1

What are my options for upgrading the drive of an iMac G4 or an eMac to eliminate the noise from the original drive? Either an SSD, or a mechanical HDD with a lower noise level than the original.

The second hand value of the machine is $100, so the drive must be justifiably cheap, under $30 if possible. Pre-owned and capacity as small as 16-32 GB is fine.

For each suggestion, please specify:

  • Required adapters (to connect the drive to the iMac)
  • Expected total price (USD, for easy comparison)
  • Expected performance (for non-SSD suggestions such as CF/SD)

PS! Reading speed from an IDE drive is around 22 MB/s using dd on the eMac.

PPS! The easiest way to experiment with drive replacement is by using the IDE cable and power to the CD player, which by a lucky shot can be reached from the removable RAM slot. That way you won't have to disassemble the whole eMac until you've done your research.

forthrin
  • 2,631

2 Answers2

4

Upgrade to an SSD

Just get a simple SSD and an IDE to SATA adapter. You may need a 3.5" drive adapter if you use a 2.5" drive, but those are abundant and easily sourced.

This will give you a solid state solution for less than $70 USD. You can probably find these items for less on the used market, but probably not by much when you factor shipping and handling.

That said, your $30 budget is unrealistic as PATA SSD's are notoriously expensive and any small capacity SSDs (16 to 60GB) will run about $20 USD (plus shipping). In addition, you will still need the IDE to SATA adapter because those cheap drives are all SATA. You may spend (slightly) less, but it will be a solution based on used (pre-owned) components.

Convert IDE to SATA

The StarTech IDE to SATA adapter will allow you to use newer SATA disks including SSDs. Whether you choose to go with an SSD or stick with spinning media, this little adapter will be critical in allowing you to use modern drives with your older hardware.

StarTech IDE to SATA

Personally, I have used this exact adapter in an X-Serve RAID (connected to a XServe G4) to use 1TB 2.5" HDDs (the limitation was 750GB PATA drives). The X-Serve RAID ran cooler and I increased it's storage capacity limitation by 25% (it was also substantially lighter). There are other manufacturers of this type of adapter, but this brand seemed to be the most reliable and compact.

Community
  • 1
Allan
  • 101,432
  • CF/SD cards are pricey, slow and prone to failure (ask any photographer; I'm one, BTW). You won't save that much and you will be doing this repair again sooner than you think using a CF/SD card solution. – Allan Mar 04 '18 at 15:39
  • I would avoid the CF/SD slot route. If cost is really a factor, you could get a new spinning drive for around the $30 point using the same adapter I detailed. (IMO) this is the most cost effective and reliable path. Also, I woudln't put used components in a place that's not the most conducive to user serviceability. To me, it's worth a few extra bucks to *not* have to take the iMac apart again – Allan Mar 04 '18 at 16:56
  • The ones I linked to are laptop drives, so the noise is quite minimal. You might be able to find a "cheap" SSD if you search long enough for it on eBay, but I've tried this method and with the handful of drives I've acquired, I realized there were reason(s) they were selling them - either fake or failing. – Allan Mar 04 '18 at 17:09
  • @Allen: I couldn't get the eMac to recognise the SSD via the IDE/SATA adapter I was using. The SSD was instantly recognised by the machine when connected via a USB adapter, so it's not a problem with the disk. It could be a problem with the adapter, but before I get a new adapter: 1) Do eMacs work with SSD via IDE/SATA at all? 2) Are eMacs "picky" about a particular type of adapter, or should any IDE/SATA adapter work? – forthrin Jul 17 '18 at 23:15
  • The adapter should emulate an IDE drive. Meaning, to the eMac, it should appear as an IDE/PATA (make sure the jumpers are set properly, if any). As far as the drive goes, it will function like it's attached to a SATA port (which it is). – Allan Jul 17 '18 at 23:19
1

You could purchase a PATA/IDE SSD off Amazon for under $100. You would likely need to purchase a 2.5" IDE to 3.5" IDE cable adapter, as well as a 2.5" to 3.5" drive bay adapter. See Amazon links below.

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-PSD330-2-5-inch-Internal-Solid/dp/B00AQT2LL6/ https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-3-5-Inch-Drive-Adapter-IDE4044/dp/B00006B8C2/ https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Internal-Drive-Mounting-BK-HDDH/dp/B00G57BN1M/

forthrin
  • 2,631
Brian Duke
  • 496
  • Avoiding the adapter seems like a good thing! Kind of pricey, though. Are there cheaper options, or is this what they all cost for 64 GB? – forthrin Jul 18 '18 at 08:58