WD Scorpio 320GB Hard Drive w. Macbook [Confirmed to be working]

just a couple of comments:

the original thread starter just said macbook, not macbook pro. if you indeed have a macbook then that drive won't work, macbooks can only have a maximum 250gb.

Also,

OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800/400 +USB 2.0 2.5" Portable Case Kit for SATA 2.5" Hard Drives

A bit pricey, but very good quality, and it is FW800, and it includes nice quality braided cables.

isn't that a little pricey?

i'm thinking of upgrading my 120gb macbook harddrive at some point. i paid 1 pence (and £4 P&P, but it sounds better as a penny) for a hard drive enclosure, which effectively makes it an external hard drive. that way i get a new hard drive, plus an external hard drive for time machine when i get my new hard drive
 
isn't that a little pricey?
Right, and I said that originally.

i'm thinking of upgrading my 120gb macbook harddrive at some point. i paid 1 pence (and £4 P&P, but it sounds better as a penny) for a hard drive enclosure, which effectively makes it an external hard drive. that way i get a new hard drive, plus an external hard drive for time machine when i get my new hard drive
The reason that enclosure is pricey is that it's a bus-powered FW800 drive (in addition to FW400 and USB2), plus it includes all the cables (FW400/FW800/USB), a power supply if your bus doesn't provide enough, and a decent case. The inexpensive enclosures are almost always USB2, which is not as fast. Now that may be OK for many, but I wanted something higher performance. I now have a Hitachi 7200 RPM 200 GB drive in my enclosure.
 
Why is that?
I'm not convinced that is correct. It might have been true in the past when there weren't drives larger than that with the right physical form factor, but I don't think there is an OS-based/software reason for a limitation like that.
 
I'm not convinced that is correct. It might have been true in the past when there weren't drives larger than that with the right physical form factor, but I don't think there is an OS-based/software reason for a limitation like that.

It's not. The MacBook is built on Santa Rosa, just like the MBP and iMac.
 
ok, sorry. seems like i've caused abit of uproar. the enclosure i've bought is probably abit cheap and tacky, but it will do the job for just general backing up of files. that one you showed will be alot better quality.

Also, i said that a macbook can hold a maximum of 250Gb cos it says that on the Apple website. in fact, its only just occured to me that that is probably the maximum you can buy it upgradable from apple, and not the maximum it can handle. i'll take that comment back.

i apologize for my dumbness, have pity on a mac newcomer.
 
the reason for a new drive is the dreaded clicking noise but today i read that
the clicking noise is due to the fact that 2.5 drives are conceived as portable
devices and the clicking noise is the HDD heads intentionally docking to
improve damage resistance if jolted and most 2.5 drives do this

Yes, clicking noises are "normal" with some drives, but can be extremely annoying. I haven't had clicking problems with any of Apple's own drives, but its a common problem with 3rd-party ones, including WD Scorpio models.

You can use a program called hdapm to fix them, however. This changes the APM level setting so the drive does not park and unpark its heads so often:

http://mckinlay.net.nz/hdapm
 
320GB WD HD: Confirmed Working

Yesterday I received my Western Digital WD3200BEVT. It's a 2.5" SATA 5400RPM HD, currently the largest on the market. There have been a lot of contradicting reports of whether it works or not so I just wanted to clear things up.

It works perfectly. The only hiccup I had was when I first put it in the Leopard installer didn't detect it; turns out that it didn't have the right partition type (needs to be GUID for my MacBook).
 

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How do set the right GUID?
And which one do I need for a MacBook Pro?
What about battery power, noise and speed?
 
wow, i'm jealous! i want one too! did you install it yourself?
Indeed I did :)

How do set the right GUID?
And which one do I need for a MacBook Pro?
What about battery power, noise and speed?
The same one should work for the MacBook Pro, although its harder to replace in the MBP. Battery life has gone up a little, and its a very quiet disk, the quietest I've ever seen. Speed is fantastic :)

Do you install it the same way as the other hard drives?
Yup :) There are instructions here but not mentioned in that is you need a special screwdriver to remove/insert the HD from the caddy. Its a Torx T8 screwdriver you need.

EDIT: If anyone wants me to run some benchmarks just say and I'll oblige :)
 
here but not mentioned in that is you need a special screwdriver to remove/insert the HD from the caddy. Its a Torx T8 screwdriver you need.

EDIT: If anyone wants me to run some benchmarks just say and I'll oblige :)

as well as a very small screwdriver, llike the kind for eyeglasses
 
as well as a very small screwdriver, llike the kind for eyeglasses

I had one of those lying around :eek:
For those interested, instructions on how to replace the MacBook Pro's HD are found here. Its far more complicated than the MacBook and unfortunately it does void your warranty, unlike the MacBook.

In total, I needed all these things to replace it (as I never did list properly):
  • Torx T8 Screwdriver (cost me £2 for a set)
  • Phillips Screwdriver (not sure what size but its very small)
  • Leopard install disks

ooberpongo, its very easy to change the partition type, just use the partition tab in Disk Utility.
 
How do set the right GUID?

Use Disk Utility to initialize the drive. Under the partition tab, choose options to set to GUID. All Intel-based Macs must have their boot drives initialized as GUID.

Yesterday I received my Western Digital WD3200BEVT. It's a 2.5" SATA 5400RPM HD, currently the largest on the market. There have been a lot of contradicting reports of whether it works or not so I just wanted to clear things up.

Why were there contradictory reports? The MacBook is Santa Rosa, just like the iMac. If a 1 TB laptop drive became available, it should work, too, so long as it's a 2.5" SATA.
 
Course now the 500GB is out from Hitachi. :( DOnt worry happened to me to. Ordered th 250gb WD when it was the largest and not but two weeks later they introd the 320GB. DAMN! Enjoy bud

Kevin

PS I think you can actually suport up to 32TB with the current Macs. I know its that number or close to it. Maybe it was 38TB ...... Cant wait for those drives!
 
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