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Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

trrosen said:
Fact - These new iMac hard drives actually more standard then the old models.
Click to expand...

4 pin has been around for decades, how exactly do you figure these are more standard? They aren't standard period.

Though to be honest if someone was looking for a computer for customizing and had any general knowledge in upgrading hardware the iMac would probably be last on the list.
 
DudeDad said:
forgive my back-up process ignorance...but

1. If you install a new drive and restore the old one from Time Machine, will the "proprietary" hard drive firmware move over too?

2. If you install a new drive and restore from a Super Duper clone of the drive( or other back-up software), will the "proprietary" hard drive firmware move over too?

If the answer is yes, then the problem is solved, unless you want to install a new drive then install the OS from scratch and rebuild your information.
Click to expand...

Assuming that the firmware is stored on the circuit board of the hard drive, and not on its platters/volume, the firmware would not be backed up by Time Machine or be transferrable at all through imaging/cloning.

In fact, I imagine such a possibility being disastrous!
 
Hawkeye411 said:
Bah .... Hardly anyone upgrades the HD on am iMac anyway!
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I bought a Mac so I wouldn't have to break it open and mess with the insides. If I wanted to do that, I would have purchased a PC tower.

When I need more HDD space, I plug in externals (currently have 3).
 
proboscisjoe said:
Assuming that the firmware is stored on the circuit board of the hard drive, and not on its platters/volume, the firmware would not be backed up by Time Machine or be transferrable at all through imaging/cloning.

In fact, I imagine such a possibility being disastrous!
Click to expand...

Makes sense!
 
OllyW said:
Classy. :rolleyes:

I wonder why some people think Mac owners are smug and arrogant?
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iEvolution said:
I'm so jealous of your "expensive" proprietary mac. :rolleyes:

I liked apple when they weren't on top, they were far more consumer friendly than they are now. They only care about lining their pockets and have apparently lost quality control about 4 years ago.
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Both of you, QFT. I can't believe that both of you failed to see the attempt at sarcasm in my posts. Actually, Every word I wrote was copied from these and other "Mac Fanboy Forums".

And you're right, ... smug and arrogant....
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
WTF? Seriously? :mad:

Honestly, I was very close to jumping on board with a new i7 - but this tanks my ambition. Even when someone invariably makes a workaround, I'm not sure about it.
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as well it should.

i hope this does not become a standard on all apple hardware...
 
"Get a Hac.." :)

A bit of a pain, but I suppose there will probably just be adapters from China that emulate the sensor before too long. Or you could get exactly the same model of drive as what the modified version is based on and swap the board.

Or maybe Apple will offer the spare drives at a reasonable pri... wait, did I just say that? :D
 
mstrze said:
I bought a Mac so I wouldn't have to break it open and mess with the insides. If I wanted to do that, I would have purchased a PC tower.

When I need more HDD space, I plug in externals (currently have 3).
Click to expand...

Good for you. I have one (1) internal 3 TB drive and one (1) external for Time Machine. If I want to clutter up my desk with power consuming, noisy and ugly cabinets I would have bought a PC.

The "breaking open" part you mention is optional. I love Apple (doing so since '87) but sometimes I think they make bad decisions.... :mad:
The correct one would have been to make the HDD reachable as easy as the RAM!
 
*%^£ing nazis. Keep going apple. Next stop, being hates as much as MS, and we know where that got them.
 
So what...

Once LIGHTNING takes off... you WON'T even need all those HEAT PRODUCING components inside it... If your just an end user, think of it as an iDevice counterpart where you need to either be a tech, or pay up!
The power users on the other hand should utilize lightning anyway so this doesn't effect them to any degree but if the iMac only implemented IEEE 1394b, then YES... BAD BAD move on Apple but this actually isn't a REAL issue for anyone!
I'd go external lightpeak RAID0 anyway... the processor needs to have some breathing room on those things...
 
Does apple realize that people change stuff on computers all the time? What next... you can't upgrade anything on the Mac Pro without Apple doing it? It's getting ridiculous.
 
trrosen said:
I like OWC but they should be ashamed of this.

Fact - There is no proprietary connector here.

Fact - Most any standard Sata drive will work in these machines. ( only issues are the occasional models that have a firmware that doesn't like some particular hardware)

Fact - At worst fans will run on high until you use a third party fan control.

Fact - AHT means absolute nothing. Your surprised software written by Apple to test Apple hardware can't test non-Apple hardware ???

Fact - These new iMac hard drives actually more standard then the old models.
Click to expand...

Fact - You cannot replace the HD in the current iMac, without a workaround/hack. Your "facts" are actually your "assumptions", of which many would question, expecially the last one? Standard?? what exactly is your "assumption" of standard?
 
