Late 2009 13" Macbook Pro Hard Drive Upgrade

[shakeman0]

I was looking to upgrade the HD on my 2.26ghz 160GB 13" MBP. It's a late 2009 model. I'm running out of space! Can I do this upgrade myself? Will it void my Apple Care warranty? Any HD suggestions would be great. I was looking at this one http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...SDGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295382349&sr=8-1 but I don't know if this will fit in my laptop. What's the difficulty level on an install like this? I'm pretty tech savvy but more on the programmatic side than hardware. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[NickZac]

Won't void warranty

Easy to do yourself

Good choice for a HDD

If it is 2.5 inch, SATA2, and under 12.5mm it should fit, although I keep it thin as possible given the 13 doesn't have much room and having a little 'play' can help against shock.

If you have the money, I'd get a SSD. If not, the Blue is good. The Black is also really good and IIRC slightly faster. Other makers also make some good HDDs too and if you have any brand preference, most makers produce at least 1 hard drive line that is 'among the best' and 'priced reasonably'.

 

[jav6454]

The upgrade of hard drives and RAM does not void your warranty in any way.

 

[shakeman0]

Won't void warranty

Easy to do yourself

Good choice for a HDD

If it is 2.5 inch, SATA2, and under 12.5mm it should fit, although I keep it thin as possible given the 13 doesn't have much room and having a little 'play' can help against shock.

If you have the money, I'd get a SSD. If not, the Blue is good. The Black is also really good and IIRC slightly faster. Other makers also make some good HDDs too and if you have any brand preference, most makers produce at least 1 hard drive line that is 'among the best' and 'priced reasonably'.

Ok thanks! One more question. When I go to install the OS on the new drive, can I use my Snow Leopard upgrade disk? Or do I need to install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard?

 

[belvdr]

Ok thanks! One more question. When I go to install the OS on the new drive, can I use my Snow Leopard upgrade disk? Or do I need to install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard?

If you're using Time Machine, then pop in the SL DVD and restore from Time Machine. Do it via ethernet or USB, if possible, so it won't take nearly as long.

 

[jav6454]

Ok thanks! One more question. When I go to install the OS on the new drive, can I use my Snow Leopard upgrade disk? Or do I need to install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard?

No, just the Snow Leopard disk works just fine.

 

[shakeman0]

Alright great! Thanks for the help and quick responses. I really appreciate it!