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Replacement Hard drive for Powerbook G4
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Basically I would get the biggest IDE drive you can afford.
Currently the biggest is 250GB. (edit : found this one http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/250-GB-5400-RPM-Western-Digital-ATA-Hard-Drive-New/IF107-052
i found this shop, (but I've never used them- don't live in the UK)
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&NavigationKey=11154&NavigationKey=41610000&NavigationKey=47250000&CategorySelectedId=11154&PageMode=1
I would probably get the WD 160gb for ukp39.35.
I never seem to have much luck with Hitachi travelstars. had a few die on me. I usually buy WD, i find them quiet and reliable.
Currently the biggest is 250GB. (edit : found this one http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/250-GB-5400-RPM-Western-Digital-ATA-Hard-Drive-New/IF107-052
i found this shop, (but I've never used them- don't live in the UK)
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&NavigationKey=11154&NavigationKey=41610000&NavigationKey=47250000&CategorySelectedId=11154&PageMode=1
I would probably get the WD 160gb for ukp39.35.
I never seem to have much luck with Hitachi travelstars. had a few die on me. I usually buy WD, i find them quiet and reliable.
I just upgraded my PB G4 1.25Ghz to a 160GB WD Scorpio. I got mine from OWC, don't know if you can from UK, but its a good company.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD1600BEVE/
Good price and quiet. I used Super Duper to create a bootable backup and followed direction on iFixit.com. Pretty easy.
Good Luck!
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD1600BEVE/
Good price and quiet. I used Super Duper to create a bootable backup and followed direction on iFixit.com. Pretty easy.
Good Luck!
I have a 12" 1.5ghz powerbook and I was worried about speed.
Initially upgraded to a 100gb Hitachi Travelstar PATA of course, 7200 rpm.
But I was squeezing the space at about 75 gigs of available 93 gigs on the drive (w/apps.)
So I swapped for a 250gb WD with a five year warranty.
Tho it is a "slower" drive at 5400rpms, it is the biggest PATA drive they make for lappies and the larger size actually compensates for the 7200 rpm speed of the 100 gig drive it replaced.
I'd say it is exactly on par if miliseconds slower than the 100 gig drive and the space I gained is worth it.
You are maxed out on ram, right? Make sure of that and upgrade all the way to the 250 drive for speed concerns. I would not go to the 160gig drive as I am sure it is slower.
Resale will also be helped in a year or so when you want to sell and it is the most maxed machine you can have. (Unless you have a combo drive instead of a dvd burner... and I do NOT recommend swapping optical drives on these 12" powerbooks yourself. TOO MUCH can go wrong.)
Anyway, still loving my Powerbook.
Initially upgraded to a 100gb Hitachi Travelstar PATA of course, 7200 rpm.
But I was squeezing the space at about 75 gigs of available 93 gigs on the drive (w/apps.)
So I swapped for a 250gb WD with a five year warranty.
Tho it is a "slower" drive at 5400rpms, it is the biggest PATA drive they make for lappies and the larger size actually compensates for the 7200 rpm speed of the 100 gig drive it replaced.
I'd say it is exactly on par if miliseconds slower than the 100 gig drive and the space I gained is worth it.
You are maxed out on ram, right? Make sure of that and upgrade all the way to the 250 drive for speed concerns. I would not go to the 160gig drive as I am sure it is slower.
Resale will also be helped in a year or so when you want to sell and it is the most maxed machine you can have. (Unless you have a combo drive instead of a dvd burner... and I do NOT recommend swapping optical drives on these 12" powerbooks yourself. TOO MUCH can go wrong.)
Anyway, still loving my Powerbook.
>>>
Ive been looking at the Hitachi 160gb or the Western Digital 250gb here>>>
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.asp...=47250000&CategorySelectedId=11154&PageMode=1
Ive been looking at the Hitachi 160gb or the Western Digital 250gb here>>>
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.asp...=47250000&CategorySelectedId=11154&PageMode=1
Actually, the first thing I would do is buy some more Ram.
Max it out (i think it'll take 1.25Gb) and it'll run a LOT better.
I would also put tiger on it, possibly leopard..
I've got a 1.33Ghz ibook that runs leopard pretty well, and has a far worse graphics card in it.
try here http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=PowerBook%20G4%201GHz%20%2812-inch%20Display%29
Max it out (i think it'll take 1.25Gb) and it'll run a LOT better.
I would also put tiger on it, possibly leopard..
I've got a 1.33Ghz ibook that runs leopard pretty well, and has a far worse graphics card in it.
try here http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=PowerBook%20G4%201GHz%20%2812-inch%20Display%29
>>>
Ok, Thanks!
Thats what I am going to do.
Get some ram first then a hard drive.
I have chose one and am gonna have a go at installing it myself as I cant really afford to have someone do it for me, plus I really wana learn about my most loved item.
I have read various instructions on 'Installing a Hardrive in Powerbook G4' and some appear to say that you can just access it via the back of the mac and some say that you have to take the keyboard off aswell.????
