MacBook Pro Hard Disk Replacement
Dec 26th, 2006 by Richard
As some of you may remember, I dropped my MacBook Pro a little over a week ago and killed its internal hard disk. I ordered a replacement from Other World Computing and installed it and aside from some dings on the case I think I’m back up to speed with this computer.
Testing the Internal HD
It wasn’t until I tried to erase my internal hard disk (running from an external backup) by writing zeros rather than a simple erase that I was able to determine for sure that something was wrong with it. I was able to erase it and test it without problem with disk tools but subsequent use showed me there was something wrong. Writing zeros confirmed this. I thought, incorrectly, that writing zeros or “zeroing all data” was a matter of security (not simply killing a directory but killing all data) but in fact, it’s also a test of writing to every track and sector of the hard disk. Once my friend Dale aimed me in this direction I found that Disk Tools choked about an hour into the writing of zeros: it found a track it couldn’t write and sat there clicking. I then knew the hard disk was shot and I’d need to replace it.
Which Replacement HD?
Other World Computing has numerous SATA internal hard disks that will work in a MacBook Pro so the question was, which to get?
The hard disk that I had in it that I was replacing was a standard, Apple installed Seagate Momentus 100 GB 5400 RPM drive. OWC sells Hitachi/IBM, Seagate, and Toshiba replacement drives. Whatever I got had to not only work in the MacBook Pro (any of these will) but it had to be compatible with Apple’s energy conservation software, it’s motion detection software, and given that MacBooks and MacBook Pros run pretty hot, whatever I got ought not be any hotter than what I was replacing.
I decided to stick with Seagate as I knew it would work with Apple’s system software so the question was, 5400 RPM which is what I was replacing or 7200 RPM which is a substantial performance increase. Given that I’m about to install Aperture on this computer, I considered the 7200 RPM drive as it would give me faster performance for what is undoubtedly a disk-intensive application (Aperture does a lot of reading from and writing to the HD as it moves through images as on large RAW files not everything will fit in memory or even in a memory cache). However, my guess was that 7200 RPM is a hotter drive than 5400 RPM and I noticed that Apple offered it in their 17″ MBP but not in their 15″ as standard equipment. This might be simple product segmenting: higher performance on larger, more expensive machine to push people into buying it but it also might be that the chassis on the 17″ is big enough to absorb the extra heat.
In the end, I went with almost a direct replacement: 120 GB Seagate, 5400 RPM.
Instructional Video
I’ve heard that HD replacement in a MacBook is very easy, there’s a bay under the machine and it’s like putting in memory.
HD replacement in a MacBook Pro is more complex and the machine has to come apart. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t bother me but given that I’d dropped and damaged this machine I wasn’t sure how precise the fit and finish was anymore and it wasn’t all that great before this accident: the case was coming apart at the seams. However, I had no alternative as I had to either do this myself or let Apple fix it with AppleCare and given that I’d dropped it, it would have cost some money, more than the part alone.
OWC has QuickTime videos on installing their parts in just about every type of Mac including a longish video on the MacBook Pro for putting in memory, a hard disk or a new optical drive. You should download and watch it if you are considering doing anything to the innards of your computer as it will show you exactly what you will be doing on your own.
Given that I was going to be taking this machine apart I copied the video to my wife’s iBook so I could re-watch and review it there as I did the procedure (you can see the iBook in the image above). If you’ve opened up computers before and are relatively handy, this video is all you’ll need to put in a replacement HD. It’s excellent and very reassuring to watch.
Tools
I thought I had all the tools I needed but alas, I found I was missing a Torx T-6 screwdriver so I ended up ordering this excellent kit from OWC:
Newer Technology 7 Piece Screwdriver Kit
You only need two of the seven screwdrivers for this job:
Torx T-6
Phillips 0
It’s also useful to have a tweezers, a long bladed pocketknife and a clean white towel to work on. I took notes and labeled each pile of screws. Be aware, there are many screws that need to come out and many are different and need to go in the right places. Keep them sorted.
Take it apart
I won’t go into all the detail as the video will give you enough of that but my notes may be helpful in addition to the video.
Make sure your computer is backed up if possible. If your HD crashed and you need to do data recovery in it, do it before going further. I’m assuming here that you’re on top of this.
Also, leave the new hard disk in it’s anti-static bag so as not to mix it up with the old hard disk you are removing.
1. Shut the MacBook Pro down (don’t sleep it) and unplug all cables and power cord. The computer is closed and latched.
2. Spread clean towel out on a clear work surface. A large dining room table, well lit is perfect.
3. Turn the computer over and remove the battery.
4. Remove various screws on the bottom: memory cover, inside battery compartment.
5. Remove various screws on the case around the perimeter, back and sides. Open the computer and keep the screen as near to vertical as you can, not all the way opened.
6. Gently pry up the top keypad/touchpad but be aware: there is a ribbon cable attaching it to the motherboard so do not yank it up, just loosen it as the video instructs.
Note: this was the toughest part for me as my computer had been dropped and the fit wasn’t good anymore. A new or un-warped computer should be a lot easier.
7. On my computer, the ribbon cable was taped onto the motherboard. Simply pry up the tape and unplug the end of the ribbon cable from its connector on the motherboard. Make note of where it plugs in, it’s a very small rectangular connector that’s hard to differentiate from other components next to it. Put the keypad/touchpad aside, out of the way.
8. You can now see the hard disk in the bottom left corner. It is held in place by a simple 2 screw bracket but there are various wires tucked in around it.
9. Gently lift up on the wires and plastic pieces tucked in around the hard disk to expose two screws on the right side attaching the plastic bracket to the computer’s chassis. Make sure you’re looking at the correct screws, you don’t want to take apart the actual hard disk itself.
10. Unscrew these screws and be careful not to strip the wires that are now in close proximity. Also, be careful lifting them out; if they fall back in and roll under the hard disk it will be awkward to get them until you get the hard disk out.
11. Gently undo the hard disk from its power/data port in the back. It’s a wide ribbon connector fixed to the back end of the chassis. As you do this, also, un-stick the ribbon cable from the top of the hard disk (it’s just taped) so you can loosen it in back. This is delicate so be careful.
12. Lift the hard disk out of the machine. Make note of how the plastic bracket is oriented and installed on the right side of the hard disk.
13. Remove the plastic bracket from the right side and the 4 screws holding the rubber shock absorbing system. Keep them close by as you will need them for the new hard disk. As you do this, be aware, again, of how the plastic bracket is oriented.
Warning: don’t mix up the old, possibly damaged hard disk from the new one going in. Immediately put the one you just took out someplace out of reach and sight.
Take a deep breath, get a drink of water, pee. The rest is reversing what you just did.
Put it back together
In the image above note the area on the left where the internal hard disk goes (now removed). Also note the shock absorbing rubber mounts about to be attached to the new hard disk as well as its bracket.
13. Open the anti-static bag holding the new hard disk and hold the hard disk in your hand with its label facing up and it’s ports facing back (the label will be upside down to you in this orientation).
14. Attach the 4 rubber mounts to the new hard disk and clip the bracket onto the right side.
15. Lift up on the now loose brown ribbon cable under which the new hard disk will go and attach it to it’s power and data connector in the back.
16. Gently nudge it into place so that the right shock absorbing rubber rings are in their correct place and you can see through on the right to screw the bracket in place.
17. When everything is wiggled into place, screw the bracket down and reattach the sticky ribbon cable on top of the new hard disk.
18. Nestle the various wires and plastic stuff back into place around the now secured hard disk. Check the area to make sure things are flush so the keypad/trackpad can fit back on. Make sure no wires are bound or rubbing.
