Need a new hard drive for iMac G5 17"

I just found out my hard drive is just about shot in my iMac G5 and I need to replace it. Apple has what looks to be a pretty detailed set of instructions for replacing a hard drive and I am curious if this is something I can do myself to save $100 or if I should have a professional do the install. I have not purchased a hard drive yet and am also a little unsure of what kind I need (current HD is 160GB) or where I should get it from. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

HenryLH said:

I just found out my hard drive is just about shot in my iMac G5 and I need to replace it. Apple has what looks to be a pretty detailed set of instructions for replacing a hard drive and I am curious if this is something I can do myself to save $100 or if I should have a professional do the install. I have not purchased a hard drive yet and am also a little unsure of what kind I need (current HD is 160GB) or where I should get it from. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Although replacing the hard drive in an iMac is not really a user suggested activity...it can be done if you have reasonable mechanical skills...and know exactly what your doing.

To help...you could go to "You-Tube" (youtube.com) and do a search for iMac hard drive replacement videos.

I'm sure there are a bunch...and as you know...a picture is worth a thousand words...so a video has got to be worth a million!;D

After watching the video(s)...you can decide if you think you can do it..or if a professional should do it for you.

Good luck,

- Nick

Thanks, I found a video that matches apples instructions and it seems pretty straight forward. Any suggestions on what kind/brand of hard drive I should go for?

HenryLH said:

Thanks, I found a video that matches apples instructions and it seems pretty straight forward. Any suggestions on what kind/brand of hard drive I should go for?

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Honestly I don't think there is a big difference among hard drives today. There are 3-4 major brands out there, and if you ask 4 people...you will probably get 4 different answers.

I would go to:

Find the latest Performance Upgrades, Firewire and USB Hard Drives, SATA, Memory, Laptop Battery, and more at OWC

...and see what they offer in terms of price & size. These guys are a good place to shop, and you can be sure everything will be compatible with your iMac....they have great customer service as well.

Glad to hear the videos helped, and gave you the confidence to do it yourself!

Good luck...post again after you do the hard drive replacement. I would be interested what you thought of the procedure.

Thanks,

- Nick

p.s. I'm not sure of your location (if your located in the US or not)...in case the website I suggested is not the best for you to order from...if not, it should give you a better idea of what drives are available.

I did mine last weekend with an easy trip to the local Fry's. bought a samsung 1.5TB drive and installed it without incident. Just read some user's instruction manual i found online. Works great. $100