HD Replacement worth it?

[barkomatic]

I have a first generation MBP which I just love. It's in great condition and has served me well--except for the 100GB hard drive. I am considering getting it updated to a 500GB 5400 or 7200 drive (if the Seagate Momentus is in stock at Best Buy)

The hitch is that I can't really do this myself and was planning to take into an Apple authorized repair center and have them replace the drive. $400 includes cloning, labor, and the drive itself all done with 24-48 hours. (If I buy my own drive its only $160--which would bring the total to about $310) No lost screws, no blue screens and the upgrade is guaranteed.

I'm looking at it as a stop gap measure until I buy a new MBP in 6-12 months but I'm not sure the cost is worth it.

 

[r.j.s]

If you are going to replace the machine in about 6 months, why not just go external until then?

 

[MacDawg]

Do it yourself... it is not difficult
You can find YouTube videos and such

Seriously... the upgrade is worth it
I upgraded my 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor - Santa Rosa
I installed 4 GB RAM
And I installed the 500 GB WD Scorpio Blue
Both were well worth the upgrade and are extending the life of my MBP

But do it yourself, you will be glad you did

Use Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner and it is flawless

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[barkomatic]

Well, I was thinking of doing it myself, but if something goes awry then I'd pretty much have to buy a new MBP right then--and as tempting as it is I'm not ready just yet. Though I suppose I could take my mess into the service center and let them sort it out.

I've seen the ifixit guides and there seemed to be a LOT of screws for my model. I *think* I could probably do it myself but it would probably be a frustrating and scary experience. ha ha.

@r.j.s. I do have an external, but my current hard drive is so full my machine has really slowed down (not just from age either). I'd have to offload half of my regularly used music and video. *sigh* Maybe a new time machine.

 

[xraydoc]

I have an original model 15" MacBook Pro that my older daughter uses. I've had to change the hard drive twice (both times due to capacity issues), and while it's a bit of a pain given all the tiny screws, its not really all that tough if you do it carefully. Just keep track of the different screw sizes.

Currently its got a 320GB 5200RPM drive in it and it seems to run quite well. It's a 2.16GHz model with 2GB RAM and the X1600 mobility GPU. Still keeps up with current hardware reasonably well for my daughter's iMovie projects.

 

[GelleCC]

Sorry, I know this isn't the right thread for this comment, but you guys know what you are talking about and this is the closest thread i've found pertaining to me too. lol How much do new internal hard drives typically cost? I have macbook pro with 60gb and I found a 320gb hd on ebay for about $60. Is that worth it or do they sell them cheaper elsewhere? Also, do I need more ram if i want a bigger hd? I found a gig on craigslist for 5 bucks. I want a faster processor (i think). My macbook has been giving me the pinwheel lately for opening simple applications like safari or ms word. I think that may be because of my 60 gb hd I have about 3gb left lol. I don't know how much ram I have right now or how many mhz or ghz I have running either. I don't know how to look that up without physically taking stuff out. I also want to get a superdrive. On ebay, I found a couple cheap ones for $100 and and a store it was 200.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[qpid]

Sorry, I know this isn't the right thread for this comment, but you guys know what you are talking about and this is the closest thread i've found pertaining to me too. lol How much do new internal hard drives typically cost? I have macbook pro with 60gb and I found a 320gb hd on ebay for about $60. Is that worth it or do they sell them cheaper elsewhere? Also, do I need more ram if i want a bigger hd? I found a gig on craigslist for 5 bucks. I want a faster processor (i think). My macbook has been giving me the pinwheel lately for opening simple applications like safari or ms word. I think that may be because of my 60 gb hd I have about 3gb left lol. I don't know how much ram I have right now or how many mhz or ghz I have running either. I don't know how to look that up without physically taking stuff out. I also want to get a superdrive. On ebay, I found a couple cheap ones for $100 and and a store it was 200.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Whew lots of questions.

As far as pricing a lot of forum members have had good luck with Newegg.com and Macsales.com in that they have great customer service and good prices.

If you upgrade your hd you do not need more ram, but more ram is always better. That gig on CL may not work for your computer. There are many many different types of ram in as far as capacity, physical size, speed, etc. Those sites I posted up there have memory selectors to show what ram will work with your machine.

Also if you want to see the specs of your machine the easiest thing to do is to click on the apple in the top left of the screen and go to about this mac and system profiler. There will be more info that you care to know.

Regards! Hope this helps.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...get yourself a couple white bowls and set the different size screws in the different bowls as you go along = be prepared when you start and the job will go much smoother!

 

[dlhuss]

seriously - i would do it yourself. you should be able to get the 500GB 5400rpm seagate for less than $100 at newegg or the 7200rpm for $30 more. you could get an external HD case for formatting/swapping and in the end you could use your 100GB as an external.

just pay attention to every step in removing the screws and you'll be fine.

seagate gives you a free copy of privately-labeled acronis true-image, and it works great if a seagate drive is detected (format the 500GB externally, then install and then the image of your original that has been placed in the external case. then you don't even have to buy software.