Hi..
i'm planning to upgrade my MacBook hdd..Current hdd is 80Gb..so, i'm gonna double the space..

but i've heard somewhere, if we upgrade hdd (ourself), it will void our warranty ..can somebody confirm this?

And, what connection does MacBook hdd has? is it SATA or SATA II?

thanks..

I don't that is true. Since that all you have to do is slot out the old HDD and slot back in the new HDD, the only warranty that you will void is the hard drive's.

That is you are using a Macbook. Macbook Pro users will void thiers.

SATA 5300rpm 2.5 inch is the info i got from Apple's website

---

Added on June 4, 2007, 7:39 pmUpdate

Read this

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/99397-info-t...sata-sata2.html

This post has been edited by kwekeugene: Jun 4 2007, 07:40 PM

The HDD in the Macbook is an official DIY replaceable part. See Apple's Manual page on DIY HDD replacement. Replacing the HDD will not void your warranty, but doing it while the power is plugged in and frying the mainboard in the process definitely will. In other words, Apple will not honor the warranty if you don't follow the instructions and screw up. Ifixit.com has better pictures though.

I actually did the upgrade myself over the weekend in about 10 minutes. The most difficult part is to find a small enough Torx screwdriver to remove the old slide rail plus actually finding a SATA 2.5" HDD in LYP. The biggest I found was 120GB, I would love to have a 160GB or 200GB drives but unfortunately these "high-end" stuff needs to be special ordered.

I just upgraded mine, bought a 120GB for a little less than RM300, there were 160GB as well but it goes way beyond RM400, not worth it. Just get a SATA it'll work.

Dont bother with 7200rpm, was told it'll run pretty hot.

How much does it cost to upgrade from 120 gig hd to 200?

The heat of 7200rpm will only be slightly higher than 5400rpm. I'm willing to sacrifice a lil of heat and get a much faster HDD

How large does these laptop HDDs go? And i assume you cannot source these larger ones locally, available online only?

The largest on newegg right now is a 320GB drive. You can probably special order them in LYP, I've asked Compuzone before. Most of them are made in Malaysia anyway.


This post has been edited by tishaban: Feb 29 2008, 09:21 PM

I have the 250HDD ex-stock. For bigger size HDD, needs to order.
PM me if you are interested.

This post has been edited by sonnettech-asia: Mar 1 2008, 12:19 AM

What brand is the 250 one?

Do you have experience using them in MacBooks? I'm asking because I'm worried about heat. When I got a larger drive for my iBook, it ran hot and the machine was never really the same after that (would overheat and shut down).

I have seagate and WD. Bigger drives also created more heat. I suggest you use the external HDD.

The reason im asking is that im in the market for a bigger HDD myself. Went for a browsearound in Lowyat today, and found out that the 320Gb 5400rpm HDD is available in the store itself for RM585. Im bringing over my Macbook for its surgery tomorrow.

What are the necessary things i need to do before this surgery? The Macbook is regularly backed up by Time Machine, i guess i would also need a Disk Image of the HDD and store it in case things go wrong?

whoa 320gb hdd on a macbook, I thought 160gb big already

Anyways i still havent upgrade mine, cant find the necessary screw drivers (torx t8 and philips 00)

let us know about the result.. i interested to have 320gb harddisk in my macbook as well hhaa

That's cheap dude. Could you pm me the shop name. Won't mind springing for a 320 gigger for my backup drive.

BTW. If you want to avoid the hassle of reinstalling all your stuff: download SuperDuper from

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13803/superduper%21

IIANM, if you only require to clone your startup drive, you don't even need to spring for the paid version.

Then backup your entire harddrive to an external hard disk. When your new drive is installed, startup with the external hard disk connected (via USB or FireWire) and after the startup chime keep the option key depressed. Your external disk should be visible to choose as a startup volume. Launch superduper and clone the external harddrive back to the new drive.

This post has been edited by MacDaNife: Mar 1 2008, 10:49 PM

i've bought the 320gb some time last week after i received my mbp from workshop, for rm575. from what the technician told me, if you asked a certified apple technician to do the upgrade for you, it won't void your warranty. he installed it for me,and it has been working ever so smoothly.

i'm not sure about this myself, but there's some statements that said the mbp can only support up 300gb, which is why the upgrade for newer mbps is 300gb. not sure about macbook. the 320gb hdd in my mbp is read as 300gb only in capacity. the extra 20gb is 'lost', which is quite a waste. i'm wondering if there is a way around this...

