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eMac HD replacement

DinoAdventure

DinoAdventure

macrumors member
Original poster
May 13, 2005
84
0
Today I bought a used 800 mhz emac from my work for $100. I got it home and it appears that the hard drive isn't working. I've been searching for like an hour trying to find a tutorial or something, and i have found several links to the service manual but they're all dead. If any one has any info or a working link to the service manuals please let me know.

Thanks.
 
If you can't get a hold of the manual, PM me, and we'll see about direct-transfer or something... or I could host it on my site for a short while.

It's a time consuming job, if you take your time.

That said, I recommend taking your time.

I also recommend picking up an NEC 3550A DVD burner from Newegg. For about 28 bucks + shipping you get 16x dvd burning (including dual layer) that with a quick application of Patchburn 4 (free), makes the thing work natively throughout the OS and iLife suite. It's a good time to get it done, while the eMac is already apart.

I did the same (160 gig HD + 3550A) about 3 or 4 months ago, and I haven't looked back - it was one of the best things I did for my mac (right behind the tripling of the stock ram).
 
The links in that site for the service manuals are all dead.

I'm going to send you a PM mkaake.

Thanks.
 
OK, I skipped class today to work on it and I was able to get everything apart and get to the HD. It was pretty easy, even without the service manuals (getting it back together will surely be another story though). I have a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120 GB ATA/133 HDD I'd like to put it in it, will it work? It seems like it will fit OK, but I want to make sure it's supported before I put it all back together.

Thanks!
 
I've been inside my wife's eMac four or five times. I've replaced the HD, optical drive, and installed an Airport antenna. I've also been too quick to put it back together. Things to take into account:

Be careful to put each screen where it belongs and to take notes as you disassemble.

Touching the CRT can be a heart-stopping experience. Literally.

If you're going to upgrade something, you might as well upgrade everything. meaning i fyou have a replacement hard drive, you might as well replace the optical drive if you need additional features or a faster drive. Collect the parts you want and do it all at once. Wish I'd thought of this sooner, because it's not alot of fun.

Remember to plug back in the power cables...it sucks to disasemble a second time because you forgot to plug in the hard drive.

It *is* very time consuming, but it's also quite rewarding.

Or scrap all that and use the firewire port for your hard drive and optical drive. If you don't mind the looks of it, it's much easier. ;)

edit: whoops, didn't realize you were already half-way done. A 120GB drive, as long as it's IDE, will work with no problems. I believe (but can't say for sure) that all eMacs support large drives.
 
My eMac tip for the day - if you've got an airport (or a-ex) card, that thing needs to be pushed in *hard* to re-seat. Really hard. As in, you're wondering if you've broken it yet.
 
A few weeks ago I upgraded my 2003 eMac's optical (Combo) drive and hard drive in one go -- but I took it to an authorized service place and paid them CAD$85 to do it for me. Seriously, it's too much trouble to bother with myself. Especially considering the risk of fatal discharge from the CRT. I only had to wait a few hours. (On the other hand, lugging the 48 lb. beast to the store and back is no fun.)

With a Pioneer 110D dvd burner, and a 250 GB drive, it's like having a new machine.
 
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