Thank you so much for posting this video. Between swapping the fans, transferring the HDs, and installing the new HD, your crew's DIY tutorials have saved me a lot of money.
Genius Bar can stick that $100/HR labor up their collective asses
Forget the naysayers - Five Stars all she way - your voice is like Rick Steve's travel TV shows - I was able to do this (after getting the INVALUABLE toolkit) without difficulty. Now do one to talk us down when flying a 747 - we'll have no problem
Hi if anybody can help me I am also wanting to do this operation to my MacBook pro from late 07. My hd is currently a 120gb and I wish to upgrade it to a 1tb if anyone could give me the right one to get and if how I could save my data before hand and also I am currently running osx lion. Thanks!
this video/tutorial is wonderful. for the price of having a pro just open up the mac and tell me i needed a new hard drive, i was able to purchase a 1T and install it myself. it's not for the feint of heart, nor for thick-fingered bumblers, but it is DOABLE. i followed the instructions exactly and, after 40 minutes, i'm watching it install osx. it was stressful and i'd suggest not having someone looking over your shoulder. take your time!! thank you so much for the help!!
Nice demo... lose the irritating sound track in the background... un-necessary and repetitive to the point of becoming very distracting. And STRESSFUL!!!!!
Sorry I could not continue listening to the Chinese Water Torture Repetitive Loop which destroyed your very nice demo.
Nice demo... lose the irritating sound track in the background... un-necessary and repetitive to the point of becoming very distracting. And STRESSFUL!!!!!
5 Star. I had the right tool but I could not open my macbook pro 13. Once it was mentioned you need #00, i went ahead and opened the back. Took my harddrive out and found that I can not connect to my USB enclosure because of difference sizes. It helped me a lot! Thank you
DELETE THIS VIDEO, IT IS DANGEROUS, I JUST FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS AND IT ASKS YOU TO DISCONNECT A RIBBON CONNECTOR AND THIS WILL INEVITABLY BREAK! Delete this video!!!!!
I just had to let you know watching this video gave me the confidence to go ahead and install my New hard drive that I have had for two months, but I was to afraid to tackle it , until I saw Your video , thank you so much for teaching me it turned out, PERFECT.
Can I upgrade Lion on a hard drive then get another hard drive and upgrade it on the same Laptop will it work for both hard drives or will it just benefit the Laptop only ? Please help.
Thank you very much for this detailed video. I never replaced a hard drive until now and....my mac works with the new cloned hard drive. Good Karma your way!
Thank you very much for this detailed video. I never replaced a hard drive until now and....my mac works with the new cloned hard drive. Good Karma your way!
This video is great - I installed my new 320 Gig 7200 RPM WD hard drive easily with these instructions. THANKS! Saved me at least $100 doing it myself.
spot on TUT!, I did not install the OS first because I did not want to duplicate what I was replacing in hopes of getting rid of some corruption issues(10.5 ) . I started up from the 10.6 disk and it recognized the hard drive i replaced and it installed.
This might not be cool, but I bought the metal housing for the hard-drive at ifixit.com . The housing was tossed by techs who told my kid that the laptop was a total loss due to a water spill. Apple store said minimum of $1500 to fix. Bought a new hard-drive $79. Was told by this store that instal was $100. I inquired about operating system...they said we do that too...$69.00. I asked sales person on floor to show me operating system....snow leopard. $39.00. It self-installed in under 15 mins.
Thank you. Your video saved me $100. Perhaps identify which screws go where during reassembly more clearly . But not that big of a deal. Well put together video, and the procedure is very clearly explained. Saved me $100 and yes, I was done in 15-20 mins. I have absolutely no computer repair skills what so ever.
please remove this video. it is totally unnecessary to remove the hard drive ribbon cable. if you do you will likely break it. it's a $40 replacement. better not to have these bad instructions.
Just followed this tutorial through on my PC Laptop whilst installing a 640gb drive into my MacBookPro. Reinstalling data using SuperDuper. All going fine. Many thanks.
Before you get started on this video you need to partition the drive first or you mac won't boot with it mounted internally. They have a page that explains how to do this. Once I did that it worked perfectly! Or you can do it with your installer once it is in the mac.
Are there any specific requirements if I wanted to replace the HDD with an SSD? Currently I am looking at either of the following. Let me know if there might be any issues please ...
Success! Just replaced w/ Hitachi 750GB Travelstar. Thanks!
1. Prop up keyboard with plastic object (travel mug) on top of CD/DVD player, leaving all cables connected!
2. Fold paper several times into a makeshift "spudger" - work the hard drive cable free by starting at the front - think putty knife action - for me (2008 model) this was easy!
3. work hdd out right side first, gently nudge SATA cable out - if you're careful, you only need the screwdriver, torx, (got at home depot) and beer!
Just did this tutorial. Got a sweet new Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM drive. Running my backup from time machine now. Got the toolkit advertised in the video. Everything went perfect. Great job!
Fine tutorial, in the great OWC tradition. One thing though, which has been pointed out by others: The step where you remove the hard drive ribbon cable from the logic board is NOT as simple as they make it look in the video. Take VERY good care to carefully pry it off using a knife/screwdriver. Otherwise, it will break, like it did for me, and cost you $25 on eBay and a wait to replace the cable. Whole thing takes a couple hours if you haven't done one before.
Very nice tutorial. Worked great for me and saved me the $100 that the service place wanted for the upgrade (without the disk). The bracket holding my Macbook Pro was a little different from that shown here, but easy to uninstall and reinstall.
Very nice tutorial. Worked great for me and saved me the $100 that the service place wanted for the upgrade (without the disk). The bracket holding my Macbook Pro was a little different from that shown here, but easy to uninstall and reinstall.
