Hi, I'm trying to install and 180GB internal hard drive on a 400Mhz gray G4. there are 2 drives in stalled already + DVD. 1 hard drive is the original one and it's 30GB and the other one is 10GB. can i install the new drive and keep the other 2 drives? (as a slave of the dvd?). since i tried and the computer doesn't recognize the drive. i think the new drive is not formatted. please help me!! thanks

Mike, The third HD you want to install is good to go with its jumpers set to Slave. (Not sure I understand the stuff about it being a Slave to the DVD as the DVD caddy ain't really a Drive - as it would be in the traditional PC Directory sense of the term). To format the new HD - insert your OS 9.1 Install CD and restart your G4 with just the "C" key on your keyboard held down, until you see the words: Mac OS 9.1 - appear - then let go. Upon the Mac OS 9.1 Install CD, open the "Utilities" folder and double click on "Disk First Aid" (looks like an ambulance heading right fast). You should then be able to see all three HDs in Disk First Aid - plus the Mac OS 9.1 CD. Click once on the new "untitled" HD once - then go up to the menu item "Options" and scroll down to "Erase Disk..." It will go through the warnings about whether you want to do this or not etc etc - to which you agree and erase - (make sure the format is set to: HFS Extended). Quit "Disk First Aid" and open the "Drive Setup ƒ". In the list of Drives, select the new "untitled" - go up to menu item: Functions - and scroll down to "Update Driver". It will "bleep" at you to confirm this. Then simply hit the "Initialize..." button in the bottom-right-hand corner of the Drive Setup panel - it will warn you again about the wiping of info - agree to all things - and you're away! After this you can close everything up and Install Mac OS 9.1 - or whatever OS you are intending to install. After it has installed the Mac OS, simply restart. tell us how you go cheers clockwork

Clockwork, that is a rather comprehensive explanation but you forgot one thing; Mike has a gray G4. That may work on a blue, red, green, or yellow G4, however gray G4s are totally different... and gray. William

Sharkey, Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit (and it's always worked for me)... f u c k i t . . . grey - yeah - I forgot about it being grey - hmmm - and the grey G4 was created especially for the colour blind - to never confuse the red wire with the green wire - to rise up from the wretched miasma of prejudice (unlike those... those biased... beige PCs) and to let all men treat every other has his brother as god surely intended - to let all humanity "Think Different" in unison - and let all of us be equal... yes... (except for the Irish of course) *does a runner*