I cannot figure out how to get to the hard drive so that I can replace it. There is a screw for the top of the tower, but when I removed it I could not lift up the top nor slide it forward. Is there something else I need to do? Or is the hard drive accessed through the right side (looking at the back of the tower) and how do I get the side panel off?
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Power PC 6500 access to replace hard drive
- Thread starter ceinc345
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There are two screws on the back, one on top and one on bottom. After they're out you can grab the two plastic tabs on the back and slide out the entire logic board assembly. If you've never removed it before you might have to wiggle it a bit as the connectors connect pretty securely.
I took my old 6500 apart about 1000 times.
I took my old 6500 apart about 1000 times.
There are two screws on the back, one on top and one on bottom. After they're out you can grab the two plastic tabs on the back and slide out the entire logic board assembly. If you've never removed it before you might have to wiggle it a bit as the connectors connect pretty securely.
I took my old 6500 apart about 1000 times.
That gets me to the logic boards, battery but NOT the hard drive.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/0309721APM6500UM.pdf
This is the user manual, and it will give you all the info you need.
If you're referring to the Performa 6500 series, you'll need to remove the front plastic panel to access the HD. IIRC, it's held in place by plastic tabs at the bottom and sides of the case. It was ages ago that I worked on those machines, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.
The manual shows the location of the hard drive, but doesn't seem to show how to actually get at it. As said, it's under the plastic front panel; there are two tabs located, if memory serves, under the lip in the front. You push those up, then pull forward, away from the computer, and the front panel should swing open and off (there are hooks at the top that it hinges on).
The hard drive is mounted on a plastic sled that you unlock from the chassis by squeezing the wide plastic tab in the middle of the drive's underside (which, since it's vertical, is I think on the right, though I'm not sure). It can be a bit stubborn, but once you've gotten that unhooked it should slide out and you can then unhook the cables and take the screws off to remove the drive from the sled. Swap drives using the same screws, reattach, and go in reverse, and you're good to go.
Assuming it's ATA, remember that it'll only recognize smaller drives (I assume the limit is 128GB).
Fond memories of those systems--I bought one back when because the waiting list on Power Computing machines was ridiculous. Still have it, and it actually still gets used occasionally to get stuff off Mac-formatted floppies--the drive in my still works, and I've got a USB card in it, so I can actually get files OFF the thing once I copy them from the floppy.
The hard drive is mounted on a plastic sled that you unlock from the chassis by squeezing the wide plastic tab in the middle of the drive's underside (which, since it's vertical, is I think on the right, though I'm not sure). It can be a bit stubborn, but once you've gotten that unhooked it should slide out and you can then unhook the cables and take the screws off to remove the drive from the sled. Swap drives using the same screws, reattach, and go in reverse, and you're good to go.
Are you sure about that? I'm pretty sure all of the 6500 series used ATA internally, and only had an external SCSI port. The CD drive might have been SCSI, but not the hard drives.
Assuming it's ATA, remember that it'll only recognize smaller drives (I assume the limit is 128GB).
Fond memories of those systems--I bought one back when because the waiting list on Power Computing machines was ridiculous. Still have it, and it actually still gets used occasionally to get stuff off Mac-formatted floppies--the drive in my still works, and I've got a USB card in it, so I can actually get files OFF the thing once I copy them from the floppy.