A few weeks ago I published a small guide that showed how to install more RAM in your MacBook and today I’m showing how easy it is to put a bigger hard drive in your MacBook. Come inside for the full guide.
The most time consuming part of upgrading your MacBook is copying all the data from the old drive into the new one. I used a free application called ‘Carbon Copy Cloner‘ and the whole process took about 8 hours (give or take 1 hour) for duplicating a full 160GB drive of data into the new, bigger drive. I used a small USB SATA 2.5 inch drive case that can be bought for around $15.
So mount the new drive in the case and put Carbon Copy to work. I started the process before I went to bed and when I woke up the drive was duplicated.
The rest of the process is much quicker and I managed to do the whole switch in around 10 minutes. Start by flipping your MacBook over and take away the battery protection plate.
Then you take away the battery and remove the screw holding the hard drive in place (using a high quality Philips screwdriver).
When the screw is gone, you can take out the drive and detach it from the SATA connector.
The next step is removing the four small screws on the side of the drive using a Torx T6 screwdriver…
…and attach them to the new drive. You also have to move the small plastic from the old drive to the new one.
Attach the SATA cable, put the new hard drive in place, tighten the screw and put in the battery and close the case. You’re done. Your machine should now be equipped with a new, bigger drive. I went for a faster 7200 RPM 500GB drive from Seagate (compared to the old 5400 RPM 160GB drive). Remember to get a drive that is compatible with the MacBook – check with your local dealer.
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