How to change the hard drive of a MacBook. The easiest way to increase the storage capacity of your MacBook. Step-by-step instructions “Replacing the hard drive in a MacBook Pro”
Hi all! Today I’ll tell you how I changed the hard drive to an SSD drive in my new MacBook. I already talked about on my blog, and that I bought a MacBook Pro 13 without Retina. So, this laptop has a terribly slow HDD. Its rotation speed is 5400. Because of this, there are noticeable freezes when launching certain applications or when waking up from sleep. I especially notice this due to the fact that I have been using an SSD Hard Drive on my desktop computer for 3 years now, I have the system and the necessary programs installed on it, plus I also bought one SSD drive for games, sometimes I like to play various cool games games.
I'm not saying that Apple missed the mark with this laptop and made it slow, no. It’s just different, someone wouldn’t even notice it if there was nothing to compare it with.
This laptop has a disk drive, I found a lot of videos and articles on the Internet about the upgrade option by replacing the disk drive with optibay (DVD slim 9.5mm adapter for HDD) in which you can put a hard drive instead of a disk drive and put an SSD in the place where the HDD was. I bought everything, an adapter and an SSD drive for 256 GB Vertex 450 from the manufacturer OCZ (It has a crazy price of 7890 rubles.) Why did I choose OCZ? – For me, this is a proven longevity manufacturer, since SSDs have a limited number of write cycles.
Optibay - This is a very interesting thing, many thanks to whoever came up with it, I think this thing will be useful for those whose laptop is not quite new, it will be possible to install an SSD drive instead of a disk drive and Windows will work many times faster even on not very powerful hardware.
I thought for a long time and decided that, in principle, I didn’t need a second HDD instead of a disk drive and decided to leave the disk drive and just install a 256 gigabyte SSD, this is not so small for a work laptop, especially since I have an external USB hard drive and a desktop PC .
Let's get started replacing that very slow HDD!
The first thing we need is a tool, we need a small Torx Phillips screwdriver, I still have it from the time I changed the glass on my old iPhone 4. A hexagon and a plastic spatula are also included in the kit. The tool plays a very important role when disassembling Apple equipment! No need to twist those little bolts with a knife! I recommend not to rush and if you don’t have the necessary tools, then it’s better not to start, but first buy everything you need.
Now I need to remove static electricity from myself, I looked on the Internet how to do this and decided that it would be easier to just strip down to my underpants than to look for all sorts of antistatic agents
Turn off the laptop and turn it over
Before unscrewing, draw a diagram on a piece of paper so as not to get confused in the bolts, because in all Apple technology, almost all the bolts are different. Here we have 3 long and 7 short in these seven by 4 there is a border, this is important.
So we draw something like this and put the bolts in their places so that we can screw them back into place without any problems! This method works for disassembling any device, and it is very effective - why didn’t I know about it when I was disassembling my toys as a child?
Unscrew it, arrange the bolts, remove the cover and disconnect the power cable! Otherwise, if you accidentally drop a screwdriver or some other metal object on the motherboard, a short circuit will occur and that’s it, replace the motherboard... and maybe something else.
We do everything confidently and carefully with a plastic spatula!
Next, unscrew the hard drive holder. Again, I’m surprised at how simple and high-quality everything is made, the holder is metal, the orange rubber bands in the photo clamp the mounting bolts so that the hard drive feels comfortable, I think it even cushions it a little when hit and causes less damage to the hard drive.
After removing the holder, carefully lift the hard drive and pull out the SATA cables; if it is difficult to disconnect, pry it off with a plastic spatula.
We twisted it, now we put our SSD in place, carefully connect the cable, and first insert the lower bolts into the orange rubber bands and clamp them with the holder.
We close the lid back, take the bolts from our diagram, and screw everything into place.
Don’t worry about the operating system, Apple excelled here too! Now we'll install everything. Yes, all data from the old hard drive will have to be transferred by connecting to a computer or via a SATA to USB adapter, I think this will not be difficult.
