4 Storage Upgrade Options for the PowerBook 165C in 2026

Use a standard 2.5-inch IDE hard drive The 165C uses a standard 2.5-inch IDE drive with a 44-pin connector, so any compatible drive will work as a direct replacement.

Install a larger IDE drive You can swap the original drive for a higher-capacity IDE model to increase storage without any adapters.

Use an IDE-to-CF adapter A CompactFlash card with an IDE adapter provides solid-state storage that is faster and more reliable than a spinning hard drive.

Use an IDE-to-SSD adapter For the best performance, an IDE-to-SSD adapter lets you install a modern solid-state drive, giving the 1993 machine a significant speed boost.