Found In the Woods

So I got my new hard drive and memory in the mail yesterday from OWC. I decided to tackle the hard drive in my TiBook first so I got the instructions online and set to work. The install was really easy, actually. I was already familiar with the innards after doing the DVD-R drive (which I found a little harder, actually). So anyway, I plugged it in, screwed up the case flipped it over, with a big, excited, presents-on-christmas-morning grin, and booted to the OS X Tiger DVD.

When I got to the screen to choose which drive to install on, none appeared. (There goes that big grin). But, at the moment (about 10 mins ago) I figured I hadn't connected something right. So, I flipped it back over, unscrewed the cover, rechecked all the connections, reconnected it and tried again. Same thing. (Now a puzzled look) So I did this one more time. Same thing. (Beginning to get angry)

Each time I did this I bent over and pressed my ear to the keyboard to listen for hard drive activity and I couldn't hear any! So, naturally, I figured that the thing wasn't getting power and indeed the logic board connection wasn't properly hooked up. (* See, you also have to understand that part of the reason I'm replacing this hard drive is due to the fact that the OEM 20gb drive that came with the TiBook sounded like a refrigerator. The ball bearings must have been ready to wear through the case and into my lap. My wife yells at me every time I try to use the computer when she's in the room. Yes, it's that loud.)

It was at this point that I started cursing at myself and lamenting my aching back, the sweat pouring down my forehead and the back of my knees, the fatigue and my aching back. The last time I tried reconnecting and turning it on, I heard a faint *beep* quiet as a mouse but I KNEW it wasn't the DVD-R drive. This gave me hope… it also awoke the notion in my thick brain (which 2 minutes earlier I had contemplated perforating with a small phillips head screwdriver) that I had to FORMAT the drive before OS X would even look at it. Big duh.

Lessons learned? Don't try to install a new hard drive in your PowerBook at 11:30pm unless you have to. See, this should have been easy. All this week I've been spending my free time resurrecting an 8 year old PowerMac G3 blue & white. Even with the scoffing from my coworkers and the cries of "noooooooo, not that!" from my experienced Mac guru friends, I still press on in the hopes and dreams that I can make it into a useful server/kids machine. This will happen and when it does… I will be victorious!

Next up, install some more memory in the PowerBook G4 and in my iMac G5.