Anyone know what is correct?
Ok, Thanks!
Thats what I am going to do.
Get some ram first then a hard drive.
I have chose one and am gonna have a go at installing it myself as I cant really afford to have someone do it for me, plus I really wana learn about my most loved item.
I have read various instructions on 'Installing a Hardrive in Powerbook G4' and some appear to say that you can just access it via the back of the mac and some say that you have to take the keyboard off aswell.????
Anyone know what is correct?
look no further than here http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
I used it when I changed the hard drive on my ibook, no problems.
The powerbook doesn't look so hard. Just take it slow, remember where the screws went and try not to bend the pins when you take off the hard drive cable. Should take you about half an hour I suppose... good luck!
I used it when I changed the hard drive on my ibook, no problems.
The powerbook doesn't look so hard. Just take it slow, remember where the screws went and try not to bend the pins when you take off the hard drive cable. Should take you about half an hour I suppose... good luck!
ive literally just bought the WD Scorpio 250gb ide 2.5" hdd for my powerbook 12" G4 1.33/1.25/60 and im waiting for it to arrive - i would go for the 250 not the 160, i got mine brand new on ebay for 40 inc delivery and there are a load more on there, i also got a caddy so i can use/sell the old hdd as an external for 12 gbp 
OP, ram is very easy to put in the powerbook 12 inch.
The hard drive swap is harder.
Get an old egg carton for the screws.
Go very slow. Remember where each screw went and don't drop them.
I swapped out the hard drives on my 12 powerbook twice now,
it will take you a couple of hours but
WORTH IT.
The hard drive swap is harder.
Get an old egg carton for the screws.
Go very slow. Remember where each screw went and don't drop them.
I swapped out the hard drives on my 12 powerbook twice now,
it will take you a couple of hours but
WORTH IT.
>>>
Yeah cool idea bout the use of an egg carton.
Im probarly gonna end up doing it, I just wish you could access from the back and not having to take the keyboard off etc.
Its completely gone now, so here I am typing this on my old clunker' using windows crap!
Anyway many thanks!
Yeah cool idea bout the use of an egg carton.
Im probarly gonna end up doing it, I just wish you could access from the back and not having to take the keyboard off etc.
Its completely gone now, so here I am typing this on my old clunker' using windows crap!
Anyway many thanks!
Yeah, be very very careful! I had a friend help me and we got stymied by the step where you remove the keyboard ribbon cable. Take that VERY slow, we ended up ripping the cable off the connector At least we were able to fix it!
At least we were able to fix it!
Just read the ifixit instructions and go slow, they tell you everything you need to know in putting in a new hard drive in the PowerBook. Also, blow up the photos on the ifixit page while you are working through the steps. It just takes a couple of hours. Not that horrible
Sorry to sorta hijack this thread, but I need help!
I have a Powerbook G4 1.33 Ghz 15" with maxed out 2GB of ram. It's running Leopard. I'm not sure, but I feel this computer has slowed down a lot throughout the years. I don't know if it's just because I've upgraded the OS so much (each time a fresh install), but it seems like it is much slower. Also I have an iMac 2.66ghz intel at work and at home as well so it might make this little laptop feel slower.
Because I've felt this laptop is too slow for what I have, I'm thinking of upgrading the hard drive in hopes it runs smoother. It has it's stock 60GB 4800RPM hard drive in it. 40+GB is free on the drive to give it lots of room to do its thing. I feel it might be dying, but I can't tell. For example sometimes it takes forever for the laptop to wake up from sleep. Anything past 5 tabs open in Safari and it chugs. Sometimes when I type it has a hard time keeping up. All I ever have running is Safari and sometimes iTunes, but it starts to hang. I fixed permissions and did a test on the hard drive in disk utility using verify disk but everything seems fine. Also sometimes flash video can hang and slow down because the computer seems to be having a hard time keeping up. Also just opening folders can lag from time to time.
Am I just expecting a better performance than I should? Will upgrading to a bigger faster hard drive really speed me up or am I just dreaming? I expanded to a full 2 gigs of ram, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I remember getting this brand new with CS1 Suite installed and it running snappy, but that was back on 10.3 and a long time ago. I try not to do any design work on the machine because it lags so much with CS3 and 10.5.
Can anyone convince me that swapping the hard drive is a good idea? I know I could do it if I took my time, I just hate opening laptops because I could easily break something. Any other powerbook users who have noticed a decrease in performance? Or is my hard drive really just old and dying? I just want a snappier computer and I feel I should be able to get this with these specs, but again I could just be wrong since I have such fast machines to compare it to. Have powerbook owners who have swapped their hard drive noticed a speed increase?
Sorry for the long post, I just don't know if I want to do this.
I have a Powerbook G4 1.33 Ghz 15" with maxed out 2GB of ram. It's running Leopard. I'm not sure, but I feel this computer has slowed down a lot throughout the years. I don't know if it's just because I've upgraded the OS so much (each time a fresh install), but it seems like it is much slower. Also I have an iMac 2.66ghz intel at work and at home as well so it might make this little laptop feel slower.