A useful tip: use a small pair of tweezers with a low profile to slide under the hdd ribbon. Slowly slide towards use to gently pry the adhesive off. Just installed a 120gb SSd ocZ drive, and I'm blazing through my apps. Another note: some mbp do not have the small assembly next to the hdd. And even though I screwed back everything in sequence I had 1 screw giving me issues with not threading back into it's hole flush.
Thank you , Apple Tech wanted 270 to replace 160g drive . I replaced it with a faster and larger drive for 65 dollars thanks to this video . Everything went smooth and worked . I had difficult restoring from time capsule unrelated to this . But found had to install the original os before time capsule could restore properly for me .
Thanks for helping me , my drive was 2 years old and was beginning to fail .
Video was a big help. One point of caution, be very careful when disconnecting the keyboard and hard drive cables from the mainboard as the connectors are very delicate. Try to lift from both sides and come straight up. I came off at a slight angle and the connector broke. Had to order a new ribbon cable for HD. Other wise, video is spot on. Thanks for the help!
What is the purpose of removing the torx screws from the RAM compartment? Do they, for example, hold the keyboard down (hence necessitating their removal)? From what I could see inside that MBP, the removal of those torx screws is unnecessary.
PLEASE ADD AN ANNOTATION for the part where you take the hard drive ribbon off the board. I tore mine because I followed what you did and tore mine. You should really use a screw driver and not your fingers to remove it. Now I'm out $45 for a new ribbon. I get that you're already saving people loads of money by having this video up but PLEASE don't misguide them!
Hi, i have a WD 320gb external drive, that I've removed from the housing and wanted to put in my macbook pro.. I took the computer apart, took out the drive and went to put the new one in, but there's a usb port attached and no sata cable input.. what do I do? Do I remove the usb port along with the big computer chip thing on the back and replace it with the one from the macbook drive? It doesn't seem like that would work...any suggestions?
I had to go through this damn procedure TWICE because my new hard drive had several bad sectors and had to be returned. Probably a good idea to test your new hard drive's health with a utility like SMART Utility and use it for a few days with an external keyboard before putting all the screws in again.
Why the hell did they make it so hard to replace the hard-drive. With the memory it should be the easiest thing to replace without having to dismantle the whole thing.
(I'm just questioning this particular design choice, though.)
HEEELP! I did this and now the only thing I get out of my computer is a nasty sound, like a horn every 3 seconds. What can I have broken, cause something is surely pretty wrong. Damn, I was looking forward to 500GB hard disk and 4gb RAM!!
@susannebranner .....Unless you know what you're doing, it looks like you've reached a technical impasse. Contact an Apple store to get clues on what went wrong and use the Apple forum to ask this question. Maybe you can fix it yourself. If you're out of your scope, pay the money and get it repaired at an Apple tech shop.
I have already do it but when I turn on the laptop it´s shows me a folder with a question mark, so I han´t got any OS but all the hard drivers should come with an OS, no?
I'm getting a macbook pro then i'm getting the 640 gb internal hardrive to put in it. I'm thinking about getting 2 4gb sticks of ram but i don't think i will need that much.
Very helpful video. Mine was a bit different inside though...no bluetooth thing on the side, and instead of having the gaskets attached to the drive on the left side, it had a pair of knobs, which went into the gaskets fixed in the frame. Got a 500GB Momentus XT inside, nothing like going from 8 to 240GB of free space.
This is a great how to video, but it does make it look easier than it really is. Be very careful with the ribbon cables.
Suggestion: Buy an external enclosure, partition your new HD, then clone your existing HD BEFORE YOU DO THE UPGRADE. Make sure the new drive is bootable, THEN do the swap. MBP should boot right up.
I just stuck in a 1TB WD drive - must be double platter as is quite a bit thicker than the original. I thought I would give it a whirl anyway and would have been prefect if not for the dumb design idea of the cable connectors on top of the drive. Net result is a slight unsightly gap on front the left had side - but no worse than residual wear and tear on the old white plastic MacBooks. I think getting 1TB is worth the lump and the lid still closes pretty well. Lesson: read drive spec before buy
Very useful video! I followed instructions and replaced my macbookpro 120GB hd for a 500GB! Everything is working perfect! Most difficult part was to unglue the ribbon cable over the old hd. Everything else was a piece of cake...if one is patient! Tahnk you so much!
@jdawz1985 Sure, but I doubt that you will get much for it. new drives have come down in price. Why take a chance on a used drive when you can get a new one with warranty for a few bucks more?
@afterbirth83 dont think so, i think they are onboard graphics. Anyway, those are the graphic cards that come with it and probably shouldnt be changed anywya
Excellent video, just swapped out of 120gb macbook pro hdd for a 500gb drive, everything went smoothly and much quicker now. thank you for posting this video.
Fantastic video! It was so helpful. Like others, I just swapped out my 160gb drive using the OWC kit and moved up to the to Seagate 500gb. Not only do I have tons more room, my computer FLIES now. A huge difference. I never would have tackled cracking open my laptop without his video. Cannot stress how helpful it was. Thanks, OWC!
This video was amazing. I just replaced my 160 GB hard drive for a new 500 GB hard drive, and the replacement was just as easy as the video made it seem.
This video is very helpful. Everybody can change the drive with this tutorial. I have got 500 GB now. When you remove the plugs inside don`t be shy. Thank you for the video!!!
I found this areally useful tutorial. I just replaced my MBP 200GB drive for a Scorpio Blue 500GB drive and it all worked well. The electrical connecting tape on top of the drive was quite stuck onto the original drive and so I gently eased this off with a credit card. Prepare well with the right tools and a well lit surface and keep all your screws carefully and you´ll be fine.