19. Place the keypad/trackpad in place so you can reconnect the ribbon cable. It’s awkward in that you need to hold it at an angle so the ribbon cable will reach. Reconnect the plastic connector making sure it’s pushed down on the right place on the motherboard. If there was tape, push down on that to hold the connector in place.
20. Gently lower the keypad/trackpad into place and starting from the front (away from the screen), snap the screw guides into place. Work your way around, not forcing anything until everything is flush an connected.
21. Close the screen and latch it.
22. Turn the computer over and replace all inner screws, memory cover and all bottom case screws.
23. Replace all perimeter and back case screws. You may need to squeeze down on the lid to hold the keypad/trackpad in place so as the screws line up. Do not force or over tighten these screws. Back off if they’re not fitting as you may have things misaligned.
24. Replace battery and you’re done.
Endnotes
The machine will not boot from this blank, unformatted hard disk so you’ll need to boot from your external backup.
Plug power cable back in and connect external hard disk that you will be booting from.
Turn on computer and boot from external.
Use Disk Tools on external to format the new hard disk. Don’t forget to partition it using the GUID partition table as it’s an Intel-based Mac.
Once it’s set up use SuperDuper! to copy your backup to the new internal hard disk.
When that’s done, set startup to the new internal hard disk and boot the machine.
Enjoy your new hard disk and let me know if you run into problems I might be able to help with.
Glad it all worked out for you. Sounds like it was a good couple of hours work!
Brian, thanks. Yes, it was no problem at all and anyone with a bit of experience with such things could do it.
Hi Richard,
Very thorough (I expect no less!) and useful. Very pleased it looks like it is going to be ok.
Speak soon,
Jon
PS Very wet and cold here in the UK! Need some Christmas snow!
Jon, glad you found the notes useful. One never knows when one might need to crack open one of these babies and now that I’ve done it once, I’m much less intimidated about doing it again if need be.
No snow here either, just winter dreariness. Sigh.
I found your blog to be very helpful. I’ve been looking for info on replacing HDD’s for macbooks and your blog gave me all the answers. I’m glad there are blogs like yours out there. Thanks!
Trina: Fantastic. Glad to help. If you ever put a 7200 rpm drive in a 15″ MacBook Pro I’d love to hear about it, heat-wise. I wanted to put that speed drive in this machine but I was worried about heat. I’d love to hear about your experience. Thanks for commenting.
I replaced the drive in my Macbook Pro using this page and the video instructions. Thanks for putting this together. After performing this upgrade however, my fit and finish is not quite 100%. Above the Hard Drive area (front left corner), there is a small gap (maybe a couple mm’s) in between the bottom metal and the keyboard part. The right side looks pretty good. I have redone the take apart and put together processes, and got it to be a little better - but still not perfect. Also, my battery seems to be a little looser than it was. Not sure if I missed a clip somewhere, but I’d like to get the aesthetics back to factory fresh feel.
somed00d: Glad you got it done, and I’d take it apart and try again, those clips are a real pain to get set straight. I’m sure you can get it back where it was. Great work, congratulations.
Think these steps will work on MacBook Pro 17inch? Ordered a 7200rpm HD and will give it a shot (unless I’m able to find more specific instructions for 17inch model).
jc: Absolutely. However, I recommend watching the video to make sure it’s the same. The 17″ has a 7200RPM option from apple so there’s probably a bit more room inside for the slight bit of extra heat the faster drive will produce.
Actually, truth be told, I’m sorry I didn’t opt for the faster drive as Aperture, which I’m using now, would enjoy that kind of speed.
Go slow, keep track of all the little screws, and don’t force anything. Let us know if you need help.
I’m reading your comments, as I’ve just taken apart and put together again my MacBook Pro, without making any changes as the Seagate Momentus dirve I bought was ATA rather than SATA (here’s hoping that I can return it as I had to snip open the bag to see that it was the wrong one), but I’ve a screw problem I can’t solve. One of the screws won’t fit back in. It’s one of the long ones on the reverse - it just won’t srew in all the way, whereas all the others are fine. I have no idea why. Maybe when I get the new drive and take the case apart I’ll be able to see what is going on. Also, tragically one of the tiny screws from the side is now lost - have you any idea where one cany buy a replacement. Thanks.
Nigel: Yeah, I can totally relate to all of your woes. Luckly for me I had no clue about ATA vs. SATA and asked so then got clued in. Sorry about that.
Because I dropped my computer it’s case got a bit warped so I was really concerned about the screws going back in right and the overall fit and finish.
Two of the screws in fact never went in all the way. They’re the two on the left side of the case, exactly where the hard disk lives. I got them in part way (one more than the other) but they’re not flush with the case as they’re supposed to be. I’m living with it but not too happy. I don’t know if I killed the inside female part that they screw into or the threads on the screws themselves. One way to find out would be to get some replacement screws but I’ve not tried to do that yet. If you find a place, let me know.
The bottom screw not fitting sounds more like an alignment problem and when you take it apart again to put in the right drive, you’ll surely fix that.
Ah yes, I figured someone would turn up eventually who “had a screw loose” so to speak.
Good luck with this and let me know how it goes when you get the new drive.
So, the job finished. Got rid of the drive in half a day (thank you ebay). My SATA went straight in, but more probelms putting the machine back together (and I’m not sure how it would hold up should I try to put a new optical drive in). One of the two tags at the back of the machine (near the screen) snapped off when I put the keyboard back. It’s not the end of the world, as screws round that part of the machine seem to duplicate. Still the screw underneath won’t go in, but I can live with that too. And as for one of the screws on the side, the truth is I wasn’t concentrating and I tried screwing it into the screw mounts on the right hand side either side of what looks like a video out. It’s not doing any harm, it’s just stuck fast. So I’ll find a new screw from somewhere, and I’ll be left with two empy holes out of maybe 20! The old drive went into a USB 2 case, and once I’d reloaded OS X, the old settings, documents and all the preferences migrated straight over the new drive. That was impressive!
Nigel: Well, screws are no big deal, your data is. Congratulations, you have a working machine. I agree with you, this is a delicate project and should not be attempted by folks who are distracted by anything else but the job at hand. Glad you got through it, again, congrats.
Hi Richard,
I dented the left hand lower corner of my macbook pro case and wanted to replace it myself - just wondering if you got as faras removing the lower metal casing and if you have any advice?
Marc
Marc, I did not remove the lower metal casing when I did my HD replacement even though mine’s a bit dented in both lower corners too. I take it you need to remove it to take the dent out. Can you possibly do it from the inside? Sorry, I’m not sure what taking the bottom of entails.
Thanks a lot for good information!!!
I’m thinking of upgrading hard disk of my MBP I think I found a perfect instruction from you!!!
How do you think about using Western Digital 160GB for MBP internal disk?
What matters most to me is the capacity and power comsuption isn’t that much important to me.
jikk: I can’t comment on the quality of western digital drives although in the list I’m posting a link to they’re cheaper than the equivalent seagate drives. I read very good reviews about seagate drives and they’re what apple uses as original equipment in my machine so I stuck with them.
SATA Drives
Unfortunately I lost the damn notes I kept about which screw goes where. The only ones I know for certain are for the back (2 very large L&R at top.. slightly smaller; centre, underneath?) - they seem to fit, anyway. Except one does not tighten.. but there is no way of getting it out. I even tried using a magnet.
I also know that the 2 very smallest fit on the side next to the CD drive. But that’s it! As you can see I’m in a bit of a mess.. so, if you - or anybody else reading kept their info, or know any place which has the info I need; please help.
Many thanks.
PS. I actually have the standard macbook, but I’m positive it’s near enough the same.