We connect the laptop to the Internet via cable (this is faster) or via Wi Fi, it will ask you to select an access point, which one to connect to, enter the password and that’s it.
Turn on the laptop and hold down the CMD + R keys until the progress bar appears, after the bar is filled we will see this image:
Unfortunately, they offer to install OS X Mountain Lion, although OS X Mavericks has been released for a long time, but it’s okay to update later, we don’t have Hackintosh (I used Hackintosh on my desktop PC for about a year, that’s when my craving for Apple began, especially caught the attention of Time Machine, this thing will never be in Windows!)
Do not rush to click continue, first go to Utilities, Disk Utility in the top menu and create or partition a hard drive. After that, click “Continue”, accept the license agreement, and select the disk on which we will install.
I have one, I didn’t share it:
We are waiting for the process of downloading the system installation files, it is not necessary to sit and wait, it will do everything to the end automatically, after downloading the files, it will reboot and the installation will begin, which will proceed quite quickly.
Here is the result of the work speed, using the example of running Adobe Photoshop CS 6:
There was a case when I installed Windows 8 on an SSD using a USB 3.0 installation flash drive on a PC with an intel i5 processor, to be honest I was shocked because the installation time from start to desktop took only 8 minutes! This is cool, what will happen in the future?
That's all, I think the information will be useful. Thank you for your attention! Subscribe to my blog updates. Ask questions in the comments, in the future I think I’ll write about how I installed more RAM, but for now I’m happy with 4 gigabytes on the laptop.
Less than a month after purchasing the MacBook Air ultrabook, I began to think about increasing the memory capacity. I described my experience of ordering a MacBook Air from the USA in the article ““. The specifications of my MacBook Air are as follows:
Future plans
I want to immediately note that the idea of adding memory does not mean that it is not enough - these are just plans for the future. For most users, 128 GB, of which 100 GB is available, will be enough. After all, you can safely use external hard drives to store your media library, since there are two USB 3.0 ports. And you still need to manage to download/buy programs for 100 GB.
The difference in price between identical models with SSD 128Gb and SSD 256 Gb is significant for me: in the Russian Apple store - 8,000 rubles, in the American - $200, which at the current exchange rate is more than 7,000 rubles. Therefore, I did not consider upgrading from a 256 GB SSD.
Having studied the issue of increasing memory in a MacBook, I identified two options:
- The difficult one is replacing the SSD.
- Simple - Use SDXC memory card slot ( slot available only on 13" model).
Replacing SSD
The first option is called “difficult” conditionally - the SSD is replaced in 10 minutes, there are many videos about this on ]]> Youtube]]>. In terms of prices, not everything is as expensive as the difference in configurations when ordering a MacBook with a large SSD. If anyone decides to choose this option, I recommend using ]]> JetDrive™ upgrade kit for MacBook]]> .
This is a complete kit that will turn your old SSD into a stylish Apple-style external drive. And of course, the manufacturer Transcend inspires confidence.
The prices are not low, but I think they are acceptable.
- 240 GB – $189.99
- 480 GB – $349.99
- 960 GB – $599.99
That is, buying a 240 GB SSD on a MacBook Air with 128 GB is cheaper than ordering a MacBook Air with a 256 GB SSD already installed, and in addition you will also have an external 128 GB SSD. Transcend offers an interesting solution: replace Apple's internal SSD with its own more capacious drive, and remove the standard solid-state drive from the MacBook into a thin case with a USB 3.0 interface, and use it as an external drive. This is castling.
There are other less reliable companies, but their prices are not much lower - the risk is completely unjustified.
I would like to note that at the time of writing, I did not find my MacBook in the list of compatible JetDrive models. I think it will appear over time, or compatibility with MacBook Air 2013-2014 will be added to existing ones.
SDXC card slot
The second option is to use the SDXC card slot. But, according to my negative experience, ordinary SDXC cards are not very suitable for this, it’s a pity I didn’t know this, and bought myself a 128 GB card, the sight was not the most pleasant:
After studying the offers on the Internet, I found only three suitable cards:
1. PNY StorEDGE 128Gb for $180
2. Nifty MiniDrive + SanDisk microSD 128Gb – priced at $180
3. And again, in solving the memory problem for the MacBook, Transcend comes to our aid, with its card ]]> JetDrive Lite for MacBook]]>, at a price 79.99$ for model with 128 GB on board.