MH01 said:
Fact - You cannot replace the HD in the current iMac, without a workaround/hack. Your "facts" are actually your "assumptions", of which many would question, expecially the last one? Standard?? what exactly is your "assumption" of standard?
Click to expand...

The only fact in here is that you haven't read all the 500+ posts in this thread... try a search, OWC is lying... many users have replaced the HDD for 2TB versions or even a 3TB in the current 2011 models... so...

STOP THE MADNESS ON THIS THREAD
 
ghostlyorb said:
Does apple realize that people change stuff on computers all the time? What next... you can't upgrade anything on the Mac Pro without Apple doing it? It's getting ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Nice slippery slope logic there. :rolleyes:

The IMAC internal drive was NEVER intended to be modified by the customer. This design decision isn't anything new.
 
DudeDad said:
forgive my back-up process ignorance...but

1. If you install a new drive and restore the old one from Time Machine, will the "proprietary" hard drive firmware move over too?

2. If you install a new drive and restore from a Super Duper clone of the drive( or other back-up software), will the "proprietary" hard drive firmware move over too?

If the answer is yes, then the problem is solved, unless you want to install a new drive then install the OS from scratch and rebuild your information.
Click to expand...

The answer is no. Hard drive firmware is not part of the filesystem. It's not copied over when you clone or restore from a backup. Firmware is model specific. Even if you could do it, transferring the firmware from drive A to drive B would break drive B unless they're identical drives.
 
johnnymg said:
The IMAC internal drive was NEVER intended to be modified by the customer. This design decision isn't anything new.
Click to expand...
Yeah, tell me… We've about 15 iMacs in the office and about 5 of them got new hard drives last 3 yrs because of original's failure.
Now other side — Apple sell Macs in my country but doesn't provide any ******* service within reasonable time frame. How would you like to sit w/o your Mac for 3,5 month because of the mold in the matrix? And what would happens if HDD fails? Another 3 month till Apple send me replacement while with other models I'd spend 5-10 minutes to get a new HDD? *** em, iMac '10 and nothing never :mad: but how to get Core i7 :confused: :mad:
 
ghostlyorb said:
Does apple realize that people change stuff on computers all the time?
Click to expand...

What exactly is the percentage of these people who change stuff in their Macs "all the time"? I know I have only cracked open my iMac Sage to upgrade memory and to replace the internal battery (after 4 years) and I have taken off the door on my wife's MacBook to put in extra memory.

I have to believe that the number of Mac users who have upgraded internal componants is very small.

Sure, it would be nice to have the ability to do, but Apple has always been a closed ecosystem which has worked very well not only for them, but for the end user as the lack of user-upgradability has limited the number of extra cards and drives and other items that may cause havoc with the operating system as designed.

Apple systems work, as intended, very well without issues. I have never had compatibility issues with user-added items and the like, as I have had with my PC in the past. It works and works well.

Heck, once we go full SSD I would imagine that Apple might just have the chips and the controller soldered directly to the motherboard. Then replacement is completely off the table.
 
pfft. big deal...

It is an iMac. An "all in one". If you are planning on upgrading, want to add more drives, graphics card upgrades, etc... get a MacPro.

If your iMac hard drive dies within a year, Apple replaces it under warrant, no cost. Suggesting we will not have these drives from 3rd parties on the market in a year is ridiculous to suggest IMO.

And, what the hell does Windows 7 have to do with Apple hardware?

Meh, I see no issues here... big deal.
 
MH01 said:
This blows. That rules out the iMac replacement I was considering. Now that leaves the Macpro, which frankly is a rip-off for what you get
Click to expand...

Wow, my Mac Pro has been worth every penny. I guess it depends what you do with it. If you're just watching YouTube, you should probably go for a cheap Windoze tower I guess.
 
MH01 said:
Fact - You cannot replace the HD in the current iMac, without a workaround/hack. Your "facts" are actually your "assumptions", of which many would question, expecially the last one? Standard?? what exactly is your "assumption" of standard?
Click to expand...

Yes you can and it has been described here sever times. It is actually a lot easier than with 2010 models. OWC report is bad and that is the only fact in here.
 
What I find seriously annoying about this...

is that if you want a new iMac i7, great -- ships within 24 hours. Want to add the SSD option? Ships within 4 - 6 weeks.

:mad:
 
dethmaShine said:
So basically, its no big deal?
Click to expand...

Nope, that's what I've been trying to say for the last 250 posts ... it's just bad propaganda unfortunately. While people stop buying iMacs, I am enjoying mine with blazing 500MB/s read & write speeds:D
 
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