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kevindosi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2006
191
0
I'm about to replace my macbook hard drive (upgrading to more space). I saw that the internal drive my computer came with has a thin metal cover over it, along with a little slip of plastic to let you easily pull it out. I don't have a cover, and I don't have the tool I need to take the cover off. I was wondering if there would be any harm in installing this new hard drive without the cover\plastic slip. Is the cover necessary? Can I even take out the hard drive in the future without the slip?
 

eman

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2007
695
0
In the great white north
The thin metal cover is called the hard drive caddy. The cover can be taken off with a T-9 (torx bit), they're cheap to buy. I would not install the new HDD without the caddy.
 

GfulDedFan

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2007
1,063
23
Indiana
The "thin metal cover" is the EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) shield and the screws or pegs on the side are guides to install the drive as well as keeping it in place after installation. It is necessary for the EMI shield to be in place.

Use either a Torx #8 or #9 to remove the shield from your old drive and move it to the new drive. The instructions for this procedure are included on this tutorial - Link
 

kevindosi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2006
191
0
thanks for your help guys and gals. i'll go buy a torx screwdriver today :)
 
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