Original HDD removal

[Reion_LS]

Ok, so... I recently bought a iMAC online. It's not brand new its actually re-furbished. It runs great, for a dinosaur. I need to upgrade it so my band can use it to record demos and things of that nature. All the systems worked perfectly... till one of my friends went behind my back and tried to hook up the Modem and now parts of that system are missing so it won't start up unless you cut extensions off by holding down the shift key. Now I was hoping to by-pass these problems in 3 ways.

- Upgrade from 6gb HDD to 320gb HDD
- Upgrade SDRAM from 64mb to 512mb
- Upgrade Operating system from OS 9.2 to OS X 10.4

Now my real question is that you have the background info on my iMAC.
Would it survive this surgery?
And how can I remove my current HDD and install my new one.

Thank you.
-Reion

 

[NanoBite]

Hi Reoin_LS & welcome to the forum.

As there are a few different models, you'll need to provide some more details about this iMac. Specifically, the model and processor type as you have already given us the other details.

 

[bryphotoguy]

hmmm.... this is a difficult one. First off, the RAM is easy, there is a door on the bottom you open and can insert the RAM easily. As for the HD, I believe you need to do some fairly serious work. You need to remove the bottom of the case to get to the logic board and HD/CD drive sled.
As for the HD, it should be possible but difficult. I don't believe OS9 will recognize a HD above 160GB or something or it will only think it is that size. There should be a patch online to correct. You will need to install OS 9 on the HD because the computer will not just work by upgrading to OS X. It needs a firmware upgrade using OS 9. Trust me, I've tried that.
As for 10.4, it will not work. You need atleast the 400MHz version because it has firewire. I am pretty sure the 350MHz version only has USB1.1. You can install 10.3.
To be honest with you, this may not be worth all this work. I know you already bought it, but how much do you have to spend? You could resell it on eBay and find something faster with this extra money you plan on spending on the upgrades.
Bryan

I think you can get the 800MHz G4 iMac at looks like a lamp with the base at the bottom, the silver column and flat panel for $350 ish.