PowerBook - What kind of hard drive for a G4

sbbamafan · sbbamafan #1 (**permalink**)

05-27-2009, 09:33 AM

My son has a G4 (about 3-4 years old) that needs to have the HD upgraded. I have done this on a number of windows based machines but never a laptop, or more specifically a Mac. Is there a specific brand / type of drive a Mac must use or can I get one 'off the shelf' and treat it like I would a PC? Is there a specific utility program that must be used to move the old data to the new drive? Other tips for a Mac newbie??? Thanks in advance.

techiesteve · techiesteve #2 (**permalink**)

05-30-2009, 02:04 AM

You will need a 2.5" ATA, often also called PATA hard drive, not a SATA. Everyone has their own preferences, but I usually stick to Seagate and Hitachi.

The free carbon copy cloner will make a bootable clone of your old drive. If the Powerbook is using any Adobe CS2 or 3 software, transfer the activation before removing the old drive, then reactivate when the new drive is fitted. When using an external adapter or case during the transfer, remember USB is only bootable on Intel based Macs, not the PPC Powerbook, although USB will allow you to clone. Firewire devices can be bootable. Good luck.

bikalpapaudel · bikalpapaudel #3 (**permalink**)

05-30-2009, 06:33 AM

^ +1.

techiesteve #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 24, 2009 Location: Aylesbury, UK Posts: 301 Mac Specs: MacBook Pro 15" 2.8 GHz, MacBook 2.16 GHz, Power Mac G5 2.7 GHz DP	05-30-2009, 02:04 AM You will need a 2.5" ATA, often also called PATA hard drive, not a SATA. Everyone has their own preferences, but I usually stick to Seagate and Hitachi. The free carbon copy cloner will make a bootable clone of your old drive. If the Powerbook is using any Adobe CS2 or 3 software, transfer the activation before removing the old drive, then reactivate when the new drive is fitted. When using an external adapter or case during the transfer, remember USB is only bootable on Intel based Macs, not the PPC Powerbook, although USB will allow you to clone. Firewire devices can be bootable. Good luck. Steve Bell Aylesbury, UK
	QUOTE Thanks

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sbbamafan #1 (permalink)
Member Since: May 27, 2009 Posts: 1	05-27-2009, 09:33 AM My son has a G4 (about 3-4 years old) that needs to have the HD upgraded. I have done this on a number of windows based machines but never a laptop, or more specifically a Mac. Is there a specific brand / type of drive a Mac must use or can I get one 'off the shelf' and treat it like I would a PC? Is there a specific utility program that must be used to move the old data to the new drive? Other tips for a Mac newbie??? Thanks in advance.
	QUOTE Thanks

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