Just upgraded my HD...I have a question re: warranty service.

I will like to know this too. What i've heard is that you can do those changes but if there is a problem b/c of those parts then they won't fix your laptop. Can any one confirm? I kinda want a 7200rpm drive or the 320gb drive.

-JoE

The way it works is pretty logical. If your user replaced parts go bad, in your case the HD and RAM, Apple will not warrant those items since Apple did not supply them. If your screen went bad, Apple will not blame your RAM or your HD. Same goes for any non related part. Now, if your MBP started to sketch out for some reason, it may be a good idea to put the RAM that came with the machine back in, techs are known for 'passing the buck' if you will, they could easily just blame 'your' RAM that you installed and say that it is the problem.

Given Apple's stance on self-upgrades to the HDD, I would definitely put the original drive back in before I sent it off for repair. You never know what kind of tech you'll get. They could easily state that the laptop is no longer under warranty because someone opened it and put a non-apple drive in it, even if the drive is not the source of the problem. If that happens, you're out not only your stock 1yr warranty, but also your pricey applecare as well. I think it's a too big of a risk for the extra 30 minutes or so it would take for you to swap the drives (and memory) back out again.

If you ever need repair work from Apple, you can always put back the original parts before getting it serviced to be on the safe side.

Personally...
If my machine becomes faulty I'd definitely replace the HD to it's default unit. I never use the supplied unit as a general rule. Not only because of the warranty point of view, but due to personal privacy.

I think most users never think about this...

But...with the advancement of the internet and computing technology, we've started to do everything on our machines, this includes personal banking, mortgage repayments and purchases of new assets and who knows what else?

You might not know.. but near enough everything we do is stored somewhere, be it hidden cache partition or cache file... or written to some cookie or file... basically there's a digital footprint on your HD! Even when the data is securely erased by the OS, there are still the possibilities that some companies with the technology to recover years of data! Possibly on multiple layers of deleted data/history and that's scary, if you ask me.

The last thing you want is to send your machine back with all your personal data still on the drive... and say.. apple replaces the drive for some obscure reason.... Oops, now they have a copy of your digital life! You won't be any wiser cause your machine is working.. and your happy!

You might say I'm being overtly cautious.. but it could happen and when it does, it's too late! At the lightest you'll end up bankrupted, at worst, you'll end up serving time because you have some illegal content.. But that content could of been for a legit reason. Isn't it better just to avoid the possibility of it happening?