[bluenwhite]

My 6gig internal (out of box original) is pretty much full up. We bought an external for back up a couple of months ago (it died had to replace it), now we're thinking of replacing the internal with a new larger hard drive (only thing weve done before is add memory). Ive run searches here and checked exler8yourmac (however its spelled /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif but still have some questions. Thanks for any help!
Can I use an ATA/133 HD successfully?
If I get a large drive, say 160gigs, will the mac see all of the gigs? I read something about it not seeing beyond 120gigs or so.
Is there a way to correct that, is so how & where?
Our original has worked like a charm since we bought the machine in 1999, it's a Maxtor, any brands in particular to stay away from or that have good reputations?
There is a 160 gig Western Digital ATA/100 on sale at CompUSA, rebate $100, instant $20 total after is $59.90. I read some slightly negative comments on this brand. Compusa's return policy isnt the greatest (only replace if defective,etc) so Im doing as much research as I can first. Any input?
Im creeped out about replacing the drive, DH will have to do it. We had some bad luck with an external so Im a little hesitant to switch out a good drive but we get so low on space when downloading into iTunes/toast ,etc.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and any info you all can offer is appreciated. Im so use to my mac 'just working', havent had to do much to it. Its great!

[doggdamac]

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Can I use an ATA/133 HD successfully?

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Yes & no, see next ?

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If I get a large drive, say 160gigs, will the mac see all of the gigs?

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The motherboard ATA controller is limited to using drives of 137GB or less. You can use bigger drives, but it will only "see" the first 137GB of it. With the addition of an pci ATA/133 card (a 5 min job), you will be able to use any size drive (AND keep the 6gb too!).

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any brands in particular to stay away from or that have good reputations?

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I have 5 Maxtor's in my B&W (including the OEM drive) and they all have worked great for many years. Many folks here like them, as well as IBM, Seagate, and others....

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There is a 160 gig Western Digital ATA/100 on sale at CompUSA, rebate $100, instant $20 total after is $59.90. I read some slightly negative comments on this brand.

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WD does seem to get slighly more negative comments than the other brands, but that will vary depending on who you talk to /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif But that IS a good price for that size HD, IF you dont mind rebate hassles and all........SHOP AROUND !

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Compusa's return policy isnt the greatest (only replace if defective,etc) so Im doing as much research as I can first. Any input?

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Opinions on CompUSA vary also, some like them, others hate them......go figure /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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Im creeped out about replacing the drive, DH will have to do it. We had some bad luck with an external so Im a little hesitant to switch out a good drive

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Don't be, it's really simple and only takes ~10 minutes, not including the formatting.
LOOKIE HERE ! for details with pictures on the procedure, and most of all:
Have fun & be happy /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[bluenwhite]

Thanks for the really helpful post! Im glad to hear that I could keep my original HD.
There is a Seagate 160gig ATA/100 for $89.99 at CompUSA (sale, after rebates). Im guessing it needs an ATA card (would it be ATA/100 or ATA 133 card?) to see and use the entire 160 gig amount, yes? This same card would make it so I can use both my old HD and any new one, is that right?
Ive heard good things about Seagate, it happens to be the brand Firewire external we have. It died on us not long after we got it ( over a month). Im thinking this was a fluke, and since they replaced it very promtly and without fuss... Im thinking I can give the brand another chance.
Anyway, where can I find that card? Is it something available at say CompUSA or only online? Is it pricey?
Im all questions lol, thanks again for the response. Any other tips anyone can offer would be appreciated. Gonna go check the links you posted.

[SueG]

Hi bluenwhite,
You're in good hands with dogg, it looks like he's got you covered. I swapped out the hard drive on my B&W last year. This year I'm thinking maybe it should have had the fast drive controller. You're better off keeping the old one (maybe for Classic and drive utilities) just for the comfort of a second boot drive. The hardest part of the installation was finding the screwdriver. If I can do it, you can do it.

[my58vw]

It is ecpensive, yes expecially if you want a mac card, sonnets is 100 dollars. I would look for a sonnet tempo trio if you need the firewire usb additional. This will also eliminate the problems with the revisions in the [email=B@W.]B@W.[/email] Good luck. I have used wD for years and they are slightly noisier but they work well.

