MBP surgery time! Need help (Pics inside)

[T34418leONE]

Hey guys, so I will receive my new WD HDD today and I plan to replace my old 120GB plus install Snow Leopard on the new HDD as well. That part I think I can handle, I found some videos that detail the whole process so I think I can handle it.

Now for my other feat to tackle.. Swapping the top case. Since I bought my MBP used off my friend it had a few scratches here and there and one dent on the right side of the speaker. The laptop itself is fine but the top case got the worst of it.

That's the damage.

So I think I could probably bend it back but I definitely don't want the gap there. Well the other day looking thru my local craigslist I found a top case for my model MBP (what're the chances huh?) for $20 the guy had two of them.

So basically I want to show you guys the case and see if it looks okay and if it's missing any pieces because I'd like to swap it out since I'm doing the HDD anyways this wouldn't be super hard I assume (besides the keyboard part which I saw a how-to on that and it SUCKS)

So yeah my model MBP is a 2007 2.33GHZ 15"

Looks like the correct specs since they match my exact model.

/\ overall view, looks okay, are the ribbons all intac?

Where does this piece connect to?


Are these supposed to be like clips? They look like they are perhaps bent and/or damaged?

Sorry bad pic.

I know you guys can't tell me if the top case assembly is working but maybe someone here can tell me if it's worth it to put it on!

Also if it doesn't work, can I just bend the original piece slowly back to it's place? Or would it snap?

Thanks guys/gals!!

 

[DIMEZ]

i think it will work....give it a shot.

if not you should be able to bend it back in place.

keep us updated btw

 

[DewGuy1999]

Maybe this will be helpful:

iFixIt.com: Installing MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Model A1211 Upper Case Replacement

Good Luck!

 

[T34418leONE]

Thanks for te replies guys!

Also thanks for that ifixit link! I'm gonna take the top case off and study it so I know the one I bought matches my current. I'd hate to attach it and then it be lose or just not work at all.

Also from that guide it looks like I'm missing the Bluetooth board on the one I bought, should I bother even trying to swap my current one onto this one or is that piece delicate and hard to get out?

 

[DewGuy1999]

.
iFixIt.com: Installing MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Model A1211 Bluetooth Board

 

[T34418leONE]

Another question-

I bought a snow leopard os disc and I'd like to install that onto my new HDD once I install it into my laptop.

I don't care to save anything from the current HDD besides MS office that's on it, how can I do that? I have an external HD I can use but is it possible to just drag and drop it into that before I swap HD's and then drag and drop it back into the new HD? I don't have the discs is why I'm asking. If that's confusing let me know please, I'll try to reword it. I Just don't care to keep anything from my HD besides MS office for Mac that was already on it.

What I want is to install that HDD then insert the Snow Leopard disc while holding the C key correct? But after that?

 

[DewGuy1999]

I don't have any experience with MS Office, but based on past usage with Internet Explorer under Mac OS 8, Microsoft is notorious for spreading pieces and parts all over the hard drive, so I doubt that a simple drag and drop copy would work.

I think I know of a way to get MS Office over to the new hard drive but I need more info. Are you running Snow Leopard on your current hard drive? Do you have an external firewire hard drive enclosure that you can put the old/new hard drive in for a period of time?

Here's a good article on formatting and partitioning a hard drive that should be helpful when the time comes. Snow Leopard would be the same as the instructions for Leopard:

Formatting & Partitioning a Hard Drive in OS X - Tiger and Leopard

 

[T34418leONE]

I don't have any experience with MS Office, but based on past usage with Internet Explorer under Mac OS 8, Microsoft is notorious for spreading pieces and parts all over the hard drive, so I doubt that a simple drag and drop copy would work.

I think I know of a way to get MS Office over to the new hard drive but I need more info. Are you running Snow Leopard on your current hard drive? Do you have an external firewire hard drive enclosure that you can put the old/new hard drive in for a period of time?

Here's a good article on formatting and partitioning a hard drive that should be helpful when the time comes. Snow Leopard would be the same as the instructions for Leopard:

Formatting & Partitioning a Hard Drive in OS X - Tiger and Leopard

On this laptop it's running 10.5.? Sorry-but it's leopard, my Mac mini is running snow leopard (while I'm here can I run/use the same disc I bought of snow leopard on my MBP even though I used it for my Mac mini once? Sorry if that's a dumb question!)

I do not have an enclosure to place my current laptops HDD in but I do have an external HDD I use on my Mac mini that uses a FireWire cable. Could that work with your idea?

 

[DewGuy1999]

On this laptop it's running 10.5.? Sorry-but it's leopard, my Mac mini is running snow leopard (while I'm here can I run/use the same disc I bought of snow leopard on my MBP even though I used it for my Mac mini once? Sorry if that's a dumb question!)

I do not have an enclosure to place my current laptops HDD in but I do have an external HDD I use on my Mac mini that uses a FireWire cable. Could that work with your idea?

I believe that you can use the Snow Leopard disc on more than one Mac, whether or not you and your conscience want to do that is up to you.

Okay this is what I was thinking. Upgrade the Leopard to Snow Leopard. Uninstall anything you don't want to have on the new hard drive (leaving MS Office and anything else you may want like iLife if you have it). Run software update as many times as necessary to get everything the most up-to-date. Create a new user account and then delete the old (current user account) this will delete ALL user specific files, basically the entire home directory. Use CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner) to make a bootable clone of the old hard drive on your external firewire hard drive. Check to see if the clone is bootable. Install new hard drive in MacBook Pro. Boot from clone on external hard drive and use Disc Utility to partition/format new hard drive in MBP. While still booted from external hard drive use CCC to clone external hard drive clone to new hard drive. When complete shutdown, disconnect external hard drive, boot MBP from new internal hard drive and everything will be as it was before.

That's the best I can come up with to retain MS Office and have a close to new OS install.

 

[DewGuy1999]

Which version of MS Office (for Mac, I assume) is currently on it?