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PB hard drive

E

espndeportes

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 9, 2007
26
0
So my trusty ole, 3.5 year old 12" 1 Ghz PB's harddrive bit the dust this morning. My computer will no longer start up, I can't get it to start in target disk mode.

Here is my question. I have all of my apps, documents, songs, photos, etc. backed up on an external HD, but I guess I don't have OS X backed up.

Is it possible for me to get a new HD installed and then do a fresh install of OS X? How much do you think it would run me? I'm decently tech savvy- can I install a new HD myself or do I need to take it to a service center?

I'm just wondering if it would be a better option for me to just bite the bullet and upgrade to a new macbook. I was really hoping to wait another year, and I'd like to pay less than $300 to fix my PB.

Thanks!
 
Buy a MacBook if you have the money and need an excuse.

Otherwise, installing a Powerbook hard drive is a bit fiddly but not too bad if you take it slow and make notes of where everything goes. Don't force anything. Be careful of shields, latch parts etc. that can hang up or get trapped when you put it back together. Be extra gentle with ribbon cables. See www.ifixit.com for instructions - there are several different 1 GHz PBG4 models, make sure you identify the one you have. You will likely need 2 sizes of Torx screwdrivers, perhaps #8 and #10 I don't remember off the top.

You will need an IDE (Parallel ATA) drive

Once it is in, you will format and install with your OSX install disk (Disk Utility is under the Installers or Utilities menu at the top)
 
CanadaRAM said:
Buy a MacBook if you have the money and need an excuse.

Otherwise, installing a Powerbook hard drive is a bit fiddly but not too bad if you take it slow and make notes of where everything goes. Don't force anything. Be careful of shields, latch parts etc. that can hang up or get trapped when you put it back together. Be extra gentle with ribbon cables. See www.ifixit.com for instructions - there are several different 1 GHz PBG4 models, make sure you identify the one you have. You will likely need 2 sizes of Torx screwdrivers, perhaps #8 and #10 I don't remember off the top.

You will need an IDE (Parallel ATA) drive

Once it is in, you will format and install with your OSX install disk (Disk Utility is under the Installers or Utilities menu at the top)
Click to expand...

I agree with CanadaRAM, if you are planning on installing a new HDD into your PowerBook G4, then follow the ifixit.com's instructions. :)
 
Cool thanks for the help. I'm gonna go pick up a harddrive tomorrow and install it.

Now if I can just find my restore disks and my Tiger upgrade I'll be set.......
 
I was just wondering..what kind of hard drives do the powerbooks use? Is it sata like the macbook?
 
So just to get this straight before I spend any money this.....I have a drive selected, just waiting to make the purchase.

I have the Ifixit guide, and the proper tools to actually put in the new drive.

So I remove the old drive, and install the new one. Then I start up the computer with the Tiger install disc, and I can just install with no problems? Will the Tiger install disc format the drive, or will it need to be formatted at all?

I'm not missing any major sort of step? I dunno, that just feels a bit too easy to me.

Thanks
 
Assuming everything goes well during reassembly, that's pretty much it. You'll need to format the new hard drive using Disk Utility on the OS install disk. Good luck and don't forget to double check everything during reassembly.
 
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