I've got a Macbook and I need a new HD for it!

wibbly

wibbly

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So, can anyone explain the options open to me in terms of what I can do with it, what make of HD I need, where to get it from, how much I should pay for one and how difficult it is to install.

I back up with a time machine, (not genuine Apple), so is it a case of install the new HD and run it through Time Machine or what?

I currently have a Macbook with a fairly small hard disc and am fed up trying to find space given the fact that most of the time it's full of iTunes or iPhoto stuff, so it's time for a big capacity HD...

Any info gratefully accepted :)
 
Very easy to do with time machine :thumbs:

And if you find any problems just slot your old hard drive back in. I would also recommend getting a 7200rpm hard drive as the difference is very notable :)

Something like this - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/153103
 
JasonRS said:
Particularly in the heat generated. I dropped back to a 5400RPM drive as I was getting fed up of the drives hitting 70-80ºC on my lap all the time.
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A Macbook is supposed to be a scale model of the sun, I wouldn't worry about the temp as long as it's backed up.
 
I swapped the 120 drive in my MacBook for a 250 and it was very easy.

I wouldn't suggest that you use Time Machine to do it though, rather you should clone your entire current HD onto a new one in an external enclosure using either Super Duper [which I used] or Carbon Copy Cloner [which I've seen used elsewhere].

You then have an identical copy of your existing HD which you simply swap. Certain apps can't be restored from Time Machine [Photoshop Elements for one that I know of] so you're better off cloning your drive to a new one. IIRC I paid around £80 for both the HD + enclosure.
 
Gold said:
Something like this - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/153103
Click to expand...

I've got that drive in mine now, works a treat.
The whole process is straight forward. Turn it off, remove the battery & blanking plate (phillips screws, but small ones), pull the old drive out, swap the protection plate off the old drive to the new one (you'll need a torx screwdriver, no. 7 I think), slide the new drive in and replace the blanking plate & battery.

I took the opportunity to do a nice fresh install of Snow Leopard and then just restored my files from TM and my Aperture vaults. I do use MobileMe though so all my contacts, calendar, bookmarks etc.. sync'd back automagically which saved a lot of faffing about.
 
Great info Guys thanks :thumbs:

I am a little confused by the options of either doing it by Time Machine, or Cloning ***... If I do it by Time Machine, do all my applications such as MS Office and the like still work? :thinking:


Jim.R said:
I've got that drive in mine now, works a treat.
The whole process is straight forward. Turn it off, remove the battery & blanking plate (phillips screws, but small ones), pull the old drive out, swap the protection plate off the old drive to the new one (you'll need a torx screwdriver, no. 7 I think), slide the new drive in and replace the blanking plate & battery.

I took the opportunity to do a nice fresh install of Snow Leopard and then just restored my files from TM and my Aperture vaults. I do use MobileMe though so all my contacts, calendar, bookmarks etc.. sync'd back automagically which saved a lot of faffing about.
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Thanks Jim, you make it sound soooo easy :D Did you not clone then? :thinking:
 
wibbly said:
Thanks Jim, you make it sound soooo easy :D Did you not clone then? :thinking:
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It really is that straightforward, as long as you have the right tools. There's a whole bunch of demo videos on YouTube if you want to see the whole process before you start.
It's worth having another internet connected computer available while you do it though, I completely forgot what key needed to be held down to boot off the DVD drive when I turned it back on and had to go and look it up :bonk:

I didn't bother cloning the drive, just did a fresh install of Snow Leopard and the latest versions of all my apps. Gets rid of all the clutter that way.
Then just connected the TM drive and restored all my files that way.
 
Jim.R said:
.....just did a fresh install of Snow Leopard and the latest versions of all my apps. Gets rid of all the clutter that way.
Then just connected the TM drive and restored all my files that way.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about upgrading to Snow Leopard...

Where are all the apps kept? If I change my HD, do these automatically come back with my TM back up?

Sorry for all the questions, you seem to have the answers though :p :cool:
 
Depends on the apps. Most of the standard stuff is part of OSX (iTunes, Quicktime, Mail, Calendar etc..).
The other iLife apps (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand etc...) will be on one of the disks that came with your MacBook, or a seperate iLife disk if you've bought a newer version.
Anything else (Aperture, Photoshop, Office and the like) you should have the install media for.

If you need to know about specific apps, post up their names.

Once these were all installed I basically just used TM to recover some of my settings and the contents of my user directory (Documents, Pictures & Music)
 
OK, I think I'm with you... So standard stuff is all on the OSX disc and presumably if I installed Snow Leopard that would install them as well and for the others such as -

iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand I install from my Macbook discs.

Photoshop, Office and the like I just re-install as fresh?

Presumably after I've installed Snow Leopard and switch it on and connect TM I can then download all my documents, iTunes and iPhoto contents accordingly...

Many thanks for your help.

I think come pay day I may well look for a new HD, and give it a go, I've just looked at a couple of YouTube Vids and the installation itself is simple, it's just the after I'm a little concerned with! :eek:
 
:thumbs:

Just remember, even if you really mess it up, you can just put the old HDD back in and be back where you started :D
 
Easy guide that stops you needing to use your Mac during the cloning process.

1) Buy that HDD and an enclosure such as this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-5-SATA-to-U...es_HardDriveEnclosures_RL?hash=item3efa29ce74

2) Install the new HDD in the enclosure.

3) Download Carbon Copy Cloner and install it - http://www.bombich.com/

4) Clone your existing HDD to the new one.

5) Install the new HDD in your Macbook.

6) Done. You can then install the old HDD in the enclosure to use as an external drive. If anything goes wrong just put the old HDD back in. :)
 
I went for the cloned route as it saved me having to hunt around for the original discs, patching everything that needed patching, bringing in my PS plugins etc, etc...

Much easier to simply clone your drive IMHO.
 
Ooh cloning.... food for thought, if it really is that simple!

How do you Clone your existing HDD to the new one?
 
Simple: put new HDD in enclosure, connect it to MacBook via USB or firewire, format it [Mac OS Extended format] using disk utility, install Super Duper on MacBook, tell it what to do [ie clone Macintosh HDD to new HDD], wait for it to copy, eject new HDD then turnoff MacBook and swap the drives as you've already looked up. Very easy indeed.
 
My Unibody MBP came with this drive and it is very fast. My friend has the exact same spec machine as me but with the standard 5400rpm drive and mine boots in roughly 26 seconds and his in roughly 55 seconds...needless to say he replaced the drive with the same as mine pretty sharpish and is now enjoy the joys of faster operation too lol
 
What happens if you don't have an enclosure? Could you copy a drive onto an external hard drive and then transfer it to the new hd?
 
Time Machine can do it but it takes a while and an enclosure can be bought for less than £5 including delivery off ebay. :)

And leaves a backup copy.
 
OK, forgive the real stoopid question, but what's an enclosure....:shrug:

I'm thinking asking this is a real bad idea, isn't it :lol: :bonk:
 
A hard drive enclosure is basically a shock proof box to house an ordinary hard drive that you would find in a desktop or laptop computer, along with a special circuit board to convert the drive plug on the hard drive to a USB connection and sometimes an external power supply.

It means you can make your own cheaper external hard drive by buying an ordinary hard drive and an enclosure.
 
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