JUST Bought Macbook - Upgrading HD Immediately

I just bought a a new Macbook Core 2 Duo 2.0ghz w/ 80GB Hard drive...

I have a week before it comes in the mail... I want to have a hard drive at least double the size of this ready to install before it gets here. Anyone have any recommendations for hard drives for a new Macbook that are at least 160gb in size and 5400rpm in speed?

Also, when I do this, do I even have to start the computer up prior to installing the new hard drive? I figure since I wont have any personal information or any other info on there, there will be no reason for me to even turn on the computer before I replace the hard drive... is it really as easy as I think it's going to be?

Basically right now, my plan is to take the computer out of the box, take out the hard drive, then put the new one in... turn it on, put the restore discs in and start fresh with a brand new Mac with a bigger hard drive.

Is this as easy as I think it is???

Thanks in advance!

 

You don't specifically need to start up the computer beforehand.

Your plan will work fine..... when you start up it will need to boot from the CD's and you'll then be able to format and install OS X and the bundled apps, etc. (you might use that opportunity to choose to not install any extras you don't want or need).

Yes, it's as easy as you think it is going to be.

I personally used a 160GB Seagate HD with no problems, but you should be safe with anything that is well regarded.

 

thanks for the info sir, i just wanted someone to verify that my idea was okay... now it's one less thing to think about.... thanks again!

 

Hey, I've got a question, and this seems like a good place to stick it: I've got a 160 gig sata hdd that'll fit in my macbook. is there anything that'll let me copy the macbook hard drive's current data to the new one, and perhaps expand the os x partition? I don't really need the space, but if I had it, I'd have room for some media.

 

If you get an external enclosure (like this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MOTGU2/ ) that's really all you'd need to do.

You could use a piece of software like Carbon Copy Cloner I think to make an exact copy:

http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

 

Yeah, I was looking more for something like an imaging tool that could accomodate changes in partition/filesystem size.

 

What are the specs I need to follow to get a HD that works with my macbook. does it matter for battery life if I get a 5400 or 7200? How much faster is a 7200?

 

Just incase you guys didn't know this, by replacing the Hard drive you void the warranty on your macbook. I would suggest getting an external case for it(newegg has some rosewill 2.5" cases for like ten bucks, they work great), and just have a large porta-drive.

 

That isn't correct. Replacing the hard drive yourself in a regular MacBook does not void your warranty. It is designed to be a user replaceable part, and Apple even offers instructions on their site to do it:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY.pdf

It is the MacBook Pro which currently does not feature a user replaceable hard drive, and you would void your warranty if you replaced it yourself (because you essentially have to disassemble a MBP to replace the hard drive).

-Zadillo

 

OWC offers 5400 and 7200rpm 160gb drives that work in the Macbook. They also have external USB and Firewire enclosures. The free version of SuperDuper! will clone your old drive (or use your restore disks to start fresh).

The only pain is removing the shielding from the old drive and putting it on the new drive - you need a special star shaped computer screwdriver (can get in comp usa's large computer tool kit and likely other places).

 

Whheee... Newegg has some of the 160gb 5400rpm drives for under $120.
Darn, I wish I had money for one. 100gb is not enough. I'd love to get the 160gb 7200 rpm one, but not at double the price. Plus, I'm not sure how much better the performance is. I'm not sure if it's perpendicular recording or not.

Passive, there is little to no difference between the 7200 and 5400 in regards to battery life. The speed difference depends on what you do, but is noticeable with audio and video applications. But the difference between the 100gb 7200 rpm and the 160gb 5400rpm drives are reportable null.

 

awesome thank you.

What is perpendicular recording and why is this better or worse?

What are the actual specs I need so I can find a HD on pricewatch.com cheap?

 

wait so if I wanted to replace my hard drive with the new hitachi 200gb 7200rpm drive what would I have to do? could I take it to the apple store for them to do it so my warranty doesn't get voided?

 

I actually bought a toolkit from that site zadillo recommended along w/ a 160gb western digital scorpio hard drive... i hope it was a smart purchase...

but i have a question for you, i noticed in your signature it says 3gb of ram in ur macbook... i thought they only support up to 2gb?

 

I'm not sure.... I know an Apple authorized repair shop can do it (without voiding a warranty).... I suspect that you could have the Apple Store do it, but I'm not totally sure how they handle service like that.

