How to replace the HDD on the Aluminum MB and MBP

How to replace the HDD on the Aluminum MB and MBP

Hi everybody, I was thinking about replacing my HDD on my aluminum Macbook Pro 13 recently, and I thought it might be interesting to make a guide for all of those that have an alu-MB or MBP and would like to replace the HDD. You are going to need a 2.5inch laptop HDD, in the SATA format. I haven't upgraded it yet, but I'll show you a step by step process on how to replace it.

Step 1: To replace a HDD, you need to turn the computer completely off.



Step 2: Make sure that you have your data backed up to an external HDD, via Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner.



Step 3: You are then going to flip the notebook over. Be sure to have a cloth or towel on the surface you're laying to notebook on, to prevent any scratches.







Step 4: Now, you are going to flip the tab up that is near the bottom of the notebook. That will release the battery/HDD cover.








Step 5: Now that the cover is off, you are now going to unscrew the HDD screw. There is only one screw that you have to remove to replace the HDD.









Step 6: You then want to pull on the clear tab, to get the old HDD out of the notebook ( cant fits for Latitude D410) . Be careful not to damage the SATA connector pins while taking it out. Safely disconnect the HDD from the connectors.



Step 7: Now take the new HDD, and insert it into the HDD bay. Connect the approiate connectors to the HDD. It will be obvious on what to connect, because it's just like matching up batteries in a TV remote.



Step 8: Now that you have the new HDD in, put the cover back on the back of the computer ( Dell inspiron 6400). Make sure that the cover is flush with the rest of the notebook, with no slight edge or the like. The tab will go back down automatically when you attach the cover.




Step 9: Flip the computer back over, and boot the system up. If you have a Time Machine backup, insert you Mac OS X install disc, and wait for the installer. You then will want to go up to the menu bar, and select "Restore". laptop battery Make sure you have your Time Machine external HDD connected at this time. You will then go to Time Machine, and select the date to where you want to restore your system. Then you will be set, and ready to go.



If you are using Carbon Copy Cloner, and you already cloned your HDD, then it will be just like using your original HDD. You won't need to use your Mac OS X install CD at all.



You now have installed your new HDD into your Aluminum Macbook or Macbook Pro. Enjoy!

The article from notebook review