HDD swap in mbp(anyone here actually done one?)

[southpaw17]

I've seen a lot of talk around here ABOUT putting a bigger hard drive in a mac book pro, bu have you or anyone you know actually attempted to do so?
I'm ready to give it a go, but would like to hear if anyone actually has.

 

[lancestraz]

Would the 15" C2D MBP overheat if you put a 7,200 RPM HDD in it? As opposed to the 5,400 RPM HDD you get from Apple.

 

[Demon Hunter]

FYI...

If you replace the hard drive, keep in mind that the MacBook Pro was not meant to be opened. The aluminum enclosure will warp slightly. If a small gap (1-2mm) is going to bother you, you may want to reconsider this upgrade.

 

[AlBDamned]

FYI...

If you replace the hard drive, keep in mind that the MacBook Pro was not meant to be opened. The aluminum enclosure will warp slightly. If a small gap (1-2mm) is going to bother you, you may want to reconsider this upgrade.

Why would it warp?

 

[Demon Hunter]

The top case is held firmly in place by a set of tabs. If you take it off, the bottom case bends outward slightly. At least the old PowerBooks did.

 

[Felldownthewell]

Would the 15" C2D MBP overheat if you put a 7,200 RPM HDD in it? As opposed to the 5,400 RPM HDD you get from Apple.

It shouldn't. My MBP CD has 100gb 7200rpm HDD and it dosen't overheat. Unless the C2D is considerably hotter than the CD you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[lancestraz]

It shouldn't. My MBP CD has 100gb 7200rpm HDD and it dosen't overheat. Unless the C2D is considerably hotter than the CD you shouldn't have a problem.

On average, what temps do you get?

The top case is held firmly in place by a set of tabs. If you take it off, the bottom case bends outward slightly. At least the old PowerBooks did.

Apple could have changed the design since the PowerBooks.

Edit: Found this.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Whatever, just giving a heads up. If you don't believe me look it up yourself.

 

[brand]

keep in mind that the MacBook Pro was not meant to be opened

So how does Apple perform maintenance on them then. I highly doubt Apple would design a product that they would have to damage to work on.

 

[Demon Hunter]

So how does Apple perform maintenance on them then. I highly doubt Apple would design a product that they would have to damage to work on.

They make no promises it will come back perfect. Machines come back from Apple with scuffs, scratches and marks all the time.

It only gets really bad if you get it repaired 3-5 times or something. This is what happened to my 15" PowerBook.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

I've changed the hard drive in my MBP numerous times (5). Everyone thinks it should warp, but in my experience, it hasn't at all. I've gotten new hard drives, swapped out old ones, you name it, haven't had any problems. Takes about 5-7 minutes from start to finish.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

They make no promises it will come back perfect. Machines come back from Apple with scuffs, scratches and marks all the time.

thats the fault of the people at the Apple store, though. That can happen on any computer sent back. Granted, they should be more careful, but its not the fault of the computer's design.

 

[Demon Hunter]

thats the fault of the people at the Apple store, though. That can happen on any computer sent back. Granted, they should be more careful, but its not the fault of the computer's design.

I stand corrected.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

I stand corrected.

if the people there are damaging your computer, talk to the manager and try a different store. I've done a couple of days in an Apple store, and i took the best care of the computer as i could, but sadly, there are some who don't.

 

[Faye]

I recently replaced mine with a 200Gb 4200RPM drive. Fits and works perfectly.


Faye

 

[screensaver400]

I recently replaced mine with a 200Gb 4200RPM drive. Fits and works perfectly.


Faye

How does the speed compare to the stock drive? Do you notice a difference?

 

[TheSunmiester]

Also replaced mine, not too difficult, just be sure to use the right tools and follow the instrucions in http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/
i have a 17" C2D and it is different from the 15" but close enough. the HDD doesn't screw into the any brackets, instead there are studs that screw into the HDD and the studs slide into grommets that are attached to the chassis, there is a bracket holding the right side of the HDD in place, this was the only really tricky part as the instructions here were different for me, i had to study the way it came out prior to doing it.
Oh, when i put it back together there was no warping. just rememeber to be careful and don't force anything.

