Replacing the Hard Drive in a 27 inch iMac

[David S]

I have a 27 inch iMac. Disk Utility is reporting that the drive is about to fail. Should be easy to replace the drive, right? Apparently not. Something about a thermal sensor.

OWC sells a kit that includes a stick-on thermal sensor, allowing the use of any drive. However, I assume that if I use a compatible Seagate drive, then I won’t need the external sensor. Right?

Does anyone have specific knowledge about this? Anyone know a specific 1TB or 2TB drive that will work? I need to do this tonight which is why I can’t wait for an OWC shipment. Microcenter and Staples are nearby.

Thanks


The specifics:
Late 2009 27 inch 2.8 GHz Core i7 iMac.
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac11,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
Drive: Seagate ST31000528ASQ

S.M.A.R.T. Status : Failing

[C(-)ris]

You will need the sensor unless you buy a compatible drive. The only place that sells compatible drives would be an Apple Store or an AASP. Good luck getting one of them to sell you just the drive at a reasonable price comparatively.

Just use an external Thunderbolt or USB2/3 HD while you wait.

[mattkime]

this is the part where i recommend just jumpering the sensor and everyone thinks i'm crazy.

[David S]

mattkime wrote:
this is the part where i recommend just jumpering the sensor and everyone thinks i'm crazy.

I like the idea. I'm a big fan of duct tape and chewing gum repairs. So, you don't think there is any danger of overheating?

[PeterW]

Overheating is not the concern. Fans running at high speed constantly is the problem. As long as that doesn't bother you, go for it.

[Gareth]

PeterW wrote:
Overheating is not the concern. Fans running at high speed constantly is the problem. As long as that doesn't bother you, go for it.

You can use software to manually control the fans.

[jdc]

Local place won't have it, but MC would be the better bet.

Tonight? As long as you have a good backup it should be OK?

[mattkime]

David S wrote:
[quote=mattkime]
this is the part where i recommend just jumpering the sensor and everyone thinks i'm crazy.

I like the idea. I'm a big fan of duct tape and chewing gum repairs. So, you don't think there is any danger of overheating?
i'm sure you could find a hard drive that runs really hot but even then i think you'll be okay.

i recently put a 5TB drive into my imac. i should go home and look at the SMART status. however, its not my boot drive.

the fan cable has two wires going into a three pin connector. just find a small piece of wire to jumper the two active pins. done.

its hardly chewing gum and duct tap. just disabling an annoying sensor.

---

i have the exact same model.

[onthedownlow]

You don't need the sensor - as said above. I've changed several of these out - no issues/no fan concerns.

[Bosco]

I did a hard drive upgrade on my 2011 iMac using the stick-on thermal sensor from OWC. It's not hard to do if you are mechanically inclined. There is a video on the OWC website showing how to do the install. Just be carefull and do it in a very clean room (no dust).

I recommend you use higher capacity drive (3TB or more). I used a Seagate 7200rpm.

-