I love my MacBook, and I fully intend to get a new one next year. My Dell which has almost exactly the same specs as my current MacBook is a TANK.
That said, I've serviced Powerbooks from as far back as the 520. It never ceases to amaze me how poorly designed Apple's laptops are when it comes to replacing parts. Ahead of the game in many respects, Apple still makes things insanely difficult for the people who work on them.
Excellent tutorial! Walked me through every bit of the process with ease. Mine did have the yellow tape and I didn't put it back because it wouldn't stick anymore. I had a bitch of a time removing the cable from the top of the HD! It took me like 5 minutes but it paid off 'cause I didn't experience any problem with the new HD. That was actually THE hardest part, the rest was just a walk in the park. Thanks a bunch!!
BEWARE!!......When you remover the keyboard cover, take SPECIAL CARE to remove the plug from the keyboard AND hard drive.
I broke my hard drive cable ($40 replacement) by pulling on it when you should use NAILS or flathead screwdriver to dig under it to remove the flimsy plug. This video make it look too easy. Special care is necessary.
The Apple store me told me they get TONS of repair work from people who accidentally break the SATA cable going into the board doing the HD replacement.
I'm having problems. After carrying out the procedure and starting up the computer it just gives me a pretty nasty sound, like a horn, every 3 seconds or so. I'm wondering whether I broke the hard drive cable or the cable from the keyboard. Do you have any idea? I tried putting back my old hard disk but the problem is the same, so I guess something have gone pretty wrong...
i bought a corsair p256 ssd online and getting ready to replace my 256gb hd currently in my mbp. i was going to "clone" the old drive to the new one (not exactly sure about the terminology). can you recommend some steps i can take (referring to software, external enclosures, etc)? also, will the steps you mentioned change if i am installing an ssd rather than a regular hard drive?
Hello, my question is for those who upgraded it to 500gb, is it with a Western Digital external disk? I have heard the new 1 Terabyte disk doesnt fit...
Just performed this Hard Drive upgrade. My Macbook Pro now has a 500GB hard drive now instead of the 200GB. Love that extra space. This is a very good guide. Thanks
hey, can you help me, at 5:10 in the video I can't take off the metal bracket. I am using a torq T6 screwdriver but when i push it into the screw hard to unscrew it, it just keeps turning and the screw doesn't budge. I have the Macbook Pro 15" 2.2GHz early 2008 model.
This video is spot on. I played it from my iPhone while i dismantled my MBP. I replaced a 250G with a 500G drive. I didn't have to unplug the keyboard or the drive as suggested in the video. Thank you MacOSG, this was really helpful.
I'm just wondering, after doing this 'surgury', is the laptop's case effected in any way? I've heard from someone that the gaps between the two pieces of metal becomes looser if you open the case. Is this true?
Mine didn't sit flush either. After a good while I figured it out. You have to push the top metal edge of the DVD tray IN as you're pushing DOWN firmly over the top. The two pieces will ALIGN and you'll hear a *snap*. Don't push too hard as to not bend the metal...feel it out. With jiggering, you'll hear the pieces crackle which means you're on trackto getting them to snap in place!
i was wondering,, is the hard drive is the ID of the computer? I need the new ID for my computer.,, this one website dont allow my computer to play their games..
This video helped me upgrade the hard drive, but one thing about removing the panel... To me, I almost damaged the panel by using the method shown here. At the same time, I wonder why Apple made is so hard to remove the panel. After all, screw drivers are holding them together... It's surely not for a faint of heart.
this goes with my comment below: BE CAREFUL! Apple doesn't sell the ribbon cable separately - probably about a .79 part! Instead you have to buy the whole frik'n top as it only comes as one assembly - $260 !!!!!!!!!! And even then you have to remove your keyboard and install it in the new top! What a rip - and I was trying to be very careful!!!!! Much more careful than what he shows here disconnecting the cable! See comment below by "mygod..." - don't remove if you don't have to!!!
Be VERY careful with the ribbon cable to the keyboard - if you don't have to remove it DON'T - I lifted the corner end of the ribbon one side at a time at the connector but the ribbon started separating from the connector breaking a couple of the connection wires so my keyboard and trackpad stopped working - see my next comment
Thanks a lot. This was a great help.
jimsnetwork 2 days ago
Thank you!
technomage 4 days ago
Thank you so much for posting this video. Between swapping the fans, transferring the HDs, and installing the new HD, your crew's DIY tutorials have saved me a lot of money.
Genius Bar can stick that $100/HR labor up their collective asses
TheKalamazooChapter 1 month ago
Forget the naysayers - Five Stars all she way - your voice is like Rick Steve's travel TV shows - I was able to do this (after getting the INVALUABLE toolkit) without difficulty. Now do one to talk us down when flying a 747 - we'll have no problem
LloydwrightFrank 1 month ago
will a old macbook harddrive (like this one) fit into a newer macbook (2008 unibody)?
azweebs 2 months ago
great help, thanks for you time and effort.
Thesilverpox 2 months ago
Hi if anybody can help me I am also wanting to do this operation to my MacBook pro from late 07. My hd is currently a 120gb and I wish to upgrade it to a 1tb if anyone could give me the right one to get and if how I could save my data before hand and also I am currently running osx lion. Thanks!
jimmmyange 2 months ago
this video/tutorial is wonderful. for the price of having a pro just open up the mac and tell me i needed a new hard drive, i was able to purchase a 1T and install it myself. it's not for the feint of heart, nor for thick-fingered bumblers, but it is DOABLE. i followed the instructions exactly and, after 40 minutes, i'm watching it install osx. it was stressful and i'd suggest not having someone looking over your shoulder. take your time!! thank you so much for the help!!
ringolake 2 months ago
Nice demo... lose the irritating sound track in the background... un-necessary and repetitive to the point of becoming very distracting. And STRESSFUL!!!!!
