Hosted by site sponsor WebMate.
PowerBook G3 Q&A - Published January 11, 2010
To be notified of new Q&As, sign up for EveryMac.com's bimonthly email list.
How do you replace or upgrade the hard drive in the PowerBook G3 models? Do these models support "big drives"?
Apple provides complete instructions for installing memory in the PowerBook G3 models.
However, Apple does not consider the internal hard drive in these notebooks -- whether it is the ATA hard drive in the PowerBook G3/250 (Original), the EIDE/ATA-2 hard drive in the "Wallstreet", "PDQ", or "Bronze Keyboard/Lombard" models, or the Ultra ATA/66 hard drive in the "Firewire/Pismo" models -- to be a "customer-installable part" and declines to provide replacement instructions. Consequently, EveryMac.com does not recommend that users attempt to upgrade the hard drive themselves.
Upgrading or replacing the internal hard drive in the PowerBook G3 models is not the easiest task to perform. Those with limited experience upgrading computers would be wise to instead try to find a "swappable" hard drive module compatible with your particular PowerBook G3 or buy an external SCSI-based or Firewire-based hard drive depending whether your PowerBook G3 is equipped with SCSI or Firewire (USB also is an option for "Lombard" and "Pismo" models, but as these have slow USB 1.1 ports, SCSI and Firewire, respectively, would be better choices).
If you have a "Pismo" PowerBook G3 -- the PowerBook G3/400 (Firewire/Pismo) or G3/500 (Firewire/Pismo) -- which have Firewire "400" ports, an external Firewire hard drive also can be repurposed with more modern Macs that also have Firewire "400" ports (or even with Firewire "800" equipped Macs with an adapter).
For those who have experience with upgrading notebooks and enjoy tinkering can review unofficial step-by-step guides from iFixit, PowerBookMedic [no longer online], and ApfelKlinic:
PowerBook G3 - Upgrade Guides |
|
|
|
Wallstreet |
|||
PDQ - Late 1998 |
|||
Bronze Keyboard/Lombard |
|||
Firewire/Pismo |
Reviewing all three hard drive upgrade guides for your particular PowerBook G3 would be a good idea.
Officially, Apple says that Macs running MacOS X 10.2 or higher released after June 2002 can use "big drives" -- those larger than 128 GB -- which would exclude all PowerBook G3 models. However, modern external Firewire drive enclosures do make it possible to easily use drives larger than 128 GB. For a larger internal drive, a third-party driver -- such as the one from Intech -- is required.
Permalink | Report an Error/Typo | Sign Up for Site Update Notices
Established in 1996, EveryMac.com has been created by experts with decades of experience with Apple hardware. EveryMac.com includes, and always has included, original research incorporating detailed, hands-on inspection of packaging, computers, and devices as well as extensive real-world use. All information is provided in good faith, but no website or person is perfect. Accordingly, EveryMac.com is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind whatsoever. EveryMac.com, and the authors thereof, shall not be held responsible or liable, under any circumstances, for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use the information within. For complete disclaimer and copyright information please read and understand the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy before using EveryMac.com. Copying, scraping, or use of any content without expressed permission is not allowed, although links to any page are welcomed and appreciated.