Macbook Hard Drive Upgrade

[gbriker]

I have a White, 13 inch, non-unibody Macbook from early 2008.
It has a 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of RAM, and Hard Drive that holds about 150-160 GB. I am a video editor, and I use Final Cut Express with HD video, and the footage is starting to eat away at my hard drive space - I'm down to 50 GB. I want to upgrade my internal Hard Drive, if possible to a 7200 RPM, 500GB - I am looking at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145275&cm_re=2.5_hard_drive_500gb_7200-_-22-145-275-_-Product

Will I be able to use this hard drive on my laptop? Will Apple help me replace my drive? Also, I have a Time Machine Backup on an external drive- will this help me transfer my data from drive to drive, or would I need another application?

Thanks For The Help

[msjones]

You can easily replace the drive yourself. If you remove the battery you will see 3 screws on the silver strip. Remove them and then remove the L strip. You will be able to see the hard drive. Pull the tab and remove the hard drive and replace with your new one.

You will have to do a reinstall of OS X and all your applications and complete a new time machine back up.

It may be worth while putting your 160GB in an external 2.5" caddy and use it for storing your video?

[Kim Philby]

I don't think the 13" models support a 500gb HDD. I believe 160 is the biggest you can put in there.

[GfulDedFan]

This is an incorrect statement.

I don't think the 13" models support a 500gb HDD. I believe 160 is the biggest you can put in there.

An intel Mac has no storage size limitation.. only a physical size limitation. As long as it's SATA 2.5" and no larger than 9.5mm tall, it can be installed. There is an exception that should be noted and that is a Hard Drive that is equipped with a sudden motion sensor has been known to conflict with MacBook built-in sensor to the extent of causing some problems in some cases.

[js81]

This is an incorrect statement.

^^ Seconded.

One thing to consider, OP - I installed a 7200rpm drive in my wife's white Macbook and it brought about a vibration issue that you could feel in the keyboard. Not a loud or strong vibration; just enough to drive her crazy. So we went back to a 5400rpm, as there wasn't a ton of difference anyway, plus she lost over a half hour of battery life from it. To her, the vibration and battery loss just wasn't worth the small speed bump.

Just my 2 cents... YMMV.

[GfulDedFan]

Will I be able to use this hard drive on my laptop?
It appears that it will work but it was hard to find the full specs on the model being sold.

Will Apple help me replace my drive?
Usually not but you can call and find out if they will. There are easy to follow instructions available including This Video (http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_mem_hd/)
Also, I have a Time Machine Backup on an external drive- will this help me transfer my data from drive to drive, or would I need another application
Yes, there is a method to do this. There are also methods to transfer the information using other applications. I happen to prefer cloning my existing drive to the new drive using a third-party backup solution called SuperDuper.

[bdj33ranch]

I changed out the HD in my similar white MacBook and it was quite easy. Also - make CERTAIN you have the right screwdriver - A Phillips 00 to remove the L bracket. It is a somewhat unusual size. I got one at Radio Shack.

[Adam0306]

It may be worth while putting your 160GB in an external 2.5" caddy and use it for storing your video?


I have this exact model and I have been thinking of doing the same thing. It should work with that hard drive. As msjones said you may want to get something like THIS (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/a7ea/) so that you can keep the storage space that your using now and an additional 500GB.

[macandipodfan]

I just upgraded to a 500gb Scorpio Blue in my early '08 Macbook recently . It works great - way faster than my old drive. The process is very straightforward.

[CISC-Mac]

This is an incorrect statement.



An intel Mac has no storage size limitation.. only a physical size limitation. As long as it's SATA 2.5" and no larger than 9.5mm tall, it can be installed. There is an exception that should be noted and that is a Hard Drive that is equipped with a sudden motion sensor has been known to conflict with MacBook built-in sensor to the extent of causing some problems in some cases.

I noticed pinwheels and slight pauses for 1-2 seconds with a WD Scorpio Blue 640GB for an upgrade. Had to disable the sudden motion sensor in OS X to clear it up. Strangely, it is a software enabled feature, and haven't noticed any ill effect at all in Windows (boot camp install).

[andalusia]

It's so unbelievably easy to change a hard drive. These days, I'm doing it maybe twice a day on my Macbook to switch from Windows 7 to OS X. I can do it in under 5 minutes, it's really not too much of a chore. The only issue is having the correct screwdrivers with you, which I now carry wherever my hard drives go, so I won't ever be stuck.