[Donnie]

Im looking into getting a second hard drive for my mac. I was wanting to get as much info on this as possible before I buy. What are some of the things I should and shouldn't look for when shopping for a second hard drive?
I was told that all hard drive a basically the same and work in both winblows computers and Macs.
Thanks in advance. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[doggdamac]

specs dude, we need the specs /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif OS version, cpu model, internal/external ect ect
But yes, mostly all INTERNAL ATA/EIDE drives will work essentially the same, you just wont use the peecee formatting s/w thats in the box, but Mac's disk utility instead.....
External drives are a wee bit more selective, but still not much different /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[drmbb]

It would help to know what model of computer you plan on putting this drive in. Older machines will have limits on maximum disk size, since the older IDE/UDMA buses will only see up to 138GB - newer UDMA machines will see up to 4PB (or something insane like that). Other than that, yes, a hard disk is basically platform independent. Just be sure about the interface (eg. IDE/ATA/UDMA versus SATA), and speed (eg. UDMA33/66/100/133).
I recently added this Hitachi disk to my work powermac (DP 1.25Mhz G4), and it was as simple as installing, rebooting, and having disk utility initialize it.
P.S. I only picked the Hitachi because it has very good reliability and longevity ratings, and it is extremely quiet. I've had good luck with other makes too though (Maxtor, IBM, and Western Digital), and my powermac's original 80GB drive is a Seagate.

[Donnie]

I have a 1.25 ghz power mac g4 running 10.2. Its the mirrored front. Not the old one!
This is what I was thinking of getting.
http://www.newegg.co...-152-015&depa=0
Does the 8 mb buffer mean its better than the 2 mb buffer? I can get the 2 mb buffer for $97.
Thanks.

[doggdamac]

Please note that the drive is a SERIAL ATA unit, not PARALELL, so to use it in a G4 you will also need to buy a SATA controller card too..... ~$70-100 from Firmtek, Sonnet and others
Other than that, the drive would be a great addition to your tower, and a fair amount faster than your other drives too. The 8mb buffer IS better too, makes for faster read/write operations in data-intensive apps /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[doggdamac]

drmbb:
surely you know........
The "deskstars" are made by the HD division that IBM recently sold to Hitachi, right /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Donnie]

So I need it to be parallel and not a serial ata right. Thanks, that makes a big difference.
Could you tell me what the difference is and why they are different?
So would I be ok if it said Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA133
Thanks for your time. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Donnie]

I just read my manuel and it says nothing about parallel or serial in it. Why would this not be mentioned? Sounds kind of important.

[d00d]

Serial ATA wasn't in general use when your computer was made, it's a fairly new development. It's a faster version of ATA.
As others have said, you'll need a new card for those kinds of drives. Generally parallel ATA are marked just ATA (usually with a speed rating ATA-66, ATA-100, or ATA-133). Serial ATA drives are almost always marked as SATA. If in doubt, post a link and I'm sure someone here can tell you which it is.

[Donnie]

Thanks, Great help!
I guess the higher the number the better the drive will preform. ie 133 is better than 100.

[d00d]

That's right, but only if the ATA chain it's on will support it. Now, MDDs have three (parallel) ATA chains: 33 (for the optical drives), 66, and 100. Now, you can get a 133 rated drive and it will work at ATA-100 speed (it's backwards compatible). However, these drives rarely saturate even an ATA-66 chain by themselves, so it's probably worth it for you to move the stock drive to the ATA-66 chain and put the new drive on the ATA-100 chain (this is assuming the new drive is better than the stock drive).

[Donnie]

Well, just when I think I have a clue about what in the world is going on you lay this on me. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I think your saying that the drives are kind of like the way the old zip drives and scanners used to work. You had to have each on a different number in order for them to work.
Any place I can read up on what your saying here? I just don't want to take up to much of your time. Otherwise if you do have some time please explain what your meaning here. Sorry, I don't mean to sound so ignorant here. I just like to learn as much as possible before I get this stuff going.
Im sure I could just get one and put it in and it would work. I just want to understand what Im doing and also understand how and why it works.

[SueG]

xlr8yourmac is usually good, though I can't get in just now. Perhaps later?

[Donnie]

just read it. Thanks.