Replacing 27-inch Mid 2010 iMac HDD

[c48113]

I need to replace a friends Hard Drive in a Mid 2010 27" iMac. If I replace the drive with a stadard Seagate or WD hard drive will I have problems witht he fan running at full speed? If so are there any options other than software that manually controls the fan speed?

Is there a good source for a fully Apple compatibleHard Drive?

Thanks

 

[RUGERMAN]

Apple hd

I need to replace a friends Hard Drive in a Mid 2010 27" iMac. If I replace the drive with a stadard Seagate or WD hard drive will I have problems witht he fan running at full speed? If so are there any options other than software that manually controls the fan speed?

Is there a good source for a fully Apple compatibleHard Drive?

Thanks

UH, Maybe the Apple store B&M or online.

 

[Stingray454]

I replaced the drive myself (with a WD Black drive) on my late 2009 iMac. I was fully expecting to have to use HDD Fan Control or similar to stop the fans from running. Turns out I didn't have to do that, since the drive supports the S.M.A.R.T standard, which can report the drive temperature over the SATA cable. In other words, everything worked as normal after replacing the drive and the iMac sensed the drive temperature just fine, even though I had disconnected the temperature sensor.

Takes a bit of fiddling to open it up, but I followed iFixit's excellent guide and there wasn't really any problem, not much harder than changing a hard-drive or memory of any other tight-spaced computer. My biggest worry was getting dust behind the glass, make sure you open it in a clean environment if you do it yourself.

EDIT: By the way, the WD Black is known for running a bit hot - I do get a few degrees higher drive temperature than the old drive, admittedly. But from what I read, that's normal with the wd black drives.

 

[cschmelz]

I replaced the drive myself (with a WD Black drive) on my late 2009 iMac. I was fully expecting to have to use HDD Fan Control or similar to stop the fans from running. Turns out I didn't have to do that, since the drive supports the S.M.A.R.T standard, which can report the drive temperature over the SATA cable. In other words, everything worked as normal after replacing the drive and the iMac sensed the drive temperature just fine, even though I had disconnected the temperature sensor.

Takes a bit of fiddling to open it up, but I followed iFixit's excellent guide and there wasn't really any problem, not much harder than changing a hard-drive or memory of any other tight-spaced computer. My biggest worry was getting dust behind the glass, make sure you open it in a clean environment if you do it yourself.

EDIT: By the way, the WD Black is known for running a bit hot - I do get a few degrees higher drive temperature than the old drive, admittedly. But from what I read, that's normal with the wd black drives.

I just did the same thing on my 27" 2010 iMac and my experience was the opposite.

YES it does report temperature info which you can access with HDD Fan Control (app) but the iMac doesn't seem to acknowledge that at the OS level.

My fans are running full bore right now without HDD Fan Control....Oh well, easy enough fix with the app.

Very excited to have gone from an old 1tb drive to the very high quality, superfast Caviar Black in there.

I was going to add a Crucial M4 256gb SSD in place of the optical drive but forgot to buy a Slimline SATA to regular SATA adapter so that will wait till Thursday when the adapter arrives....

 

[PsychoCenobite]

I'm gearing myself up to replace the hard drive in my iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010, 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3) and was just looking for some advice or tips.

The current hard drive is a 1TB Western Digital (WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0) and I was looking at replacing it with a WD 3-4TB "Black" 3.5-inch SATA hard drive.

I've watched a few videos about how to open up the iMac and remove the old hard drive and I'm not put off by this, as I've opened up my previous iMac and other electronic devices (inc. iPhone 3GS), but I'm a bit unsure about the temperature sensor cable.

Will I need to buy a different temperature sensor cable or is it better to purchase the HDD Fan Control app?

I'd like to have everything that I need before I open up the iMac (hardware, tools, extra cables, etc), rather than having to open and close it a few times.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

PsychoCenobite

 

[rogerdee123]

I'm gearing myself up to replace the hard drive in my iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010, 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3) and was just looking for some advice or tips.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

PsychoCenobite

I just finished successfully replacing the hard drive (with new 2TB) on my 2010 iMac 21". I suggest you buy the OWC HD installation kit like I did. It includes an OWC thermal sensor cable which allows you to use a 3rd party hard disk (i.e. not apple branded) and your cooling fan will run normally. You can also buy this cable alone if you don't need the tools etc that come with the kit.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIMACHDD09/

 

[aberry89]

I am going to be replacing my hard drive in my iMac mid 2010 27" (Core i5, 2.8 GHz) after it died on me . I am trying to figure out which drive to buy. Do I need to crack open the computer and check the drive to see what brand it is? So I can replace with the same brand. Is there a way to find out what brand drive is in your computer without opening it?

I am looking for a 2TB drive to buy, and I am going to buy that OWC thermal sensor cable since so many seem to have trouble with their fans. I was just going to buy from the drives iFixit suggested...but there are SOO many different drives out there, and I just want to know which one I should get! Can anyone give me a short list based on my specs? (btw I beleive my EMC # is 2390, but that is just what online specs have said, I havent looked under the base.)

If anyone can help me out, that would be greatly appreciated!

 

[HinMelvic]

G’day,

for a 27″ mid-2010 iMac with a failing 2TB Hitachi HDS722020ALA330, what new (e.g. 4TB) HDD can I replace it with?
I am also thinking about adding a SDD where I would put the applications on.

Apparently"...to replace the main hard drive, you do need to swap it with another same-brand (although it can be a higher capacity) 3.5″ HDD as originally installed….”

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies aka HGST was founded in 2003 as a merger of the hard disk drive businesses of IBM and Hitachi.
In 2012, Western Digital (WD) acquired HGST.

The fan control issue seem to be both a physical connection and a firmware problem.
Besides Apple, does anyone sell a HDD with the correct connection for the current temperature sensor as well as the required firmware so the fan doesn’t go crazy?
Or, any other hardware solution (not keep on a software override fix)

Cheers!

 

[rayward]

G’day,

for a 27″ mid-2010 iMac with a failing 2TB Hitachi HDS722020ALA330, what new (e.g. 4TB) HDD can I replace it with?
I am also thinking about adding a SDD where I would put the applications on.

Apparently"...to replace the main hard drive, you do need to swap it with another same-brand (although it can be a higher capacity) 3.5″ HDD as originally installed….”

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies aka HGST was founded in 2003 as a merger of the hard disk drive businesses of IBM and Hitachi.
In 2012, Western Digital (WD) acquired HGST.

The fan control issue seem to be both a physical connection and a firmware problem.
Besides Apple, does anyone sell a HDD with the correct connection for the current temperature sensor as well as the required firmware so the fan doesn’t go crazy?
Or, any other hardware solution (not keep on a software override fix)

Cheers!

I am about to rip the guts out of my mid-2010 27" iMac - to replace the optical drive with a BD drive, drop in a 4TB HDD and add a 256GB SSD (eliminating all external device clutter in the process). From what I have divined from various internet searches, you need the thermal sensor cable supplied by OWC in an installation pack or as a stand-alone item. That is supposed to stop the fan from running constantly (I certainly hope so).

All my new stuff is on order, so I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Brian Y]

You should be able to just short the sensor too.