[Pettifogger0712]

Hi there all

I purchased a mid-2011 21.5" iMac just under three months ago and while it has been great to use so far (I was using a 2004 iMac G5 1.8Ghz until May), the only downside is the relatively small HDD of 500GB.

Replacing the HDD was a piece of cake with my old machine (I went from the OEM 80GB Samsung to a Western Digital 1.5TB) but doing so on a 2011 iMac appears to be a nightmare as any third party drive causes an AHT failure as well as the fans to run at full speed!

Ideally, I'd like to source an HDD and get my local Mac reseller to install it... In short, does anyone know the EXACT make and model number of the HDD's used in mid-2011 iMacs?

In particular, can anyone CONFIRM that the Western Digital WD2002 FAEX Caviar Black will work "as is" if installed in my machine (ie) I won't have to buy HDDControl to control the cooling fans?

Look forward to your replies!
Paul

[smax013]

 Pettifogger0712, on 16 November 2012 - 03:20 AM, said:

Hi there all

I purchased a mid-2011 21.5" iMac just under three months ago and while it has been great to use so far (I was using a 2004 iMac G5 1.8Ghz until May), the only downside is the relatively small HDD of 500GB.

Replacing the HDD was a piece of cake with my old machine (I went from the OEM 80GB Samsung to a Western Digital 1.5TB) but doing so on a 2011 iMac appears to be a nightmare as any third party drive causes an AHT failure as well as the fans to run at full speed!

Ideally, I'd like to source an HDD and get my local Mac reseller to install it... In short, does anyone know the EXACT make and model number of the HDD's used in mid-2011 iMacs?

In particular, can anyone CONFIRM that the Western Digital WD2002 FAEX Caviar Black will work "as is" if installed in my machine (ie) I won't have to buy HDDControl to control the cooling fans?

Look forward to your replies!
Paul

Based upon the following article/blog post, it seems like it is not really the model of the drive, but rather some "special" firmware that Apple flashs to the drives they install.

http://blog.macsales...ve-restrictions

The article does list the drive brand and model numbers they found in the systems that OWC got. However, they later point out that they did test a drive they had themselves that was they same brand and model number as one of the drives in the iMacs they got and they still got the fan issues and the AHT error...even those it was the same brand and model as was shipped in one of the iMacs.

Thus, you will likely have this issue with any third party drive.

I will note that OWC does offer a hardware solution where you ship them your iMac, make the modification and install an upgraded drive (as well as an SSD if you want). You can get information on it all the way at the bottom under "Update 8-23-11". I did not read fully through it to know whether it impacts an Apple warranty or not.