1 minute guide: replace your MacBook hard drive

[ThePooface101]

okay i just bought a black mac book, and i just bought snow leopard disc but it will only work once i think, i wanna update my harddrive but im not sure if i should wait to install my snow leopard. also i had an external hard drive im wondering if i could ude tht to repace the existing hard drive. help please

[JacbMthias]

Thank you very much, I just restored an old computer, since my mom took my new :)

[LonelyVikingBand]

This was really helpful, thank you : )

[litharos2317]

You are LEGEND MAN!!!! Very nice description of the procedure. I like your attitude.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND EVERYONE IN THE WOLRD!!!!!!

;-)

[zelgadiss]

Lol apple.is clever while.i was upgrading ram I though to myself where is that hdd?

[climbto450]

My wife's white Macbook is constantly freezing up. Restarting it sometimes works, but usually does not. Do you think the hard drive is kaput?

[chowder2134]

@climbto450 You should get a new hard drive.  They only last a couple of years.

[coxdavi3]

Hey so can I format the drive in disk utility and then restore my data from time machine?

[mrteddybear530]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS HELPFUL VIDEO!

[voon100]

I'm a complete novice to Mac. Thank you for the video.

[PiNoYPrYdEWyDe73]

Thank you.

[noforu]

I got the wrong torx by mistake, can anyone who did that tell me what is the right size? is it T6 or T8?

[dan325013]

I'm trying to replace my friend's macbook drive, a 2.5" hard drive will fit in the Macbook, right?

[MrPaulJamesWright]

@dan325013 yes

[ajraf202]

im getting one of these and want to know can i replace the mac hard drive with a different companies one? or does it have to be mac aswell?

[MrPaulJamesWright]

@ajraf202 it can be made by any company

[cinderblok]

@dais4444 seems simple enough...loosen screws and pull a tab.

[cinderblok]

Or you can do like me and put in a hard drive with Linux installed.

[FoxxyMcthyes]

can you use an external time machine back up to transfer all of the data? without buying the ied adapter

[jdgill02]

Hi Robin- I'm looking at replacing the hard drive in an older 2006 macbook. I've already upgraded the RAM to the max 2GB. Also, I'm running OS X 10.4 but would like to try Snow Leopard because this macbook does have the required Intel processor. My plan is to install a new 2.5" SATA Hard Drive, purchase the Mac Box Set and install Snow Leopard, and start from scratch. Will that work? If so, any hard drive recommendations? Thanks!

[dais4444]

heyy um i have an oldish white macbook not sure what model, but it wont turn on just loads the start up screen and have been told its probably the hard drive. do you think i should replace it? could i do this myself?

[chowder2134]

@dais4444 Hi,

I have the same problem with the same macbook. I am replacing the hard drive my self with one I purchased from Newegg. It cost around $90. You should get a 2.5 inch for a laptop.

[dais4444]

heyy um i have an oldish white macbook not sure what model, but it wont turn on just loads the start up screen and have been told its probably the hard drive. do you think i should replace it? could i do this myself?

[marieroseanngsilva]

@snakeflu : i agree with your answer... finaly its ok now.. thanks for the help... godbless..

[jokssilva]

why do i always need to press C everytime i open my macbook ? if i ddn't press the C when i open my macbook the os will not show, and the only thing show on screen is small envelop in the middle. can someone can help me pls?

[snakeflu]

@jokssilva Did you try setting the startup disk via System Preferences > Startup Disk? It should always boot by default from the volume selected here. Pressing "C" usually boots from a DVD in the optical drive. If you have to do this every time, then it is possible that your hard drive is unbootable, and you may need to reinstall the OS on it.

[StreetEnglishTV]

awesome video.  Thank you!

[xxmichoxx]

in 0:46 what do you mean by formatting the drive? how do you do that?

[HabisY]

Do you need to clone the hard drive? Can you just install the blank drive and start anew?

[NeveseveN777]

If I have my computer backed up on an external harddrive with time machine can I restore my files onto my new harddrive? Or is there a better way? Also I can't find my installation cd to install os 10 is there a website or some way I can do this?

[Roxie910]

my 12 inch power book G4 is different, i dont see the hard drive??

[Houroudi]

my only computer is a macbook pro 160 gb and its running low. i just want to ask a question.

if i replace it, how do i get all of my data on to the new drive?

and does this void my warranty?

[RobinHarris]

@Houroudi

The easiest and fastest way is to use either Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to clone your drive to the new drive before you replace it. You'll need an external enclosure or a USB universal drive adapter to temporarily mount the new drive in.

Then when you've installed the new drive your system will boot and everything will be as it was when you last logged off.

