MBP HD Upgrade - Remove Battery?

[Mr. Monsieur]

Hey folks!

1) OK...so I've got a new hard drive ready to put into my MBP. I just finished scouring the web for instructions on how to replace the hard drive and found that OWC's video tutorial was the best one out there:

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_hd/

What they don't say, however, is that one needs to take out the battery before replacing the HD. I replaced the HD on my MacBook and the instructions for that were *adamant* that the battery needed to be removed before anything else was done. Can anyone comment on this?

2) Oh...and while I'm asking...from what I can tell, customer HD replacements on the MBP are apparently fine with Apple...so...if I send my MBP in (at a later date) for a completely unrelated issue, is it likely that Apple will give me a hard time about it?

 

[foulmouthedleon]

I think it's common knowledge (or maybe not) that one should remove a battery when doing anything with the RAM, HDD, etc. you don't want the possibility of accidently turning on the computer when you've got its innards exposed!

Don't quote me on this, but I think that replacing the HDD in an older MBP would invalidate your warranty. Now if you've got one of the newer MBP's, it might be another thing since the replacement is so easy.

I just replaced my HDD on my MBP (Santa Rosa model) and it's an involved process, for sure. Not hard mind you, just tedious.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mr. Monsieur]

I think it's common knowledge (or maybe not) that one should remove a battery when doing anything with the RAM, HDD, etc. you don't want the possibility of accidently turning on the computer when you've got its innards exposed!

Yeah...which is why I found it weird that the OWC video tutorial didn't show it or mention it all...Also (and in answer to your second point), my MBP *is* brand new, and the owner's manual includes instructions on how to replace the hard drive...and these instructions *do not* include removing the battery!

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Pro_13inch_Mid2009.pdf

Hence my question...

 

[Makosuke]

That's probably because replacing the now-internal battery is more difficult than replacing the hard drive, so Apple doesn't want to encourage you to go messing around with it.

If the MBP is off and closed, as it should be, there's no real risk of accidentally turning it on while you're in there.

Now, if you were doing a full teardown, you'd of course want to get the battery disconnected as early in the procedure as you can. Hard drive, don't worry about it.

 

[gr8tfly]

Apple's instructions for HD replacement don't include disconnecting the battery (in your user manual). Just a warning not to touch anything. They don't want the consumer messing with that connector. As long as the machine is off, and you stick to the hard drive area, you're fine. When the machine is off, there are very few places energized.