The choice relative to competitors is obvious, the savings relative to the price of MacBook configurations are also. I think numbers are not needed. I decided to order from my favorite store ]]> Bhphotovideo.com]]> . It’s very nice that this store constantly makes small gifts, it makes trust and loyalty on the part of the client, and if you take into account the prices and service, then there is no desire to order anywhere else. In my case, the gift was a card reader.
As far as I understand from the experience of the first order in this store, the warehouse is located in New York. Using Google Maps, I determined that New York City was only a few hundred miles from Parcel's new Delaware warehouse. I arranged delivery there, and already when ordering, the system showed the free delivery period via UPS Ground in ONE day! That is, by the evening of the next day, after payment. I strongly recommend everyone to take this into account; for me it turned out to be almost a decisive factor. The first time my package traveled about 4300 km to Oregon, it took 9 days to arrive! There are no problems with paying with Russian bank cards in the Bhphotovideo store, in the shipping and billing addresses I indicated the address of Parcel in Delaware, there were no problems with payment either, the card is the simplest - VISA Electron salary card. Also, the store has the option of paying via PayPal, but you need to be careful - the store delivers the goods to the address specified in PayPal.
I would like to note the very smart decision of Banderolka to open a new warehouse on the other side of the United States; now there is a choice of which warehouse to deliver to, depending on the location of the store. There is no point in describing the process of the Banderolka itself; there is enough of that on the website. The purpose of my article is to analyze possible options for upgrading a Macbook to increase memory and draw attention to the advantageous location of the new Parcel warehouse in Delaware.
Enjoy your shopping with Parcel!
Online store of spare parts and tools for Apple.
Today we will tell you how to save money by upgrading the SSD drive of all Mac computers after 2013. As you know, OWC has released new drives with a capacity of up to 1 TB with a PCIe interface and a proprietary Apple connector. Disk speeds for this protocol are not great: up to 763 MB/s reading and 446 MB/s writing, but PCIe 2.0 allows you to achieve much higher speeds. And the price for 480GB is almost 30,000 rubles with delivery from the USA, and in Moscow from 44,000 rubles.
Most recently, Kingston released PCIe 2.0 SSD drives with an M.2 connector. The power supply is the same as on Mac computers, but the connector is different. The task has been set, the drawings have been drawn, months of waiting and the necessary adapter is already in our office. All that remains is to install the disk through the adapter and carry out testing.
Brief instructions for installing a Kingston M.2 SSD in a MacBook Retina 13" 2015.
Step 1
- unscrew 10 Pentalobe screws *1.2 with a screwdriver
- please note that the screws differ in shape and length, during the assembly process, return everything to its place
Step 2
- remove the plastic cover from the battery connector
Step 3
- disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard with a spatula
Step 4
- now that the motherboard is de-energized, unscrew the T5 screw that secures the standard SSD drive
Step 5
- carefully remove the SSD at a slight angle
Step 6
- prepare a new larger SSD with an adapter and insert it into the connector, it fits perfectly
Step 7
- install our disk with the adapter and assemble the laptop in reverse order
Step 8
- install clean OS X from a flash drive and test the new disk
After installing the operating system, we pass the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test. Windows results in the screenshot. The write speed at some points reached 561Mb/sec, and the read speed over 1Gb/sec. What did all this give us? A new 256Gb SSD disk for Mac PCIe devices of the latest generations costs from 25,000 rubles, and it will be a disk without any warranty, since Apple does not sell such disks, it will be a disassembled or used disk. We, using a magic adapter, installed a Kingston SHPM2280P2/240G 240GB drive (price on Yandex Market at the date of publication from 11,730 rubles). Total savings of over 10,000 rubles, taking into account the cost of the adapter, as well as a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty on the SSD drive.