[tchunu]

@RobinHarris No? The easiest way is time machine

[hivetyrant36]

@RobinHarris You can even do this on Disk Utility. Just tell it to restore and use your current HD as the target drive, and the new drive as the destination drive.

[airaguanet]

@Houroudi Time Machine or Migration Assistant

[deepdive2008]

Hi - great simply explained video - just what I need.

I have a 120GB Model: Hitachi HTS542512K9SA00 hard drive which came with the macbook & was thinking about keeping with the same make but a

Hitachi HTS545025B9A300 2.5-Inch 250GB SATA HDD. At least it's the same make but I just need more space. Would this cure the spinning rainbow wheel??

Many thanks in advance

[bigcarpets]

Best video ever! No lame music or drawn explanations. Just "this is how it's done". Thank you so much!!!!

[LunarianCrystal]

When I took my harddrive out some of the rubber things on the side came out...and I can't get them back in. Are they necessary? I know they prevent vibration but thus far without them I haven't noticed anything bad.

[MCMxx39]

Okay so me and my friend plan to switch computers. (we both have the same macbook). We want to switch our hard drives so we can keep our information on our computers. I have the western digital hard drive and my friend has the standard one that comes with the macbook. Would it do any damage to the computer if we switched?

[RobinHarris]

@MCMxx39

Nope.

[NDSCollector]

can i just copy the files onto an ssd?

[ayou1er]

My 2008 macbook has what people call "the white screen of death"...would replacing the hard drive get my macbook running again???

[zilbanez]

hi robin, thanks for this video. i would like to know what type of screwdriver being use to remove the hard drive casing..

[likmahchoda]

@zilbanez  A T-8 torx screwdriver is what he mentioned in the video.

[cuculito1]

hey, so i have the new macbook pro 15 inch with a 500 gig and i was wondering, what hard drive will give me the most memory and the fastest reading speed on the market...price is not too important, but i was wondering like, what is the most memory that i can fit inside the 15 inch haha...a link would also be greatly appreciated. -Kev

[jzoott]

@cuculito1 you can get a 512gb kingston solid state drive on newegg for about $1,359.99

[macrumpton]

Awesome tutorial.

My moms macbook hard drive is slowly dying, and I was thinking of replacing the 80GB Toshiba with a OCZ Vertex Series 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Solid State Drive. Do you know if it would be compatible or not? Judging by the performance of the new MacBook Air it would give her MacBook that new computer feel.

Thanks again for the great info.

[RobinHarris]

@macrumpton Yes, it would be compatible and yes it would make the 'Book much snappier. You'd also get much of the benefit of the SSD with the Seagate Momentus XT which is a hybrid disk/SSD - and costs quite a bit less.

HTH,

Robin

[sbentjies]

Excellent!

[tyraandmolly]

Brilliant thank you very much!

[WillieMichelson]

You are unable to afford Macbook Air? There is giveaway at macbook7 . com You can get one NOW

I like it

[tweekskratch]

When you copy the data onto a new drive, do you use a disk image, or just copy the file structure? thanks for the video! :)

[RobinHarris]

@tweekskratch

You can use a disk image, but the easiest and fastest way is to use either Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to clone your drive to the new drive before you replace it.

Then when you've installed the new drive your system will boot and everything will be as it was when you last logged off.

[whitecat101]

PLEASE HELP

MY MACBOOK NEED TO BE RENEWED.

PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME HOW CAN I TAKE THE STUFF ON THE HARD DISK BECAUSE THE HARD DISK IS NOT WORKING PLEASE ANSWER THIS IF YOU KNOW IT WILL HELP ME ALOT

[dharmoniaable]

Thx 4 sharing too!

[bteGrey]

Thanks for sharing this. It only took me about three minutes at regular speed!

[chadwick82]

Is there a specific harddrive that you need? based on Size? or compatibility?

[RobinHarris]

@chadwick82

Any 2.5" SATA drive that is 9.5mm thick - the most common size - will work.

Robin

[Marush]

@RobinHarris would an eyeglasses screwdriver work then?

[homersimpsonIV]

And next ... How to remove a brain tumour in 30 seconds! (Now pay very, very close attention.)

[Goten1dg]

i change the hard drive and is not reading it it appears the is not hard drive what can i do?

[mikeabbz]

what kind of screwdrivers are those? where can i get them?

[StorageMojo]

@mikeabbz

Listen to the video again. Torx screwdrivers, available at Sears and most auto parts stores.

Robin

[mikeabbz]

@StorageMojo im talking about that actual brand, i know i need torx, i like the actual orange screwdrivers with the twist part

[watcherviewer27]

damn! thanks for the vid....you make it look super easy!

