Hard Drive Help

[ccf]

I'm wondering if somebody could provide a link to a good deal on a hard drive I could put in my mid-2010 27" iMac.

Not interested in an SSD. This computer will go to my grandson when I get a new hard drive in it so really just concerned with price. He's only 6 so I'm hoping it lasts him a few more years.

I figured I could save time & money posting here with people who are much more in tune with where to find a bargain.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Fishrrman]

Is the current internal drive broken?

 

[ccf]

Is the current internal drive broken?

It's really acting up (freezing all the time).

 

[Fishrrman]

"It's really acting up (freezing all the time)."

That might be the drive.
OR... it might be software that's causing the slowdowns and freezes.

Have you tried running Disk Utility's "repair disk" function on it?
Note: with older versions of the OS, "repair disk" may not be available, but you can use "verify disk" instead.

What results do you get?

Rather than open the iMac up -- and risk breaking something in the process -- you could get an EXTERNAL USB3 drive, plug it in, and set it up to be "an external booter". If you use a smaller-sized SSD, the speed (once booted) will probably equal or excel that of the old internal HDD. Certainly good enough to please a 6-year-old. You could velcro the drive to the iMac's stand, up and out-of-the-way.

 

[ccf]

The hard drive was a recall, but I didn't make the deadline for replacing it. It's been making noise for awhile. I'm pretty sure it's the hard drive.

Will a regular external hard drive work? Are they expensive? Is it easy to set up?

 

[jtara]

Not interested in an SSD. This computer will go to my grandson when I get a new hard drive in it so really just concerned with price. He's only 6 so I'm hoping it lasts him a few more years.

The SSD is more likely to last "a few more years".

You could go for an SSD that isn't necessarily at the top of performance. Any SSD will beat the pants off of a hard drive performance-wise.

It will also survive the angry bangs on the computer and the accidental tumbles whilst gaming with VR headset...

The hard drive was a recall, but I didn't make the deadline for replacing it. It's been making noise for awhile. I'm pretty sure it's the hard drive.

Was it an Apple recall? If so, you should try anyway. Contact Apple.

Will a regular external hard drive work? Are they expensive? Is it easy to set up?

It will WORK. But we can't guess what you need or how well it will work, since you didn't say what model of computer and what ports it has.