Sorry I could not continue listening to the Chinese Water Torture Repetitive Loop which destroyed your very nice demo.
singmysong4444 3 months ago 9
Nice demo... lose the irritating sound track in the background... un-necessary and repetitive to the point of becoming very distracting. And STRESSFUL!!!!!
singmysong4444 3 months ago
Great video, worked like a charm for me.
moriad0720 3 months ago
5 Star. I had the right tool but I could not open my macbook pro 13. Once it was mentioned you need #00, i went ahead and opened the back. Took my harddrive out and found that I can not connect to my USB enclosure because of difference sizes. It helped me a lot! Thank you
bot06 3 months ago
Great video, worked perfectly for me.
garvoir 3 months ago
DELETE THIS VIDEO, IT IS DANGEROUS, I JUST FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS AND IT ASKS YOU TO DISCONNECT A RIBBON CONNECTOR AND THIS WILL INEVITABLY BREAK! Delete this video!!!!!
Kolvorok 4 months ago
@Kolvorok sucks to be you. should have been more carefull
kleingevaarlijkafval 2 months ago
Nice video! Thanks so much for the helpful and detailed information! You rock.
jondlugo 4 months ago
I just had to let you know watching this video gave me the confidence to go ahead and install my New hard drive that I have had for two months, but I was to afraid to tackle it , until I saw Your video , thank you so much for teaching me it turned out, PERFECT.
trucker47 4 months ago in playlist trucker47's Favorited Videos
Can I upgrade Lion on a hard drive then get another hard drive and upgrade it on the same Laptop will it work for both hard drives or will it just benefit the Laptop only ? Please help.
WiLLEDprototype 5 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Thank you very much for this detailed video. I never replaced a hard drive until now and....my mac works with the new cloned hard drive. Good Karma your way!
MrJhendo007 5 months ago
Thank you very much for this detailed video. I never replaced a hard drive until now and....my mac works with the new cloned hard drive. Good Karma your way!
MrJhendo007 5 months ago
Input/output error
datapenguin 5 months ago
I wonder if anyone else had the input/output error after installing their new hard drive
datapenguin 5 months ago
Is this the Macbookpro4,1?
samuellush 6 months ago
thanks very much now to get it in a bay
makesijoseph 6 months ago
This video is great - I installed my new 320 Gig 7200 RPM WD hard drive easily with these instructions. THANKS! Saved me at least $100 doing it myself.
HudsonMusicMan 7 months ago
Comment removed
HudsonMusicMan 7 months ago
spot on TUT!, I did not install the OS first because I did not want to duplicate what I was replacing in hopes of getting rid of some corruption issues(10.5 ) . I started up from the 10.6 disk and it recognized the hard drive i replaced and it installed.
GkKilla12 7 months ago
GREAT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO★★★★★
trucker47 7 months ago
This might not be cool, but I bought the metal housing for the hard-drive at ifixit.com . The housing was tossed by techs who told my kid that the laptop was a total loss due to a water spill. Apple store said minimum of $1500 to fix. Bought a new hard-drive $79. Was told by this store that instal was $100. I inquired about operating system...they said we do that too...$69.00. I asked sales person on floor to show me operating system....snow leopard. $39.00. It self-installed in under 15 mins.
cinemashow 7 months ago
Thank you. Your video saved me $100. Perhaps identify which screws go where during reassembly more clearly . But not that big of a deal. Well put together video, and the procedure is very clearly explained. Saved me $100 and yes, I was done in 15-20 mins. I have absolutely no computer repair skills what so ever.
thank you thank you thank you.
cinemashow 7 months ago
The tool kit doesnt work... Im using it right now.. it doesnt fit niether one of the screws
bndrbrn 8 months ago
Went without a hitch! Thanks! :D
flannyman2k 8 months ago
please remove this video. it is totally unnecessary to remove the hard drive ribbon cable. if you do you will likely break it. it's a $40 replacement. better not to have these bad instructions.
giantlaserbeams 8 months ago
can anybody make a video installing the system after a hdd replacement? i have no idea if its easy or not
juankrlox 9 months ago
Just followed this tutorial through on my PC Laptop whilst installing a 640gb drive into my MacBookPro. Reinstalling data using SuperDuper. All going fine. Many thanks.
Simontherunner 9 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Very useful!!!
Thanks for your sharing!!
raymondhkhkhk 9 months ago
Very useful!!!
Thanks for your sharing!!
raymondhkhkhk 9 months ago
Before you get started on this video you need to partition the drive first or you mac won't boot with it mounted internally. They have a page that explains how to do this. Once I did that it worked perfectly! Or you can do it with your installer once it is in the mac.
wilsoneffects 10 months ago
I am indeed grateful to you, thank you very much. Paul
Paulhoushang 10 months ago
is a mid 2007 macbook pro 15 the same process?
KushPizzaSleep 10 months ago
Are there any specific requirements if I wanted to replace the HDD with an SSD? Currently I am looking at either of the following. Let me know if there might be any issues please ...
1. Crucial Technology C300
2. Corsair P 256
gogol008 10 months ago
Thanks for the great video, worked like a charm.
I do have one little issue, maybe you can help me;
Now the lid has some difficulty closing.
The magnet pulls the hooks out no problem,
but I have to push kind of hard on the cover, before the hooks actually grip.
While before, it closed real easily.
Voiceguardian 11 months ago
Success! Just replaced w/ Hitachi 750GB Travelstar. Thanks!
1. Prop up keyboard with plastic object (travel mug) on top of CD/DVD player, leaving all cables connected!
2. Fold paper several times into a makeshift "spudger" - work the hard drive cable free by starting at the front - think putty knife action - for me (2008 model) this was easy!