This post has been edited by dawn152: Mar 2 2008, 10:43 AM

Hard drive "effective space" is always less than it's "advertised" capacity. This is because of the 1024Mb = 1 gigabyte thing. So if you divide 320 by 1.024 you "lose" about 10 gb. The rest is required for partitioning, even if you have only one partition. So it's quite normal for you to "lose" those gigs.

There's no such thing as computers not being able to support larger disk capacities. The only limitation is the physical dimensions of the drive: i.e. as long as it fits in the computer, the computer will be able to use it's entire capacity.

The 320 Gb drives are new to the market having been available (worldwide) only in the past few weeks. Apple typically rebrands these drives before putting in their machines (they carry the Apple logo on the drive stickers) and this delays their inclusion into Macs. I've no doubt the 320Gb drives will make it into the NEXT revision of the Mac portables.

I have a 320GB ext hard disk and the 20GB is lost when partitioned. It's happens for all hard disk, including the one that came with your mbp originally.

How much did the technician charge you for installing the hard drive?

free... just cause i bought the macbook air from them.

i know about the 'effective space' and that it will always be less than the actual capacity, i've come to that conclusion myself. but because i've read somewhere that the mbp hard drive limit is 300gb, it confuses me. good to know that there isn't a limitation.... i was worried for a while there... thanks all for ur info.

p/s: i think machines charge around rm60, epicentre rm100 and vr tech rm200.... fyi

This post has been edited by dawn152: Mar 2 2008, 02:46 PM

Okay guys, my Macbook is in MacStudio right now, inside the surgery theater. Pray it comes out from this alive.

Abang don't forget to keeps your eyes at your macbook,
make sure you grab your HD after they take out from your macbook.
still remember that hong kong actor case.


This post has been edited by SEP910: Mar 2 2008, 05:13 PM

Ahahah, good point, i'll keep that in mind.

Although i dont have that actor's good looks, or his promiscuous sexual lifestyle....well, not to his standards anyway.

And to those wanting to know where I got the drive, interesting story when i go and buy them today. But before i start, this is not an attempt to put the store in bad light, it just so happen it happens that way.

Got the drive first time from MyPC. Quickly go back to MacStudio and do the whole procedure, only to find that i got a lemon of a HDD. The drive made some horrible sounding clicks and went dead. Went back up , they saw my angry face, and refunded me the price , not so promptly, for they wanted to try it for themselves to see if the drive indeed is a lemon. Got refunded back, head to Cycom, and they have the last unit there. Tested it on the spot, confirmed working. Head back to MacStudio and now in the process of upgrading.

Cycom gave me RM550 for the 320Gb 5400rpm WD HDD. Me? As long as it works and i got it done by today, im all smiles from ear to ear. Cannot delay it since im on standby tomorrow, and may be called up for work.

*Still pacing the MacStudio floor nervously, like expecting firstborn only. *

@dawn,

thanks for the info

@string,

How much was the service charge? Are you allowed to see them working on it ?

RM150 for installation. I have yet to see if i can bargain it off or something.

Ouch, RM150 for installation is abit steep (for me la )

Anyways i cant find the necessary tools here in Ipoh, damn tension

I could do the whole damn installation, but i got no one else but myself to blame if things turn for the worse. I like not being responsible.

Damn string, now you make me scared to do it myself

Ahahaha, im just saying that, you'd have to be extra careful when you chose the DIY route. I'm just know myself that i'd fcuk something up if im not being extra careful. RM150 versus whatever the cost is if i mess things up looks pretty good in my book.

I much prefer the DIY route. I've seen technicians take apart my notebooks in the past and I'm always convinced I'll be able to do a better/gentler job.

As long as you've got the right tools, that is.... I've accumulated quite a collection.

Not in front of me you wont molest my Macbook.

