Upgrading HDD in Early 2008 MBP. Warranty and After-Installing?

[JosephDuffy]

Hey,
After upgrading my MBP's RAM, which was easy, I thought "Hey, lets upgrade the HDD", why? Increased Speed? And more Storage. I've got a 180/200GB (Not Sure), which has Wind and Mac on it, with Adobe CS4 on Mac, and a shed load of game son Windows. It's getting crowded.
I've heard it void your warranty, but, I've had it voer a year, so I've already lost my warranty?
First of all, is this easy for a minor? I'm making a PC right now, and I've replaced 1/2 components in old PC's, but only ever swapped RAM in my MacBook Pro.
I'll get in there, that's OK, just not to many wires, I'm very un-health-and-safety0concoice, I nearly killed myself with my Power Supply only 2 days ago
If this IS possible, where's a good place to get a 320GB+ (Hopefully 500GB), 7200RPM+ HDD? Any makes that are good? Will it still work? Or will it check for a compatible one?
One extra thing, I can backup using TimeMachine, but is there a way yo just transfer it, because installing OSX will be a b*gger right?
Money probably isn't to much of a an issue, Chrimbo is coming up.Can anyone "dodgy" or "3rd party" do this, although I don't want to send it off :S
Sorry if this is against some sort of "No hacking or modding" rule, please notify me if so
Oh, and I have an late 2008 MPB, I think, no black boarder, I know that
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

 

[iBookG4user]

You'll probably want to take a look at this thread. The same information will apply. It's pretty easy to upgrade it.

 

[vant]

It's easy. Easier than a desktop because it is not as cluttered.

It doesn't void warranty.

newegg.com is your best bet.

 

[moral-hazard]

piece of cake in the new unibody MBP's. Won't void the warranty - I asked an apple store employee. Note that if you install a new hard drive and the hard drive itself fails, they will not fix it for you (this is kind of obvious - you just need to replace the HDD yourself in this case); any other problem with the machine they will still handle.

 

[iBookG4user]

piece of cake in the new unibody MBP's. Won't void the warranty - I asked an apple store employee. Note that if you install a new hard drive and the hard drive itself fails, they will not fix it for you (this is kind of obvious - you just need to replace the HDD yourself in this case); any other problem with the machine they will still handle.

I believe they have the Early 2008 MacBook Pro rather than the late 2008 MacBook Pro, as they specified that they had no black border around the screen.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Thanks guys,
I think I'll get this Seagate one, 500GB 7200RPM, seriously cheap?
I thought it did void the warrety, awesome.
I've got the MacBookPro4,1, which is the Late 2008?
My main thing now is then, how do I install OSX? Do I:
Swap HDD
Wack Snow Leopard DVD into CD (Will this work AFTER I've replaced the HDD? Or it dependant on a HDD? So will it boot anything without a HDD?)
Install from TimeMachine (Via Ethernet, Wireless is Uber Slow )
Thanks Guys
Joseph Duffy

 

[iBookG4user]

Thanks guys,
I think I'll get this Seagate one, 500GB 7200RPM, seriously cheap?
I thought it did void the warrety, awesome.
I've got the MacBookPro4,1, which is the Late 2008?
My main thing now is then, how do I install OSX? Do I:
Swap HDD
Wack Snow Leopard DVD into CD (Will this work AFTER I've replaced the HDD? Or it dependant on a HDD? So will it boot anything without a HDD?)
Install from TimeMachine (Via Ethernet, Wireless is Uber Slow )
Thanks Guys
Joseph Duffy

What I did was put the new hard drive in an external hard drive enclosure and used CarbonCopyCloner to make a clone of the old hard drive onto the new one. You can get a USB 2.5" external hard drive enclosure for less than $10.

Also, MacBook Pro 4,1 is the Early 2008 model.

 

[moral-hazard]

I believe they have the Early 2008 MacBook Pro rather than the late 2008 MacBook Pro, as they specified that they had no black border around the screen.

oops - you will have to forgive me as I am a bit of a mac noob.
Those are significantly harder to replace the hard drives in. Apple has them buried pretty deep, and covered with temperature sensors and other nonsense. Read some tutorials and make sure you are comfortable and ready to do this, and that you have a torx t6 driver.

 

[iBookG4user]

oops - you will have to forgive me as I am a bit of a mac noob.
Those are significantly harder to replace the hard drives in. Apple has them buried pretty deep, and covered with temperature sensors and other nonsense. Read some tutorials and make sure you are comfortable and ready to do this, and that you have a torx t6 driver.

I don't know what you're talking about... All you have to do is remove the top case and the Hard Drive is right there. It's quite easy.

 

[moral-hazard]

I don't know what you're talking about... All you have to do is remove the top case and the Hard Drive is right there. It's quite easy.

All I meant was that for people who haven't done something like that before it might be a little tough. You gave a 5 page DIY with pictures - compared to the unibodys (for which the process could be explained in two sentences), it's much more complex.

 

[TheIguana]

I don't know what you're talking about... All you have to do is remove the top case and the Hard Drive is right there. It's quite easy.

He is probably talking about the ribbon cable that connects the harddrive and front led light and ir sensor. Assuming they are careful with the ribbon cable, your entirely right it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Thanks guys, I guess I do have the Early 2008 MBP, and aren't getting the new MBP (Unless someone has £1000+ Spare? ).
So, I think I've had it over a year, so my warranty has run out?
DOES this VOID you warranty?
And last of all, how does it work once plugged in, do I whack the disc on? :S Do I need a driver, or any sort of preparation, other than a full backup?
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

 

[iBookG4user]

All I meant was that for people who haven't done something like that before it might be a little tough. You gave a 5 page DIY with pictures - compared to the unibodys (for which the process could be explained in two sentences), it's much more complex.

Most of the guide is just telling which screws to take out. They also have a guide for the unibody hard drive replacement that is multiple pages long... If you have a screwdriver, then you can replace the hard drive in the non-unibody MacBook Pro, it's really not complicated and could also "be explained in two sentences".

Thanks guys, I guess I do have the Early 2008 MBP, and aren't getting the new MBP (Unless someone has £1000+ Spare? ).
So, I think I've had it over a year, so my warranty has run out?
DOES this VOID you warranty?
And last of all, how does it work once plugged in, do I whack the disc on? :S Do I need a driver, or any sort of preparation, other than a full backup?
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

Yes, unless you purchased a refurb, then you've had it for more than a year and the warranty has run out (unless you purchased AppleCare of course). Unless you purchased, the Applecare you don't have a warranty anyway, so there is nothing to void

Once you've replaced the hard drive it'll work immediately, you don't need to install drivers or anything like that. I'd suggest getting a cheap 2.5" SATA external hard drive enclosure (Some are less than $10) and putting the new hard drive in the enclosure. Then hook it up to your MacBook Pro and use CarbonCopyCloner to make a clone of the old hard drive onto the new one. This way all the data will go to the new hard drive and you don't even have to reinstall the OS.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Aliright, so far I've learned:
It would void my warranty, which has run out anyway.
I can transfer the data across.
They're fairly cheap, and faster
Thing I don't know yet:
How does this CarbonCopy thing work? I've DL'ed it, and kinda get it, but how do I connect both HDD at the same time? I think I'll end up using TimeMachine :S
I've no actual idea how to install/replace the HDD, any good/recommended guides?
Thanks sooo much for the help guys
Joseph Duffy

 

[iBookG4user]

Aliright, so far I've learned:
It would void my warranty, which has run out anyway.
I can transfer the data across.
They're fairly cheap, and faster
Thing I don't know yet:
How does this CarbonCopy thing work? I've DL'ed it, and kinda get it, but how do I connect both HDD at the same time? I think I'll end up using TimeMachine :S
I've no actual idea how to install/replace the HDD, any good/recommended guides?
Thanks sooo much for the help guys
Joseph Duffy

Alright, after you buy the new hard drive, you'll want to get this. You'll put the new hard drive inside of the case and plug it into your MacBook Pro. Then you'll open Carbon Copy Cloner, I've attached a screen shot of what you'll want the settings to be. Except you'll change "Source Disk" to your internal MacBook Pro hard drive and "Target Disk" to your external hard drive. Then you'll hit the "clone" button. It'll save you time and effort over the Time Machine method.