3. work hdd out right side first, gently nudge SATA cable out - if you're careful, you only need the screwdriver, torx, (got at home depot) and beer!
caverpilot 11 months ago
Is the procedure for this basically the same for a 17" Macbook Pro of the same line? ie. the all-aluminium casing ? Same model, just bigger.
benway15 1 year ago
@hoobert
Yes, TM restore is always an option.
TheWoodlink 1 year ago
I did it!...
Had no other choice but to grow a pair and gently pull.... I am sweatin for sure
Stike 1 year ago
FFFUUUUUUU... the damn cable is FULLY glued to the hard drive!! Anything how I can remove the cable without breaking it??
That glue must go!! How??
Stike 1 year ago
Just did this tutorial. Got a sweet new Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM drive. Running my backup from time machine now. Got the toolkit advertised in the video. Everything went perfect. Great job!
jasonl82 1 year ago
Just wondering if most people choose to clone first (via super duper) OR simply install a blank drive and restore from Time Machine?
onealmed 1 year ago
@onealmed I'd also like to know about this - is a Time Machine restore a viable option?
hoobert 1 year ago
Fine tutorial, in the great OWC tradition. One thing though, which has been pointed out by others: The step where you remove the hard drive ribbon cable from the logic board is NOT as simple as they make it look in the video. Take VERY good care to carefully pry it off using a knife/screwdriver. Otherwise, it will break, like it did for me, and cost you $25 on eBay and a wait to replace the cable. Whole thing takes a couple hours if you haven't done one before.
mikejschmidt 1 year ago
Very nice tutorial. Worked great for me and saved me the $100 that the service place wanted for the upgrade (without the disk). The bracket holding my Macbook Pro was a little different from that shown here, but easy to uninstall and reinstall.
I installed a Momentus XT 500GB hybrid drive.
schafir 1 year ago
Very nice tutorial. Worked great for me and saved me the $100 that the service place wanted for the upgrade (without the disk). The bracket holding my Macbook Pro was a little different from that shown here, but easy to uninstall and reinstall.
schafir 1 year ago
A useful tip: use a small pair of tweezers with a low profile to slide under the hdd ribbon. Slowly slide towards use to gently pry the adhesive off. Just installed a 120gb SSd ocZ drive, and I'm blazing through my apps. Another note: some mbp do not have the small assembly next to the hdd. And even though I screwed back everything in sequence I had 1 screw giving me issues with not threading back into it's hole flush.
KeyClothing 1 year ago
If an expensive program (such as autocad) is installed on the original hard drive, can it be easily transfered to the new one?
EFlip21 1 year ago
Thanks; was a great help.
frankb052470 1 year ago
Thank you , Apple Tech wanted 270 to replace 160g drive . I replaced it with a faster and larger drive for 65 dollars thanks to this video . Everything went smooth and worked . I had difficult restoring from time capsule unrelated to this . But found had to install the original os before time capsule could restore properly for me .
Thanks for helping me , my drive was 2 years old and was beginning to fail .
inno68 1 year ago
Thank you so much for the great video!
ilovebeingblack 1 year ago
Video was a big help. One point of caution, be very careful when disconnecting the keyboard and hard drive cables from the mainboard as the connectors are very delicate. Try to lift from both sides and come straight up. I came off at a slight angle and the connector broke. Had to order a new ribbon cable for HD. Other wise, video is spot on. Thanks for the help!
mgibsonjr 1 year ago
Excelent !! You saved my day !! You are the man !!!!! Thank you very much!!!
leozin2007 1 year ago
if i replace the hard drive will i haft to replace the operating system?
stubbz25 1 year ago
Do you have a video for swapping cd/DVD drives? Mines just died. Thanks
redbiff 1 year ago
Brilliant, clear video.
Thanks
scottishy 1 year ago
Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu!
MidiaDub 1 year ago
What is the purpose of removing the torx screws from the RAM compartment? Do they, for example, hold the keyboard down (hence necessitating their removal)? From what I could see inside that MBP, the removal of those torx screws is unnecessary.
morbid4 1 year ago
PLEASE ADD AN ANNOTATION for the part where you take the hard drive ribbon off the board. I tore mine because I followed what you did and tore mine. You should really use a screw driver and not your fingers to remove it. Now I'm out $45 for a new ribbon. I get that you're already saving people loads of money by having this video up but PLEASE don't misguide them!
smpfilms 1 year ago
brilliant video, worked for me
thanks!
conefish 1 year ago
Hi, i have a WD 320gb external drive, that I've removed from the housing and wanted to put in my macbook pro.. I took the computer apart, took out the drive and went to put the new one in, but there's a usb port attached and no sata cable input.. what do I do? Do I remove the usb port along with the big computer chip thing on the back and replace it with the one from the macbook drive? It doesn't seem like that would work...any suggestions?
maffew1234 1 year ago
Comment removed
cbgthree 1 year ago
I had to go through this damn procedure TWICE because my new hard drive had several bad sectors and had to be returned. Probably a good idea to test your new hard drive's health with a utility like SMART Utility and use it for a few days with an external keyboard before putting all the screws in again.
cbgthree 1 year ago
worked like a charm!
like dr150 said, take special care for the harde drive cable.. i used screwdrivers en nails!
railchallenge 1 year ago
Why the hell did they make it so hard to replace the hard-drive. With the memory it should be the easiest thing to replace without having to dismantle the whole thing.
(I'm just questioning this particular design choice, though.)