Because I've felt this laptop is too slow for what I have, I'm thinking of upgrading the hard drive in hopes it runs smoother. It has it's stock 60GB 4800RPM hard drive in it. 40+GB is free on the drive to give it lots of room to do its thing. I feel it might be dying, but I can't tell. For example sometimes it takes forever for the laptop to wake up from sleep. Anything past 5 tabs open in Safari and it chugs. Sometimes when I type it has a hard time keeping up. All I ever have running is Safari and sometimes iTunes, but it starts to hang. I fixed permissions and did a test on the hard drive in disk utility using verify disk but everything seems fine. Also sometimes flash video can hang and slow down because the computer seems to be having a hard time keeping up. Also just opening folders can lag from time to time.
Am I just expecting a better performance than I should? Will upgrading to a bigger faster hard drive really speed me up or am I just dreaming? I expanded to a full 2 gigs of ram, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I remember getting this brand new with CS1 Suite installed and it running snappy, but that was back on 10.3 and a long time ago. I try not to do any design work on the machine because it lags so much with CS3 and 10.5.
Can anyone convince me that swapping the hard drive is a good idea? I know I could do it if I took my time, I just hate opening laptops because I could easily break something. Any other powerbook users who have noticed a decrease in performance? Or is my hard drive really just old and dying? I just want a snappier computer and I feel I should be able to get this with these specs, but again I could just be wrong since I have such fast machines to compare it to. Have powerbook owners who have swapped their hard drive noticed a speed increase?
Sorry for the long post, I just don't know if I want to do this.
That old hard drive is very very SLOW. It's actually 4200rpms.
Get a 250gig Western Digital. Also get throw in a newer and faster optical superdrive, either UJ 846 or UJ 847. Make sure all your ram is recognized, too on the 15".
I don't think the 15" is as difficult as the 12" powerbooks to take apart, but I could be wrong.
You will notice a difference if you upgrade the hard drive, promise.
Sell the old one for 20 or so bucks and sell your old optical drive for around the same if it is a combo, a few bucks more if it is a superdrive dvd burner.
You will feel like it is a brand new machine almost.
I do think the 100gb Travelstar 7200rpm is microseconds faster than the 250gb drives, but they are not easy to get and mostly out of warranty. Nice thing about putting new optical and new hard drive is they are both under warranty. Say in a year you want to sell it, having a couple of warranties on the internals is a nice selling point.
I heard somewhere along the line that a better optical drive somehow increases speed, too, but I could be wrong. Test the ram and swap the chips around too, just to mix things up.
Tiger would probably run better on your machine.
I had the last model PPC mac mini 1.5ghz and I was completely bummed that it took only 1 gig max of ram. I used some utility app to disable dashboard and the mini ran faster. I've disabled dashboard on my 1.5ghz 12" powerbook with only 1.25 max ram and it runs a lot faster. Dashboard is not a big deal for me. Oh and it is running Leopard for pretty great without dashboard.
Hope that helps!
>>>
Thats o.k.
I found that when I opened disk utility from my o.s disc at the bottom of the page of my disc it said Disc Failing.
Im Swapping mine out for this 1, I think its compatible >>>
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11154,50372,40970000
Thats o.k.
I found that when I opened disk utility from my o.s disc at the bottom of the page of my disc it said Disc Failing.
Im Swapping mine out for this 1, I think its compatible >>>
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11154,50372,40970000
Jaymax,
the disk you mentioned is a Serial ATA drive (SATA) and is incompatible with a powerbook.
You need an IDE ATA drive. any of these should be fine.
Generally speaking the SATA drives are bigger/faster and cheaper..
edit: i'd probably get this one
the disk you mentioned is a Serial ATA drive (SATA) and is incompatible with a powerbook.
You need an IDE ATA drive. any of these should be fine.
Generally speaking the SATA drives are bigger/faster and cheaper..
edit: i'd probably get this one
>>> ! >?
Aye"?
Really?
Im on the verge of ordering it and Im sure it was compatible?
Its a ATA?
Please help friend...
Its this one >>>>
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...ey=11154,41610000,47250000,40970000&InMerch=1
Aye"?
Really?
Im on the verge of ordering it and Im sure it was compatible?
Its a ATA?
Please help friend...
Its this one >>>>
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...ey=11154,41610000,47250000,40970000&InMerch=1
>>>
Ok thats a PATA drive and is £7 more, but it looks like your right from the review underneath. Im going to order it. I ordered some ram from them the other day and it was here in a couple of days. Cool!
Thank you very much for your advise my friend, you have been of great help!
Ok thats a PATA drive and is £7 more, but it looks like your right from the review underneath. Im going to order it. I ordered some ram from them the other day and it was here in a couple of days. Cool!
Thank you very much for your advise my friend, you have been of great help!