Please help with replacement Hard drive

[tommyboy9996]

Hi my hard drive has died on my iMac 20 inch aluminum intel based late 2007 model. I am getting the error of the blnking folder w/question mark. So I put in the installation cd and booted it while holding c, tried to repair the drive and the drive didn't even show up, next i went into verbose mode and single user mode and saw that there was an error loading the kernel 'mach_kernel' (0x12), after that i tried again to boot installation disk and try to reinstall os while archiving, again the hard drive wasn't even showing up for the destination location to install the OS on. I am almost positive the Hard drive is dead so I called apple to figure out what hard drive i need to purchase to replace it and go figure they said they can't tell me. Can anyone point me in the right direction, and maybe a website i can get it from, i have been searching but i am not positive which one i need. I know i had the hitachi 320 gig hdd previously, i would like to go bigger but i am not picky. ANy help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!! Thanks

 

[tommyboy9996]

I also called the Apple support line, they couldn't tell me really what paticular hard drive i need to replace the one i had before...i don't even mind getting the same one....

 

[-tWv-]

OWC http://www.macsales.com should be able to help you out on where to buy one.

Do you/anyone know if the drive is a 2.5" or 3.5"?

EDIT: Just found a site that explains the replacement of the hard drive. You need a SATA 3.5" hard drive. Here is where you can find a large selection of 3.5" drives.

It is fairly difficult to replace an iMac hard drive so you need to know what you are doing when taking apart a computer while replacing it. Be careful

EDIT 2: This is a MUCH better guide with great pictures on how to do it. And these 2 videos are also helpful: One Two

Hopefully that is enough to get you started.

 

[BlueRevolution]

Any 3.5" SATA drive will work just fine. I just put a new Seagate 1.5 TB drive into my iMac.

 

[tommyboy9996]

Thanks SO SO SO Much guys!!! I am going to replace it in this up coming week, i will let yah know how it turns out. Again thanks!!

 

[tommyboy9996]

okay today after letting my iMac sit for a day I tried to boot the installation disk and go to the disk utility option. It actually showed my hard drive for once, so I went to it and tried to repair it. It came up as a node error or something and said it can't be repaired. SO i am assuming that drive is pretty much dead but I was able to see my data on the drive. I wanted to try to transfer my files and was thinking about trying the target mode. Do you think because I was able to see my drive for a bit I may be able to transfer it somehow with the target mode with another mac? I just really want to get some of my files because i haven't backed up my system lately...

 

[BlueRevolution]

Do you think because I was able to see my drive for a bit I may be able to transfer it somehow with the target mode with another mac?

Yes.

 

[tommyboy9996]

Does anyone know what this keyboard is called in this link at the end of the article? I have been wanting to get one for a while....Thanks...

http://octomac.com/tech/iMacHD/iMacHDUpgrade.html

 

[BlueRevolution]

That's a standard Apple keyboard, which was replaced by the aluminum model. I'm sure you can find plenty on Ebay.

Personally, I prefer the aluminum keyboards. The low travel in the keys is much easier on the hands once you get used to typing with less pressure. I have a lot of trouble using typical desktop keyboards now.

 

[tommyboy9996]

oh ok, thats what i was thinking. Thanks for the quick response...i have never used the older keyboards they just look nice, i do understand about the new keyboards...i may get one down the road on ebay..thanks again

 

[tommyboy9996]

ok now i was able to free up 300 gb on my one external to try to do a restore on my drive. MY hd says its 298.8 gb used so I draged that to the source section, then i dragged my external to the destination. Next I just clicked restore, i am pretty sure i did this right through the disk utility using the installation disk. It seems like the bar for progress really hasn't moved much, or could this process just take a real long time? THanks

by the way, i am noticing my external device doing something...the led on the front is flashing as if it is receiving data but i don't really see much with the progress bar on the disk utility...