Macbook-New Hard Drive voids warranty

[Chundles]

Those are PATA drives, not SATA. Currently no 2.5" drive exists on the market that is both SATA and larger than 120GB... trust me, I have looked. :/

Not long though and this little beauty will be out. Hopefully it will get beyond 4200rpm though....
Fujitsu's 200GB 2.5" HDD

It's only 4200rpm and is 12.5mm high (I think the one's Apple uses are 9.5mm) but it's SATA and biiiig!!!

 

[witness]

I bought a white MacBook which came with a 60GB drive. Apple use seagate momentus drives, so I ordered the same 120GB seagate drive (£110) which should arrive tomorrow.

I pulled out the existing drive to take a look, it comes out really easily. You just need to remember to stick a tab on it (folded tape should do it) so that you can pull it out again otherwise you will have difficulty in getting the drive out when you need to put the old one back in if/when it needs to go back to apple for repair.

 

[Apple Corps]

It depends on exactly what question was asked. If you ask "if I replace the harddisk in a MacBook with a larger one, and the MacBook stops working, will it be covered by warranty?" then this might be understood as "if the MacBook stops working because I replaced the harddisk", and that would not be covered by warranty. The same question could be understood as "if the MacBook stops working for some completely unrelated reason", and that would be covered.

The way I understood Apple's answer: If a certified service center swaps the harddisk, then it is covered by warranty, even if the technician messes up and kills the MacBook. If you swap the harddisk yourself and mess it up and damage the MacBook, then it is not covered.

My response was to the quoted statement not a hypothetical question - "they said that using any other hard-drive besides the one provided in the new Macbook's will void the warranty...". That statement remains bunk. See dialo's comments.

 

[Mord]

according to some turning on your mac will void the warranty.

i've had my ibook repaired under warranty when it had a giant pirate decal painted on the inside of it.

 

[witness]

I don't see what the problem is. Pulling out the hard drive is easier and less risky that changing the RAM. SATA drives are not like the old PATA ones, where the pins would always bend, they are designed to be hot swapped.

When you pull out the L shaped plate holding in the RAM, the hard drive is right there with a handy tab just asking to be pulled.

120GB drives are available BTO, so there's no reason (heat/power) why these machines can't take one. If you're worried about your warranty, either pay a premium and get a larger drive BTO, or keep the drive that came with the machine so that you can put it back in should you need to send it in for repair.

 

[mkrishnan]

SATA drives are not like the old PATA ones, where the pins would always bend, they are designed to be hot swapped.

Do you mean quickly changed, or do you actually mean hot-swapped? Well, obviously, you ain't hot-swapping the internal HD of a laptop, except under the strangest circumstances... but do SATA HD controllers support hot-swapping?

 

[witness]

Do you mean quickly changed, or do you actually mean hot-swapped? Well, obviously, you ain't hot-swapping the internal HD of a laptop, except under the strangest circumstances... but do SATA HD controllers support hot-swapping?

I'm just saying that the same drives are used in blade servers and are designed to be easily removed and replaced while the server is still running. Obviously laptops don't support hot swap, but providing that the drives are accessible, which apple have done, you can't do an damage to the computer by pulling one out.

 

[RGunner]

hot swap

Do you mean quickly changed, or do you actually mean hot-swapped? Well, obviously, you ain't hot-swapping the internal HD of a laptop, except under the strangest circumstances... but do SATA HD controllers support hot-swapping?

yep

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm just saying that the same drives are used in blade servers and are designed to be easily removed and replaced while the server is still running. Obviously laptops don't support hot swap, but providing that the drives are accessible, which apple have done, you can't do an damage to the computer by pulling one out.

Oooh, wow. Thank you for the education. In the context of servers, this makes a lot of sense. I figured they had some kind of rebootless swapping capacity, but I didn't know if it had more to do with server design or SATA.

 

[witness]

Oooh, wow. Thank you for the education. In the context of servers, this makes a lot of sense. I figured they had some kind of rebootless swapping capacity, but I didn't know if it had more to do with server design or SATA.

Well SATA is designed especially to aid hot swapping. If you look at the contact strips on the plug, you'll see that they are different lengths, this ensures that they connect and disconnect in the correct sequence when hot swapping.

You can also get external SATA drives that you can connect to your computer just as you would a USB or FireWire drive. Because your connecting the drive directly to the controller you get the same performance that you would from an internal drive.

 

[California]

http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/hardware.html

That is the Warranty Agreement Apple has posted and linked from the Macbook Product Page.

If we use this as a guide, it indicates that upgrading the Hard Drive WILL NOT void your warranty. However damage resulting from the upgrade or non-apple part will not be covered by Apple within the warranty period.

If you swap, make sure you use an appropriate drive (sata 2.5 inch) and i would even stay within 5400RPM so that it does not have an impact on battery life or power usage. Other than that, I dont see any logical way you could break your macbook by doing this!

Actually, the idea that 5400rpm drives use less wattage and generate less heat is a myth with today's 7200rpm drives. Hitachi and Seagate have been hard at work on these issues and the 100k 7200rpm drives are amazingly cool and fast and suck less energy than some 5400 drives. I wouldn't bother staying within the 5400 speed range if you believe heat and power will be less. It's a myth. However, if you want a 160 drive 5400rpm for storage, go for it. This hard drive upgrade issue makes me feel a lot better. Apple had such a totalitarian hold on us with the hard drives and warranties previously.

 

[johnjeffrey]

Called Applecare again and they said it does violate the warranty...ehhh whatever

 

[fredwards]

spoke to someone from 1-800-my-apple... they said it doesnt if a certified tech does it...warranty states however that whatever is written on the hardware warranty agreement supercedes any other agreement, written or oral ...

so basically just because someone who works for apple tells you one thing doesn't mean it actually matters.

I'm now under the impression from the warranty itself, apple store online, and apple retail store, that as long as an apple reseller has a certified technician do the upgrade or "repair" or whatever, it will not void the warranty.

This warranty does not apply: ... (d) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider;

http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/hardware.html

Bottom line is that it is just so easy and realistically doesnt pose any real threat to system integrity, that even if you do it, if you need to have your laptop serviced, you can just swap it back and there u go.