iMac 24" Hard Drive Replacement

[KevGibs]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, first time here...

I got hold of an early 2008 24" iMac (http://everymac.com/systems/apple/i...24-inch-aluminum-early-2008-penryn-specs.html) with a few problems and I'm looking to put them right.

First up is the fact it doesn't have a HDD.

I've opened it up and this is what I'm faced with: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/909994/imac-insides.jpg

As far as I'm aware #1 is the SATA connection to the HDD, #2 is the power connection to the HDD and #3 is the socket for the temperature sensor.

Am I right?

Right, I have problems with #1 and #3 on here.

#1 seems too big to fit the DiamondMax10 HDD I'm trying to fit. It was connected to my PC via a SATA cable, but the SATA connection in the iMac isn't the same, it's much more of a loose fit. Do I need a converter or a specific type of HDD to make this fit?

#3 is missing, the person I got this from has obviously just removed it. Is there any way to replace this?

Another problem I have is that there must have been some kind of caddy the HDD fitted into before being fitted into the iMac, because there's just too much space here to fit it. Is this missing also?

Any help you could give on these points or anything else missing from the picture (this is exactly I was faced with when I opened it up) would be appreciated.

 

[HE15MAN]

24" iMacs take normal 3.5" sata hard drives. arent the diamondmax drives pata connections?

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Another problem I have is that there must have been some kind of caddy the HDD fitted into before being fitted into the iMac, because there's just too much space here to fit it. Is this missing also?

Any help you could give on these points or anything else missing from the picture (this is exactly I was faced with when I opened it up) would be appreciated.

There are mounting rails that have pins that fit into the rubber grommets on the upper area of where the HDD fits, and a lower L shaped bracket that screws into those threaded tabs at the lower area of where the HDD fits. Time to head to eBay!

Here is a shot of my HDD replacement project from December 2010.

It does sound like you are describing a PATA drive. You need an SATA HDD; while you have it open you should put the largest one you can in there (I put a 1TB drive in), and also make sure it's a 7200RPM drive just to keep your machine snappy. OR if you are really wanting to soup it up, put in an SSD. I am swapping my 1TB HDD out for a 250GB SSD this weekend. I moved the "User" folders onto an external FW800 drive, and I have noticed no speed loss when accessing the files; once I put in the SSD it should really speed things up.

Good luck with your project!

 

[KevGibs]

24" iMacs take normal 3.5" sata hard drives. arent the diamondmax drives pata connections?

Finally got to the bottom of this, thanks for your help.

The HDD does use a SATA connection (it's been installed in my PC as a 2nd drive for a while) but on closer inspection (really close) it looks like at some point a small piece of plastic inside the socket on the back of the drive has snapped or melted into the plug on the SATA cable, creating a weird custom-moulded socket. I can't use this HDD with any other cable but the one with the plastic part inside!

So that solves the issue with #1 (I hope), could you help out with advice on any parts that might be missing?

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There are mounting rails that have pins that fit into the rubber grommets on the upper area of where the HDD fits, and a lower L shaped bracket that screws into those threaded tabs at the lower area of where the HDD fits. Time to head to eBay!

Here is a shot of my HDD replacement project from December 2010...

Good luck with your project!

Just saw your post, that's a help, thanks! I'll look for mounting rails, I might have to use a slower HDD for now as I want to be sure I get this system running before I spend any amount of money on it.

Do you have any advice on the HDD temp sensor? Is it needed?

 

[HE15MAN]

Can you post a picture of the diamond max drive? I think that adapter may slide off if it's the type I'm thibking

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Do you have any advice on the HDD temp sensor? Is it needed?

I'm not sure, but I think if the temp sensor is missing, the machine assumes that you have a high temp situation and therefore the fan(s) speed up. A lot. You may have to install something like SMCFanControl to control your fans...

 

[blueroom]

You can typically bypass the sensor by shorting out the connector with a bit of wire. Worked in my 2009 iMac when I installed an SSD.

 

[KevGibs]

Can you post a picture of the diamond max drive? I think that adapter may slide off if it's the type I'm thibking

It's back in my PC now, I switched it with the Samsung drive that was in there.

To save starting a new thread I'll update you guys with a little progress and ask some questions if you have time to help?

I fitted the Samsung drive in the iMac, if I try to power up from the HDD it asks about a windows installation that hasn't shut down properly, crashes and restarts, in a loop. This isn't really surprising because I literally took it out of my PC and plugged it into the iMac as I was hoping to reformat the drive.

My plan was to boot OSX Snow Leopard from a USB flash drive. When I try this I get the Apple logo and the spinning icon, but then that will just freeze and I can't restart or switch off the system unless I unplug the power cord.

Does any of this sound familiar? What's the best way of moving forward?

 

[HE15MAN]

It's back in my PC now, I switched it with the Samsung drive that was in there.

To save starting a new thread I'll update you guys with a little progress and ask some questions if you have time to help?

I fitted the Samsung drive in the iMac, if I try to power up from the HDD it asks about a windows installation that hasn't shut down properly, crashes and restarts, in a loop. This isn't really surprising because I literally took it out of my PC and plugged it into the iMac as I was hoping to reformat the drive.

My plan was to boot OSX Snow Leopard from a USB flash drive. When I try this I get the Apple logo and the spinning icon, but then that will just freeze and I can't restart or switch off the system unless I unplug the power cord.

Does any of this sound familiar? What's the best way of moving forward?

U need to boot to Snow Leopard or Lion USB or DVD, run disk utility from that, format the drive, and then install OSX. If the boot disc is made properly it will work. You need to hold Command key I believe it is to boot from USB during startup

 

[eXan]

Hold down the Option (alt) key after you hear the startup boom and select your flash or DVD.