Maybe after watching someone do it first i can gain a better understanding on how to go about doing it myself. I'm confident enough during my PeeCee tinkering days, i have lots of room to manouvre and work with. Tight space scares me, except for that "activity" in bed.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 2 2008, 08:18 PM

I'm interested in getting an external HDD and am looking at getting Time Capsule; except it's taking a while to convince that sister of mine to fork $ for Time Capsule [she's the one who uses all the HDD space on MY pc so it's fair she pays for the HDD drive! *grins*]. Am thinking, can I take the example of 320GB HDD @ RM575. If I multiply that by 3 (for 1 TB) it'll be RM1725 hence RM1.7k for the 1TB Time Capsule isn't really that expensive right?

Can ah my argument? *grins*

A lot of disadvantage. You'll be running daisychains of external HDDs, and it will look unsightly. If you are using this as a storage device for Time Machine, your backups will only look at it as a 320Gb HDD to backup to, not the total of three, IIANM. The backups will rapidly fill up to your 320Gb drive and will do only monthly backups after that to save space. And also, add just another RM274 to get the 1 TB Time Capsule. Not really that much saving, in my book, between them.

It can be much cheaper. A normal 3.5" 320GB cost approximately RM250. String's is much expensive since it's for 2.5" and for notebooks.


RM250 * 7 = RM1750
320GB * 7 = 2100GB

Well of course, you'll have to fork out a little extra for the external casing for the hd.

______

Having a single large drive is much more convenient. Imagine the horror of looking for a single mp3 in 7 hard drives!!

i think for macbook, the DIY is pretty easy, cause the hdd slot is within access, unlike the mbp which you have to unhook the keyboard wire & take it out. and there's also the warranty void part, which is why i didn't do it myself.

@tinkerbell,

if you don't mind the storage not being wireless & mobile, i suggest you go & buy yourself the wd mybook studio edition. 1tb costs around rm995 only now, & the hdd is formatted specifically for mac. plus it's small & quiet. and it comes with 5 years warranty. it's the best ext. drive (for now) for mac according to both maclife & macworld magazine. *sorry for the pimpage

This post has been edited by dawn152: Mar 2 2008, 09:04 PM

I agree on the MyBooks. I have a 750Gb and a 500Gb versions, the former houses all my home videos and vacation files, while the latter us my current Time Machine backup media. Both rock solid, never faltered so far. Once the Time Capsule arrives, the 500Gb will be plugged into it.

Hmm... I'm new to these HDD stuff so need to read about it, so right now my other cheaper option is MyBook?!

@stringfellow,
I think you misunderstood me - I intended to use the argument of inconvenience and 'it's about the same price' if we had to get 320GB x 3 units instead of 1 unit of 1TB Time Capsule.

I'm off to HK in April (otherwise I'll get stringfellow to get me the TC!) so am hoping to get the 1TB Time Capsule at about less than RM1.7k *grins* Looks like I've got a month to decide whether I need such a big HDD or not!

According to Apple Store HK, The Time Capsule is:-

4,100.00 HKD = 1,683.70 MYR

About RM200 cheaper for the 1 TB version. Not sure if it is available once im there or not.

For convenience sake, i think nothing beats a single device that does everything.

Posting this from Machines Lot 10, they are officially opening today.

@stringfellow,
U sure go around quite a bit; and I did see the ad re Machines opening at Lot 10. You're not there to grab a RM99 iPod Shuffle are U? *grins* I suppose perhaps I should get the 500GB version instead; since sis is reluctant to fork out a single cent - she's spoilt spoilt spoilt! *hAHahAHhaHAHha*

I don't know if it's gonna be available when ur there early March but there's no rush in getting it, besides Ur there again end March and I'm there early April

PS: Aren't U supposed to b sick in bed?!

Tink, nope I was there to check out the place. Pretty slick, and the staff are type I like: attentive, fun and professional. A far contrast from their KLCC counterpart.

I bought myself two screen protectors for both my Macbook & Macbook Air. No more spitting on the screen to clean it up, plus I can save up on my iKlear.

I'm okay already Tink, I'm beginning to think you would always remember me as The Sick One.

@stringfellow,
Na.. You're The Generous One except for when it comes to me - have U found that er... 'Heart of the Ocean' yet? *grins* I rarely am in KL so doubt I'll be there much *grins* Any photos?

Gnome, if the tools you are talking about is the torx screwdriver, you can get it easily at any electronic shop. Computer shop usually don't carry those or don't even know what it a torx screw is. Just go to the electronic shop (esp those selling pro audio stuff one, like karaoke or PA system) and ask for star-shape screwdriver (yeah, I bet they dunno it's named torx-screw) I got mine for about RM25-30 ish. I can't remember. Did my own hardrive transplant twice on my PowerBook and it's still working fine.

