i am a pc tech and have a friend that has requested that i upgrade her mac (PowerMac6500) with a new hard drive and memory, the problem is i'm not sure how to do the hard drive. i need to install a 20g ATA EIDE and copy the old one to it, could someone please be kind enough to walk me through the procedures for installing the new drive and copying the old one over- thanks

Go to the apple spec database (http://www.info.apple.com/applespec/applespec.taf) or other source, and see if the 6500 can accept a SECOND hard drive. If so, then you know what to do. If not, Physically install the new one, put the OS install CD in the drive, and hold down the "C" key while it boots. It will boot from the cd. Then use "Drive Setup" to initilaize and/or partition the drive as you wish. Then install the OS and then you can install your apps from thier respective install disks. As far as data: You need to download to floppies/zips/or an internet storage site (FTP site is the best way!). That or ethernet with another mac and transfer data there for the interim.

thanks for the info - will give it a try and see what happens.