[bigbraindog]

Thanks for the video!

[nikolai1uno]

Hey storage mojo.

Thx. If you're ever in Miami I'll buy you a beer!!

Ralph

[Fl0wersInTheWind0w]

a quick question, my hard drive in my macbook is giving me problems with errors and such, can i take the hard drive from my dell laptop and use it in the mac? this being that i format it and install a fresh copy of snow leopard, or does the hard drive be specifically linked to an apple brand? the dell hard drive is a western digital, same size 2.5 and also runs as 5400rpm, help please.

[StorageMojo]

@Fl0wersInTheWind0w

Yes, that will work.

[Fl0wersInTheWind0w]

@StorageMojo thanks

[Quekil830]

Does this work for G3

[StorageMojo]

@Quekil830 - No. More difficult, but doable if you are comfortable digging into delicate electronics.

Robin

[KelipejoHimoqi]

Take your chance and win macbook air. Check out macbook7 . c0m!

[yuginewb97]

Can I fit a western digital 1tb Scorpio blue harddrive?

[StorageMojo]

@yuginewb97 IIRC that drive is too thick - 12mm. Check the data sheet on WD.com.

Robin

[BretNorman]

Never knew it was that easy! Any recommendations on where to go to get decent 7200rpm drives that work with the motion sensor enabled?

[esko23q]

Excellent Vid once again! 5/5 video easy to follow

[iMULTIPLAYERi]

Can somebody tell me the exact model i would need for a new harddrive for my 13 inch mac book pro - version Mac OS X - 10.5.8

Processor - 2.26 GHz inter core 2 duo

Memory - 2GB 1067 MHz DDR3 please i would be very very very grateful thanks!

[StorageMojo]

@iMULTIPLAYERi

Any 2.5" SATA notebook drive that is 9.5mm thick - which the vast majority are - will work. I like the new Seagate Momentus XT hybrid SSD drive that is available in 320 and 500 GB capacities. Snappier than standard drives. See my review on ZDnet: Google zdnet seagates hot rod hybrid

Always buy the largest capacity drive you can afford: better performance and future proofing. Google zdnet why size means performance for more.

HTH,

Robin

[SuperApplepicker]

that helped thaks

[themacman454]

i have a question how would you put osx on it or format it

[TheJNSmusic]

awsome vid..

[thelilhacker]

they could be tight. THATS WHAT SHE SAID

[chaduce]

Yo ive replaced my hardrive but a folder and question mark over it pops up and flashes. Wats wrong?

[StorageMojo]

@chaduce You need to install OS X on the new drive. Either use your old drive in an external enclosure and Carbon Copy Cloner it to the new drive or do a clean install from the OS X DVD.

[Iwannazippo]

1 min...... AND 2 seconds!!!!! JEEZ

[almazzo]

THANKS A LOT!!!!!

[jimmyjangler]

thank you robin harris - or - "storage mojo"?!. jobs a gooodun in 12 minutes

[MtnXfreeride]

took more than a minute with youtubes slow buffering.... haha

[awesomeness2571]

@MtnXfreeride it's not youtube's fault...

it's your fault for not paying more money for faster service...

haha

[stinick32]

great video! i need to upgrade my hard drive ASAP, my 75GB in my macbook is tapped out.

where ths best place online to buy a internal drive for my macbook?

and what if i dont have my restore discs? what are my alternatives

[comrade86]

how much does new hard drive cost????

[Upsunday]

I have an iBook G4, from 2005, originally Tiger OS X. I have updated the OS until nowadays, including Panther. When I replace its hard disk, I just run the Panther OS system into my iBook?, Thank you so much

[956skater]

as soon as you install it do you need to install the mac osx software again?

or do you just install it and you're good to go?

[StorageMojo]

Your best bet is to use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your current drive to the new drive. A cheap USB case makes that easy.

Or you can do a clean install of OS X from a DVD and use Migration Assistant - in the Utilities folder - to pull your data and apps from the old drive mounted in a USB dock or case.

I prefer using CCC - send Mike a few bucks for the software - but I've done both. They both work.

[956skater]

damnnnnn! badass thanks a lot

[jojononthego]

Robin, thank you so much! I was desperate to get my mac up and running again because of my hard drive crash on me. So thanks! btw, do not buy Western digital brand, it sucks, I use it for about a month and it crashed. Genius bar said because I tried to download to big of file... please 2-3 GB of video is big? just to keep in mind. Thanks again Robin.

[StorageMojo]

Actually, there is pretty good evidence that WD produces some of the most reliable drives out there. But if you have a drive or 2 that fails it may be hard to believe that.