Naunaud128 1 year ago
I just used this tonight. Great Video!
gary7664 1 year ago
Jesus Christ this is too hard.
jmpido 1 year ago
HEEELP! I did this and now the only thing I get out of my computer is a nasty sound, like a horn every 3 seconds. What can I have broken, cause something is surely pretty wrong. Damn, I was looking forward to 500GB hard disk and 4gb RAM!!
susannebranner 1 year ago
@susannebranner .....Unless you know what you're doing, it looks like you've reached a technical impasse. Contact an Apple store to get clues on what went wrong and use the Apple forum to ask this question. Maybe you can fix it yourself. If you're out of your scope, pay the money and get it repaired at an Apple tech shop.
dr150 1 year ago
@dr150
Seems like I broke the hard drive cable. Just bought one and put it in. Made the trick :-) But thanks!!
susannebranner 1 year ago
@susannebranner sounds like you didn't place the ram in correctly.
raffster2 1 year ago
I have already do it but when I turn on the laptop it´s shows me a folder with a question mark, so I han´t got any OS but all the hard drivers should come with an OS, no?
quinillo94 1 year ago
@quinillo94 : What did you end up doing?? I am getting a folder showing up on my mac as well. Let me know thanks!
SoulChild702 1 year ago
@quinillo94 What did you end up doing?? I am getting a folder showing up on my mac as well. Let me know thanks!
SoulChild702 1 year ago
I want to upgrade my harddrive to make it run faster, i have a mac book pro version mac os x 10.5.8
2.26 GHz intel core 2 duo
with 2gb memory 1067 MHz DDR3 somebody please tell me exactly wht i would need to upgrade it and where i can get it from please thanks
iMULTIPLAYERi 1 year ago
I'm getting a macbook pro then i'm getting the 640 gb internal hardrive to put in it. I'm thinking about getting 2 4gb sticks of ram but i don't think i will need that much.
CelticsFanBoy92 1 year ago
Very helpful video. Mine was a bit different inside though...no bluetooth thing on the side, and instead of having the gaskets attached to the drive on the left side, it had a pair of knobs, which went into the gaskets fixed in the frame. Got a 500GB Momentus XT inside, nothing like going from 8 to 240GB of free space.
thisanna 1 year ago
This is a great how to video, but it does make it look easier than it really is. Be very careful with the ribbon cables.
Suggestion: Buy an external enclosure, partition your new HD, then clone your existing HD BEFORE YOU DO THE UPGRADE. Make sure the new drive is bootable, THEN do the swap. MBP should boot right up.
nwmarco 1 year ago
Great vid! Was able to easily follow along and just put a 500 gig HD into my macbook pro and 2 gigs of ram. I found the T7 screwdriver also worked.
admingy92 1 year ago
this voice sounds just like the asian from star trek.
irelevent127 1 year ago
Hi,
Can MacBook Pro 13 Intel 2.26 Mid 2009 with Nvidia Geforce 9400 accept/compatible with a third party notebook Blu Ray drive?.
no2nonsense 1 year ago
I just stuck in a 1TB WD drive - must be double platter as is quite a bit thicker than the original. I thought I would give it a whirl anyway and would have been prefect if not for the dumb design idea of the cable connectors on top of the drive. Net result is a slight unsightly gap on front the left had side - but no worse than residual wear and tear on the old white plastic MacBooks. I think getting 1TB is worth the lump and the lid still closes pretty well. Lesson: read drive spec before buy
js02832 1 year ago
Good video.
js02832 1 year ago
Great instructions Thanks! Worked like a charm. Just loving the 500GB in my MBP!
andrewmackinder 1 year ago
This was the most helpful video I found. My MBP was slightly different than that shown:
Cables stuck down with rubber cement (or similar) that required some careful, persistant work to peel off without damage.
Wide tab in center/front of keyboard module was a bear to get to release.
Used a plastic ruler instead of "nylon pry bar"--computer stores never heard of it.
Had external drive with Time Machine backup, so I am simply restoring from there after boot from Snow Leopard disc.
Thanks!!
livingston878 1 year ago
A few tips not mentioned on this video:
1.) Definitely get the tool kit.
2.) The front of the casing (where it will pop) is harder to open than it looks on this video.
3.) You don't have to unplug the cables. Although you risk accidentally breaking them. I used an empty CD spindle to prop up the keyboard.
4.) The cable glued to the hard drive is harder to remove than it appears.
5.) Use sandwich bags for the screws.
6.) Insert OSX disk. Hold C. Partition under disk utility. Install.
chriszerwas 1 year ago 16
500GB, but it seems to me I read that a 750GB may be coming soon. The drive can't be any higher than 9.5MM.
MacOSG 1 year ago
@MacOSG 750 WD is available NOW. I just bought one. that's the reason I'm watching this "how to" :)
jerryjtodd 1 year ago
@MacOSG 750GB Hitachi Travelstar - bought for $89 - 5400rpm / 9.5mm height. Perfect!!
caverpilot 11 months ago
@MacOSG I have the 2010 15" Macbook Pro (Unibody). I'm looking at a 1 TB drive (12.5mm height). Do you know if this would work?
tsolorio3001 5 months ago
Very useful video! I followed instructions and replaced my macbookpro 120GB hd for a 500GB! Everything is working perfect! Most difficult part was to unglue the ribbon cable over the old hd. Everything else was a piece of cake...if one is patient! Tahnk you so much!
zakdonba 4 months ago
on this model whats the biggest hard drive I could use...ive read its 320 and possibly 500
AdamakaTai 1 year ago
screw marathon
cryptomnesiac 1 year ago
i meant can i sell it
jdawz1985 1 year ago
@jdawz1985 Sure, but I doubt that you will get much for it. new drives have come down in price. Why take a chance on a used drive when you can get a new one with warranty for a few bucks more?
MacOSG 1 year ago 3
what do i do with my old drive?
jdawz1985 1 year ago
@jdawz1985 Buy an external enclosure and put it in there. Then use it for storage.