I think you could still do it yourself (macsales.com has a great video showing how to do it), but if you ever needed any repairs/warranty service you'd probably want to swap the hard drive back just to be safe (although I suspect they probably wouldn't care, and if they did you could probably always tell them it was done by an apple authorized repair shop; I don't know if they'd really look into that or not).

-Zadillo

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpindicular_storage

I don't bother with price watch much myself. I generally use newegg for all my pc needs.

I'd go with a 160 gig 5400 rpm drive that is SATA. make sure it's a 2.5" drive.

 

@ PaulCky411:
Yes, the Core 2 Duo MBP supports up to 3GB memory. Actually 3.25 or so, so if you put 4GB in there you'd get 3.25 of actual usage because of limitations in memory addressing on the hardware available today (for a more in-depth explanation of this, Google or search some here on Notebookreview). Santa Rosa should fix that though.

@ jnev:
Yes, you should be able to take it into an authorized service provider or an Apple Store and have them change it for you - I'm sure an AASP would charge you for it though, not as certain if the Apple Store would but that feels likely.

 

I know that the MBP supports that amount, but in jimboutilier's signature it says "black macbook 3GB ram"... not mac book pro.... which is why i'm still wondering if it's possible to put more than 2gb of ram into a regular macbook

 

I think the MB only has 2 slots. do they even make 1.5GB mem cards?

 

No. It's with 1 1GB DIMM and 1 2GB DIMM.

You can technically put in 2 2GB DIMMs and end up with about 3.25GB of actual useable RAM.

-Zadillo

 

Sorry, didn't see that part - that is strange, Apples tech specs state maximum RAM for a Macbook C2D is 2GB.

 

Hrmm, I never noticed that - you're right. The tech specs say up to 2GB, and the Apple Store only lets you configure it with up to 2GB as well.

But whatever it is, that isn't the case. OWC for example makes it clear you can support up to 3GB:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/DDR2/

-Zadillo

 

Since Apple doesn't let you configure them with 3GB of ram... do you think there is a reason for it although you supposedly can do it? Now I'm wondering if I should buy a 2GB stick to toss in there along w/ my other 1GB to make a nice grand total of 3GB.

 

The only reason I can think of really is that Apple wants to push the MBP to the kinds of people who need 3GB of RAM. I don't think there is any technical reason really.

 

You might to to get the 120GB or 160GB SAMSUNG Hybrid 2,5" 5400rpm.

 

I seem to remember 3GB possibly causing some sort of interaction with the GMA 950 or something like that. I am not sure, but I thought I had heard or seen that somewhere.

 

Actually I just did some research of my own... supposedly there is no problem w/ that and I found that Macbooks can very easily support 3GB of ram with no problems whatsoever. If you want to read a bunch of tests that have been done, feel free to do so by clicking here and here

The first link provides the actual testing, the 2nd one just explains a little bit.

Using 3GB definitely shows improvement in some aspects over 2GB even though Apple recommends using matched pairs of memory.

 

You are correct. After posting that I looked around and it seems to work flawlessly. I am really curious now why Apple says only 2GB.

 

I've been running 3gb RAM for a while now in my standard Macbook with absolutely no issues - My signature line is not in error. In fact, my battery life seems to be extended considerably and there has been a modest speed improvement for the things I do (when compared with 2gb).

The potential issue is that when running 3gb your memory chips are not matched so you loose some of the benefit of DDR2 interleaving. This in theory can under extreme use cause the GMA950 to max out your memory bandwidth. This could appear as the screen freezing for fractions of a second a la GMA's of yesteryear. I have not seen it on my MacBook with 3gb Ram

The memory slot with the 2gb chip runs a couple of degrees (c) warmer than the 1gb slot but neither temperature is close to its limit and a couple of degrees will make no practical difference.

Hope this helps

 

sounds good... glad to know that if i wanted to i can do it without problem, thanks for the info

 

Yeah, I don't think a company like OWC would sell 2GB RAM for the regular MacBook if there was any question about compatibility.

Honestly I think this is more a thing of Apple only "officially" considering the MacBook to be a machine that supports up to 2GB of memory, presumably to emphasize the MBP for the kinds of people who need 3GB of RAM.

Fortunately Apple didn't physically prevent you from using 3GB of RAM in a MacBook.

-Zadillo