Philli: Sorry this happened and I can imagine it happening to me had I not kept good notes about what screws went where. Also, note that I did the entire job in one shot, not over days so I could lose things.
Did you watch that video I linked to above? It will help you get a better idea of which screens go where. There may be a different one for the MacBook as it’s case opens differently. i recommend that before going further. Good luck with it, let us know if you figure it out.
Have anyone one here found issue with there hard drive crashing and your computer starting up with questions marks on the screen?
I saw this website, and I was curious about it. http://www.thingy-ma-jig.co.uk/blog/30-12-2006/mac-book-pro-hard-disk-failure
Tonya: The question mark comes when the hard disk won’t mount and/or boot which can be for a variety of reasons but the two main ones are:
Hardware issue with the HD
Finder and/or System is munged up
You should boot your computer from your backup HD and check out the internal by running disk tools and seeing if you can get it mounted.
Hopefully you have a backup. If not… let me know.
Toshiba laptop 40gb hard drive making sound and showing message hard disk error, when i check all this i took with my laptop hard drive into hdrc recovery centre. Firstly i like term and condition of the company. They gave you some time for testing and recovery of your HDD. How does the problem occur on your hard drive they tell you, lif your HDD in a physical condition they permission to you for open your HDD. If your HDD under warranty or you need both data and hdd this type facilities also avliable here. I also need the same thing data and hdd both are that why i reply you. Now you need more information go down the website:www.hdrconline.com I want the hard drive back because my hdd under warrenty and it can be replace also.
best regaardsyscial condition and you
Beware, i upgraded my harddrive and found it dificult to replace the keypad back onto the casing, the clips just wouldn’t snap back in, after trying for a while i ended up bending the casing where the optical drive slot is and hence cd’s/dvd’s will not eject anymore. I may have to replace it now costing a fortune probably.
Hope this link works
/Macbook.jpg
Jeff: Are you sure you got the wires from the hard disk taped back on top of it correctly? Maybe there was a bulge that the keypad was resting on and that’s why it wouldn’t seat correctly.
My case is quite messed up from having dropped my computer yet I was able to get things back in place, twice now. But, I could easily see that not tucking the wires on top of the HD back into place correctly would cause a bulge.
Maybe you should take it apart again and check that out. Sorry this happened, let us know how it resolves itself.
Richard, thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I recently changed the hard drive of my macbook pro from 100GB to a Western Digital 250GB. Your instructions and the video were invaluable. Because of both, the whole exercise was fast and successful. It also saved me $150 - as this was the price the local Apple store wanted for the installation only.
Again, great web site and thank you very much!
Greetings from Europe
Michael: Fantastic news. Delighted to be of help. I’ll be very curious as to whether that big hard disk makes any more heat than the one you replaced. I considered that model but I wanted a 7200 RPM drive and one can’t have max speed and max size in these small format drives, yet.
Thanks for your report, glad it worked out. Always satisfying to do these things one’s self.
Hi!
I’m about to change my MacBook Pro’s hard drive, just to get better performance (from 200G 4200rpm to 200G 7200rpm), and I found this article really confirming (I have already done all the research I need, but a little more is never a bad thing). Great article, thanks!
Lauri, Great glad to be of help. It’s not hard. Just take your time and make little piles of screws with labels on them. Let us know how it all works out.
Apple sells a 15-inch MBP with a 7200rpm drive in it, now, so I don’t think heat is such a big problem. (Or I’m in for trouble: I bought the in-stock machine with the 5400rpm drive and am about to replace it with a 7200rpm Seagate.)
I used to buy 5411rpm IBM drives for my laptops when 3600 and 4200 were common. It makes a huge difference, and I would recommend it to anyone. (I had the fastest 12-inch Powerbook in the world when I upgraded it to 7200rpm before it was 24 hours old.) It’s just a pity that the Seagate 10K-rpm (!) laptop drive is only 73GB. If it did >=100GB, I would be all over it. Maybe that’s when you run into heat issues, lately.
Jim: I’m still not finding this 7200 rpm seagate any hotter than the 5400 rpm seagate I replaced it with. And, because it’s bigger OS X isn’t disk swapping as much which means things are actually cooler. I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade. Of course, had Apple offered the faster drive in the 15″ model when I bought mine I wouldn’t have been using Aperture yet and so, wouldn’t have had the need.
this article made me now decide to replace my 120gb harddisk to a seagate 200gb 7200rpm. I have never done such a thing. I am a bit concerned about what will happen when I start up the mbp with the new harddisk for the first time. There are no clear steps on what to do. I have 2 questions:
1. How do I do the backup, with what kind of software?
2. Which are the steps, after the replacement, when I restart the mbp for the first time.
When I have 2 clear answers I will do the upgrade. Thanks for all the information.
Piero: You didn’t read the other article leading up to this one (linked in article): MacBook Pro survives fall, sort of.
Outside of this procedure, you should be backing up your computer daily. If you don’t do that then this will be a wake up call to do it.
1. Get SuperDuper!
2 Get an external hard disk the size or bigger than your internal to backup, if you don’t have one, get a 200 gig drive so you can back up your new internal.
3. Do a complete back up and test it.
4. Install new drive.
5. Startup from your backup.
6. Use disk tools to initialize, partition, and set up the new internal drive.
7. Use SuperDuper! to restore (backup) to new internal drive.
8. Set startup to new internal drive.
9. Continue to back up new drive onto new external using SuperDuper and SmartBackup.
That’s it. And, read all of my articles and get the video I link to for the installation.
Good luck.
Hello Richard,
I realize you wrote this over a year ago, but I had a minor issue of a bit of a gap near my optical drive after replacing my harddrive.
But because of your wonderful article and links to the OWC video, I was able to disassemble my Mac (again), fix the issue and returned my MacBook Pro back to its original beautiful state.
Many thanks!
Kin: Great, glad to be helpful.
Update: I’ve just taken this machine apart yet again (third time) and put in a bigger although slower internal hard disk. The seagate 160 gig 7300 rpm drive I put in for Aperture performance was making the chassis too hot (it’s hot enough already) so I got a 250 gig hitachi 5300 rpm and put it in, putting the fast drive in a SATA external enclosure to use as a backup drive. So far so good.
However, I am noticing that the edges of my case are not a bit looser than they were before this last operation. My case was dropped so wasn’t in great shape anyway and my guess is there’s a limit to how many times I can mess with it before it completely falls apart. It’s current state will probably be it’s last state… I can see a new machine on the horizon…
hello,
tried to change the hard drive, but I accidentally untached the sata cabel and can’t retouch it anymore. however, macbook pro started but could not find a hdd. reopened again, fiddled around with the cabel, closed the mashine and then …… nothing anymore.
completely dead. no fan no notyhing. I am wondering what I did.
any suggestion wheteher I blew the logicboard ?? the only thing that is working is the battery charged until ful …:(
I know that this is very stupid but any constructive comment or suggestion would be much appreciated.
thanks
Rene: I doubt you blew the logic board but the HD connection supplies both power and data transfer so without it connected you’re dead in the water. I can’t say whether you need it connected to boot from an external firewire drive, which you might try if you could get power again (hold down option key with drive running).
I also don’t know how rough you were inside the machine; this stuff is very delicate and it’s possible you did some damage or forced something that didn’t want to be forced.
Do you live close to a place that fixes Macs should it come to that?
Hi Richard great tutorial you got there!!
Anyway I bought a replaceable HD and notice how you wrote it must be compatible and all that….I bought a Toshiba 2.5″ 5400 160GB one
do you know if Toshiba HD is compatible with MBP?
Also I have formated the new HD already in OSX so it will be bootable from blank blank? (I am just “upgrading” to a bigger HD the old one still works fine…actually its only 1/2 year old too and will use that as backup drive now =P)
Allen,
I’m sure Toshiba makes hard disks that are compatible with MacBook Pros, the question is, it is a SATA drive? The power supply and data connectors are different on the older ATA drives. Check that out before you open your computer.
As far as booting, you’ll want to have your external backup drive bootable so you can boot from it, then copy to the new, blank, internal drive once its in place.
The new drive I just put in my machine is running cooler than the 7300 rpm drive I had in it and I’m not noticing a huge speed hit so I’m glad I downgraded the speed and upgraded the space (250 gig).
Good luck Allen and just look into SATA and the backup-restore process with an external.
[…] I won’t bore you with gory details, except to say that I found a good bit of guidance from this dude’s blog. The ProcessOnce you open up the system and swap out the drives, you can set the old drive aside, […]
Thanks a lot richard! I will give it a try when i have time to really sit down and slowly do it carefully =)
Hey, just found your blog and it’s a complete life saver! I’m a computer science student and I’ve had my Intel MBP since I started last year. I’ve been running on OS X and XP in bootcamp perfectly the entire time. A day ago my HDD gave up and I’m frantically trying to get back in working order before I go back in the new year. Annoyingly the drive gave up in between backups so I’ve lost a bit of data on the Mac an PC sides. I only have one other external HDD which acts as a backup for the Mac and PC sides. Time machine was not enabled therefore I can’t restore from backup. Conceding defeat, I have to start afresh with a new drive. What I want to know is, can I boot to the Leopard installation disk and simply format the new drive using disk utility? If so, is there any advice or tips you would suggest when formatting the new drive. Also, as I run bootcamp, I could use a bit more extra space. Just how big can I go and what speed limitations should I take into account? Many Thanks!
Dean: How did you make the day old backup if you didn’t use Time Machine? If you used SuperDuper you can easily just copy that backup onto the new drive after you install and initialize it.
I’m running a hitachi 230 gig drive in this machine I just put in. 5400 rpm, works fine. I think that’s about as big as you can go in this form factor. The 7300 rpm drives are great and a real boost in performance but they do run a bit hotter and the machine is quite hot already.
When you run disk utility from Leopard it will format the drive as it should be to run on an Intel machine. I’m not running Leopard so I can’t tell you what’s different about the disk tools app on it vs the one on Tiger but it should be pretty straight forward for you.
Once you have the drive installed why not simply copy the backup back over it. No need to install Leopard from scratch unless your backup is no good.
Hi Richard
I followed all the instructions for my laptop, and when I turn it back on using the installation CDs it workd fine untill it gets to the choice of Hd screen and the problem is that it dosn’t find any HD.
What Should I DO?
Thanks in advance
Karim: So, you installed a new hard disk and you’re using the OS X installation CD to put a new system on it and when you put in the CD it doesn’t find a hard disk to put the system on? Is that it?
If that’s it then it’s possible that you didn’t get the cables pushed in all the way. Can you hear the new HD spin up when you turn the machine on? If not, it’s not getting any power and it’s a cable issue.
If you’ve already installed a system on the new HD but it won’t boot then something happened during your installation and it didn’t work. You need to do it again.
What kind of hard disk did you put in? Are you sure it’s compatible with the MacBook Pro?
I’m sorry this happened but don’t give up, just be patient and work through it, you’ll find the problem.
coupla quick things:
first: thanks for the guide, it is rather awesome
i am going to be replacing the HD in my brother’s MBP as it got a little smashed up.
i was wondering a couple things
one, is it possible to replace the banged up optical drive with another HD or is that not sata
two: is the drive standard sata, sata 3.0, or some other random thing, or does it nor matter
three: have you ever installed os X from an external CD/dvd drive? is there anything special i need to do to it first, other than hold down option at boot?
thanks again for an awesome guide!
~Fish
oh! also, do you know anything about restoring a 10.5 backup made on a powerpc to a 10.5 clean installation on an intel?
Hi Richard
If i mount the new hitachi 200gb 7200rpm in a macbook pro 15 inch
can i boot from a osx leopard disc as the machine is brand new and does not have anything saved to it
also is it easy to change the keyboard over on a macbook pro 15 inch as the machine has a us keyboard but i have a uk keyboard to fit into it
thanks
colin
Fish: I doubt you could put a SATA internal drive in instead of the optical drive. The chassis on the right side is quite different.
I don’t know about the different versions of SATA, I bought my drives from the same place, linked to above.
Yes, you should be able to boot from the OS X CD/DVD running on an external CD drive by holding down option key on startup and choosing that drive.
Colin: I don’t see why you can’t replace a brand new drive with a new one, then boot from the system DVD and restore the system. I’ve never done this but it makes sense that it should work. I’m curious why you’d want to replace an unused drive? Just for speed?
Good luck to you both.
My Macpro 15.4 2.33 fell and the case is dented and now will not boot. I am interested in replacing the case and the hard drive. I did not backup system to external. Can I start from the CD’s that came with my macpro and then format.
Ramon
Ramon: I don’t see why not. But, why aren’t you backing up your computer? Anyone with a Mac Pro doing serious things with their computer should do daily backups with SuperDuper! or if running Leopard, Time Machine.
Hey Richard!
I am also going to replace my harddisk in my macbook pro. I was thinking of buying a external hd, but after reading your post I changed my mind. Didn’t knew this was possible.
My eye felt on the Western Digital HD Scorpio/320GB 2.5″ SATA 5400rpm 8MB 1pk bulk. This is, i think, the biggest 2,5″ hd available right now for a fair price. It’s around 200 dollar (175 euro). I will not go for a 7200rpm version because of the heat issues. Does someone have any experience with this drive?
Thanks!
Phew: I don’t have experience with Western Digital except that a friend of mine put one in his MacBook and it failed in a year. That would give me pause with that brand.
I’ve had both Seagates (two) and now a Hitachi in this machine and they seem quite reliable, so far. My current Hitachi is a 5400 rpm 230 gig model that seems fine. You can’t go wrong with Seagate either.
Good luck with it, it’s not hard if you follow the directions and use the video.
Any comment on Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM for a 15″ MBP?
The heat might not be the case since the new 15″ MBP has an optional 200GB 7200 rpm hard drive offer if what apple offers is the reference.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Roozbeh: I had a Seagate momentum 7200 rpm drive in this box and it was definitely hotter than my current Hitachi 5400 rpm drive.
I can’t comment on the drive you’re asking about as I’ve not used it but I’d be careful. Also, does that particular drive work with all of OS X’s energy saver and sleep protocols? Check it out, make sure it does. If it prevented sleep your computer would melt!
What a tremendously helpful blog. Thank you for all the really useful information. I’ve just bought the WD 320Gb (before I read your comments), so fingers crossed. I’ve also bought a hard disk enclosure to pop my current 110Gb drive into when I replace it.
Question: is it possible to clone my current disk drive to the new 320Gb one using the enclosure and then swap the disks, so the 320Gb is ready to go as soon as I switch back on?
Thanks
Simon: Sure, that’s totally possible. Put the new WD in the enclosure, use disk tools to format/partition, name it, Use SuperDuper! to back up/clone your current internal onto it, then swap them.
Just make sure you keep track of startup disks during this process. Maybe name the new one in the enclosure something different, like “backup” and then rename it once it’s inside the MBP as the startup disk.
Once everything is working you’ll then have a nice backup system in place, just keep using SuperDuper! to update the external (that was your internal) until it can’t hold the new, larger contents of your new internal anymore. At that point if the WD is working out you might want to buy another one to put in the enclosure or buy another one and a second enclosure…
Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.
Thanks again Richard. It worked flawlessly. Your notes were really helpful. The video says you only need the Tork screwdriver for the second set of screws, but I needed them for the four screws holding the rubber bracers around the hard disk.
I also found a torch helpful, but then it was a gloomy day on Friday!
One mistake I did make was buying a USB enclosure rather than a Firewire. It’s taking up a valuable slot!
Hey Richard, I eventually got myself sorted out with a new drive and the whole replacement process was a breeze. All thanks to the video! As for my back up, I’m not actually using time machine right now as I tend to use bootcamp alot more than Leopard. As for backing up, I use a FAT32 external for storage for the mac and pc sides of the MBP and use batches to backup the important stuff automatically within each OS. Thanks for the help, I got back up and running just in time!
Simon: Right, I remember, the torx is needed for the shock mounts… oh well, one has it anyway. Yes, some good lighting is important. Don’t fret the USB enclosure unless you plan to leave the external plugged in all the time. If it’s just a daily thing just hot swap another USB device.
Dean: Delighted you got sorted.
Fish: You can put a HD in the Optical bay in the MBP, but you need one that fits, of course.
Here’s a site that sells drives for that purpose:
http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/
And a blog from someone (not me) who used it:
http://www.echeng.com/journal/2007/04/26/320gb-striped-array-raid-0-macbook-pro/
Thanks LSJ, that’s great information. I guess anything can be done.
Hi, I ordered seagate 160GB 7200rpm, going to change it with 80GB 5400rpm, I have a stupid question, I don’t want to keep the info from existing hard drive, when I’ll change it, I want to install Leopard, will I need to know something or it will boot from CD as it was when I bought it new? thank you for posting and video, actually, is it possible to download video, or just streeming view?
Dmitri: you can download the video, I did and I have it here.
Just boot from the Leopard CD and before you install it, choose Disk Tools from the Apple or File menu and set up the new HD. Leopard will not do that automatically, it expects to install itself onto a formatted Macintosh HD. You need to do that step before installing it and the Disk Tools utility is on the CD/DVD in one of the menus which you can get to after booting the computer from it. Good luck.
Thank you Richard,
I’ll get my new hard drive at the end of the week, so probably will do exchange on weekend, still didn’t find how to download video from: http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/installation.cfm
Dmitri, Click on the medium resolution video and let it completely stream onto your computer, you don’t have to watch it, just let the progress bar go all the way across.
Now click on the down-facing triangle on the right side of the progress bar and one of the choices should be “save” or something like that.
Let me know if that helps, or not.
Hey, thanks for the info - doing it tonight!
Wish me luck. Just wanted to let people know that there is a pretty good deal at radio shack on a set of screw drivers for electronics that includes the t6 torx driver. So far seems like a nice set. 14.99 and like 20 other bits.
Good luck Eric, let us know how it goes.
I have a 15,4″ MBP 2.33 Ghz laptop. I have read all the posts here and I find them helpfull indeed. I bought for my mack a cooling pad (not from here, but this is just similar). It really does a good job and the MBP is not so hot. My question is … Was too hot with the 7200 rpm drive? I want to upgrade and I am not sure if to buy the 200 GB Seagate 7200 rpm drive or a 5400 rpm 320 GB drive. I’d rather prefer speed instead of capacity storage but I am worried that my MBP will go too hot to be safe… Any suggestions?
Thanks a lot, you do a really great work Richard!
Cheers,
Bogdan
All good! Thanks again - i did forget to take two screws off the old hard drive and replace but i’ll have to hit that tomorrow night. I just wont jiggle it too much! Also - Make sure you use super duper even if you’re currently running leopard. I had only a upgrade leopard dvd and itwouldn’t let me reinstall and time machine was no good. Thank god i supered.
Now rocking a 200G 7200 - enough room to make some music!
PS - it was much easier than i thought it would be - just read the steps twice! And look at what you’re doing.
Bogdan: I felt my machine was too hot with the 7200 rpm drive but everyone is different and you may find yours is fine. I have mine up on a podium coolpad most of the time but I still found it very hot.
Eric: Right, it’s not hard but it’s useful to go slow, keep track of the screws, and make sure you do every step. Glad you’re through it.
I had an basic update in my macbook pro and after that the system called me for a restart. I did it and than, surprise: my macbook didint start. It goes to a black screen (like DOS screen) and gives me the message:
“Jan 27 13:18:53 launchd: com.apple.nibindd: existed abnormaly: Bad system call”
Any sugestions?! Thanks
Andre, this doesn’t sound hard disk related, you had a problem with a system update. It does happen. The best thing to do would be to start your computer from either a recent backup or the system CD that came with it and do a disk tools repair of your hard disk and repair permissions while you’re at it.
Richard…excellent post….and look at the long life….that staying power says you did a nice job….
am getting ready to do my 17″ macbookpro….installing 320GB Western Digital….I know you mentioned skepticism about WD, but, in my experience…they have been a better drive than Seagate (bought by Maxtor)
No one does 17″ macbookpro…..can only find 15″ instructions…have even asked OWC and iFixit so, even though it might be similar, it’s not identical…..
entering uncharted waters…..
if anyone knows of 17″ instructions…either text or video…please share
Stephen: I’m pretty sure that the 17″ chassis is the same. Same take apart and the HD is in the same place. Do let us know if there are differences once you get in there.
Good luck.
Just upgraded my Macbook pro 2.33 with a Western Digital 320GB Scorpio 5400RPM S150 8MB 2.5″. The drive is much quieter than the old drive.
Great guide. You saved me loads of time! Absolutely no problems encountered.
Bootcamp XP / Leopard installed no problem. VMWARE of multiple windows 2003 servers R2 work a dream too without boiling an egg on the outer casing!
Thanks Again!
Fantastic Paul, thanks for letting me know. My Hitachi is also working fine: quiet, cool, lots of space, fast enough for me.
WOW much more details than in my video :-) http://www.vimeo.com/660044
good job.
Thanks Max, your video is great too, it all helps give people confidence to do it themselves.
I did not realize that it will get such attention (if i knew i would hit front page of TUAW i would put more effort in creating this) :-) i will put up a link to Your guide to confidence them even more –> cause everybody deserve more space (for their torrents, xxx, ripped music and of course HD raw material ;-))
Thanks max, I appreciate it. Hey, your video is great, it’s a nice compliment to my instructions as it gives a nice overview of what folks are getting into.
The inside of the 17″ MBP 2.4 is a little different.
There are 4 screws rather than 3 holding on the memory cover.
The cluster of wires beside the hard disk is on the left rather than on the right. But the two screws you remove are still on the right. Also, the bracket you remove to free the disk is not connected to the disk itself, which instead has 4 lugs (two with rubber gaskets).
The only place I almost had trouble was removing the SATA ribbon connector from the drive; there was a piece of tape going from the top of the drive, around the SATA connector, and onto the bottom of the drive, and I didn’t realize at first that it was stuck on the bottom, and wondered why I couldn’t get the connector to come off!
The video at OWC is great and the notes here were a nice amplification. Took me about 45 minutes, going slowly and carefully, after which I booted from my USB drive SuperDuper backup. It’s NICE to see 298 GB in the disk info!
Jim: Great news, and thanks for the update on the 17″ chassis. I wasn’t sure where in that larger area left of the touchpad the drive sat and it sounds like there’s some dead air space between the outside of the drive and the left edge of the computer. That air space might be why Apple is more likely to put a 7300 rpm drive in the 17″ as it has more space to dissipate the heat.
Glad you got through it and yes, SuperDuper! rules. I don’t know how anyone can live without it.
