Taking apart a MBP

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Deleted member 651465

Deleted member 651465

Following on from reading this guide I may decide to pop in a 200GB 7200RPM storage drive.

I know it's going to void the warranty, but it certainly looks easier than I remembered :)

Anyway, what you guys think.. would you risk it?

Linky :)
 
Personally I wouldn't risk it if it was under warranty, the warranty would be more important to me.

How much do Apple Stores charge for the service of upgrading the HD (and thus keeping the warranty)?
 
I've been umming and ahhing about changing the HDD for a couple of months now. The 80 gigger is straining at the seems so i fancy a 200Gb/7200 or 250Gb/5400 drive. I'm an experienced lappy tech (used to be Tosh trained in the 90s) so it doesn't concern me much - just appears to be fiddly. I do however prefer the thinkpad method - one screw and the drive comes out on a sled!

Apple Stores won't touch a third party HDD with a bargepole. You'd have more luck with an Apple Authorised Repairer.

I'd be more concerned about the warranty. You can always swap the OEM drive back in when a problem occurs, but if there's evidence of cack handed opening of the case they could throw a fit.
 
I may up mine to the same as yours along with installing Leopard. It doesn't look to difficult, but it's the warranty that bothers me. Also I've heard that the catches on the inside of the case can be easily damaged.
 
Ok, just been watching a video on Youtube regarding a new HDD.

Looks simple enough to do, and I bet if you took your time (as with any computer) you could do it without any visible marks :)

If there was a 250GB 7200rpm then I'd do it tomorrow, but as it stands I might hold out until Lepoard and see what's about
 
Its not that hard to do and doesn't void your warantee. There are plenty of good guides out there. Just make sure you have the right tools and a place to mark and store all the screws you need to remove.
 
It's debatable whether replacing the HDD voids your warranty, there's a lot of discussion about it and it seems even Apple aren't specific about it.

The HDD in the MBP is not considered to be a user-replaceable part though, and the work required to get to it certainly isn't a procedure one would expect to have to go through if it was intended to be swapped out by Joe Public.

The memory on the other hand is clearly in a place with easy access and you only have to remove one panel to get to it.
 
I have to agree with Durzel on this.

Personally the HDD on the MacBook is classed as a user-upgradable part, but I wouldn't think that's the case on the MBP hence the thread.

I'm pretty convinced that I will do this, but only when the extra storage space is worth the hassle.

Anyone know what the formatted space on a 200GB hard drive equates to?
 
I have read conflicting reports of whether it voids the warranty. I don't think it does, but the warranty will not cover the hard drvie you put in or any damage that occurs as a result of the new hard drive. If you do have to send it back to Apple care it might be wise to put the old hard drive back in.

I spotted a good guide at this site http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/

(200gb formatted = 186gb in reality)
 
Durzel said:
It's debatable whether replacing the HDD voids your warranty, there's a lot of discussion about it and it seems even Apple aren't specific about it.

The HDD in the MBP is not considered to be a user-replaceable part though, and the work required to get to it certainly isn't a procedure one would expect to have to go through if it was intended to be swapped out by Joe Public.

The memory on the other hand is clearly in a place with easy access and you only have to remove one panel to get to it.
Click to expand...

Is memory a 'user-replaceable part'? I don't want to buy 3yr warranty and have it void by upgrading RAM.
 
You can definitely replace RAM in the MBP without voiding warranty, its just unscrewing one panel from the bottom of it. Very easy, ....unlike replacing the HDD...
 
If in doubt, keep the old disk and swap it back in if you need to have a warranty repair ;)

I must say though that the fiddliest laptop Ive ever had the displeasure of replacing the hard drive of was a powerbook 12". About 50 screws and was pretty much a half-day job :(
 
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