How long does it take to replace a hard drive?

[Worker 11811]

The question is simple.

 

Replace the hard drive in your computer and get it up and running again. Start your clock right from the beginning when you back up all your data. Mark your time when you restart the computer and get back on-line again.

 

How long does it take?

 

This includes the time to back up your data and restore. Don't forget any time needed to fix any settings on your computer. If you have to reinstall any programs or drivers or updates, add that in too.

 

I'm talking about the time it takes to get your computer back to the exact way it was before you started.

 

Here's some information for you. Your old hard drive is a 30 GB. It's nearly full and this is a preemptive move to prevent a crash and subsequent data loss. You are upgrading to a new 120 GB drive which is the largest drive your computer can use without ripping out the interface card and replacing it.

 

How long do you think it took me?

[Kappa]

Wow! Some people, not long at all. If it's something they do on a regular basis. Others.. who don't deal with it or do anything like it, it can take a while. I got into the habit of maintaining what I want to hang on to, is specific folders and areas. This habit started for just this reason. Personally, it can take a few minutes to a few days. This is a difficult 'guessing game' you are talking about. I'll play though.. half a day?

[auzmink]

Simple, install the 120Gb drive as a slave, tip all your data into the 2nd drive, keep only your programs on the 'C' drive, and your working in 30 minutes ( screws out, casing off, screw in 'slave', connect cables, casing on, screws back. Then sit and shift.

 

Long answer, install slave drive, do Ghosted image, pull out old drive , install new 120Gb 'CV' drive and ghost back - time 2 days sometimes!

 

Go-on, amaze us....

 

Auzmink.

[Worker 11811]

Started at 9:00 PM. Finished at just after midnite...

 

Not amazing, really... Until I tell you the computer I upgraded is an old iMac.

The fruit colored, missile shaped ones.

 

>> Click for pic! <<

 

 

1) Clone the HD from the internal to an external Fire-Wire drive. (This took over an hour.) Be sure to bless the external drive so it can be the startup volume.

2) Restart and use the external as the startup volume. Test to be sure the clone of your HD is OK and that the computer starts up correctly.

3) Shut down. Make the physical swap. Working inside an iMac is certainly "tight quarters" but it can be done. Just work slowly. It can be done.

It took me just shy of 15 min.

4) Power up. Boot from the external. Test the new hardware. Tune for minimum smoke and maximum volume.

5) Clone the external back to the internal. (Again, this is what took the most time.)

6) Reset the startup disk to be the internal. Reboot.

7) You should be good to go!

8) Time: Just over 3 hours. Most of which was spent waiting for data to copy.

 

When I got this computer it came with a 10 GB drive and some puny amount of memory like 64 MB. I bought more memory for it right away. Kicked it up to 512 MB which was the theoretical maximum at the time... until they came out with 1 GB SIMMS which were horribly expensive. Half a Gig is all this computer ever needs.

 

Right after the factory warranty ran out, I put a 30 GB drive into it.

(Aha! He has practice! )

I bought it late in the year 2000. The computer has been running like that since 2001.

 

Lately, the HD was filling up. This version of the OS gets cranky if you don't have a minimum of 10% freespace on your drive.

 

I decided to add a new drive. The problem is that it's impossible to buy hard drives smaller than 160 GB. The iMac has a 40 bit controller. This leaves you with a 128 GB maximum usable drive size. Basically, you have to throw away 32 GB unless you REALLY want to dig around inside the machine. On a computer is age, that's not advisable! You'll never be able to get parts for it!

 

Basically, for $69.00 on sale at Best Buy, I get a new HD for my computer and I will probably get another 1 - 2 years out of it!

 

Not bad for a machine that is not supposed to be upgradeable!

Edited March 7, 2008 by Guest

[Kappa]

..not bad..

[Worker 11811]

If it wasn't for the 2-1/2 hours spent copying data from one place to another then back again, I would have been done in 30-45 minutes.

 

But, alas, the thing's only got one 40-bit hard drive controller. (Parallel-ATA/100) and a 400Mbps FireWire port so data copying goes slowly.

 

I bought the computer in late 1999. At that time, it was about as nice as they came, unless you wanted to go with the "Pro" versions. But time marches on. In another half a year, it will be 10 years old and I've got to milk as much use out of it as I can.

 

A 40-bit controller will access 128 GB of data on a hard drive. Unless I want to spend boucoup bucks on 1 GB SIMMs, 512 MB of RAM is as big as it gets. When I put in the RAM, at the first place, 256 MB SIMMs were as big as you could buy. The computer has 2 SIMM slots, giving me a grand total of 512. Basically, this machine is "Maxed Out" in the memory and HD department.

 

I suppose I could get a CPU upgrade but I think that would be like putting a crystal chandelier in an outhouse.

 

In the mean time I can get a couple more years out of this one until I can bank enough extra money to buy a new one.

[frugalfurguy]

I'm impressed!

 

I use a similar iMac's harddisk as a backup. It doesn't take me quite as long to back things up (using an ethernet cable) as it took for you to replace its harddisk, but if I screw it up, it's pretty darn close to that long.

 

Still, I've almost always been a long ways from feeling cramped with my hard drives. From 1994 to 2005 I used a Mac Powerbook 520, and never felt cramped by its 120mb hard disk (Of course from about 2002 I gave up accessing the internet with that machine, so file generation was pretty much just what I generated myself or sneakered over on floppies.) I got my iMac used. Compared to the Powerbook it took over from, its harddisk seemed all but bottomless.

 

My mainstay's now a MacBook, and I've not quite half filled its hard drive.

 

I'm glad so far the things that I decide to store there don't require the kind of operation you describe.

 

Best wishes keeping it going another couple years. In that area you've outfrugaled frugal himself!

 

frugalfurguy

[ReFur]

This is great post to save! Why don't we move this to the information forum?

 

Linda

[Kappa]

You think so? I was under the impression is started as more of a 'joke' thread than anything..

[ReFur]

[Kappa]

Knowing what I do about Worker, I like to think this thread was meant to be funny.. I hope it wasn't serious..

[Worker 11811]

It was a little of both.

 

Mostly funny. But with a serious note because I'm still using a 10 year old computer and it's still doing fine.

 

So many people try to tell me I shouldn't have gotten that computer because you can't "upgrade" it. AFAIAC, they are no harder to upgrade than any other computer.

 

But, on the other hand, I'm sitting next to a Dual Core Power Mac that only takes 30 seconds to do the physical HD swap!

[Kappa]

Improving yourself now seldom makes up for errors done in the past..