[Macinposh]

Trying to find a larger replacement for my 40gb (1.2ghz ibook) hard drive.


So, what is the largest 2.5" / 9mm HD aviable at the moment?

Tried to google stuff but most of the material seemed to be a bit dated..

Found that segate has some 160Gb hd´s but they are apparently 12.5mm or something?

Any 120gb + models aviable?

The 7200rpm discs would be intresting (working with photoshop..) but how big hit would i notice in the battery time?
Obviously large partion of the work would be done with the external power, but some picture transfer and prechecking would be done on the field.

Any suggestions?

[scratt]

As far as I am aware 120 gb is the biggest.

I think they have 7200 that size now, but last time I was looking for one they were around 100gb. I would worry about heat with the large 7200s.

I went for a 5400 100gb Momentus2 from Seagate. Very quiet. In fact I have never heard it, even on those late night programming sessions. It is not the fastest drive in some circumstances. I notice a real lag when I go from partition to partition - strange. But I would buy another in a heartbeat, compared to the one that came with my PowerBook it is much better all around.

I think the one that came with my PB was damaged from day 1. I have never had to repair a drive so much througout it's life. I was beginning to think it was my OS, or me! So much so that reinstalling my entire computers System drive was a quarterly occurrence! With this Seagate I have had no problems at all. Period. Yummy!

[Luca]

Seagate is currently shipping a 160 GB, 5400 RPM laptop hard drive. It's probably too expensive to be worth it, though.

It's difficult (read: almost impossible) to replace the internal hard drive in your iBook by yourself. You void the warranty and the procedure itself simply takes a long time and a lot of dangerous disassembly and reassembly. I think you might be better off getting an external hard drive. They're cheaper and they provide more storage. Of course, you have to carry it with you and that can be a big hassle. But so is replacing the internal hard drive.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Macinposh Found that segate has some 160Gb hd´s but they are apparently 12.5mm or something?

According to Seagate's own datasheet, no, they are 9.5 mm, and as such would fit. They are 5400 RPM, which is average speed; possibly faster than the one you currently have.

I still wouldn't recommend the procedure, however. In fact, I would specifically not recommend it with this particular drive, as it's far too expensive at this point. You're looking at at least around $240 (with most offers closer to $275) for the drive alone, and if you want a professional to do the job (which, unless you're experienced, I would strongly recommend), you're looking at another $100-150 for labor costs.

In short, you'd definitely be spending about $300, at the very least, just so you can have more hard drive capacity.

[World Leader Pretend]

Or you could get the best of both worlds and tape a larger external drive to the case...

[Ghost2]

Well fujitsu is currently shipping a 200gb 2.5 inch hdd, but it will probably cost you a bundle. Now if they could just use this technology to give me a 100gb iPod.
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/products...ves/mhv2200bt/

[scratt]

Originally Posted by Luca It's difficult (read: almost impossible) to replace the internal hard drive in your iBook by yourself.

I have read that it's hard to do many times here on AN...
I have not really found it that difficult on either iBooks or PowerBooks..
But then the iBook I did was a G3, so I may be wrong.

If you are hell bent on doing it then this is the best source..

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/84.15.0.html

[alcimedes]

Read through that guide before you decide to do it, and read through it fully. It's a bitch.

[chucker]

I've done it multiple times, but I also regret it, so I don't recommend it.

[Macinposh]

Thanks for the heads up.

I have allready the ifix link and have read it through, so i have a (vague) feeling what i am up too.
Since the warranty is allready done,i dont have to worry about that either...
The external hard drive is not a possibility, if have to carry so much of other shite around allready, dont want to carry nothing extra anymore.
' And the price itself is not a problem in that sense that the laptop is for my work use anyway, so it is the clients "paying" for the upgrade anyway. I just want to update this rig´s performance a bit.

The main concerns left are :

1. 7200 speed, how faster it would be consuming the battery?
2. And if the extra heat output is neglible or something to get concerned about?
3.How much bandaid should i stock for the bleeding fingers?

[Luca]

The hard drive itself consumes a very, very tiny portion of the total power used by the laptop. The difference in power consumption between 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM hard drives is very small and will have no noticeable effect on battery life. Same goes for heat.

I don't think you need to be as concerned about your fingers bleeding... you just need to make sure you get really good directions and you keep extremely good track of which order you removed each screw and where they all go. I've heard one way of doing this is to just lay out a bunch of paper and label sections of it, and then put the screws inside those sections to keep them organized.

[hiltond]

1. 7200 speed, how faster it would be consuming the battery? 2. And if the extra heat output is neglible or something to get concerned about? 3.How much bandaid should i stock for the bleeding fingers?

This Link (warning: lots of ads) seems to suggest that battery life is not a major concern.