There’s actually not much space there and they’ve shoved the wires and the components to which they’re attached in there too. But with the higher density of the 320GB, bits are still flying past the head faster than before, so even a 5400 is fine for me. Seems OK.
I ran into one little issue (not sure what it’s related to) where my Little Snitch configuration appeared to have been lost (so I have to re-train it but not too big a deal).
Jim: I’m not sure what “snitch” is although I sort of remember something by that name… a Finder extension that gave more info on files.
Sometimes low level utils like this get munged in backup/restore, they’re still there but not installed and reinstalling them generally solves it. I’ve not had this happen in any of my HD replacements (that I know of) but I could see it happening. Actually, I did: gmail notifier wasn’t installed correct during my last HD upgrade after I used SuperDuper! to copy onto the new HD. I had to reinstall it.
Little Snitch effectively = ZoneAlarm for Mac OS X. It tells you every time an application tries to connect to the network, and allows you to approve or deny that application’s connection based on any or all of destination, port etc and for the current session, forever, etc.
As a Windows switcher and ZoneAlarm long-time user, I wouldn’t be without such a tool.
Thanks Jim, different from what I thought it was.
Richard - my MBP’s Fujitsu drive suffered node failures last week that were not correctable by software utilities. As the drive would power-down after anywhere from 30secs to 45 mins of use (even in target mode), I think it was hardware related.
I’ve lost data before from neglecting backup routines (you’d think I’d learn… but no, no backups this time either).
Luckily, I was able to recover most of my data by running the MBP in target mode and copying files. Using your instructions, I then ordered a new drive off eBay and purchased the needed tools at RadioShack.
Once I had all the needed items, after a half-hour or so the deed was done and I was formatting the drive. It worked flawlessly. I had all-but-resigned myself to paying $$$ to ship my MBP back to Apple.
Oh, and I’m now running SuperDuper too. I will never be caught like that again!
Thank You!!!
Tony: Fantastic news and congratulations on doing the open heart surgery yourself. Don’t forget to run SuperDuper! every day, even if you’ve done no work. Just get into the habit and it will become second nature. Thanks for your report and again, congrats.
Hi Richard,
just wanted to thank you for your excellent step-by-step procedure. The hardest part was finding a Torx 6 screwdriver :)
cheers,
Davidem
Davidem: Glad it worked out for you. Yes, finding the right small screwedrivers isnt’t easy. I just clicked on my link to a set sold by OWC in the post above and its sold out. Maybe I’d better find another source. Thanks.
I have an external 300GB Firewire HD. I just ran SuperDuper to “Copy all files” over to the external drive. Looks like a great program. I will then be discarding the old 80GB OEM drive and installing a 320GB Seagate Spin M6 drive (SATA).
Q: when I restart after the install, should I just restart holding down the option key and SELECT to start from the 300GB external firewire drive and then restore to the NEW 320GB Seagate? OR — in the alternative — should I restart with the new (and very blank) drive installed from my OS X Leopard disk and THEN restore from the external 300GB firewire drive to the new drive?
Thanks in advance.
BW
Bryce: Congrats on both doing the upgrade and on discovering SuperDuper!, arguably one of the best Macintosh applications of any kind out there.
Good question and of course, either option you describe will work.
What I would do, however, before you remove and/or erase the internal drive is this.
Once the backup is completed:
1. Use system preferences to set startup to the external backup drive.
2. Restart the computer, making sure that the drive actually boots. It generally takes a bit longer the first time you boot from a new backup but just be patient until the machine starts up. Then, choose restart and do it again, making sure the external boots the computer quickly and easily.
3. Once you’ve booted from the backup drive, do a quick spot check to make sure everything is there. SuperDuper! is highly reliable but hey, it’s software, trust your own eyeballs.
4. Now that you’ve got your machine primed to start up from the external, shut down and do the major surgery, replacing the internal on the MacBook Pro.
5. When done, connect the external, boot the machine, use Disk Utility to format and prepare the new internal drive, then use SuperDuper! top copy the external over the new internal.
6. Once all of that is done use System Prefs to set startup to the new internal drive.
7. Reboot the machine from the new drive. Again, it may take a bit of time just like the external, let it come up. Once it’s up, choose Restart again and let it boot again, making sure it comes up smoothly and easily.
8. You’re now set.
9. I’d make one adjustment in SuperDuper!. Set it up to do a “Smart Backup” which will just examine the files that are updated and replace them. I also skip the rebuilding of permissions as I do that myself every once in a while.
This is great Bryce, you’re all set. Now you just have to remember to back up every day and you’re golden.
Congratulations.
Great article!
Helped me a lot. In 40 minutes I exchanged the drives. Now got 320Gb on a WD Scorpio drive.
I don’t notice too much difference between the previous 7200rpm seagate and this 5400rpm WD.
The only thing that went wrong were those notches above the superdrive. 1 broke… It seems that it was clued to the casing.
Preparation took much more time! About a whole evening on checking the new drive (0-erase test) and superduper-ing the Seagate onto the WD. But after that the WD instantly worked in the MBP.
Now I have to figure out how the move the bootcamp partition…
Thanks,
Vincent
Bootcamp have been moved also. Came across a great tool for this:
http://www.twocanoes.com/winclone/
Vincent
Vincent: Fantastic, thanks for your report and the link to the bootcamp support page. I’m delighted that so many people are going ahead and doing this upgrade themselves, it’s not hard and in the process we all learn a bit more about our computers. Hopefully whatever Apple replaces the current MacBook Pro with won’t be too different, or, will have an easy way to upgrade the HD just like the MacBook does. Time will tell.
Luckily we don’t exchange drives on a weekly bases…
Vincent
Vincent: Speak for yourself… I’m on my 3rd drive! ;)
this operation is all a lot easier if you have access to another mac with the same sort of architecture inside. it’s also a lot easier if you keep the same apps & accopunts on the two machines as I do, so that they are sort of like working backups for each other. any case, I found this a lot easier than using a “dumb” external drive during the migrations.
I have a week-11 MBP 15″ & an intel mini. both of them came with 80GB drives, & I managed to find a pair of toshiba 160GB/5400 sata drives for about 120UKP including delivery.
the company’s name has “laptop” in it, & drives is pretty much all they sell…. :-) top notch, eh?
so…. I copied off the stuff I wanted to keep from the mini, which in any case had started life as a clone of the MBP (all the same apps, accounts, everything) & took it’s little lid off. I should mention that I’m a broadcast engineer, so not afraid of this sort of surgery, but even I was surprised how quick the operation was- 35 minutes. then I started the MBP in firewire target mode & used it to boot the mini from, used disk utility to prepare the new drive, then ran carbon-copy to “restore” the MBP (apps, accounts, the whole lot) onto the mini again. this took about two hours.
well, you can probably guess the rest- the MBP’s drive exchange also took about 35 minutes, & then all I had to do was clone the mini back into the MBP, using disk utility, carbon copy & the firewire trick in reverse. I actually turned in during this 2nd “dub” & checked the machines when I woke up- all fine.
so now I have two almost identical machines (besides the actual “stuff”, so all the apps & accounts are the same, but not the pictures/audio/emails & so forth that one accumulates) & two almost identical spare 80GB drives, which still could be used in an emergency to recover apps, data & so on. & I keep folders on an external f/w drive where this accumulated stuff can be backed up for both machines.
hope this is useful to someone.
duncan.
Duncan, Sounds like you did well.
I’m not sure I agree that it’s easier to have a second machine as a clone. If you use SuperDuper! to clone the internal hard disk on your MacBook Pro onto a “dumb” external drive, that external drive can boot your computer and act as the internal, it’s a clone. So, it’s not so dumb really as it has a complete working system and all of your documents on it. A clone is a clone is a clone.
The nice thing about this is, if you have a clone and your machine dies, you can simply buy a new machine and use SuperDuper! to copy over the internal drive with your backup and you’re done. If the new machine comes with a later system than you had on your now dead machine Apple makes it easy to use migration assistant to move everything from the external drive to the new machine keeping the new system intact. I’ve done this during the last two machine upgrades I’ve made with absolutely no problem.
Many ways to skin a cat, or back up a Mac. Now we have TimeMachine and Time Capsule… both in my future no doubt.
Little too risky for me. I have Macbook Pro Case if anyone whats to check it out.
Interesting Alison. Do you make those cases?
Thanks for your article and comment followups Richard. I came close to buying a 200GB 7200rpm replacement for my MBP, but then saw the 5400rpm 250GB drives (both seagate). I was trying to decide between faster speed or slightly more storage. Your posts have sealed the deal for me, since my MBP currently runs pretty hot as well.
Alan: I’m pretty happy with my 5400 rpm Hitachi as it does run cooler than the 7300 rpm drive I had in this thing before it. However, this particular mechanism seems to make some funky noises when it wakes from sleep. It may be the chassis of my computer which has been through hell and back (dropped, etc.) but I’m not sure. The drive seems fine otherwise, just not sure about that sound.
But, no matter what brand you choose, 5400 rpm does seem to run cooler in a 15″ MacBook Pro. Not sure about the 17″ model as there would be more room in there for things to breath.
My 17 ran pretty hot with the original 5400 drive in it. I’ve heard people say that the WD 250GB scorpio (the one i’ve just ended up installing less than 10 minutes ago!!) runs a little cooler.
Looks good so far!
Alan, good to know, thanks for the report. Let us know if you have issues with it although I doubt you will.
I just did this as well with a My Passport Essential 320GB WD drive. I found it priced at $169, so I had to give it a go as opposed to just buying the drive and finding a separate enclosure for my internal that was being replaced. It took about 15 minutes to remove the hard drive from the enclosure once I figured out how it was put together. I was able to put the enclosure back together with no physical evidence on the exterior of the case, but I did break of a few little plastic tabs that help hold the case together. But, it all stays nice and tight, so no worries. The question I have for those of you that used the WD 320 GB drive is did yours have a jumper installed on the drive? I’m thinking they probably didn’t. But, for mine out of the usb enclosure, there was a jumper on pins 3 and 4. I found a support document on wd’s site that say this is for RPS, or Reduced Power Spinup. Supposedly their way of making sure it is able to be powered over usb in most machines that limit power over usb. Unfortunately, I did not research all this until after I had everything closed back up. I made the assumption that it was best to leave it as set from the factory. I’m running now off the new drive, with the jumper in place. I know from another support doc that start to “Drive Ready” is 4.5 seconds under standard, and 5.05 seconds in RPS, Spinup current is 900 mA under Standard and 850 mA under RPS, and duration at peak spinup current is 800 ms under standard and 125 ms under RPS. I’m torn between the power saving, start up time loss, and opening the case back up to remove the jumper. Any thoughts? One other question, in system profiler my drive speed is listed as 1.5 Gigabit. The drive specs are 3.0 Gigabit, so I am wondering if that is the limit of the macbook pro hardware, so it defaults down to sata I, or if the jumper has something to do with this as well?
Thanks for your feedback, and I’m loving all the space…
Erik: Glad you did the upgrade but I can’t help you with the jumper question as none of the drives I’ve bought have any jumpers on them. Maybe another poster…
Ok, I have a 15″ MBP. I had pretty mch maxed out the 160 gig HD in it so I picked up a hitachi 7200 RPM model. I used the disk copy utility in leopard to copy everything from the old drive to the new one. I then swapped out the old one and put the new one in.. that was pretty easy. BUT the new drive takes FOREVER to boot (and I am not patient with that), and my aps dont seem to be running any faster. Did I goof by not using a utility that clones?? I found this site after the fact… but maybe you can get me on the right track before I just put my old drive in and return the new one.
Tony: I’m not quite sure where the problem is as I’ve not used disk copy in this way. It also might be the way you erased and prepared the new drive.
Are you sure the new drive is fully compatible with your MacBook Pro?
The only other thing I can think of is that Disk Copy does not correctly lay down the boot blocks on the drive. If that’s the case then you might use a program like SuperDuper to copy the old drive over the new one again.
I take it old drive is in an enclosure.
1. Connect old drive with working system.
2. Start up from old drive.
3. Erase internal (new) drive with disk utility making sure to do it correctly: correct partitioning for Intel mace, etc.
4. Use SuperDuper! to copy old drive to new.
5. Start up from new drive. The first time you start up things will be slower but subsequent startups should be normal.
Let me know if you try this and it helps. Good luck.
thanks richard, I will give that a try
Does anyone know if there is anyway to get hard drive upgrade without voiding the warranty? I have AppleCare with over 2 years left on it and don’t wanna waste it. Will Apple upgrade if for me if I take a drive in? Or could I go to an Apple Certified Techncian/Repair centre?
You can certainly have Apple perform the upgrade for you if you like. It will cost considerably more.
I have AppleCare too and I’ve made two claims on it post me doing the hard disk replacement myself. It only voids the warranty if you make a big mistake and have to have them fix it. Do it right and you’re all set.
RE: 107 Erik
I just did this as well with a My Passport Essential 320GB WD drive..
Question for ERik> Or anyone else that knows..
How did you open the “My Passport Essential 320GB WD” I have one and still trying to figure it out on HOW TO OPEN Case?
Any help…
Thanks
Joe: So you didn’t do the upgrade yet but you want to use a drive inside an external case and need help opening the case, right? I’m not sure what your question is from your post.
Those final notes really helped; I recently got a 320Gb replacement drive, and I just couldn’t figure out why OS.X kept saying my MBP couldn’t boot from the disk.
Damnit Intel GUID…
Thanks for sharing your notes, they helped alot! :D
Deetex: Yeah, it’s less than clear and it should be automatic. However, there are still people who share backup drives between Intel and PPC machine so need the other partition schemes.
Oh well, at least you got it right in the end. Glad to help.
Joe, here’s how to take the western digital drive apart.
The top and bottom are one piece connected by the rounded over side of the enclosure. The three flat sides are part of a tray that the hard drive rests in. I slipped a credit card around the perimeter of the hard drive tray just enough to separate the plastic a bit, and was able to slide the tray out. I did end up breaking a little of the internal plastic grooves, but I left what I could in place. The top and bottom do put a bit of pressure on the tray, almost clamping down on it, so the tray is a tight fit. Once you wiggle the tray out about a 1/4 inch, it should slide out pretty easy. Just go slow, and you shouldn’t mess up the groves that the tray slides in on to much. Mine went back together without any visible markings on the exterior of the enclosure… Let me know if you need more details… Once you do get it open and remove the hard drive, you probably should remove the jumper that is on the drive. That will disable the low power spinup feature that wd drives have to ensure use over a variety of usb ports. I made the mistake of closing my mackbook pro up before I researched what the jumper was for, and still have to open my macbook pro back up to remove the jumper. It is working fine as is, but I think it will perform a little faster on spinup with the jumper removed. Good luck, you will enjoy all the new space.
[…] machine was out of warranty, so I could have fixed it myself, but life is too short for that. And since it was the company’s machine, not mine, I really […]
Hello,
Anyone having a recommendation for a large HD (750GB or up if possible) that is not noisy for my MacBook Pro?
