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MacBook - replacing the hard drive

Posted: 2006-07-10 11:51pm
by atg
I'm looking at getting a MacBook soon, mainly cause I've want a laptop for work for a while, and with Boot Camp out I can start learning OSX while having XP for work.

However the 60GB that comes standard feels to small for me, so I would take the upgrade to a 120GB, BUT doing so costs an extra AUD$395! I can get a Western Digital 120GB SATA notebook drive from one of my suppliers for ~AUD$200 and chuck the 60GB in an external caddy for backups. Does anyone know how hard it is to replace the HDD in the MacBook? I realise that I would void my warranty and all but I dont really mind.

Re: MacBook - replacing the hard drive

Posted: 2006-07-11 01:02am
by Naquitis
atg wrote:I'm looking at getting a MacBook soon, mainly cause I've want a laptop for work for a while, and with Boot Camp out I can start learning OSX while having XP for work.

However the 60GB that comes standard feels to small for me, so I would take the upgrade to a 120GB, BUT doing so costs an extra AUD$395! I can get a Western Digital 120GB SATA notebook drive from one of my suppliers for ~AUD$200 and chuck the 60GB in an external caddy for backups. Does anyone know how hard it is to replace the HDD in the MacBook? I realise that I would void my warranty and all but I dont really mind.
I'm not a Mac owner, but from what I've heard, working with a Mac's internals is one tough cookie. But this is just what I've been told, not my experience.

Posted: 2006-07-11 01:39am
by Galiv
Replacing the hard drive in the new Macbooks is a simple process.

Here is the manual from Apple's website explaining the process:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBoo ... ve_DIY.pdf

Posted: 2006-07-11 02:06am
by Praxis
Don't know the MacBook's internals that well, but IIRC it's as easy as popping out the battery, unscrewing a panel, and sliding the drive out. On the iBook you could pop the keyboard off and reach into the internals. Heck, on my old Pismo (PowerBook G3) I removed the hard drive without any tools IIRC, by hand.

Posted: 2006-07-11 02:37am
by atg
Sounds good. Thanks for the link Galiv.