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MacBook hard drive

W

wctaiwan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2006
19
0
So my MacBook (Rev. A Core Duo, base model, no upgrades) froze system-wide today, after a forced restart, the screen showed a flashing question mark, and then there came the dreaded ticking noise of death. Apple Hardware Test returned no problems, and I couldn't make the computer boot from the hard drive instead of the install DVD no matter what I did. The Disk Utility on the install DVD couldn't even find the drive, and after a PRAM reset failed to make any difference, I determined my hard drive is dead - after less than one year and a month (I bought it during June last year).

I did not purchase AppleCare, a decision I now slightly regret (only slightly because I know I couldn't, and can't afford the US$250 price tag). I perfomed a backup recently, so I don't really care if I can retreive data from the hard drive. Now I have a few questions:

1. How much is it for me to go to Apple and get them to replace the hard drive for me, without warranty?

2. What are the exact vendor and model of the MacBook stock hard drive? Is there a separate warranty for it that might still be valid?

And if I have to purchase a new hard drive and replace it myself, what would you guys recommend? Would the replacement process be difficult / risky for a normal person? From my understanding I can use any 2.5 inch SATA drive (oh yeah, are the newer drives compatible with the MacBook?), is that correct?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

wctaiwan
 
Might be cheaper for you to buy a Western Digital Passport, I got the 160GB one and popped open the case to find a notebook SATA drive inside and I found it for $90, easy install.
 
Your stock hard drive has 1 year Apple warranty and no manufacturer warranty - that was the deal Apple made (just like every other computer manufacturer) when they contract for hard drive supply. It reduces the cost of the component by $3 - $5.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Now I'm planning on getting either of these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136099
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822153030

I'm leaning slightly towards the WD since the MacBook's stock hard drive (which broke, for me) seems to be a Fujitsu according to this picture in one of the iFixit guides, and also other people I've asked seem to like WD.

And also, would all 2.5 inch SATA hard drives have the same layout that would work with the MacBook (i.e. are the locations for the power and the data connectors the same)?

Any further suggestions?

wctaiwan
 
wctaiwan said:
And also, would all 2.5 inch SATA hard drives have the same layout that would work with the MacBook (i.e. are the locations for the power and the data connectors the same)?

Any further suggestions?

wctaiwan
Click to expand...
All the SATA 2.5 inch drives have the same power/data connections.

I am quite satisfied with the Seagate 160 gig , 5400 rpm HD from newegg. 5 year warrantee and very quite operation.

WD would be my second choice, but it wouldn't be that one from inside the Western Digital Passport. I think it has a smaller cache, 2 mb vs 8 mb. and taking it out of the external case would make me think you void the warrantee do so.
 
I have a similar problem. My computer froze while having safari open so i rebooted and now it refuses to boot in OSX. I have bootcamp so it just boots up in windows. After i rebooted from windows now windows wont start up. I am pissed about this because come on apple contract someone that can make a hard drive last more than a year. I havent tried reinstalling from the OSX disk b/c I don't have access to one right now but I will try that before I go out and get a hard drive.
 
MacBook hard drives are defective

You are not alone. Apparently a large number of Macbook hard drives have turned out to be defective. Even though our computer was more than a year old, Apple replaced the hard drive for free. The catch: you get the same size drive that was already in the computer, and they keep the old drive. We tried a data recovery service but they said the hard drive was scored and no data could be recovered. So: to those of you who are starting to hear a funny noise coming from your MacBook--backup your data immediately! The drive may be failing.
 
wctaiwan said:
1. How much is it for me to go to Apple and get them to replace the hard drive for me, without warranty?
Click to expand...

To answer this question...my macbook (same as yours) had exactly the same problem a few months back. Mine's still under warranty, but they put the price on the receipt.

It would have cost £60 for the labour, and £120 for the part.
 
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