[JimWittmann]

Hey Robin, you're a life saver!

[heshan86]

Thnx Robin, this video was very useful... :D

[DavidKneiber]

all i need is any coin (a quarter, a penny, anything, a credit card) and bam, the hdd on my thinkpad comes out...

too bad about mac's... :P

[MrDaBassMan]

your disk drive should just pop out with one little latch too haha no screws required :)

[DavidKneiber]

@MrDaBassMan ya, i think apple tries too hard to make an attractive laptop while comprimising on practicallity

[patbat51]

@DavidKneiber yeah and pc is any better mac pwns in all aspects I just got a dell a day ago and bringing it back because they wanted 290 to fix a software issue

[intheflesh714]

Hello, my MacBook commited suicide late last night. I changed my desktop background and it froze. I had to force quit and when I turned it back on, it didn't make the chime it usually does when it starts up and then after a few minutes a folder with a question mark on it started blinking. I

[intheflesh714]

I then inserted the OS X disk and it would not find the hard drive :(

So the question is where can I buy a hard drive for my model MacBook? Its the last generation in black and I believe it was 160GB.

[djmisplacedmarblesTV]

start up from the discs that came with it.

uninstall that background

repair permissions .

u

[DavidKneiber]

@intheflesh714 seems to be happening to a lot of people..

next time try a thinkpad

[MrDaBassMan]

@DavisKneiber yea I have the new unibody MacBook and it's great you just have to remove 8 screws and you have access to everything underneath but I love my Thinkpad too for sure! :)

[intheflesh714]

my dad has a thinkpad, its the slowest pos ever. my macbook takes hot dookies all over it plus i prefer the software on the mac.

[joc1967]

Hi, I changed the hard drive and now I get a folder with a question mark on it. What should I do next?

[StorageMojo]

You need to either install OS X on it, or Carbon Copy Cloner your old drive onto the new one. In either case you'll want an external drive case or adapter to get your old data on your new drive.

[jpomac360]

how do i bring up disk utility if its a new hardrive?

[StorageMojo]

Your Mac OS X install or restore disk has Disk Utility on it. Boot from the DVD and look for utilities on the menu bar. You may have to click through a few of the install windows to get there, but keep going.

[jpomac360]

i tried that but my mac wont load the disk and theres some sorta question mark on it in a folder (not a new hardrive)

[StorageMojo]

2 options: -hold down the "c" key or the "option" key while booting with the install DVD in the machine.

You might have a bum DVD drive. If that is the case, you'll need an external firewire DVD drive or another Mac with one. Put the MacBook into target mode and install the OS from the DVD in the other Mac. HTH.

[jpomac360]

AH! It worked after that i formated the hardrive and installed mac.THANK YOU!

[hotsauselover]

thank you!

[whitecat101]

how i can do that im 12

i will try with my father XD

[kubahobo]

dude i built my pc when iwa 12 :)

[elimenohpea]

Thanks Robin Harris! Mighty helpful!

[mancunionproductions]

i have a white macbook from 2008 what hard drives are possible for me and where can i get them in uk?

[lukegarvey]

Thanks Bobbie good work.

[BananaBean03]

u have some mighty fast fingers

[joetylerdale]

Come over to the evil side (MS) and help us Luke! Great video, concise, no bull! THANK YOU!!!!

[gregallenphoto]

wow the quick simple explanation that i needed. Well done!

[fohsp]

Thank you Robin. Easier than I thought it was going to be..

[CoachGenie]

You sir, are my hero! Thanks for NOT making the video epic. With music logos and websites. Simple and Sweet. Good job!

[NapJuice]

I got it fix at the Apple Store :]

[macjuampa]

this is a very useful video.  Thanks for post it!

[FTrain4750]

i for got to take out the latch that slides with the hdd i need HELP!!!!

[mr17954]

wat if the new hardrive isnt recognized

[DjCreole1]

Awesome YOU JUST SAVEED ME ALOT OF MONEY... the geeks were going to get me....

Thanks again !

[tichuang]

DUDE YOU ARE THE MANNN...TOOL MANN HAH

[NapJuice]

Will all of my folders and data be lost if I replace the old hard drive with a new one?

[StorageMojo]

For some reason your hard drive is no longer bootable. It could be file corruption; it could be a failing hard drive; it could be someone accidentally deleted something they shouldn't have.

Replacing your hard drive requires copying your folders and data to the new hard drive. I recommend Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper for the task.

StorageMojo

[NapJuice]

Ok thank you.

[jordanclark1993]

Absolutely.

[IHolland52]

yea, u should back them up online or to usb or to an external hard drive

[NapJuice]

My macbook has this folder with a question mark in it. Does that mean I need a new hard drive?

[pusatube1]

Check out my MacBook Pro unboxing vid over at my channel :]

[BatDyke]

Hi guys

Just for those asking about what kind of drive to replace your current one with, make sure the drive will physically fit (ie, 2.5" wide, no more than 9.5mm high), and if you're feeling particularly technical, check out the RPM of the drive. The highest common RPM speed is 7200RPM, which although is the fastest for accessing and searching your HD, can also put out a lot more heat and noise. My stock HD for my Macbook is 5400RPM, which is perfectly adequate.

Hope that helps.

[DANIEL220220]

i need to replace the hard drive in my mac book too because i dropped it and it messed up. does it matter what kind of hard drive i buy? i mean does it have to be an apple one? or can i buy any type of drive. I have a

white mac book 2.13GHz * Intel Core 2 Duo * 2GB DDR2 Memory * 160GB hard drive

[EvilHeadBoy]

Hey cool. I have 2 questions,

one is, does it matter exactly what SATA drive you replace it with, as long as it fits in the macbook,

and 2, would using an external case with the new drive and then manually just copy the old data onto the new one, then swap out the drives, would it still boot?

thanks in advance!

[drvam2]

Thanks so much!!! I Precisely followed instructions.

I actually reinstalled OS 10.5 and then used a Time Machine Backup to bring everything to my new HD.

For the novice: When you put in the install disk that came with your Mac, it won't see your new HD. You need to open up Disk Utility (find it in one of the drop down menus). Then you must format the disk for Mac Extended Journaled and quit Disk Utility. Then, your disk can be seen, and you can install OS 10.5 on it. Just my 2 cents.

[JSmurfJSmurf]

@drvam2

Hi I would like to change new hdd as well. but Im not sure how can i transfer all data on my old hdd to new one. as of you post, you said u used time machine to transfer it. i normally use time machine to back up my macbook. do i need to do some special process with time machine to prepare it to transfer data to new hdd?

thanks in advance for ur advice

[auntdj111]

this went way to fast for me and I did not understand about copying etc. Wish someone would do computer videos for those who literally are spatially challenged and no zilch about computers except how to drag and drop and surf the net.

[gorillahitman]

great video

didn't know to pull white flap :D

thank you!

[akaRizzle]

is the process the same on the newest white macbook? I will be getting one next month and would like to update the hard drive straight away. Just want to make sure everything goes right

[StorageMojo]

Yes it is. Make sure you have the Torx and the Phillips before you start and you'll be fine.

Robin

[akaRizzle]

yeah my dads an electrician so tools are no problem. Thanks for your help

[dud808]

you rock dude, thanks alot for this!

[ivymike76]

Same same as everyone else, I think this is a great no bullshit video, showed em exactly what i needed. Thanks very much, keep doing this kind of thing so people don't waste hundreds of dollars paying someone for a 2 minute job :)

[hereBDBD]

awesome! my macbook just starting flipping me off with a blinking folder with no HD in site to mount. An excellent video clip...fast and to the point. keep up the great work.

[superavrillavignefan]

is it normal that the screw dont go out?

[monkeymily]

Great video, thank you very much.

Just had to replace my harddrive after a head crash. Lost 2 years of data :(

[themanyone]

Thank you for the quick and easy guide.

[underbedbeast]

It is nice to see youtube used for something that saves people's butts. Thanks for this effort, it's appreciated!

[mehrvarz]

Well done. It's great to find competence on the Internet.

[ep010]

thats so true

[darthanguish]

i know eh?

[smilemakeafunny]

Just want to make sure, Is this the OLD macbook white or the new version?

[qazastan]

Any white Macbook before the new unibody type.

Probably a 2006 to 2007 version as most Macbooks 2008 onwards have pretty big hard drives, 160GB or more.

[joehassmallarms]

no the late 2008 white macbook has a 120GB drive

[qazastan]

so the 160GB drive in my late 2008 macbook is not really a 160GB drive.

ok

i suppose there's no choice of what size drive you can have too, that's just a crazy option that the apple shop offered for fun

[joehassmallarms]

you didn't mention the fact that it was an optional upgrade. My late 2008 macbook sitting in front of me had no apple upgrades, and as it stands, has a 120gb HD

[qazastan]

My Mac didn't have an upgrade, it came with 160GB.

Everyone has the option to choose, it's not an upgrade.

[joehassmallarms]

i meant the option

you didnt mention the fact that you took the option

you said it as though all late 2008 macbooks had a 160gb HD