As for heat, it also shouldn't be a concern.

As for bandaids, none. You most likely won't cut yourself.

Here is a good tip:
Get scrap paper, gaffers tape (or masking, not duct) and a sharpie.

As you follow the steps, write on the paper "step1" put down a bit of tape sticky side up, and put the screws head side on the sticky part of the tape.

Rinse, repeat.

This way when you go back, you know what screw, etc came from what step. A word of warning, take down the keyboard clip with extra care, they can break. Not a huge deal.

This is best done with a diner trip for cheese fries before reassembly. Good Luck

Edit: What Luca said.

[scratt]

Originally Posted by Luca The hard drive itself consumes a very, very tiny portion of the total power used by the laptop. The difference in power consumption between 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM hard drives is very small and will have no noticeable effect on battery life. Same goes for heat.

Actually there is a case to be made for faster drives to be more effficient on battery power as they take less time to get the info, so use less power. This may be offset by the increased speed / power usage. But a lot of people would argue that the power consumption is actually less. I would suggest it is closer to the same.

As for heat.. I differ from Luca here.. But then I live in a hotter environment.
I and quite a few people out there agree that they run hotter. It just depends what the threshold is for the drive and your comfort, and how hot the surrounding environment is. I would not put a 7200 drive in my 17" out here for simply that reason. I often work in 36 - 40 degree environemnts. A 5400 gets it quite hot enough thanks, and quite close enough to the drives operating limits!

[chucker]

Even better, if you have a digital camera, make photos as you remove stuff, so you know where you removed it from.

[MagSafe]

Hi folks,

Like macinposh i've also got 12" iBook, 1.2ghz, although with a 30GB drive. Providing Leopard can run on PowerPC chips then I'll probably be sticking with my iBook for a little while longer until the Intel switch has firmly settled down and all universal binaries are out, and also saving me spending £1000+ on a new MacBook/MacBook Pro

As you can imagine with only 30GB of space to put all my work, software and iTunes music on things are getting a bit tight! I've got 11GB left at the moment so I'm alright for now, but am seriously thinking of upgrading to an 80GB or above drive, depending on the price.

I've built and repaired several Windows based machines before, but never any laptops of any kind. I was looking at the iFix guide also the comments on here and it just seems to involve to much risk, hascel and work to upgrade it myself.

So I was wondering, where exactly would I go, and what options do I have to go about upgrading the hard drive? ... providing I live in the UK and without having to pay to big a labour fee for it

Thanks for any advice given

[intlplby]

with the new "vertical technology" drives... what can we expect in 6 months or so?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by intlplby with the new "vertical technology" drives... what can we expect in 6 months or so?

Well, I suppose the next MBP revision will have 160 GB as a BTO option, 100/120 GB standard and 120 GB at 7200 RPM as another BTO option.

[scrouds]

ok, stupid question alert.

This is for your iBook that you use for work? And your client is covering the hd cost. Wouldn't the client cover installation costs also? What happens if you break your iBook? Lost business? Just seems kinda strange, as i would treat a work computer comepelty different from a computer i have for home.

[Macinposh]

Originally Posted by scrouds ok, stupid question alert. This is for your iBook that you use for work? And your client is covering the hd cost. Wouldn't the client cover installation costs also? What happens if you break your iBook? Lost business? Just seems kinda strange, as i would treat a work computer comepelty different from a computer i have for home.

Well, i do have a different work computer too, obviously...
Laptop is only for mobile working.

As a enterpreneur, "the client pays" in the long run,obviously.
But since the situation (lot of programs and stuff on the hard drive,lot of space for pics needed etc..)
the book need´s it upgrade. Now.
The HDD and new DL burner totals in about 270€s, installation would have cost extra 400€ around here and would have taken weeks.
I am NOT paying that kind of money if i can do it my self.

I am allso not considering buying a new rig, since there is no good replacement.
I just need a small,12",portable with a fast and big HDD and a DL DVD burner.
Thats it.

So instead on spending 2500€s on a too big rig with a slow HDD and a DL burner, i spend 270€s.

With the saved 2230€ i can go to New Zeland for few weeks.
Does it make sense?

[FFL]

I hope you are experienced at opening laptop computers and swapping hard drives. The 12" is not the right model for learning.

[kgarchar]

i swapped my 30 gb for a 100 gb hd and it was easy, the ifixit guide is amazing

i messed up on the dvd-rw replacement, but for $180 for a dvd-rw DL and replacement in a few days, i regret not doing that

[Macinposh]

A Pioneer DVR-K06L (DL) dvd burner and a Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 (100gb/7200rpm) is ordered.

Few days and it´s time to open up the patient...

Hopefully this will breathe new life in the old warhorse.