Replacing hard drive?

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Does every imac need a different hard drive when replacing or are they pretty much the same?
 
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Does every imac need a different hard drive when replacing or are they pretty much the same?


Pretty vague question and you may want to repost including the details of what you are wanting to do and why.


- Patrick
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Raz0rEdge

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Each iMac obviously need different drives, you can hardly use the same drive in EVERY iMac.

As Patrick said, how about actually telling us what you are trying to do?
 
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chscag

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Does every imac need a different hard drive when replacing or are they pretty much the same?

The 27" models (yours) use a standard 7200 RPM SATA drive while the 21.5" models used a smaller 5400 RPM SATA drive.

Newer models since 2012 also have an option for a Fusion drive (combination SSD and spinning drive).

What year is your iMac and how large a drive is now installed?
 
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The 27" models (yours) use a standard 7200 RPM SATA drive while the 21.5" models used a smaller 5400 RPM SATA drive.


Hmmm...??? Both those different speed SATA drives have always been the same size (3 1/2") in my experience Charlie... or have I overlooked something??? Or maybe it's the virus bug I've been fighting off for almost a month now and it's affecting my brain...


- Patrick
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Hmmm...??? Both those different speed SATA drives have always been the same size (3 1/2") in my experience Charlie... or have I overlooked something??? Or maybe it's the virus bug I've been fighting off for almost a month now and it's affecting my brain...


- Patrick
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I think he phrased it awkwardly. It should have been "slower", not "smaller".
 

chscag

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I think he phrased it awkwardly. It should have been "slower", not "smaller".

Actually it's both smaller and slower. At one time Apple was using a 3.5" 5400 RPM drive in the 21.5" iMacs. The 27" models had the 5" 7200 RPM drive installed. I believe her iMac is an older 27" model, but until we find out what she's trying to do, the answer will depend.
 

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Hmmm...??? Both those different speed SATA drives have always been the same size (3 1/2") in my experience

I believe the older 27" iMacs had a 5" 7200 RPM drive. I'm not sure when Apple switched to 3.5" drives on all models. I'll have to look that up.
 

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Patrick:

I can't find it now. EveryMac shows that most of the older models had a 7200 RPM drive and it appears that the 21.5" models they show likewise came with 7200 RPM drives. I'm not sure that is correct for all the models though. I know my 2011 21.5" iMac had a 7200 RPM drive but I believe some later models had only a 5400 RPM drive. The faster larger 7200 RPM drives were optional.

I don't know where I saw the 5" vs 3.5". I could possibly be thinking of the older PPC iMacs?
 
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I believe the older 27" iMacs had a 5" 7200 RPM drive. I'm not sure when Apple switched to 3.5" drives on all models. I'll have to look that up.

A 5" drive? Or do you mean 5.25" drive. I've never seen a 5.25" drive. Floppy disks, yes, 5.25". I can only speak for the 2010 iMacs but both the 27" and 21.5" iMacs in 2010 came with 3.5" desktop drives.

EveryMac.com shows that starting with 2012, the 21.5" iMac came with a 2.5" HDD while the 27" came with a 3.5" HDD.
 

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Yeah, I screwed up what I remembered what was in the older iMacs. Turns out you're correct. The 2012 21.5" iMac did come with a slower smaller drive than the 27" models of the same year. The larger 5.25" drives were used on the older PPC iMacs.

An older iMac that I owned was a 2013 27" and it had a 3.5" 7200 RPM desktop drive. My current iMac 27" 2017 has an Apple SSD. I have no idea what size it is or who even supplies them for Apple.
 
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Yeah, I screwed up what I remembered what was in the older iMacs. Turns out you're correct. The 2012 21.5" iMac did come with a slower smaller drive than the 27" models of the same year. The larger 5.25" drives were used on the older PPC iMacs.

An older iMac that I owned was a 2013 27" and it had a 3.5" 7200 RPM desktop drive. My current iMac 27" 2017 has an Apple SSD. I have no idea what size it is or who even supplies them for Apple.

Heh... a 5.25" HDD... must have been a monster! Amazing to think how everything has shrunk AND gotten exponentially faster. The SSDs that Apple uses now in at least most of their line are the size of a RAM module, and insanely fast compared to a 2.5" SATA SSD. My MBA's SSD is double the speed of the 2.5" SSDs I have on hand.
 

chscag

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The first Windows desktop machine I built back in the early 90s had two bays that could each hold a 5.25" hard drive. Later on when Linux was becoming popular I ran Windows on one drive and Ubuntu Linux on the other. The desktop chassis was a monster compared to today's slick machines. I had a Sony Trinitron 14" CRT monitor attached to it. Both the desktop and monitor took up half my executive desk. I'm still using the same desk with the Mac and have plenty of space left over.

Times have changed. :)
 
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The first Windows desktop machine I built back in the early 90s had two bays that could each hold a 5.25" hard drive. Later on when Linux was becoming popular I ran Windows on one drive and Ubuntu Linux on the other. The desktop chassis was a monster compared to today's slick machines. I had a Sony Trinitron 14" CRT monitor attached to it. Both the desktop and monitor took up half my executive desk. I'm still using the same desk with the Mac and have plenty of space left over.

Times have changed. :)

You know, it's entirely possible that the drives I used back when I built my Windows PCs were 5.25" drives. That is the dimension of the drive bays and for the CD drives. It's been so long that I don't recall more specifically anymore. I used to have a Sony Trinitron myself. GREAT monitor, although they had a horizontal line in them inherent to their screen tech that I could never quite forget was there.
 
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The desktop chassis was a monster compared to today's slick machines.


But I daresay they were easy to open and work on, and they could easily be stored out-of-the-way, under one's desk. But the CRT monitors definitely took up a fair hunk of deskspace.


I used to have a Sony Trinitron myself. GREAT monitor, although they had a horizontal line in them inherent to their screen tech that I could never quite forget was there.

Ahh yes, I had forgotten about that horizontal stabilizer line but one learned to pretty well ignore it but they were still a pretty **** nice monitor.


- Patrick
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Check out IFixit.com. Replacing a HD with an SSD requires a special thing to substitute for the heat monitor. They will sell you the whole kit plus links to a video on how to.
 
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Pretty vague question and you may want to repost including the details of what you are wanting to do and why.


- Patrick
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Sorry,I didn't get back on, it wasn't actually my computer but my husbands.It IS older and he wanted to install a new hard drive.He knew how but no idea which one. So all is fixed and running again.
Mine is the newest 2017.
Thanks.
 

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