Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacBook 1.83Ghz hard disk upgrade

H

happylittlemac

macrumors member
Original poster
May 30, 2007
77
0
Scotland
My current MacBook HD is running out of space fast I've loads of stuff on there. After seeinghttp://guides.macrumors.com/MacBook_Upgrade_Guide I've been wondering about putting in a new HD, but I've a few questions.

1> What is the max size of HD I can install I'm looking at 100G or more.

2> I've only got the restore disks that came with the MacBook, is this enough to reinstall OSX from an non-formated HFS+ disk?

3> Does it really work? Or will I just be wasting my money?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Yeah it works. You just need almost any sized 2.5" SATA notebook drive and then you'll be able to use the restore discs to format the drive and then install the OS. :)
 
I bought a Western Digital Passport 250 gig drive (a USB external drive)

Cracked it open - pulled the drive out - swopped it with the drive in my MB

Then - did a nice shiny new install of OSX on my new 250 gig driver - when it asked if I wanted to restore from an old install - I put the old drive in the USB enclosure for the WD driver and bingo - it worked.

I've infact done this twice. 80g to 160 and 160 to 250. Works brilliantly.

Doug
 
happylittlemac said:
My current MacBook HD is running out of space fast I've loads of stuff on there. After seeinghttp://guides.macrumors.com/MacBook_Upgrade_Guide I've been wondering about putting in a new HD, but I've a few questions.

1> What is the max size of HD I can install I'm looking at 100G or more.

2> I've only got the restore disks that came with the MacBook, is this enough to reinstall OSX from an non-formated HFS+ disk?

3> Does it really work? Or will I just be wasting my money?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...

Any 2.5", SATA, 9mm high harddisk will work. Beware of 300GB harddisks that are 12mm high, they don't fit. Apart from that, there is no limit on the capacity, the biggest at the moment are 320GB disks from Western Digital; their 250GB disk looks quite cheap. The best thing to do is to also buy an external 2.5" SATA hard disk enclosure; that means you can take your old hard disk, put it in the enclosure, and have a spare external hard disk. And you will need a size zero Philips screw driver (a really tiny one).

Put the old hard disk into the enclosure, and the new one into the computer. Plug the old harddisk in and reboot the MacBook - it will boot from your old harddisk. Start Disk Utility, format the internal disk, and then you just duplicate your external disk using Disk Utility (type "Duplicate Disk" into Help). No reinstallation necessary.
 
You also need a Torx T8 to take the old HDD out of its caddy and put the new one in.

I just upgraded my MacBook to a 250GB Western Digital and I'm very pleased with it.
 
Thanks for all the info regarding this. But I only have one last question, what disk speed sould I look for and or stay way from, either 5400rpm or 7200rpm. I could not find this out from a google search or the system profiler.
 
dukebound85 said:
doesnt really matter if you need to be asking the question lol
Click to expand...

I'm asking because 5400rpm disks are mostly used in basic notebooks and 7200rpm is more 'premium'. I don't want to buy just any type of disk and have it not working properly or not at all. In short I don't want an expensive paper weight.
 
well i can say i have the 250gig 5400 rpm one and its fine.

the largest 7200 one is at 200gigs currently

i wouldnt say 5400 is for "basic notebooks" at all though

you realize the one in your machine now is 5400 right?
 
dukebound85 said:
well i can say i have the 250gig 5400 rpm one and its fine.

the largest 7200 one is at 200gigs currently

i wouldnt say 5400 is for "basic notebooks" at all though

you realize the one in your machine now is 5400 right?
Click to expand...

Thats just what I needed to know, thanks for the help :)
 
I'd avoid a 7200 rpm drive, the 1st gen MacBooks/MacBook Pros have enough issues with heat as it is.

I think that's why Apple stopped selling the 15" MacBook Pros and the MacBooks with 7200 rpm drives in the end...
 
i agree, stick with the 5400 rpm.

i just installed a 160gb 5400 rpm hitachi drive (got it real cheap :p) in my gf's 1.83 rev a macbook, and the resulting heat worries me a little... although it's nothing dangerous to your leg or to the computer, it's definitely hotter externally than the 7200 rpm drive in my MBP. and you probably won't notice the slight difference anyway.
 
Extracting a Western Digital HD

I have a 320G Western Digital My Book external hard drive, and reading these posts have gotten me curious as to whether or not i can put it into my mac book. First, how do i go about extracting the hard drive from the casing? There does not seem to be any visible screws. Second, if it doesnt fit into my macbook for any reason, is it as easy as just putting it back in the casing and it will work fine? Will my computer work ok if i pull out the hard drive and then pop it back in? Also, can i back up my OS onto the external harddrive before it put it in and then just boot up the macbook like normal? Will it recognize it properly?
Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions it would be much appreciated!!
 
vm7118 said:
i agree, stick with the 5400 rpm.

i just installed a 160gb 5400 rpm hitachi drive (got it real cheap :p) in my gf's 1.83 rev a macbook, and the resulting heat worries me a little... although it's nothing dangerous to your leg or to the computer, it's definitely hotter externally than the 7200 rpm drive in my MBP. and you probably won't notice the slight difference anyway.
Click to expand...


if ur so worried get a cooling pad or somthing
 
gnasher729 said:
...
Put the old hard disk into the enclosure, and the new one into the computer. Plug the old harddisk in and reboot the MacBook - it will boot from your old harddisk. Start Disk Utility, format the internal disk, and then you just duplicate your external disk using Disk Utility (type "Duplicate Disk" into Help). No reinstallation necessary.
Click to expand...

Will the "Duplicate Disk" method still work if the new drive is larger?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back