I got my torx screwdriver from Tesco for much less than RM10

You gotta know what to look for though, but with Google being your friend and Tesco having customer friendly return policies, it's really not hard.

make sure you get the right size though... i had to returned it twice because both times i got the size all wrong. or maybe that's just me being confused....

Looking at the size of the screw, ur gonna need the smallest available one? *grins*

dunno about MBP, but my MacBook uses Torx T6 screws found them for RM7.50 at HomeFIX 1 Utama...

They usually come as a set. You'll need the whole set as Apple tends to have different sized Torx screws in same machine. Can't remember what I paid but it must have been around RM20 at JayaTools in the now closed and soon to be demolished Jaya Shopping Complex in Sec 14 PJ.

ah.... buying the whole set makes much more sense. i guess i was being a cheapskate & just bought the one screwdriver...

Since I'm no techie, I'll just send mine to the Apple Store if I need something done Had to trouble some people to put in additional RAM for me *grins* Well at least now I know how to do it without taking it back to the Stores

I have 2.5inch SATA 250GB, 320GB HDD exstock
Also have SATA casing too. if you are interested, Pls PM me.

Definitely agree with you, especially the part in bold... If I'm not mistaken Apple has set certain guidelines for certified technicians and authorized service providers, whereby they can't actually open up and expose the insides of a Mac in front of the client. Even simple things like memory upgrades are supposed to be done away from the eyes of the customer, such as in a back-room of the retail floor. You'd never know what happens in there! Of course, there will always be that "I agree that [service provider] will not be responsible for any loss of data, and I am responsible for backing up before sending it for service yadda yadda yadda" box to tick so there's no way I'm gonna trust them with my data. DIY is the best way to go, and I think Edison Chen now feels the same way too

To those considering of doing a DIY upgrade, you'd also get to learn more about the innards of your system if you do it yourself Just make sure you've done your research about how to do things the right way (Google is as always the best friend), have the right tools and do it in a suitable environment... Do take note that using larger capacity drives & faster drives would suck up more juice from the battery.

I've taken apart my MBP twice.. Once to find out why ants were crawling out of the vents at the hinge, and the second time to upgrade the hard disk. It's not that difficult, took less than 30 minutes to do it. There's no "warranty will be void if this seal is broken" stickers to be seen so I hope Apple won't know I opened it up.. I'll just say a certified technician upgraded the disk, or just put back the old hard disk in if I ever need to send it in for AppleCare claims..

The MacBook is way easier, there's no kapton tape or delicate connectors to deal with. Just take out the battery, remove the L shaped metal thingy, slide out the disk, replace, and reverse the steps. You don't have to worry much about voiding the warranty, as it is a user serviceable part.

For migrating data from an old hard disk to a new one, I've never found a need to use third party apps. Apple's Disk Utility meets my needs well enough. Of course, SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner would make the process more straightforward. I'm not suggesting that everyone should go DIY, read up and find out what's best for you.

Hi lailaikatong, good to see you here. How's the SATA casing and the SATA250GB doing?

I just bought a WD 250GB SATA for my MacBook today.

Installation took less than 5 minutes. Only required two tools:

1) Tiny philips screwdriver. One was included with the casing I bought for my drive, so that was easy.

2) Hex driver. I didn't have one of those but a small flat/blade screwdriver did the job just fine.

After that I formatted the drive with Disk Utility, installed GUID partition with Disk Utility, then used free download program Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the existing 60GB drive across. That took about 2 hours.

So far working well. And it's nice to see "179.84 GB available" on my screen!

I know this thread is meant for HDD upgrade but I wish to enquire that should I got those torx screwdriver if I intend to upgrade ram??

These torx s/d is similar to those used in handphones one rite?

thanks mates.

For those who wants to DYI their own HDD. I can assist, and guide you through.Can assist you to get it fixed over at the starbucks coffee session.

no need if u intend to upgrade the ram only... just a basic small philips screwdriver will do.

thanks mate

Woohoo finally bought the torx driver and the hdd is already installed in my macbook

Currently installing a fresh copy of Leopard