Need new Mac Hardrive. The Mac store said to go to Tenplus here in Raleigh to get it replaced. Anybody have any other good suggestions? It's for an ibook g4 if that makes any difference.

5/30/2009 10:34:29 AM

I'd say put this in tech talk but you'll get burned for a few days over having a Mac.

Are you wanting to do the labor yourself or just get the whole deal done for you?

5/30/2009 10:38:35 AM

You might find some help here.

5/30/2009 10:38:39 AM

Just buy a compatible hard drive.
Mac/PC -- it doesn't matter.

5/30/2009 10:39:50 AM

It's my wife's mac, i hate the damn thing. I don't want to do any labor. I want everything done for me, total parts and labor price. Any suggestions on where to take it.

5/30/2009 12:59:08 PM

shit, ppl on here will do it cheaper than anywhere else probably. hell, i'd do it

i mean really you just plug a damn drive in and put in the DVD's that came with the computer, turn it on, hit enter a bunch of times and you're done

5/30/2009 1:05:48 PM

iresq.com

5/30/2009 1:29:09 PM

i can put a new drive in there for you.

PM me for details.

5/30/2009 4:22:46 PM

yeah, i upgraded my MacBook Pro hard drive a couple months ago, and ended up going through 3 drives before I found one I liked. I'm a f'ing wizard with disassembling the MBP and replacing the HDD.

just be sure to use Disk Utility > Restore to copy the entire contents onto the new drive externally, then you can pop the new drive in and boot it right up and pick up right where you left off - all settings, Apps, files, etc exactly the same

5/30/2009 7:59:30 PM

i gave in and decided not to pay somebody to do it. I ordered a seagate hd online and im gonna install it this week.

5/30/2009 9:47:05 PM

Make sure you look online for a take apart guide. Those G4 ibooks are a royal pain compared to other models.

http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Download---iBook-G4-12-Take-Apart-Manual-p-16794.html

5/30/2009 9:55:24 PM

i really like the ifixit guides
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iBook-G4-12-Inch-800-MHz-1-2-GHz-Hard-Drive-Replacement/166/1

but, before making the change, be sure to copy all the data onto the new drive (assuming the old drive works). To do that, use an external enclosure to connect the new drive with USB or FireWire. Then go into Disk Utility, and select either the current drive, or the new drive, then go to Restore. Then just drag the old disk into the Source box, and the new disk into the Destination box, then hit Restore, and everything will be copied over bit-for-bit.

Actually - before you restore, I guess you have to Format the new drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but that's also in the Disk Utility.
To be safe, before doing the Restore, I would do some basic clean-up, like empty the trash, then restart the computer and don't open any programs, then don't do anything while the copy is happening, so you don't cause any consistency problems with the content

5/30/2009 10:03:17 PM

i replaced the hard drive and it still won't boot up. The guy at the mac store said it was the hard drive, i'm starting to think its the logic board, after I bought a damn hd.

6/6/2009 1:55:29 PM

oh, is that why you're doing this?

what do you mean "it won't boot up"?
what exactly happens when you hit the power button?

A busted HDD should not prevent the computer from at least trying to power-up. It may not boot into OS X, but it should still at least start

6/6/2009 2:16:25 PM

well it comes on, most of the time it just goes to a blank gray screen. Sometimes the screen flashes different colors. A couple of times i actually get to the screen with the apple and it just gets stuck loading. I tried both a repair disk, and also completely reinstalling the mac os. I tried by booting up holding the option key, but the few times I can get it to try to read the disc, it won't read it.

6/6/2009 4:01:18 PM

hmm, i agree that the first option would be to Repair then Reinstall OS X.

If those didn't work, though, I don't see why a new HDD would have made a difference. I agree with you now that it sounds like a mobo issue.

where did you buy the HDD from? Any decent retailer would still issue a refund.

If this is an iBook with a bad motherboard, you'd be better off trashing the thing and getting a MacBook or something.

6/6/2009 4:19:16 PM

bought it at macworld.com, its a seagate. About 75 bucks. I figure I could buy another mobo b/w $250-$350 and install that, and hope that that fixes it, or just buy a new laptop. The new ones are so damn expensive though.

6/6/2009 4:34:42 PM

The new ones are the same price you paid for your existing one.

Apple doesn't really change prices too much, just models.

This is the new lowest end Macbook for $999 and it's still a LOT better than what you have now: http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC240LL/A?mco=NjM0MTg5Nw

[Edited on June 6, 2009 at 5:07 PM. Reason : ]

6/6/2009 5:06:32 PM

Quote :

" I figure I could buy another mobo b/w $250-$350 and install that, and hope that that fixes it"

do you have a quote for this? or are you just guessing?

I'm guessing there's no way in fucking hell you'd get that price for an Apple custom-made motherboard for a 6 year old computer. Unless you could find an old or used iBook to pull it out of. Otherwise, Apple might be able to sell you one, but I bet it'd be $600-800.

It's hard to replace mobo's like this on laptops, because they are custom for each laptop, and once the laptop goes out of production, so does the mobo. you can't just get them off the shelves

6/6/2009 6:33:06 PM

If you can actually get Apple itself to sell you a replacement motherboard, it will coincidentally cost the same as a new macbook.

6/6/2009 6:34:41 PM

^^ It wouldn't hurt to do a bit of research before ranting about how impossible something like this might be to find.

http://www.pbparts.com/shop.php//_i+_n+_pcb

That said, putting that money and effort into an iBook hardly seems worth it.

6/6/2009 7:19:37 PM

talked the wife out of separate computers all together. We're just going to share my pc. Gotta make sacrifices in this economy.