MacOSG 1 year ago
@jdawz1985 Save it for vintage purposes if you or your colleagues/friends have no immediate need for it.
neglesaks 1 year ago
Tutorial was great. Unfortunately, I did put a screw in the video out post hole. ANy ideas on how to get it out?
ynnad06 1 year ago
thx
KosovaSoldier199522 1 year ago
Did this last night, great tutorial, thanks!
skankmonky 1 year ago
@skankmonky Hey do I have to clone my hard drive or I can just put the new one in, and then use the restore dvd, to bring it to life?
7susan 1 year ago
Does anyone know if you can upgrade your graphics card?
afterbirth83 2 years ago
@afterbirth83 dont think so, i think they are onboard graphics. Anyway, those are the graphic cards that come with it and probably shouldnt be changed anywya
KHMadMan 1 year ago
Nice 'n' easy. Clear tutorial.
bartern 2 years ago
Excellent video, just swapped out of 120gb macbook pro hdd for a 500gb drive, everything went smoothly and much quicker now. thank you for posting this video.
Add92z 2 years ago
cool... Thats exactly what i'm about to do.
afterbirth83 2 years ago
Fantastic video! It was so helpful. Like others, I just swapped out my 160gb drive using the OWC kit and moved up to the to Seagate 500gb. Not only do I have tons more room, my computer FLIES now. A huge difference. I never would have tackled cracking open my laptop without his video. Cannot stress how helpful it was. Thanks, OWC!
companyman 2 years ago
This video was amazing. I just replaced my 160 GB hard drive for a new 500 GB hard drive, and the replacement was just as easy as the video made it seem.
truetilldeath303 2 years ago
This video is very helpful. Everybody can change the drive with this tutorial. I have got 500 GB now. When you remove the plugs inside don`t be shy. Thank you for the video!!!
CrazyBoxProductions 2 years ago
Looks easier than the instructions on other sites. I think I'll upgrade now. THANKS!
detoth67 2 years ago
I found this areally useful tutorial. I just replaced my MBP 200GB drive for a Scorpio Blue 500GB drive and it all worked well. The electrical connecting tape on top of the drive was quite stuck onto the original drive and so I gently eased this off with a credit card. Prepare well with the right tools and a well lit surface and keep all your screws carefully and you´ll be fine.
jezstoner 2 years ago
I love my MacBook, and I fully intend to get a new one next year. My Dell which has almost exactly the same specs as my current MacBook is a TANK.
That said, I've serviced Powerbooks from as far back as the 520. It never ceases to amaze me how poorly designed Apple's laptops are when it comes to replacing parts. Ahead of the game in many respects, Apple still makes things insanely difficult for the people who work on them.
unchellmatt 2 years ago
Excellent tutorial! Walked me through every bit of the process with ease. Mine did have the yellow tape and I didn't put it back because it wouldn't stick anymore. I had a bitch of a time removing the cable from the top of the HD! It took me like 5 minutes but it paid off 'cause I didn't experience any problem with the new HD. That was actually THE hardest part, the rest was just a walk in the park. Thanks a bunch!!
chenchomelo 2 years ago 3
can you replace any type of HDD brands on Macbook Pro?
jograd08 2 years ago
It has to be a HDD specifically for laptops. Otherwise, it won't fit.
Aceuniverse 2 years ago
BEWARE!!......When you remover the keyboard cover, take SPECIAL CARE to remove the plug from the keyboard AND hard drive.
I broke my hard drive cable ($40 replacement) by pulling on it when you should use NAILS or flathead screwdriver to dig under it to remove the flimsy plug. This video make it look too easy. Special care is necessary.
The Apple store me told me they get TONS of repair work from people who accidentally break the SATA cable going into the board doing the HD replacement.
dr150 2 years ago 14
@dr150
I'm having problems. After carrying out the procedure and starting up the computer it just gives me a pretty nasty sound, like a horn, every 3 seconds or so. I'm wondering whether I broke the hard drive cable or the cable from the keyboard. Do you have any idea? I tried putting back my old hard disk but the problem is the same, so I guess something have gone pretty wrong...
susannebranner 1 year ago
Comment removed
ryoung1902 2 years ago
Thank you very much. I followed your tutorial and successfully completed the replacement with no problems.
ryoung1902 2 years ago
i bought a corsair p256 ssd online and getting ready to replace my 256gb hd currently in my mbp. i was going to "clone" the old drive to the new one (not exactly sure about the terminology). can you recommend some steps i can take (referring to software, external enclosures, etc)? also, will the steps you mentioned change if i am installing an ssd rather than a regular hard drive?
walidism 2 years ago
excellent guide, now i need to know how to watch this video while replacing the hd on my only computer is the next step to figure out.
walidism 2 years ago 2
Excellent, informative, and clear guide. Thanks!
soul4tran 2 years ago
very nice video, this is how tutorials should be !!
87ramasaurus 2 years ago
Very interesting!
is it possible to replace a HD with a SSD in early 2008 MBPs ? I hope so! ;)
andyparasite 2 years ago
excelent video.. very good work i will post this in my blogspot
metallerium 2 years ago 3
Nice tutorial
BlitzWolf 2 years ago
Thanks for a clear and concise guide. I'm going to fit a 500Gb Samsung drive this weekend... looks pretty straight forward.
TheDigitalPimP 2 years ago
Anyone have tried the 500Gb Western Digital Scorpio @5400RPM 2,5'' ? this is the drive I want to put in my mac..
andreshidalgo 2 years ago
If you're going to go through the trouble get a 7200 rpm drive. :)
rsteag 2 years ago
I wouldnt, they get to hot for the macbook to handle and you will cause burns... trust me v seen a couple who have been down this path
But hey not all hardrives do this xD so no flamming :o
Thedutchrockstar 2 years ago
good tutorial
bvabhi 2 years ago
Thank you. Excellent Tutorial.
