Help, need new hdd for G4 Quicksilver 2002.

I like Western Digital drives.

Be aware, though, that some early QuickSilver models can only natively support hard drives less than 128GB in size. To use larger hard drives, you will need to purchase a 3rd-party ATA or SATA IDE card that supports 48-bit LBA.

While you can throw a larger hard drive in there and connect it to the internal ATA bus, you'll only be able to use 128GB of the drive (even if you try and get clever and partition the drive).
 
Leonard Marsh said:
Any suggestions on good brand name to install would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

My preference is Hitachi brand.

As EDCC says, check your Quicksilver model (with Mactracker I suggest), because there were three 2002 models, the first of which had a 128 Gb limit.
 
ElDiablo, WD is what first came to mind. I see the smallest is a 250gb (Blue Caviar??) so yes, the ide card is required.

Hughvane, I will confirm which version I have. I think it is the Feb '02. I will check the Hitachis, too.

What about bolting the new drive into the case? Do I need an adapter bracket or does the new drive have the same holes?

Thanks for responding.

Cheers,

Leonard
 
If you plan on replacing the drive that's already in there, then there's no brackets or anything needed -- 3.5" hard drives are all the same size, with mounting screw holes all in the same place.

In the Quicksilver models, I believe you can add up to two extra hard drives -- so you can just add the new hard drive alongside the existing one, if you like.
 
ElDiablo, it is good news that the holes, etc. are the same. I added a LaCie years ago and it had the adapter bracket. I will try bolting the new one in the last slot. I will need to find some screws.

Well, it is off to order the drive.

I appreciate the prompt help.

Edit: Okay, my Quicksilver 2002 is the second of the three versions and, if I understood Mactracker correctly, I do not believe the additional card in the pci slot will be necessary. I ordered a 160gb drive and the QS2002 should not be limited to 128gb. Do you agree?

If I do need the additional card, how do I specify it? What is a good place to order it?

Cheers,

Leonard
 
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Well, now we have a conundrum. Mactracker says drives larger than 128 Gb are supported from Q'silver No 2 onwards, everymac.com says not.
"Standard Hard Drive: 60 GB (7200 RPM) Int. HD Interface: Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5)
Details: Can officially support two Ultra ATA/66 hard drives -- drives larger than 128 GB are not supported. It could be configured with up to three 10,000 RPM Ultra160 SCSI drives at the time of purchase, or one Ultra ATA/66 and two Ultra160 SCSI drives, as build-to-order options."

I suggest you get every specification detail of your G4 ie. model number etc (use System Profiler). You say Feb '02, which indicates Q'silver No 3, in which case hard drives >128 are supported, according to Mactracker, but not supported according to Everymac. One of them has got to be wrong there.

I believe OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/ can assist you in identifying the correct hardware upgrades for your Mac. Another resource for upgrade information is lowendmac http://lowendmac.com/ppc/quicksilver-2002-power-mac.html
 
Hughvane, thanks for the links, I should say useful links. I will be spending time with Low End Mac again soon.

QuickSilver 2002 models: 733MHz, 800MHz, 933MHz, & 2x1GHz
Mine is the 800MHz. I keep a copy of the system profile info on file.

EveryMac:
"Additionally, all Quicksilver 2002 models add support for hard drives larger than 128 MB, add support for dual displays, and have slightly faster optical drives." (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/stats/powermac_g4_800_qs.html)

Low End Mac regarding QuickSilver 2002s:
Overview: "These were the first Macs to support hard drives over 128 GB on the built-in hard drive bus."
Details: "hard drive: 40/60/80 GB 7200 rpm UltraATA/66. Maximum IDE drive size is 128 GB without third-party support. See caution note below."
Caution: "Power Macs earlier than the 2002 Quicksilver models do not have built-in support for IDE hard drives with capacities over 128 GB. Without a third-party solution, larger drives can only be formatted to 128 GB in these models."

OWC
The Data Storage Upgrade drives offered (10) for my QS start at 80gb(1) and jump to 160gb and up (9). There is no indication of a limit to accessing 128gb.

It definitely appears that the 128gb limit does not apply to my QS.

Thanks for the help ElDiabloConCaca and Hughvane; it has made this a much easier task.

Leonard
 
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