Macbook HD
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- Jaline
Is it better to change the internal hard drive or just get another external one?
I already have one external HD but another one would be more safe. I realize changing the internal one could void the warranty (I never bought the 3 year one anyway).
- chossy0
what are you wanting to do jaline?.
- Jaline0
I just want to upgrade it, chossy. Have more space. I guess most people don't really need extra space if they have an external as well, but....just thinking about it. I don't keep my external plugged in all the time.
- designbot0
If you are constantly running out of space on your local drive, I would replace it with something bigger. An external drive would probably be cheaper though.
- Jaline0
I think I have 120GB on it now.
- designbot0
Also, consider that fact that an internal drive has a much greater chance of failing. Even with Macs sweet drive protection accelerometer thingy.
- mrjamieboyd0
I've just bought a 320gig hard drive and an empty 2.5" external case for £60 off ebuyer. The plan is to take the old 120gig HD out, put that in my empty external case and get the new 320gig beast in my Macbook Pro :)
Happy days
- metal_leg_will0
I have this LaCie for my MBP.
http://store.apple.com/us/produc…
It's great and the FireWire 800 connection is fast.
- make sure you get the one that is bus powered(Little Big Disk) so fucking usefall and no power neededTark
- rafalski0
Didn't you have a 13.3" MacBook Jaline? You're allowed to replace both HD and RAM on it yourself, it's the MacBook Pro that only lets you swap RAM.
It's quite easy, I did it numerous times. I believe internal ones are safer than external drives that get more shaking action in the end and are more likely to be dropped than the laptop even if used at home only. Also, USB connection is slow. Also, external drenclosures often have bad thermal parameters.
I recommend a 7200 rpm drive, but it's not crucial, 5400 should be fine. You might or might not notice a difference in speed at all.
Get at least 200GB, 320 should be just fine. 16MB on board cache is recommended for speed, but again, not necessary.If it's a Seagate, choose one which symbol ends with ASG rather than AS - it's equipped with extra sudden motion protection.
- rafalski0
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/…
Make sure you have the right tools:
#00 Phillips Screwdriver
T8 Torx Screwdriver
- Jaline0
Thanks, everyone. Especially raf.
- Jaline0
I need a bit of help. I'm probably going to Best Buy tonight. If I don't select an external, I'm going for one of these. Please let me know which would be best for a Macbook with 2 GB of RAM. Thanks.
- Jaline0
Would this one work?
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/pr…(I'll ask around in the store(s) too)
- Or I may try acescence's suggestion instead.Jaline
- It's hard to get a 2.5" with higher specs, but I'm looking around. I know Samsung may have some available.Jaline
- Actually, these two look good as well:
http://eshop.macsale…
http://eshop.macsale…Jaline - Yes the seagate is the one I have, with shock protection. Comes in larger size nowadays.rafalski
- autoflavour0
only bother updating internal if your are planning on going from 5400 to 7200rpm
- Samush0
changing the HD on ANY macbook or macbook pro will void the warranty for the machine. i asked this question in an apple store in the UK last week and got that answer, so unless you're out of warranty i wouldn't do it!
- max_prophet0
I'd just buy a portable firewire external and keep your existing disk clean with regular backups – in my mind macbooks aren't worth upgrading unless from day one, rather save the money for a new(er) one... refurbs are usually the best way to save. I saved around £350 ($700) by buying a refurb MBP and have never had a problem with it, other than the battery this week. Thats after 20 months... I just bought a new battery and will wait til the next release hopefully soon.
I would just back up and clean install.
- rafalski0
Jaline that's the one I have (your link)
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/S…
..but drives come in bigger capacities today, even 320's can be reasonably priced.I'd get either a Seagate or Hitachi, the bigger the better. They both have good 7200rpm models (5400 too). 8MB cache is standard, 16 would be faster.
What people say of 5400 vs. 7200rpm speed difference:
http://bjdraw.com/2007/04/13/upg…
http://www.barefeats.com/5472.ht…This is a nice replacement tutorial here:
http://www.macinstruct.com/node/…
I use free Carbon Copy Cloner instead of paid Super Duper!:
http://www.bombich.com/software/… - be careful using this, double check which drive you are copying from and to :)
It might take 2-3 hours to clone your 120GB drive.Don't forget you need an enclosure for the old drive, you won't be able to clone your original drive contents otherwise.
This looks like a nice package, unless you find the transparent case tacky:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/S…Nice instructional video:
http://www.5min.com/Video/Apple-…
Apple's instructional pdf:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en…@Samush:
Don't trust what those geniuses say, macbook's (13.3") drives are user-replaceable (also look at the pdf above)
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/13/t…
http://lowendmac.com/archive/06/…- thanks :)Jaline
- I can just transfer everything to an external HD I already have instead of using the internal HD I will be taking out, right?Jaline
- On a mac, you can even boot from the external, just press Option while booting and choose which disk to start with.rafalski
- yes, you can clone the whole disk contents with Carbon Copy Cloner, just don't use the computer while cloningrafalski