[doggdamac]

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There is a Seagate 160gig ATA/100 for $89.99 at CompUSA (sale, after rebates). Im guessing it needs an ATA card (would it be ATA/100 or ATA 133 card?) to see and use the entire 160 gig amount, yes? This same card would make it so I can use both my old HD and any new one, is that right?

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Yes you would need the controller card to use the full 160gb's. Either ATA/100 or 133 will work, the 133 can be a bit faster when used with ATA/133 drives, but both are also backwards compatible with all other ATA HDs, including your OEM 6gb, which is an ATA/66
I use & highly recommend the Sonnet Tempo cards, there are others out there as well. But AFAIK, they all support a total of 4 HDs (2 ata channels X 2 drives on each channel)
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Anyway, where can I find that card? Is it something available at say CompUSA or only online? Is it pricey?

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The lowest price I found online for a Tempo/133 was $84.00 + shipping (usually ~10.00) =$94.00. If you can get one locally for about that price, it will save you the shipping costs, so go for it. Do a search and decide for yourself.
ONE CAUTION THOUGH.......ANY drive you connect to the cards will have to be REFORMATTED before the drive can mount on the desktop, including your 6gb one. Therefore you must back-up any data prior to connecting them to the card, since reformatting them will permanately erase all data present!

[bluenwhite]

Ok, I think I found the card youre talking about. Ill try to post the link-

ATA Card at OWC
Hope I got that link right. Also, I saw some ATA/133 cards on the compusa website, they said they were for PC/windows. They were half the price, but I guess none of those would work for mac? Had to ask lol
I think we'll go with one of those ATA cards along with the new internal HD. Im thinking I could keep a copy of 9.2 & VirtualPC on the the old 6 gig? And Ill back everything up on the external and cd's. Thanks again, it all seems a whole lot less intimidating now!

[doggdamac]

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Hope I got that link right.

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[/indent] Yep, thats the one
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Also, I saw some ATA/133 cards on the compusa website, they said they were for PC/windows. They were half the price, but I guess none of those would work for mac? Had to ask lol

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[/indent]
LOL indeed........that is usually the case w/ peecee parts that won't work in a mac. I know it sux, but do you really want those el-cheapo peecee parts in your mac anyway, huuummm ?
please post back with a progress report

[bluenwhite]

I figured as much, yeah were use to paying more for mac stuff. Have had years of good use with very little trouble on this mac so its mostly ok. LOL
I'll save this thread to update it once we get the hardware ordered/picked up.
Hopefully I wont be screaming HELP HELP LOL!!

[tighelander]

Sounds like your mac is packed. How warm is the exhaust on your mac. I have four drives, maxed ram and cards, and the exhaust on mine is warm.

[doggdamac]

yep it is packed.....not only with 5 drives, but also the following inside:
1gb ram
cdrw
zipdrive
Rad7k
usb2 card
2nd ethernet card
Tempo ATA card
G4/650 w/heatsink fan
The exhaust air is only moderately warm, certainly nothing to worry about, since the el-capitan cases are just about the most thermally-efficient design ever conceived. At least according to my engineering-degrees-out-the-wahzoo brother anyway

[Nobody]

I am in the same position needing to add extra drives to my G4 400Mhz AGP to accomodate Panther.
I understand the position of needing Mac drivers for the ATA133 card but what is this with having to reformat just because you have a new card? I have moved internal drives to external SCSI cases without having to reformat. Is this an ATA/IDE or OSX thing? Can I not take my old internal HD and move it to an external case?
btw Panther nixed my IMS TwinTurbo 128m video card. Any recommendations on replacements? Can I use a cheap PC video card. It's only for my pallette monitor.

[doggdamac]

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I understand the position of needing Mac drivers for the ATA133 card

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The drivers are built into OS X.....
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but what is this with having to reformat just because you have a new card?

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It has to do with the firmware on the card. It is an IDE>scsi thing

[bluenwhite]

Quick update-
Bought the Seagate ATA/100 160 gig yesterday and ordered the ATA/133 card from OTW (as well as memory and a new battery) today. They dont carry the card at comp usa.
We should be putting these things in next week once the card gets here. Im going to use both drives.
Will update again then