How can I stick a PC hard drive into an old Macbook Pro?

[KDM5]

Hello,

I have an old Mid-2009 Macbook Pro with a bad hard drive, trackpad, and inverter cable (intermittent black screen). It's been sitting around unused for a while, and rather than throw it away, I'd like to make it work as a crappy desktop with PC monitor and mouse.

So I've got an old 1TB desktop PC hard drive. The cable fits but the drive is too big for the case. Can I just remove the optical drive and stick it there with some duct tape? Or maybe remove the battery and stick it there (and then just plug in the laptop to use it). It doesn't have to be pretty...

Thanks

 

[Intell]

A desktop sized hard drive will not fit in a Macbook. Only 9.5mm tall 2.5" wide laptop hard drives will.

 

[KDM5]

What if I run the SATA cabling outside of the body, then put the back cover back on loosely? Will it damage the cabling??

Or maybe I could remove the optical drive and run the cabling through the DVD slot..

 

[Intell]

The Macbook's internal power cannot power a desktop sized drive. You'd also risk damaging the SATA controller.

 

[KDM5]

Thanks for the quick replies. Could you explain why the power can't support a desktop hard drive? Why is it different from using a desktop hard drive as an external?

 

[Intell]

The Macbook's SATA power is not able to maintain a proper range of power to keep the desktop drive's larger spindle spinning. Because of this, there will be data loss, power failure, kernel panics, or the drive just won't be seen.

 

[KDM5]

Ah ok... would the best solution be to just get an external hard drive enclosure with USB or firewire, then? And stick the drive in that.

 

[Intell]

Yes that would be best.