Thanks a lot,
Helmut
I didn’t know one could get these small drives in that capacity (yet).
[…] remove the jumper before putting the hard drive in. If you want to know more about the RPS mode, see comment #107 by Erik on this MBP disassembly blog post, as well as this official “Reduced Power Spinup Info […]
I just bought my MBP a little over two weeks ago. I maxed out the memory and upgraded to the hitachi 200 gig 7200 rpm drive. The video was invaluable. My question, I still have a slight gap over the slot for the optical drive and have done everything I can think of and can’t seem to get it to “snap” into place for that clean factory look. Everything is functional and I have loaded stuff on the new hard drive, yet that gap bothers me and I am wondering if I pressed too hard and have bent it or something. I removed the keyboard top twice and the result is the same. everything else is tight, except the front portion over the optical slot. any suggestions? Oh, super duper worked like a charm. thanks.
Mike: I know exactly what you’re talking about and there are sometimes a few of those snaps that don’t pop back into place. I would guess that if you put some firm pressure on the area, both on the top deck and bottom, squeezing firmly in a few different places you’re going to hear that snap. I doubt you can hurt the case or the optical drive by doing this but do it carefully.
The only other issue is whether you bent the tabs on the top deck when you removed it so one or two aren’t going down into their wells correctly. If that’s the case, take it apart yet again and make sure they’re straight, or, that they look like all the other tabs.
I’ve now done this procedure four times and I’ve yet to get this deck snapping going on in a way that makes me confident. The machines aren’t really made to be taken apart numerous times through this route, at least not by the likes of us.
Good luck man, let me know how it goes.
Richard,
My 17″ macbook pro hd died today. Need a replacement and saw a good deal here. Any idea how I would find out if this specific drive is compatible with my mac? Do most standard 2.5 drives work?
WESTERN DIGITAL WD3200BEVT SCORPIO 320GB INTERNAL SERIAL ATA-300 5,400 RPM 8MB NOTEBOOK 2.5″ HARD DRIVE
Eric: it seems to be the right kind of drive (2.5″ SATA) so I would think so.
The important thing to scour the web for is whether Western Digital drives can take advantage of Apple’s power conservation and sleep routines. If so it would seem like you’re good with that one.
Richard,
Thanks for the advice. After sitting for a day or so, I went back, looked at my MBP, tried gently pressing down and I did indeed hear the “Snap” Now all is well with the world. The Hitachi Travelstar 200 gig that is in my MBP now, i noticed runs a tad bit warm, not too noticeable, but the performance coupled with the memory max out is certainly worth it. What I like about the Hitachi upgrade kit is the hard drive enclosure you get, very solid. True the software is not Mac compatible, but downloading and using SuperDuper, everything worked as promised and the old hard drive sits in a rugged case. thanks again for all you do and this board with invaluable tips, suggestions and help. Keep it up brother! :)
Thanks Mike. Remember, we’re all doing it by adding to this and other threads. It’s my experience coupled with yours that makes it worthwhile.
Enjoy your new copious hard disk and don’t fill it up too soon!
I have replaced my HD with a Toshiba 320 GB, and everything worked fine.
It took me abut 30 minutes. My recomendation is to buy a an external HD case, so you can install the old HD.
Before changing the HD, install Carbon Copy Cloner in the old HD.
Once you have replaced the HD, then start the computer with the Option key pressed and the old HD connected via the external case USB.
Start the MBP with the external HD. Run Utility disk and mke the OS partition in the new HD. Then run Carbon Copy Cloner and clone the old HD onto the new one, and thats it.
Now you can start the computer with the new drive.
I have to say that my new drive is slightly slower than the old one.
Good luck.
Chevi: great that you did the “operation.” I take it you didn’t read my post as I also layed out a process for doing this task, quite easy.
I’m sorry your new drive is slower than your old one. Do you know the RPM speed of the old vs. the new? If the new is supposed to be faster then maybe something’s wrong? Check it out.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks for mentioning GUID! I never even heard of GUID.
I used the OWC video guide for changing the hardware, and was looking for formatting tips for the software (I used an intermediate Firewire drive to store the data for the transition, put the MacBook Pro in Firewire Target Mode, and used another computer for copying the data).
Rob: Glad to help. Yes, GUID is a bit obscure if you ask me.
Richard,
I just returned from Pa doing a video gig and with the new hard drive in my MBP, (old 160 5400 drive) and the new hitachi 200 gig, 7200 drive. I noticed that the MBP seems to run hotter and when creating Font pages in Final Cut Express 3.5 Live Type, the MBP freezes and will not save work created. I do a hard shutdown, let it cool and then all is well till it heats up again. I was told that with serial ata drives, because of the faster data tranfer, you don’t really need a 7200 rpm drive, for the 5400 sata can keep up just fine. Also, when using super duper to clone my drive, I must have not included the GUID as a partition, for when I update my MBP, it will not install updates for the MBP to help it run better and be more stable. I keep getting the GUID message. Any thoughts on this and have you run across anyone else having heat issues with a 7200 drive installed inside. Or is this all do to the fact with my cloned drive and missing the GUID partition and not be able to download updates for my MBP. Appreciate any insights and help. thanks again for your invaluable help and knowledge.
Mike: As I posted elsewhere, my machine got too hot with a 7200 RPM drive and I went back to a 5400 RPM drive. I did this at the same time I moved from Aperture to Lightroom. Aperture really wanted the faster drive but I made a strategic decision that I wanted a MacBook Pro I could live with more than I wanted Aperture running on it.
The GUID thing is well documented and you ought to copy your machine off, repartition using GUID, then clone back if you can.
Richard,
Thank you sir for your wisdom. I apologize for missing your post on that matter. I have kept the original hard drive from my MBP intact in an external case, all safe and sound. I will begin the retro fit so as to have a stable, less hot MBP. I guess I got caught up in wanting that extra ummph. But, with my e-sata cable, and my express card with e-sata slots, I think the 200 gig drive will serve me well. the transfer rate is quite fast and being in a smaller case, portable. All in all, a lesson well learned, but then this is how we get better and in the end, here, can help others with similar situations. Again, sir, thank you for your time here, which many others can testify has been such a help and a haven for a good sigh of relief, for the answers are here. :)
Mike, actually, the instructions for doing the upgrade are at the top of this comment list, in the actual post above. Not everyone does it the same way but the GUID issue is one that anyone considering this should be aware of.
And, if one is sharing a drive between Intel and PPC Macs and doesn’t need that drive to start the Intel machine up, the non-GUID Macintosh file system radio button is the one to choose.
These transitions can be bumpy as was the one between 68000 processors and PPC (fat binary installs and such) but just a bit of understanding can save many headaches.
Sounds like you’ve got things under control, good luck with the new drive.
I need to install a new hard drive in my MacBook Pro. (More capacity) I have everything backup on Time Capsule. Is it as simple as putting the new drive in the MacBook Pro, installing System 10, giving the machine the correct name, then telling the Time Capsule to “restore?”
Ed: I think so, but I’ve never done it as I don’t use Time Machine yet nor do I have a Time Capsule (yet).
If you have a third hard disk maybe the best thing to do is experiment and tell Time Machine to restore onto it, just as a test before you do the real thing.
Of course, if you don’t erase the internal you pull out you’ve always got that as a backup in case things don’t work out.
Let me know how it works Ed, at some point I’d like to start using Time Machine.
I will let everyone know what happens….just as soon as a screw up the courage to try it.
Ed: It’s not hard, no need to have a stiff drink first. Watch the video, take your time, have fun with it.
Sure wish it was a Firewire connection. With 90 gigs, this will take a while…even with ethernet. Thanks for the encouragement, Richard.