In case you were NOT aware (most people are NOT), Apple began using
proprietary hard drives in their late 2009 iMacs and newer. Â You can
read about it here:
http://blog.macsales.com/2751-
OWC has links to drives for sale that MAY be able to help you. Â I say
MAY because, not only do these drives NOT contain the proprietary
firmware that is on the Apple manufactured hard drives, but they also
do NOT have the proprietary thermal sensing port on the drive. Â On top
of that, you MUST run this piece of $30 software:
http://www.hddfancontrol.com/Â Â in order to prevent the internal fans
from spinning at full speed. Â However I was warned by OWC technical
support, that even doing all of this, it STILL may NOT work.
OWC offers their “Turnkey Upgrade Program” for select newer iMacs:
http://eshop.macsales.com/
MUST ship them your iMac. Â They have a proprietary piece of hardware
they can install to replace your factory hard drive.
Another option if you live in San Diego, is to take the computer to
Apple specialist, Crywolf:
Crywolf
7634 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, San Diego, CA
(858) 277-9653
crywolf.com
They claim to have a proprietary cable which will allow your iMac to
use any standard off the shelf SATA hard drive. Â However, they will
NOT sell you this cable directly. Â You must have them replace your
failing hard drive. Â Here is a list of their current prices as of
10/10/12:
$99 for labor
Drive prices as follows:
500GB $100
1TB $120
2TB $160
3TB $230
I have searched high and low for this elusive proprietary cable, and
only found one manufacturer in germany:
http://www.gravis.de/services/
HOWEVER, they will NOT sell it to individuals. Â The last reason I
heard, is because they already have an “authorized reseller” in the
USA with exclusive rights to their adapter.
Update 1/30/13: Â
I have found another possible custom cable to help:
http://www.thebookyard.com/product.php?products_id=10085
but it is $78!