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Late 2009 UMB, 12.5mm drive

W

wjlafrance

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 23, 2009
360
1
Madison, WI
Posting to confirm that Western Digital's one ter drive DOES fit in the late 2009 13in uMB. I tried to take pictures of the size difference but it wasn't really visible. If your still a sceptic, open it up and you'll clearly see the drive is 3mm smaller than the cavity. It fits a 12.5mm like a glove.

The WD10TPVT from Western Digital is the drive I'm using. There are various guides all over the internet, including Apple's own DIY replacement guide. Here's a readers digest of them all, oriented for technical, non-handholding users.

Tools needed: Phillips #0 screwdriver, Torx T6

Recommended: Back up with Time Machine. If you have a 250GB internal, a 250GB external will work fine, and last I knew they were $60 at Walmart.

1. Remove all 8 screws from the bottom. Slide your fingernails under the bottom near the fan exhaust and pop up. There are three latches, one dead center and one on each side halfway down. These just pop out.

2. The black bar above the hard drive, the "retaining bar" must be removed. Two captive screws and it pops out.

3. Pull the hard drive out by the sticky tab thing. Unplug the SATA cable, and stick the tab on the new drive. There's enough sticky for it to stick.

4. Remove the four T6 screws (retaining studs) from the old drive and place them on the new drive. These are the only thing holding the drive from bouncing up and down in it's cavity. This isn't required though, because a 12.5mm drive fills the whole cavity, but it's probably a good idea. I didn't have a T6 handy.

5. Plug the SATA cable into the new drive and put it in the cavity.

6. Drop the retaining bar back in and screw down the two screws.

7. Snap the case back together and screw it down good. Those screws don't like to go in straight.

Recommended: Stick in your Snow Leopard install DVD and from the utilities menu, click Restore from Time Machine Backup, attach your external, and watch it grind away. The process would be the same for Leopard I imagine, but I wouldn't know.
 
Do yourself a favor and go buy a T6 screwdriver and install your HD correctly. There is a reason those studs are attached to the HD. They also provide shock absorption because like any HD, there is some vibration that will damage the HD over time if its not properly secured, not to mention the fact that any jarring movement of the HD shifting can damage it.

This is not a recommended step, this is a required step. Dont be posting crap like this telling people to skip crucial parts of a hardware swap.
 
pricej636 said:
Do yourself a favor and go buy a T6 screwdriver and install your HD correctly. There is a reason those studs are attached to the HD. They also provide shock absorption because like any HD, there is some vibration that will damage the HD over time if its not properly secured, not to mention the fact that any jarring movement of the HD shifting can damage it.

This is not a recommended step, this is a required step. Dont be posting crap like this telling people to skip crucial parts of a hardware swap.
Click to expand...

I said it was highly recommended. When I say highly recommended, I mean it. For instance, I highly recommend you get your hair wet and stick it into a power outlet.

It's clearly a recommended step because you're recommending I do it. It's not vital to getting the drive installed and working.

EDIT -
Excellent attitude for a first post, by the way. You'll do well here.
 
I could care less... i just don't like people spreading bad information. Again, this isnt a recommended step. Its part of the installation. Those t6 screws are there for a reason. If you dont take out the t6 screws from the old drive and put them on the new one and install the HD correctly it wont last as long, period. And then you'll be on here 6 months from now asking why your HD has failed so quickly.
 
This isn't required though, because a 12.5mm drive fills the whole cavity, but it's probably a good idea. I didn't have a T6 handy.

I copied and pasted the part of your write up in question. Yes, it is required, I dont care how much space the HD fills. You spent over a hundred dollars on a HD and you wont spend another $6 on a T6 to do it right.

Oh, and nice attitude for YOUR 8th post. This is a write up that has been posted many, many times on this forum and all over the internet, minus your little quote regarding the dampening/securing screws.
 
wjlafrance said:
I said it was highly recommended. When I say highly recommended, I mean it. For instance, I highly recommend you get your hair wet and stick it into a power outlet.

It's clearly a recommended step because you're recommending I do it. It's not vital to getting the drive installed and working.

EDIT -
Excellent attitude for a first post, by the way. You'll do well here.
Click to expand...

It's not highly recommended. By not mounting it correctly you are putting the drive in risk of static shock, or worse.

pricej636 is absolutely correct that the T6 studs provide shock resistance.

Don't give bad advice to other folks, especially since we do have a lot of members who may take your advice seriously and believe the studs are really not necessary.

You're a wonderful sport for patronizing another member just because their user title says "newbie." :rolleyes:
 
If you review my history, everything I've posted has been contributing. Your first post was to call another post crap.

I've changed my guide because I hadn't thought of static, but I maintain that there is no room for the drive to move around.
 
wjlafrance said:
If you review my history, everything I've posted has been contributing. Your first post was to call another post crap.

I've changed my guide because I hadn't thought of static, but I maintain that there is no room for the drive to move around.
Click to expand...

contributing to the community is good but make sure your knowledge is sound before offering it, upgrading a hard drive is simple, and there are various guides about for doing it, just because doing it that way worked for you, dont always mean it can work for everyone else ;)
 
Bennieboy© said:
contributing to the community is good but make sure your knowledge is sound before offering it, upgrading a hard drive is simple, and there are various guides about for doing it, just because doing it that way worked for you, dont always mean it can work for everyone else ;)
Click to expand...

The point of this thread was to confirm that non-standard (12.5mm) hard drives fit in this specific Mac, a fact that I could not find anywhere through various search terms, so I resorted to opening up my Mac myself. Most people wouldn't do that.
 
wjlafrance said:
If you review my history, everything I've posted has been contributing. Your first post was to call another post crap.

I've changed my guide because I hadn't thought of static, but I maintain that there is no room for the drive to move around.
Click to expand...

I call them like I see them. It is still a 2.5" drive, so there is wiggle room on the sides of the drive, regardless of how little the wiggle room is. Did you even bother to check to see if the bottom plate is rubbing on the HD? You make no mention of it in your posting, and that is the primary concern with the taller drives. Ive seen other posts saying that it DOES rub a little, and that it even flexes the plastic a little but when you screw it back on. Just because you can cram it in there doesnt mean it really fits. Im not saying it doesn't fit, but your whole guide is missing some key elements that are important.

People buy macs because they are refined, and they work. They are refined because apple takes the time to design them right the first time. They add all the little details like making sure there is enough space to the HD doesnt eat itself with heat, or that the HD doesnt vibrate itself to death. All these little details combined are why you can buy a mac and have it last for years, and why after owning a PC for a year or two it is obsolete and probably broken. Judging by your posts you have no idea what macs and apple in general is about. You probably bought your mac because it had a glowing apple on the lid and thought it was cool.

Furthermore, the reason your post kinda irks me is the very reason you probably posted it. Macs right now are the "in thing". They are popular and everyone is buying them, so there are plenty of new users out there looking for information. There is enough bad information out there without you posting more. Now I'm officially done. This has obviously gone too far, but your ignorance really shines in your posts, and not just ignorance but cocky ignorance.

McGarvels said:
Can't we all just get along? :D

Good to know the 12.5 drive fits though. I might be making this upgrade soon.

Cheers
Click to expand...

LOL, I think we can get along now, I'm off my soap box.
 
wjlafrance said:
The point of this thread was to confirm that non-standard (12.5mm) hard drives fit in this specific Mac, a fact that I could not find anywhere through various search terms, so I resorted to opening up my Mac myself. Most people wouldn't do that.
Click to expand...

I've been researching this as well, and this thread turned up for me.
 
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