Ollopaman 2 years ago
Hello, my question is for those who upgraded it to 500gb, is it with a Western Digital external disk? I have heard the new 1 Terabyte disk doesnt fit...
andreshidalgo 2 years ago
I put a 500GB Seagate drive in mine. It's 9.5mm high. The new 1TB drives are 12.5MM high and will not fit.
MacOSG 2 years ago
cheers mate.
andreshidalgo 2 years ago
Interesting. Everyone needs to make note of that. Do you think the height will be less sometime in the future?
rsteag 2 years ago
thanks C3PO!!!
cjayone2 2 years ago
Just performed this Hard Drive upgrade. My Macbook Pro now has a 500GB hard drive now instead of the 200GB. Love that extra space. This is a very good guide. Thanks
Eternal2007 2 years ago
I'm buying the tools right now on amazon, can you give a list of all the tools we need?
GreenFrogStudios 2 years ago
Watch the video...it tells in there.
MacOSG 2 years ago
hey, can you help me, at 5:10 in the video I can't take off the metal bracket. I am using a torq T6 screwdriver but when i push it into the screw hard to unscrew it, it just keeps turning and the screw doesn't budge. I have the Macbook Pro 15" 2.2GHz early 2008 model.
matthewhowardwolf 2 years ago
Excellent video. Cool, calm and clear. Followed instructions. No trouble at all.
H1ckup 2 years ago
This video is spot on. I played it from my iPhone while i dismantled my MBP. I replaced a 250G with a 500G drive. I didn't have to unplug the keyboard or the drive as suggested in the video. Thank you MacOSG, this was really helpful.
aircooledsix 2 years ago 8
I'm just wondering, after doing this 'surgury', is the laptop's case effected in any way? I've heard from someone that the gaps between the two pieces of metal becomes looser if you open the case. Is this true?
dxbJono 2 years ago
Yes, it never re-seats quite as nicely as the original factory (robot) build.
Setmose 2 years ago
I replaced the hard drive on my 17 in macbook pro and the case still looks the same. So I didn't notice the difference on mine after the surgery.
slicknickxp 2 years ago
Mine didn't sit flush either. After a good while I figured it out. You have to push the top metal edge of the DVD tray IN as you're pushing DOWN firmly over the top. The two pieces will ALIGN and you'll hear a *snap*. Don't push too hard as to not bend the metal...feel it out. With jiggering, you'll hear the pieces crackle which means you're on trackto getting them to snap in place!
dr150 2 years ago
what else can be used if you do not have a pry tool?
(household items)
aqualiciouss 2 years ago
Hi, I was using your guide and managed to break the hard drive ribbon cable when pulling it out, any tips for me?
worldc8804 2 years ago
get a new cable online there not that expensive 34 cents i think + shipping
bestlupinski 2 years ago
youre screwed if u dont find a new 1
tippete123 2 years ago
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing and saving me some cash.
yourralphness 2 years ago
i was wondering,, is the hard drive is the ID of the computer? I need the new ID for my computer.,, this one website dont allow my computer to play their games..
jeffboston 2 years ago
No. They may be monitoring IP addresses. You would have to use a proxy IP. You can do that will an app called NetShade.
MacOSG 2 years ago
This video was a great help ... Much appreciated ... My new hard drive works a treat ... Thanks again
lordraven173 2 years ago
thanks for this video, harddrive just died in mine, time for a new one.
Tofuik 2 years ago
Great instructional video. I was going to take it to the Apple Store and let them do it, (for a price,) but now I think I'll do it myself.
Thanks for posting.
chrs168 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
wow the old macbook pros are ugly compared to the new ones
strongmad86 2 years ago
why did u remove a comment???
pepo1984 2 years ago
I didn't remove anything. Someone wrote that in there.
MacOSG 2 years ago
Then why does it appear in japanese for me
TheycallmeFuzzy 2 years ago
Comment removed
bestlupinski 2 years ago
Comment removed
voodoochicken123 2 years ago
This video helped me upgrade the hard drive, but one thing about removing the panel... To me, I almost damaged the panel by using the method shown here. At the same time, I wonder why Apple made is so hard to remove the panel. After all, screw drivers are holding them together... It's surely not for a faint of heart.
hiriumi 2 years ago
this goes with my comment below: BE CAREFUL! Apple doesn't sell the ribbon cable separately - probably about a .79 part! Instead you have to buy the whole frik'n top as it only comes as one assembly - $260 !!!!!!!!!! And even then you have to remove your keyboard and install it in the new top! What a rip - and I was trying to be very careful!!!!! Much more careful than what he shows here disconnecting the cable! See comment below by "mygod..." - don't remove if you don't have to!!!
FreeRange9 2 years ago
Be VERY careful with the ribbon cable to the keyboard - if you don't have to remove it DON'T - I lifted the corner end of the ribbon one side at a time at the connector but the ribbon started separating from the connector breaking a couple of the connection wires so my keyboard and trackpad stopped working - see my next comment
FreeRange9 2 years ago
and now please remove 39 more screws lol thats a lot of screws at least we now know it wont fall apart
aussumpossom33 2 years ago
this video saved me!
with it I was totally successful in installing a new HD
thanks!
one thing I found doing it myself though:
it isn't necessary to disconnect the HD ribbon cable connected to the logic board
otherwise went without a charm.
formatted and used superduper afterwards
mygoditsfullofstarz 3 years ago
where do you buy the hard drives?
JERCHROME 3 years ago
at the hard drive store of course
kanodogg 2 years ago
C:):)L
ljk1996 3 years ago