swapping harddrives between macbook and macbook pro.

[Foreverwontcome]

ok. so i want to know if i can swap out my HD from my macbook pro and put it into a macbook and vice versa without re-formatting the HD's and they will boot up right away.

they should cause the hardware is pretty much all identical minus the looks and a few things. please help me. i have googled it but you all are mac geniuss hah thanks.

- fwc

 

[hughvane]

You don't exactly give the details of your Macbook, and assuming it's a 2 GHz 13" item, a check on EveryMac http://www.everymac.com/ shows that the drives are more-or-less identical, ie. 2.5", 5400, but with the Pro version you get a choice of drive capacity. So, swapping them should work sweet.

 

[Funk-Dobie]

ok. so i want to know if i can swap out my HD from my macbook pro and put it into a macbook and vice versa without re-formatting the HD's and they will boot up right away.

they should cause the hardware is pretty much all identical minus the looks and a few things. please help me. i have googled it but you all are mac geniuss hah thanks.

- fwc

The HDD's are the same so it shouldn't be a problem hardware wise. Software is another issue. I've done HDD swaps from a MacBook to MacBook or from MacBook Pro to MacBook Pro and haven't had issues. But, you may run across some software issues because the MacBook and MacBook Pro each have specific software to make them function properly. For instance, the MacBook Pro has specific software for it's extra components, ie. Express slot or Graphics Chipset... You may have to perform an Archive and Install - Preserve User Settings - of the OS once you swap the drive to get it to boot up but that's the only potential pitfall and that's relatively minor.

 

[djbambam]

Software Authorizations

The HDD's are the same so it shouldn't be a problem hardware wise. Software is another issue. I've done HDD swaps from a MacBook to MacBook or from MacBook Pro to MacBook Pro and haven't had issues. But, you may run across some software issues because the MacBook and MacBook Pro each have specific software to make them function properly. For instance, the MacBook Pro has specific software for it's extra components, ie. Express slot or Graphics Chipset... You may have to perform an Archive and Install - Preserve User Settings - of the OS once you swap the drive to get it to boot up but that's the only potential pitfall and that's relatively minor.

I'm sort of in the same situation right now, I'm migrating from a MacBook 2.0 GHz Core Duo to a MacBook Pro 2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo. Thing is, I upgraded my MacBook drive to a 320 GB 7200 rpm drive, which is WAAAY better than the 250 GB 5400 rpm drive in the MBP. I have software that has been authorized on that drive. If I swapped out the drives and did an archive and install on the MPB, does the drive retain the software authorizations, or will I have to re-authorize after archiving and installing? It would just be best if I could swap the drives and call it a day. Any help is appreciated.