6/6/2009 7:45:39 PM

^^ fair enough.
That was my guess, and my guess was wrong.

i had to replace the mobo on an HP laptop a few years ago and had all sorts of trouble. Had to go through a 3rd party that bought full PCs then sold off the parts. anyway, i figured it would be even harder for Apples. i guess not

6/6/2009 10:05:07 PM

If anybody's interested in buying this computer for parts let me know. I'll leave the brand new hard drive in it. The battery holds a great charge, and the screen is in good condition. I realize this is the wrong forum, but I just wanted to throw that in there.

6/7/2009 11:54:54 AM

hiii tech talk. i have a (probably) stupid question. and most of the other mac issues threads were old so, i'm bumping this one.

obviously i guess i need to go to the apple store BUT i figured someone else on here would also know what is going on.

i have a macbook and i'm pretty sure my charger is dunzo. a few days ago it stopped lighting up when plugged into my computer and the top part of the cord (where it connects to the computer) looks pretty shot (like i can see wires. i'm pretty sure my cat chewed it).

anyway - so my computer was "dead" for a few days. i borrowed a macbook charger from someone and my computer works FINE when plugged into the charger, but it won't charge at all. the battery has an "X" on it (when i try to look at the percentage) and if i unplug it it immediately turns black. then when i plug it back in it just restarts from the beginning.

what the dealio? i'm just looking for some guidance so that when i take it in i actually know maybe kind of what i need to ask for. because apparently it isn't just a new charger?!

yes, i know macs suck, but for anyone that might have an idea of what is going on i'd really appreciate it

it is almost 3 years old btw if that helps at all. i don't know if i need a new battery or what.

8/14/2009 2:13:12 PM

if the battery is three years old, you probably just need a new one.

and macs don't suck

hopefully it won't cost too much

8/14/2009 2:37:14 PM

^^ it's kind of bad for li-poly batteries to die completely, so as ^ said, the battery is probably just dead.

If you take it to an Apple store though, they can run a command to see how many cycles it has one it, and if it's too few, they might give you a new battery. Otherwise, you'll have to purchase a new battery. If you have AppleCare still, I think you'll just get a new battery.

8/14/2009 5:50:01 PM

Yeah, Apple Store is always a good first venue to try. They'll run their stuff and the worst case is they'll say it would cost X to fix, which you can just say no to and try elsewhere (now knowing what your problem is, heh). They'll a LOT more generous with free repairs than anybody else.

packfootball: Still got that G4? Because I'll buy it for parts.

8/14/2009 5:51:54 PM

or if it's going to be super expensive (like a logic board), they have a magical thing they call a "depot repair" where it's one flat rate ($310 i think) to get anything and everything fixed on your machine.

they send it off to one of their repair depots, you get it back a week or so later and it's all fixed.

8/14/2009 7:23:41 PM

Quote :

"I tried by booting up holding the option key, but the few times I can get it to try to read the disc, it won't read it."

for future reference, you restart and hold down C.

8/14/2009 7:27:24 PM

Quote :

"f you have AppleCare still, I think you'll just get a new battery. "

cool i think THINK (pray to god) that i still have AppleCare. i forget when it is up but i think i should still have it right now - it is getting close though. thanks guyyys!

8/14/2009 8:44:10 PM

this happened to punchmonk's macbook just a few weeks ago. dog ate through the adapter cord and then the battery died completely in the meantime :\

8/14/2009 8:51:43 PM

how did you know her battery was dead? i just got back from the apple store and they were confused by my computer. i got a new charger because my charger was definitely shot so now i can at least use my computer (but heaven forbid the charger comes unplugged then the whole thing has to restart).

i didn't go to the genius bar because there weren't any appointments left so one of the other people helped me (like the floor support people) and did a battery test but said he had never seen what my battery was doing before? it just has an "x" where the percentage normally is in the battery icon. and he said that when he played around with it "no batteries could be recognized" so then he said i would have to make an appointment to come back and that there were probably other connection problems? i'm so confused.

anyone? anyone?

8/21/2009 2:26:18 PM

how to repair a mac: throw it out the window, buy a pc w/ windows 7.

8/21/2009 2:31:33 PM

Macs are great, IMO. They're overpriced, though.

8/21/2009 4:12:35 PM

will any apple users (i know you exist) tell me what my problem is??

8/22/2009 1:50:38 AM

my wife's macbook did the "x" thing in the battery status icon. Anyone at the Genius Bar should recognize that. For her, all it meant was she needed a new battery.

To confirm there is a problem with the battery, open the System Profiler (in /Applications/Utilities or under the Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info). Under Hardware in the menu on the left, go to Power, and the first section there will be "Battery Information". Look in the Health Information section, and it will probably say "Condition: Bad" or something.

Is it still under warranty? If so, they will replace it, no problem. Otherwise, you'll just have to cough up the $100+ and buy one yourself.

8/22/2009 8:38:00 AM

Tenplus sucks ass.

My HD started failing, i took it it, they said they couldn't recover anything from it, but they could replace the HD (500gb) for $150, plus $55 installation fee, plus the initial $55 they charged to look at it.

Said, fuck you guys, bought an 500gb HD for $90, took it and my mac to a computer whiz friend (who normally just works on pc's) and he recovered my shit and replaced my HD.

meh.

8/22/2009 11:52:20 PM

this also happened to my wife's macbook. it was just over a year old, and I had to really push hard to get them to replace it, because:

http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html

Quote :

". However, the AppleCare Protection Plan for notebook computers does not cover batteries that have failed or are exhibiting diminished capacity except when the failure or diminished capacity is the result of a manufacturing defect. Apple"

so unless it's a known issue (like the exploding sony batteries), they won't replace a bad battery under extended applecare.

8/23/2009 12:00:35 PM

qft

Quote :

"how to repair a mac: throw it out the window, buy a pc w/ windows 7."

8/23/2009 11:06:24 PM