As for the guide, Here you go.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Alirght, thanks so much for the replies.
I've decided I'll be getting the following:
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3518316/External-HDD-Laptop-USB-2-5-Hard-Disk-IDE-Drive-Enclosure/Product.html?ptsl=1&ob=Price&fb=0&&_$ja=tsid:11518%7Ccc:%7Cprd:3518316%7Ccat:Components
http://www.dabs.com/products/seagate-momentus-7200-4-500gb-7200rpm-s300-16mb-62FD.html
http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=105357&source=googlebase

Do these look OK?
I choose the fastest, and highest storage Seagate HDD, with some sort of extra protection, as I take it a lot of places, will this still be OK? Do I need the extra protection? Or am I paying to much for the protection?
Hopefully this will be my last post.
Thanks for the guide. I've looked over it, and on YouTube, think I can do it unassisted
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

 

[iBookG4user]

Alirght, thanks so much for the replies.
I've decided I'll be getting the following:
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3518316/External-HDD-Laptop-USB-2-5-Hard-Disk-IDE-Drive-Enclosure/Product.html?ptsl=1&ob=Price&fb=0&&_$ja=tsid:11518%7Ccc:%7Cprd:3518316%7Ccat:Components
http://www.dabs.com/products/seagate-momentus-7200-4-500gb-7200rpm-s300-16mb-62FD.html
http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=105357&source=googlebase

Do these look OK?
I choose the fastest, and highest storage Seagate HDD, with some sort of extra protection, as I take it a lot of places, will this still be OK? Do I need the extra protection? Or am I paying to much for the protection?
Hopefully this will be my last post.
Thanks for the guide. I've looked over it, and on YouTube, think I can do it unassisted
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

The hard drive is fine, although the enclosure won't work. You need to get SATA rather than IDE, as they are different connectors and are not compatible with each other.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Alright, I think his should do:
http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=44701&source=froogle
Hope this all works out OK

 

[iBookG4user]

Alright, I think his should do:
http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=44701&source=froogle
Hope this all works out OK

Yes, that one will work

 

[toolbox]

I have upgraded mine to a 500 GB drive. I was running out to quickly. I got a mate to do mine.

 

[kellen]

I have hard work done on my MBP after replacing the hard drive. This is a early 2008 model. No problems.

Some notes OP. It can be difficult getting the top case snapped back on to the lower case along the front, don't be afraid to squeeze hard. You may even bow the DVD drive and it may require bending that part back up. Mine did.

Also make sure you don't put a screw into the DVI connector hole. Once it is in, it may require removal of the whole board.

To make sure I put all screws back in where they went, I printed out ifixit.com replacement pages and taped each screw over the pictures where it said to remove them, so I knew they all went right back where they came from.

Wasn't hard at all, I don't see why people say it can be a pain.

 

[toolbox]

Some notes OP. It can be difficult getting the top case snapped back on to the lower case along the front, don't be afraid to squeeze hard. You may even bow the DVD drive and it may require bending that part back up. Mine did.

That happened to my mates laptop. He went a little bit overboard with his i think.

 

[Cubert]

Did it work? This is like a murder mystery - we're waiting for the outcome.

I would recommend having two backups, though. Burn everything to DVDs as a second backup. Include the system library, too. The only thing you shouldn't burn is the System folder.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Did it work? This is like a murder mystery - we're waiting for the outcome.

I would recommend having two backups, though. Burn everything to DVDs as a second backup. Include the system library, too. The only thing you shouldn't burn is the System folder.

If you're asking if the HDD swap worked, we'll have to see.
I'll be getting the HDD + Extras virtually the day after Christmas, so Ill report then. I'll be transfering the entire drive using CarbonCopy, so I won't have to do anything once installed
Thanks
Joseph Duffy

 

[JosephDuffy]

Swapped the HDD
It all went OK.
I'm not going to partition it 300GB Mac, 200GB Win