17" white iMac (late 2006) HDD replacement -- Urgent

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Instead of replacing a perfectly good drive that could last for many years, how about investing in an external backup drive?

Use SuperDuper! or CarbonCopyCloner and keep an up to date backup that you'll be able to boot the machine to and continue using your iMac when the internal does die.
 
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Welcome to Mac-Forums!

Yes, it'll fit. So will larger capacity drives.

Why don't you upgrade the hard drive capacity while you're at it? Check this SATA Serial ATA Hard Drives SATA I and SATA II, SATA Cables, SATA Controller card Storage Upgrade options.

There are good videos on YouTube about replacing the hard drive in an iMac (of your model).

Thanx for the welcome.

One reason I don't want to install a larger capacity drive is because I read somewhere that they might get too hot and cause problems. Is that true? What's the largest you would recommend for my particular Mac?

Moreover, wouldn't replacing the drive with an almost identical one be the best option?
 
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Instead of replacing a perfectly good drive that could last for many years, how about investing in an external backup drive?

Use SuperDuper! or CarbonCopyCloner and keep an up to date backup that you'll be able to boot the machine to and continue using your iMac when the internal does die.

Your suggestion is probably the best thing to do. OK, a few questions:

In your opinion how much longer do you think a 3-year-old drive could last?

I read somewhere that Macs CAN ONLY BOOT from an external via Firewire, not USB. Is that true?

I have a Firewire external with enough space, but I don't know how to do that. Is it simply a matter of installing the OS directly from the 2 DVDs that came with my Mac? Once that's installed do I have to press a certain key before I power on my Mac in order to boot from the external?​

I know all of this is on the web, on this forum... but I would really love some stripped-down no-frills help.

Thanx
 
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chas_m

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In your opinion how much longer do you think a 3-year-old drive could last?

I've got a drive in my house that's 14 years old and still boots up. I had another that failed after six months.

Hard drives are like light bulbs: they are designed to last an AVERAGE MEAN of "x" amount of time/hours, but they can fail at *any* time.

I read somewhere that Macs CAN ONLY BOOT from an external via Firewire, not USB. Is that true?

No, not true. For at least the past five years if not longer, all Macs can boot from USB2. That said, Firewire is still faster than USB2.

I have a Firewire external with enough space, but I don't know how to do that.

Amazingly, both programs' authors wrote help files to explain exactly how the programs work. :)

Is it simply a matter of installing the OS directly from the 2 DVDs that came with my Mac?

If you're still referring here to creating a clone using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner, no that is unnecessary. As their name suggests, the programs simply copy *everything* on your hard drive onto an external in an identical setup, and then update that as needed. System, apps, stuff, porn ... it's ALL there. :)

Once that's installed do I have to press a certain key before I power on my Mac in order to boot from the external?

No. If you wish to choose which drive to boot from, you hold the option key down immediately AFTER power on until the drive selection screen shows up (which should happen in just a few seconds). All *bootable* drives (that is to say drives with valid system folders) will be shown. Non-bootable drives won't show up, and that's normal for this particular screen. You use the arrow keys to choose which drive to boot from, press return, that's it.
 

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No, not true. For at least the past five years if not longer, all Macs can boot from USB2. That said, Firewire is still faster than USB2.

It's my understanding that only refers to Intel powered machines. PPC machines do not ordinarily boot from USB but instead require Firewire. Have I've been misled?

Regards.
 
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I don't want to backup everything on my internal, just copy the OS to an external. I can do that by simply copying it from the original DVDs, right?
 

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