electricity has a way of sucking dust in-between the glass face and the LCD when you are re-assembling it and it looks VERY bad when trapped in there. I note this because a friend of mine did his and wishes now that he would not have. They must do the final assembly of these things at the factory in a clean room! :(

They apparently have some of those "if this seal is broken, warranty is void" stickers inside too which have to be broken to replace the drive, so if you have Applecare do keep that in mind.

Now, you asked for suggestions and I have only one. Take advantage of the new FireWire 800 port on the back of it and get an external drive with a matching FireWire 800 interface and be done with the whole thing in 5 minutes with none of the above mentioned concerns! :D

Now it will not be AS fast as an internal drive but will be very close for most tasks. Note that I am specifically talking about FW800, not FW400 or USB. There is a reason they added the FW800 port on the AL iMacs- thank goodness they did! A side benefit is that should you have a drive failure or wish to upgrade the size it would not require breaking into the innards again!

Good luck with your project
 
Thanks for the link and added info.

I'm not 100% I'll do the upgrade yet, but if boosting the RAM from 2GB to 4GB doesn't help with the speed issues, I'll seriously consider it.

Would a FW800 external drive be significantly faster than the stock internal drive? I'm not looking for more space, but only speed.

Thanks

Nisaea
 
Well, after looking up exactly which HD I have in my iMac, it turns out that the HD is quite fast. I bought a refurbed AL iMac 2.8 (2007) and it came with WD's 500GB Caviar Blue.

I'm now thinking that the speed issues must come from elsewhere...

Nisaea
 
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