blog.blackrobes.net

I had the opportunity to get a 7,200 RPM notebook drive for my MacBook Pro, so I swapped the drive last Thursday, and have some additional notes on the swap. The first article detailing a drive swap is here: http://blog.blackrobes.net/2009/05/replacing-the-macbook-pro-hard-drive/.

The RAM modules do not need to be removed from the laptop to disassemble it. However, I’m a masochist and removed them anyway; it’s one less thing to damage if the screwdriver slips.

Instead of restoring from Time Machine, I performed a “Restore” using Disk Utility. I restored the internal drive to the new drive (using a SATA docking station), then swapped the drives.

After the swap, the system started slower than normal. The boot screen briefly showed a folder with a question mark before the Apple logo and startup bong. A quick search revealed I had to set the startup drive in System Preferences: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440. Once done the system boots quickly. I assume that restoring from the install disc and Time Machine correctly set the startup drive preference.

Using the Disk Uility restore method, the destination drive showed more free space than the source by a few GB. I believe this is because the Spotlight cache is not restored to the destination drive. Immediately on logging in, Spotlight started indexing the new drive. After indexing, the free space was in the ballpark of the original drive.

Here is a picture of all the screws removed (click on it to see full size). My preferred disassembly order (top to bottom) is:

• RAM cover screws (4)
• RAM cover removed
• Screws under RAM cover (2)
• RAM modules removed
• Left: Side and back screws (13), Right: hinge screws (4)
• Hard drive hold down and screws (2)
• Left: bare hard drive screws (2), Center: new hard drive, Right: hard drive screws with bushings (2)

The ifixit site has a step-by-step guide for disassembling the MBP: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/MacBook-Pro-17-Inch-Core-Duo-Hard-Drive-Replacement/319/1