Can i modify my late 2006 white macbook to fit a larger hard drive

[aviciousrumor]

I have a late 2006 macbook 13" and i wonder if i dremel the corner panel out could i place a larger hard disk say 3gb in it

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You can put a 750 GB HDD into it, as the MacBook (MB) can accept any 2.5" S-ATA HDD with a maximum height of 9.5 mm.
I don't know, what you mean with "larger hard disk say 3gb" though.

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:

• 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
• 1. Getting a new HDD
• 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
• 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
• 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)

​

 

[Intell]

I have a late 2006 macbook 13" and i wonder if i dremel the corner panel out could i place a larger hard disk say 3gb in it

3GB? The stock one is much larger than that. The limitation is the height of the drive. You are limited to 9.5mm. There is absolutely no more room inside to fit a taller 12.5mm drive.

 

[GGJstudios]

I have a late 2006 macbook 13" and i wonder if i dremel the corner panel out could i place a larger hard disk say 3gb in it

I think you mean 3TB, not 3GB, since the standard drive for that model was 120GB. AFAIK, there are no 3TB drives available yet that will fit in your MacBook.

 

[aviciousrumor]

a clarification

sorry i need to clarify yes i mean a 3tb drive i wanna actually cut out the top of the palm rest and make it fit is there anything under that side of the palmrest id be cutting into

 

[GGJstudios]

sorry i need to clarify yes i mean a 3tb drive i wanna actually cut out the top of the palm rest and make it fit is there anything under that side of the palmrest id be cutting into

That's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. If you need more storage than you can fit on an internal drive, get an external drive to carry with you. Butchering your MacBook isn't the answer. It's very likely you can work with a smaller drive, if you're selective about what you store on it.

 

[Intell]

You could cut through the palm rest, but the SATA port won't line up with it.

 

[Beta Particle]

3.5″ drives are significantly larger than 2.5″ notebook drives, no amount of modification would allow one to fit—they’re thicker than the MacBook itself.

The largest 9.5mm thick 2.5″ drive (what the MacBook requires) that you can buy today, is 1TB, I think.

There are some higher capacity drives—there are 2TB 2.5″ drives inside external enclosures now, but they are too thick to fit inside most notebooks.

 

[aviciousrumor]

not really worried about the top panel looks im just hungering for more storage
what is the largest drive i could fit in the cd bay and do they have an adapter for my model its a macbook 2,1 13" late 2006 core 2 duo

 

[Intell]

The largest hard drive you could put in place of the optical drive is a 750GB one. Adapters do exist for it, but make sure you get one compatible with your Mac as there are two different kinds.

 

[aviciousrumor]

thanks for the info ill have to live with what i can i guess. i have a couple 1tb external drives. iwas looking for just one internal solution. im thinking of putting it out to pasture and upgrade to a newer one

 

[Beta Particle]

thanks for the info ill have to live with what i can i guess. i have a couple 1tb external drives. iwas looking for just one internal solution. im thinking of putting it out to pasture and upgrade to a newer one

1TB is the most you are going to fit in any notebook. (or 2TB if you remove the optical drive and buy two) You need a desktop computer for higher capacity 3.5″ drives.

For clarity, here’s a 2.5″ and 3.5″ drive on a MacBook so you can see what the relative sizes are: