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Want to install 320g Western Digi HD

D

dan the mac

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 3, 2008
25
0
dank-aster
I have a 1.83 Ghz MacBook with 1g of ram. I currently have a 60g hd and want to upgrade. I have read posts and it seems that everyone who upgrades their hd seems to just swap it out with a Western Digital Passport hd. I have a 320g Western Digital Mybook hd, and want to make sure the swap will still work if i take it apart. I talked to a computer savvy friend and he said the model shouldnt matter, but he also uses Windows : )
Can anyone help???
 
damn so much for that idea!! thank you for answering that before i ripped it apart! any other suggestions, or am i going to have to break down and just A. buy a new mac book hd
B. buy a passport
 
Your best bet is to get a drive from a third party reseller, dont bother getting a passport then gutting it.

Try MacSales, they have a big selection:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Se....5+hard+drive&Ntk=Primary&Ns=P_Price|0&N=6892

Just remember to have your system disks to install the new OS.

Also you can pick up a SATA enclosure: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MOTGSU2/

And put your MacBook HD in there, that way you can just use the migration assistant to move all your stuff over. This one only has USB, but you can spend more and get FW as well.
 
dan the mac said:
I have a 1.83 Ghz MacBook with 1g of ram. I currently have a 60g hd and want to upgrade. I have read posts and it seems that everyone who upgrades their hd seems to just swap it out with a Western Digital Passport hd. I have a 320g Western Digital Mybook hd, and want to make sure the swap will still work if i take it apart. I talked to a computer savvy friend and he said the model shouldnt matter, but he also uses Windows : )
Can anyone help???
Click to expand...


You mean like this? WD 320Gb in a MacBook Pro...



I know in MacBooks can use the same unit...
installing it is just a matter of removing the "L" shape plate from around the battery and pulling out the drive... You'll need to remove about 3-5 screws (damn, i can't remember). You'll also need a T6 Screwdriver to remove the old HD from the backplate.
 
Great that hd link has a lot of options! Will any of those hd's displayed work in my macbook?? Or do i need a specific one? I just want to be sure it will fit. Also about the system disks....i havent made any, nor was i prompted to that i recall. Where do i go in my OS to make sytem disks?? Somewhere in preferences??
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD2500BEVS/
this is the one i'm considering will it work??
 
dan the mac said:
Great that hd link has a lot of options! Will any of those hd's displayed work in my macbook?? Or do i need a specific one? I just want to be sure it will fit. Also about the system disks....i havent made any, nor was i prompted to that i recall. Where do i go in my OS to make sytem disks?? Somewhere in preferences??
Click to expand...

Ah.. You can't make system disks from the Mac's HD, it's not like a PC. besides, you should of been shipped with System Disks in the Box when you first purchased the Mac. They used to be in with the manuals, now they're in a little box...


Any brand will work so long as it's 2.5" SATA drive, 9mm depth HD.
 
dan the mac said:
Great that hd link has a lot of options! Will any of those hd's displayed work in my macbook?? Or do i need a specific one? I just want to be sure it will fit. Also about the system disks....i havent made any, nor was i prompted to that i recall. Where do i go in my OS to make sytem disks?? Somewhere in preferences??
Click to expand...

You just need any 2.5" Serial ATA hard drive. You don't 'make' system discs (I assume you're thinking in terms of slipstreaming on a PC) — they would have been included in the box your MacBook came in. If you've lost them, you can get a new set off AppleCare for... I think it's £15 in the UK, no idea on US prices but probably no more than $20 (probably). You can use a friend's install discs, of course, but he or she will need to be using pretty much exactly the same model of machine as you.

Edit: Yep, that link is exactly the right one. You might want to hold on for the 500GB drives due in a few months.
 
ah yeah i may hold off for the 500g though i cant even IMAGINE what i would use all that space for!! i still have the box i'll check and see if the system disks are still in it...us noobs dont check for things like that hahah. i just ripped it open and turned it on and fell in love!
 
dan the mac said:
Great that hd link has a lot of options! Will any of those hd's displayed work in my macbook?? Or do i need a specific one? I just want to be sure it will fit. Also about the system disks....i havent made any, nor was i prompted to that i recall. Where do i go in my OS to make sytem disks?? Somewhere in preferences??
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD2500BEVS/
this is the one i'm considering will it work??
Click to expand...

Yep that drive will work fine, you will just have to move some screws and a small piece of ribber from one to the other. The size of the drive is really up to you, a 250gb drive should be more then enough, personally I don't like to keep all my stuff in one place, so once you fill it up you might want to invest in external storage to keep stuff safe (especially pictures).

To put the new OS on you will need to find the disks that came with your MacBook. They should have come in a little grey box and are in a sleeve labeled "everything else" There should be two DVDs. Once the new HD is in you will see a flashing question mark, insert DVD 1, the machine should boot off of it, or restart and hold down the C key.

Once you get into the CD you will need to format the drive, use disk utility to do this, the default settings should be fine. Then you can proceed with the OS installation.
 
wow thats more info than i was expecting, thank you! i'll post again once i get everything squared away. I have some other questions regarding adding a dvd burning drive to my macbook and whether or not thats even possible...should i make a new thread elsewhere or can someone answer that here?
 
J@ffa said:
You just need any 2.5" Serial ATA hard drive. You don't 'make' system discs (I assume you're thinking in terms of slipstreaming on a PC) — they would have been included in the box your MacBook came in. If you've lost them, you can get a new set off AppleCare for... I think it's £15 in the UK, no idea on US prices but probably no more than $20 (probably). You can use a friend's install discs, of course, but he or she will need to be using pretty much exactly the same model of machine as you.

Edit: Yep, that link is exactly the right one. You might want to hold on for the 500GB drives due in a few months.
Click to expand...

The samsung spinpoint 500GB is supposedly due sometime this month
 
You would have to do some research (for the DVD burner), but this is something that you should NOT do yourself (the DVD Burner), unless you are very familiar with MacBooks, and are willing to risk your warranty. There are some places that can do it for you and it won't void your warranty, but its going to be pricey. You might as well get an external burner, it will be faster then anything you can stick inside of it, and it will be cheaper. Try LaCie, they make great DVD burners.
 
cool yeah i'll check out external burners i'm NOT familiar at all with hardware swapping. RAM and hd are about all i'm capable of and they are pretty basic. THanks again!
 
i just installed my 320gig internal HD from OWC western digital and it came out a success. LOW noise, and to tell you the truth, maybe it's just me but the battery seems to last longer... Anyway i'm a western digital person and never have a problem with them.

I have a 500 gig internal HD for my imac, 320gig internal for macbook Pro, and 500gig external back up.

So far so good... **knock on wood**
 
billmister said:
i just installed my 320gig internal HD from OWC western digital and it came out a success. LOW noise, and to tell you the truth, maybe it's just me but the battery seems to last longer... Anyway i'm a western digital person and never have a problem with them.
Click to expand...

I upgraded my PowerBook with a WD Scorpio drive and agree with reduced noise and increased battery life. In a year or so I'll be upgrading my MB with one!
 
Glad I found this thread, I just placed an order for a WD 320GB for my Macbook Pro. Ordered an enclosure also to make it all easy. Will be the first time that I open up the macbook pro, so I will use the guide form ifixit.com.

Thanks guys

:apple:
 
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