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    Upgrade Time!

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by thecommish16, May 17, 2009.

  1. thecommish16

    thecommish16 Notebook Evangelist

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    Ok have had my macbook pro for a year and a half...figure it's time to experiment. I want to upgrade to either a 7200 RPM drive OR a solid state drive AND add Vista Ultimate either through boot camp or another piece of software. So two questions:

    1) Where can I get apple HD's

    2) How hard is it to swap an HD in a 2008 model MBPRO

    3) What software makes it easiest and WORKS the best with Vista?
     
    thecommish16, May 17, 2009
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  2. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

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    1. There is no Apple HD. They use Hitachi drives in the new Unibodies, and I'm pretty sure they used Hitachi drives in the Penryn models also. Newegg is a good place to get one. ;)

    2. It's tedious, and it voids the warranty. You could go get it replaced by a Certified Apple Technician at the Apple store, for a fee. ;)

    3. Are you talking about Virtual Machines, or what? :)
     
    Colton, May 17, 2009
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  3. MKang25

    MKang25 NBR Prisoner

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    Really My freind has a last gen MBP which he replaced the HD in and when he brought it in for repairs the Genius didn't ask him anything about it.
     
    MKang25, May 17, 2009
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  4. sarahfox

    sarahfox Notebook Consultant

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    If you change the hard drive for the same type they use they wouldn't suspect anything. However there probably is some kind of warranty voiding sticker I imagine.
     
    sarahfox, May 17, 2009
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  5. Luke1708

    Luke1708 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    The new gens are obviously easier to upgrade
     
    Luke1708, May 18, 2009
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  6. xprohx

    xprohx Notebook Evangelist

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    No, there is no sticker. I have changed my MBP hard drive before.

    I never had to have any warranty work done on my MBP, but I'm sure they wouldn't even notice that I changed the HD because everything looks untoched. Of course if my HD died, I wouldn't bring it in for warranty work, but for anything else, I am confident that the Genius wouldn't deny me service just because I swapped the HD.
     
    xprohx, May 19, 2009
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  7. xprohx

    xprohx Notebook Evangelist

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    To answer your question...

    1) You will need a 2.5" sata HD. You can check newegg or OWC

    2) In my case, it was pretty easy and straight forward. Follow the guide to opening the machine on iFixit and take your time. I suggest getting a ice cube tray or something similar to separate all you screws from the machine.

    3) When I ran Windows on the Mac, I used Boot Camp + VMWare Fusion
     
    xprohx, May 19, 2009
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  8. sherretz

    sherretz Notebook Geek

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    Hitachi is a reliable brand, but I recommend you check the prices on comparable WD and Seagate drives. If WD's drive prices are trickling down to their laptop HDDs (which I suspect they are), you can find a great hard drive for an amazing price.
     
    sherretz, May 20, 2009
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  9. hellfire88

    hellfire88 Notebook Consultant

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    As others have said any 2.5" SATA HDD will work (or 2.5" SSD for that matter)

    When replacing it yourself, yes the iFixit guide is nice. Just be careful since one of the common "mistakes" is that a lot of people bend their Superdrive slot a bit during the install and then it looks like the top-middle of the slot is "bowed" down and bent. CD/DVDs may still fit but it won't looks as pretty :(. I think some people put a CD or something soft in the slot to hold it taut from bending when they're at the step where you have to pry open the top-case. Good luck.
     
    hellfire88, May 20, 2009
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