Filed under: Hardware, Portables, How-tos, MacBook
End users can replace a MacBook hard drive
Those of you who have had the pleasure of replacing an iBook or Powerbook hard drive know what fun it is: drag out the teeny, tiny tools and (basically) take your entire machine apart. AppleInsider reports that the process is quite different with the MacBook. All you need to do is remove the battery plus a single protective shield and presto, you've found the hard drive. Incidentally, the RAM slots are also located underneath the battery. No word on how doing this yourself will affect your warranty, but at least it's easy enough.We don't have one in TUAW headquarters yet, so we've got to take AppleInsider's word on this one. Does anyone feel like removing the battery from their day-old machine and telling us what is found in there?
Thanks, Eric!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Coooly said 8:22AM on 5-17-2006
You could find some pics of a disassembled macbook there : http://www.kodawarisan.com/macbook/macbook001.html
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Bagster said 8:23AM on 5-17-2006
This guy took a picture of his new white macbook.
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=147729680&size=l
Yeah, we can see the RAM instructions under the battery
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da4 said 1:19AM on 5-18-2006
was able to remove the HD from a black MB this evening in about two minutes with a small philips. it basically slots in like an airport card. ridiculously simple.
seagate 160gb momentus drives are around $170..
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Ray Rassi said 6:56AM on 5-18-2006
Anyone has information on the type of HD that can be used to replace the MacBook's drive. I see Serial ATA100 but I can't find drives like that. I find Serial ATA-6 and Serial ATA150. Please reply to ray@coquicomputer.com
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Dan said 3:44PM on 5-23-2006
Anyone have luck yet replacing their HD? Any issues? I'd like to replace macbook drive with a bigger 7200 RPM 2.5" drive, but I'm concerned about heat / noise issues. I'm also assuming that the recovery disk will handle setting up the new drive. Any thoughts / comments / benchmarks would be most appreciated!
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daniel said 5:53PM on 5-30-2006
just got a black macbook yesterday ... kept the hard drive stock at 80gb in the hopes of replacing it with a new one. What's weird is that the computer only shows 57GB available!!!??? Is OSX and iLIFE sucking that much space from the GetGo! Perhaps there are audio files in garage band or some other application that I can erase if I don't use them .. can anyone advise. Thanks!
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John said 2:53PM on 6-06-2006
The Seagate 100GB Momentus 7200.1 (Part# ST910021AS) SATA/150 2.5" 8MB 7200RPM. This hard drive will fit in the MacBook and will have about the same power consumption as the OEM drive which is a Seagate 80GB Momentus 5400.2. I have put one in mine (a black one), but I don't know how to get the computer to recognize it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Jack said 9:56PM on 6-12-2006
John - This may help: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY.pdf
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Tom Childers said 1:57PM on 6-14-2006
Thanks for posting the Apple article. It is indeed ridiculously easy, with the right tiny screwdriver.
Note that Seagate does not yet have an S-ATA Momentus 160GB drive available. ATA-100/IDE drives will not work in a MacBook.
The biggest drive right now is a Fujitsu 120GB drive, model MHV2120BH. Seagate should have a 160GB available soon.
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CJ123 said 11:48AM on 6-21-2006
I got a white macbook yesterday and it has a 60 GB hard drive. The Computer is telling me I only have 35 GB remaining. I need some advice here!!! thanks any help would be appreciated
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Rick Berger said 9:03PM on 7-26-2006
The Fujitsu 160gb won't fit into a white MacBook. It's too thick!!
I got one of each, and was surprised at how much thicker the Fujitsu was than the Toshiba in there, now.
Unexpected. Have to call the vendor.
rickb
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