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Elegant SSD options for G4 Cube

ried

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm trying to identify an elegant SSD option for the G4 Cube. There are IDE > mSATA adapters for the Cube, like this one currently sold by OWC:

But that doesn't fit the Cube's 3.5" hard drive chassis and mounting bracket. These German kids are struggling with the same fitment issue:

Does a full-size 3.5" IDE drive enclosure with an SSD inside exist? I understand OWC used to sell Cube-specific SSD mounting brackets, but I am unable to find one - or even images of one. I'd rather not leave the SSD hanging loose inside the Cube.

Thanks in advance.
 

CircuitBored

Well-known member
Sadly the IDE 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapters you are thinking of have been out of production for years. The only way to get one now is to pray that one shows up on eBay but I wouldn't hold out hope.

My honest advice: just connect the SSD and leave it hanging loose like the charming Germans in the video did. SSDs really do not care how they are mounted and worrying about how to make them look good is an exercise in futility. The Cube will still be as beautiful once it's put back together. Attaching it like they did in the video is a bit cumbersome but it's nowhere near as bad as the keyhole surgery you often have to do to get SD-IDE adapters into some old portables (looking at you, Toshiba Libretto). SSDs are so lightweight and SATA connectors are so firm that it is very hard to dislodge them. Any impact that did so would likely destroy the Cube itself so it's not worth concering yourself with.

Connect the drive, make sure nothing is going to be shorted out by it, you're done.

A heads-up: the adapter you linked is a SATA-IDE adapter, not an mSATA-IDE adapter.
 

ried

Well-known member
Thanks, but my OCD self is not satisfied with the "just live with it" solution :)
 
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Byrd

Well-known member
There are plenty of 2.5 to 3.5 drive sleds you can print (see Thingiverse); they didn’t need a YouTube video to work this out.
 

ried

Well-known member
I have a 2.5 to 3.5 sled from OWC. Same design as the German kids were using in the video above. The problem is the Cube's IDE ribbon cable offers very little slack, and the IDE / SATA adapters that are available don't fit the Cube (and its IDE cable) well at all, forcing the SSD to sit loose in the chassis at a very awkward angle when using that IDE / SATA adapter.
 

Byrd

Well-known member
There are different (printable) sled designs which place the SSD more to the right or left, depending on your needs. Alternately, thick double sided tape on an existing sled to neatly position it where you want can be highly OCD friendly, in my books :)
 

Green78II

Well-known member
I know this is kind of an old thread, but I just wanted to share what the OWC drive linked above looks like in the Cube. I did the same thing as seen in the video with the one screw on the plastic slide, but the OWC drive while about as finicky to slot in correctly, the OWC sled fits much straighter than the bracket they used in the video. It will slide back and line up with the screw holes, but the Airport card bracket does not sit flush because of the IDE to SATA adapter and I did not want to force it back together and possibly damage anything.
 

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SiliconValleyPirate

Well-known member
I have an STL for a 3D printed sled that will carry a 2.5” SSD and a SATA to PATA adapter (try to pick an adapter that lines up the same as a HDD!). It may well also work with a PATA SSD convertor and a 44-pin to 40-pin adapter.

I made it originally for my Cube for exactly this reason - fitting a replacement for the 3.5” hdd is a real pig due to the restrictive cable length.
 

macuserman

Well-known member
I just recently tackled this issue and I think I have a good solution, it's a bit hodgepodge but the drive does mount securely.

1. An Msata to 2.5" IDE adapter, this gets you a 2.5" drive sized SSD with the 40pin IDE connector.

2. A 2.5" to 3.5" harddrive mounting bracket this one is very nice because it centers the drive and has enough holes to mount to the original 3.5" brackets.

3. A 2.5" to 3.5" IDE adapter. This one in particular is special over the pin to pin adapers that go straight out, this one uses a little PCB that offsets the headers so that the 3.5" stuff lines up with the ribbon cables, and the 2.5" header is centered and lines up with the new drive.

Overall this solution is pretty tidy, you need 3 different adapters which sounds like a lot, plus the msata SSD, but it's the best solution I've found, it mounts securely and really works well. No tape or velcro nonsense. I did wrap my 2.5" to 3.5" IDE adapter in Kapton tape because I don't have the rear HD bracket it's missing in my cube so there is a slight wiggle just because I don't have it screwed in on both sides. I'll post some pictures, but I'm super happy with this setup. A 3D printed bracket would also work that just positions the drive in the right spot for an adapter but I've no 3d printing skills.
 

macuserman

Well-known member
IMG_1606.jpegIMG_1608.jpegIMG_1609.jpegIMG_1610.jpegIMG_1611.jpeg
Pictures as promised, it’s just slightly longer than a normal drive but it still clears the case. Super pleased with this setup.
 

micheledipaola

Well-known member
I used exactly the same components for an SSD upgrade of a 1.25Ghz iMac G4 (sunflower / iLamp) . I got stuck with white screen at boot, and after some panic, it seems I solved putting a slave/master jumper on one of the two spare pin couples besides the 2.5 IDE plug of the adapter card. Someone told me that after putting the new drive+adapter, it just needed to be left plugged in for a while before powering on, so maybe the jumper was not so important after all - or maybe you will be luckier than me and it will work at once with no white screen ;) but just to share, if you end up the same way, that could help.
 

cobalt60

Well-known member
think the one in the pics IS an mSATA SSD, plus adapter card to IDE 2.5", plus adapter board to IDE 3.5" and mounted on an adapter sleed
Yes I believe you are correct. But actually I forgot mSATA and M.2 SATA were distinct from each other. M.2 SATA is probably the better option.
 

macuserman

Well-known member
I used exactly the same components for an SSD upgrade of a 1.25Ghz iMac G4 (sunflower / iLamp) . I got stuck with white screen at boot, and after some panic, it seems I solved putting a slave/master jumper on one of the two spare pin couples besides the 2.5 IDE plug of the adapter card. Someone told me that after putting the new drive+adapter, it just needed to be left plugged in for a while before powering on, so maybe the jumper was not so important after all - or maybe you will be luckier than me and it will work at once with no white screen ;) but just to share, if you end up the same way, that could help.
Nice! I'm glad this worked for you, truthfully it should work anywhere a standard 3.5" IDE drive was used, as my intention was to replicate that as much as possible with the connector locations. I wish there was just one adapter to do this but at least there is a way.
 

Mikeyy00

Well-known member
This Amazon one fits like a glove. Combined with the cheapy sata-ide bridge, its almost a perfect fit and the 3 screw holes are there for the heatsink chunk to screw in properly. Probably because the external sata connector is on the far side vs. the middle like almost every other bracket.

Edit, some pictures:
 

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Mikeyy00

Well-known member
This Amazon one fits like a glove. Combined with the cheapy sata-ide bridge, its almost a perfect fit and the 3 screw holes are there for the heatsink chunk to screw in properly. Probably because the external sata connector is on the far side vs. the middle like almost every other bracket.

Edit, some pictures:
Correction. It looks like it’s a perfect fit. But it causes the IDE cable and Power to pop out a half inch or so. So the airport bracket no longer fits. Boo.
 

xilly

Member
Yes I have the same issue
I decided to go back to stock because I like how the heatsink for the original HD is a perfect fit inside the machine

A very elegant design
 
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