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TICKET ARCHIVE -> buying the correct new Hard Drive

G3User - Jan 23, 2007 - 5:51 pm

Hi! I intend to buy a new hard drive, as I will be installing Final Cut and using it soon... and my 80 gb drive that came with my machine, though reliable, just isn't big enough.

I got some advice on a forum, and just want to make sure before I buy. Please tell me if one of the Hitachi drives from this link will work for me:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Search.jsp


I want to buy the 250 gig ATA drive, but someone said something about being limited to 160 gig? Is this true.

My computer is a dual 1.25ghz PowerPC G4 with Mirrored Doors.

Thought I would just copy in the below, just to be sure. Thanks again for this outstanding tech service!


Chris

Hardware Overview:

Machine Name: Power Mac G4
Machine Model: PowerMac3,6
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 1.25 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per CPU): 2 MB
Memory: 1.75 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.4.8f2
Serial Number: XB334210PC4

G3User - Jan 23, 2007 - 5:52 pm

Just wanted to clarify: I want to install this drive internally. Thank you.

G3User - Jan 23, 2007 - 9:15 pm

Sorry that link is messed up. I am now interested (he changes so quickly) in a Seagate Barracuda drive. I didn't know they were comparable in price. There ATA drives would work for me, right? But I can't get anything above 160 gigs? Thanks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ATT=HardDrives

DeltaMac - Jan 23, 2007 - 9:50 pm

You can use any ATA 3.5-inch hard drive. Hitachi, Seagate, Western Digital. All can word for you. Your mirror-drive door model PowerMac is not limited to a particular maximum size. The 160GB mentioned to you is not correct, your mac can go with the largest capacity, currently 750GB
Look here - you can get a 250GB drive for $75
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/3.5-IDE-ATA/
any on this page will work for you.... and you can install as many as 5 hard drives internally in your PowerMac.

- Dale

G3User - Jan 23, 2007 - 10:14 pm

Thanks so much Dale. The lady who said I can only get up to 160GB drive (I wondered why; why would the cpu care how much space is on the drive?), also said I need Parallel ATA drive.

But I'm seeing a lot of Ultra ATA drives, and some SATA.

Is it true I need a Parallel ATA drive, and can only use this? Thanks again!

DeltaMac - Jan 24, 2007 - 6:01 am

Interchangeable: ATA, UltraATA, Parallel ATA (or PATA)

The 160GB number is plain wrong. Older Macs that do not support the large drives (yours is NOT one of those) are limited to 137GB, actually 128GB as installed. Do not concern yourself with that limit, yours is newer.

Your Newegg web page shows some other types, such as SCSI, or SAS drives. Those won't work. SATA, or Serial ATA also won't. The Parallel ATA are an older type, and not usually labeled as Parallel or PATA. Just look for the types that I mentioned here. ATA, UltraATA, or PATA. That line for Macsales lists the right drives for you. Just pick the capacity that you want. You can compare prices, etc at other web sites if you like. Macsales is usually pretty good.
Hope this helps you...
- Dale

G3User - Jan 24, 2007 - 11:00 am

I wanted to buy from OWC, then realized your suggestion was the same thing! I bought a 200 gig Seagate ATA drive from them this morning. I didn't know the prices had come down so much, I would have done this long ago.

Tell me Dale, do people ever get a second drive of matching capacity and set things to backup automatically? I have read a little bit about Retrospect. This backs up only what has changed? And does it on a schedule... ?

Thanks again for your help with the Hard Drive.

G3User - Jan 25, 2007 - 11:46 am

Hi. I got a notification that there was a response. Dale hasn't written back yet. I look forward to hearing from you, Dale. Thank you.