 

[TaylorB]

Would updating your hard drive (through an Apple Certified place [Comp USA]) on my MacBook Pro cause a littel gap above where the disc inserts and to the left of that?

 

[b1NARY73]

I've changed the hard drive in my MBP numerous times (5). Everyone thinks it should warp, but in my experience, it hasn't at all. I've gotten new hard drives, swapped out old ones, you name it, haven't had any problems. Takes about 5-7 minutes from start to finish.

You can seriously do it that fast in a Macbook Pro?!!! I would expect that in a macbook since it was meant to be user replaceable....but a MBP!!!??!! Do mine then!

 

[61132]

I just upgraded my mbp to a 200gb 4200rpm toshiba drive, I'm lovin the extra space! Really easy to install too!

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Would updating your hard drive (through an Apple Certified place [Comp USA]) on my MacBook Pro cause a littel gap above where the disc inserts and to the left of that?

When you type on your MPB, the HDD is under your left palm, and the superdrive under your right. There wouldn't be any reason why it would make a gap.

 

[Faye]

How does the speed compare to the stock drive? Do you notice a difference?

I had a 5400 RPM drive before, so it's a little slower. Not badly though. It will depend what you are doing and whether it involves lots of disk access.


Faye

 

[Faye]

When you type on your MPB, the HDD is under your left palm, and the superdrive under your right. There wouldn't be any reason why it would make a gap.

It might just be that the case wasn't carefully fitted back together. I definitely made a better job of it this time, than I did when I replaced the LCD.

 

[Squonk]

Warranty...

So, since opening up the MBP will void the warranty, I guess that means I might as well not buy AppleCare on the MBP since I plan to upgrade the drive myself. I was planning on buying a refurb to keep cost down. The flip side is to buy a new one, customer configure it with the drive and then buy AppleCare.

Dang that changes the price quite a bit!

MBP 15" C2D 2.13 refurb 1599 + tax
+ drive from new egg $150(ish)
+ 1GB RAM $125 (ish)
* no AppleCare since I'd void it anyway
= 1874 + tax (on 1599 = ~$96)
== $1,970

VS

MBP 15" C2D 2.13 new 1999
+ 160GB drive from apple $100
+ 1GB RAM from apple $175 (yeah, I could still do this myself)
+ AppleCare $349
= 2623 + tax (on entire price = ~$158)
== $2,780

So, the cost difference for me to have AppleCare on the config that I want would be $810.

Yikes. Is that worth it? What do you think?

At the price of $2,780, I'm tempted to wait for the next rev in hopes of:
A) They include a 160GB or 200GB drive in the default config, or
B) There is a form factor change with a drive replacement similar to the MB that would not void the warranty.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

You can seriously do it that fast in a Macbook Pro?!!! I would expect that in a macbook since it was meant to be user replaceable....but a MBP!!!??!! Do mine then!

Lol, no prob man. Once you've done it a few times, it gets quite easy. You know exactly what screws to undo in what order, how to take the keyboard cord off, move the IDE cable, pop the HD out, new one in, etc. First time I did it, it took like 20 minutes, now I can almost do it with my eyes closed I guess I'm a fickle guy when it comes to different hard drives

Of course, if my two 160 Hitachi hard drives from Newegg didn't fail, I probably wouldn't have to swap as much, lol. What's weird is that both times Onyx was the program that started the hard drive error problems, messing up numerous volumes, deleting files, etc. Don't use it anymore now; because I'm getting sick of swapping hard drives! LOL!

P.S. To everyone that keeps saying opening the MBP violates the warranty: If you keep the original hard drive that came with the MBP and put it in before you bring it in for repair, how are they ever going to tell if you've swapped the original hard drive out or not? I mean, if I have problems, I'll just swap the original 100 gb hd that came in the MBP...there's no way to tell if I've done anything or not? At least that's the case on my machine...can't see any visible discrepancies between the system now and when I got it?