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I got an unexpected bonus check yesterday, so i'm looking at a refurb intel iMac. Even having to pay tax in CA, it still about $250 less than a new one from Amazon with the rebate. Anyway, I have a rev.B G5 iMac now and it looks like they are bringing around $900 to $1000 on ebay and I've got numerous upgrades. I have a 500 gig in the G5. Can I have the hard drive switched to the Intel? One of the local Apple centers will do it for $59. What a shame they've gone back to non user upgrades. Is there any conflict between a PPC OS and an Intel? I suspect there has to be. Could I just do the intel updates to make it work? Will it make it right if I use the migration assistant to the new drive? Then I could just clone it back to the larger drive. Of course the optimum thing would be if I got a "silent upgrade" of a 500 giger but now that I want it, it surely won't happen. Sorry for all the questions but the money is burning a hole in my pocket and I can do an upgrade for a few hundred bucks. Thanks!
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On the OS question, there's no way to just 'update' a PPC OS to make it work on an Intel machine. You can use the Migration Asst for apps and settings but you cannot clone a PPC install and have it work on an Intel machine.
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Thanks Peter, I guess I wasn't clear on that. What I meant was I could use the migration assistant to get all of my apps and settings over to the new hard drive and then clone it back to the 500 in an external case and then have the drives switched out. I would then wipe the 250, install a clean version of Tiger to ebay the G5.
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You'd have to clone the 500 gig to a 3rd hd, install it into the Intel Imac, then format the 500 gig and install the OS, then you could use migration assistant from the 3d hd.
If the folks are willing to install the 500 gig into the Intel Imac, they ought to be willing to do all that for you--they should have the storage capacity on hand, and it's pretty trivial to do. Maybe charge an extra $10 for the extra work....
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Yes, you should be able to do that. Shouldn't be a problem, really. I assume you "new hard drive" = "hard drive that comes installed in the new Intel iMac".
Oh, and you'll probably have to choose the start up disk once the 500 gig is in the Intel Imac.
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[quote anonymouse1]Yes, you should be able to do that. Shouldn't be a problem, really. I assume you "new hard drive" = "hard drive that comes installed in the new Intel iMac".
Exactly, the 250 is what should be in the new iMac. (Still hoping for, but not expecting a "silent upgrade"!). There's no need to pay someone else to do the cloning. If it did not void the warranty I'd do the switch myself.
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has anyone ever heard of a "silent upgrade" that included a 500 GB hard drive?
your migration plan sounds convoluted, sorry you have to deal with that.
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There have been reports of larger hard drives. So I can have hope!
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Oh well, the 20"ers are gone. I'll have to wait until the next batch.
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Those 20" iMacs always clear out quick, Brad. Advise you to grab one ASAP next time they become available. (Of course, the moment you do, Apple will refresh the iMac line with the Core 2 Duo chip.)
