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2006 MBP upgrading HDD

V

vlasciar

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2011
13
0
Howdy there, my 2006 MPB is still holding out well with its low capacity 150GB HDD. I was thinking about upgrading it to the 750GB 7200RPM Seagate HDD. I had built my own PC before but kinda wary about opening up the MBP and doing the HDD replacement myself.

Here's the HDD I'm planning to buy:
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/7...ive-Upgrade-Kit-New/IF107-102-1#installGuides

Anyone ever accidentally broken their MBP while trying to do a self upgrade HDD?


Thanks!
 
Just take your time and you'll be fine.

Check Newegg for hard drive pricing.
 
vlasciar said:
Howdy there, my 2006 MPB is still holding out well with its low capacity 150GB HDD. I was thinking about upgrading it to the 750GB 7200RPM Seagate HDD. I had built my own PC before but kinda wary about opening up the MBP and doing the HDD replacement myself.

Here's the HDD I'm planning to buy:
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/7...ive-Upgrade-Kit-New/IF107-102-1#installGuides

Anyone ever accidentally broken their MBP while trying to do a self upgrade HDD?


Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yeah, take your time, don't forget any screws and you'll be just fine. Also, check newegg.com , that is way too expensive for that hard drive.
 
Any recommendation on which HDD is more reliable than Seagate? I'm also not entirely sure if there are certain type of SATA that will only work for macbook pro and stuff? there are SATA 3.0, 6.0 GB... sorry for asking a noob-ish questions, I felt like I'm losing my geek power right now. LOL. :)
 
vlasciar said:
Any recommendation on which HDD is more reliable than Seagate? I'm also not entirely sure if there are certain type of SATA that will only work for macbook pro and stuff? there are SATA 3.0, 6.0 GB... sorry for asking a noob-ish questions, I felt like I'm losing my geek power right now. LOL. :)
Click to expand...

I like the WD as well. I've had very good success with both WD and Seagate. I would get either a SATA II or III drive. You won't have any gains from SATA III, but it is backwards compatible so you won't have any issues either.

I actually replaced the hard drive in mine today and as long as you have the right tools and keep everything organized it's not to bad. And since the hard drive is pretty isolated from the rest of the computer I think it would be quite hard to mess anything up.
 
It's a very easy process.
I believe there are a lot of videos out there that shows the process step by step.
 
seong said:
It's a very easy process.
I believe there are a lot of videos out there that shows the process step by step.
Click to expand...

On the pre-unibodies like the OP has, it's not just about removing a panel and having access to the HD. One has to remove the whole top case to get to it.

Once in there though, it gets easier.
 
vlasciar said:
Any recommendation on which HDD is more reliable than Seagate? I'm also not entirely sure if there are certain type of SATA that will only work for macbook pro and stuff? there are SATA 3.0, 6.0 GB... sorry for asking a noob-ish questions, I felt like I'm losing my geek power right now. LOL. :)
Click to expand...

The Seagate 750GB is relatively slow.

Samsung HM640JJ and WD Black 750GB are faster.

The Samsung tends to be more quiet.
 
Got the 750GB WD Scorpio Black and should be here by tomorrow! Do most of you guys just do a single partition or split them up? I can't wait to install the new drive and not having to worry about drive space anymore!

I have read about how some people have problems after installing a new drive on their macbook pro like spinning wheel and slower machines because of the firmware update problem? is this true?
 
Installing Snow Leopard on the new hard drive right now. Hopefully I won't encounter any problem with the hard drive... *finger crossed*
 
vlasciar said:
Howdy there, my 2006 MPB is still holding out well with its low capacity 150GB HDD. I was thinking about upgrading it to the 750GB 7200RPM Seagate HDD. I had built my own PC before but kinda wary about opening up the MBP and doing the HDD replacement myself.

Here's the HDD I'm planning to buy:
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/7...ive-Upgrade-Kit-New/IF107-102-1#installGuides

Anyone ever accidentally broken their MBP while trying to do a self upgrade HDD?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

I followed these same instructions when I swapped my original drive out for a 500 GB. One tip is to print out the instruction and tape the screws you removed to each picture so as you are reinstalling everything you're not having to find the correct sized screw.
 
The installation was a big success! I'm currently trying to import pictures, music, movies, installing apps, etc. 160GB to 750GB is a big jump... I feel so happy, LOL.

The only tricky thing is definitely trying to organize all the screws together.
 
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