Subscribe to our Blog on the site, we will spoil you with new articles about unique upgrades and repairs of Apple equipment
This page provides step-by-step instructions that detail how to replace your MacBook Pro's old hard drive with a new one.
First you need to prepare the necessary tools: a small Phillips screwdriver and a size 6 star screwdriver. When choosing a hard drive in a showroom, check that it has a sata interface and a 2.5 form factor.
Step-by-step instructions “Replacing the hard drive in a MacBook Pro”
Preparatory stage
The first step is to turn off the laptop, unplug MagSafe and remove the battery. The battery needs to be removed not only because you need to turn off the power to the laptop, but also because you need to remove the screws in the battery compartment.
At stage 1, you need to unscrew the 3 screws that hold the compartment cover with the MacBook RAM strips using a Phillips screwdriver. The bar is easy to remove - set it aside.
At stage 3, the most entertaining procedure awaits - unscrewing the screws in the outer part of the case. There are 18 of them in total: 4 - on the bottom, 4 - at the end on the right, 4 - at the end on the left and 2 - near the display hinge.
Now things have reached the most difficult stage. Once you have removed all the screws and bolts, the keyboard cover can be removed. But problems may arise. On the opposite side of the display, the cover is held in place by several latches. Try moving the cover, if it doesn’t work, pry it off with a thin flat-head screwdriver.
Be extremely careful at this stage, as there is a high risk of breaking the latches, bending the aluminum bottom or warping the plastic of the lid.
As soon as the cover comes off, do not rush to remove it from the almost disassembled MacBook. The fact is that the cover is connected to the motherboard by a thin ribbon wire that needs to be disconnected. This is very simple to do: you need to lift the keyboard cover up as far as the cable length allows. You will immediately see it and understand how to disconnect the wire.
At stage 6 you will need to disconnect the old hard drive. It is located at the bottom left. First, carefully unscrew and remove the thin bar securing the hard drive, pressing the screw by the silicone “ears” against the computer case. After the strip is removed, you can remove the screw by disconnecting from the sata on top. The silicone “ears” need to be unscrewed from the old disk and screwed to the new one. The screw seems to hang on them, and during a fall or impact, the rubber suspension softens the mechanical force.
Finally, you need to install a new drive by doing everything in reverse order.
As you can see, the procedure for replacing a hard drive in a MacBook Pro can be done at home! If you can’t do it or don’t have the skills and time, contact our service center; you can see the price list.
Fair, not overpriced and not underestimated. There should be prices on the Service website. Necessarily! without asterisks, clear and detailed, where technically possible - as accurate and concise as possible.
If spare parts are available, up to 85% of complex repairs can be completed in 1-2 days. Modular repairs require much less time. The website shows the approximate duration of any repair.
Warranty and responsibility
A guarantee must be given for any repairs. Everything is described on the website and in the documents. The guarantee is self-confidence and respect for you. A 3-6 month warranty is good and sufficient. It is needed to check quality and hidden defects that cannot be detected immediately. You see honest and realistic terms (not 3 years), you can be sure that they will help you.
Half the success in Apple repair is the quality and reliability of spare parts, so a good service works with suppliers directly, there are always several reliable channels and your own warehouse with proven spare parts for current models, so you don’t have to waste extra time.
Free diagnostics
This is very important and has already become a rule of good manners for the service center. Diagnostics is the most difficult and important part of the repair, but you don't have to pay a penny for it, even if you don't repair the device based on its results.
Service repairs and delivery
A good service values your time, so it offers free delivery. And for the same reason, repairs are carried out only in the workshop of a service center: they can be done correctly and according to technology only in a prepared place.
Convenient schedule
If the Service works for you, and not for itself, then it is always open! absolutely. The schedule should be convenient to fit in before and after work. Good service works on weekends and holidays. We are waiting for you and working on your devices every day: 9:00 - 21:00
The reputation of professionals consists of several points
Company age and experience
Reliable and experienced service has been known for a long time.
If a company has been on the market for many years and has managed to establish itself as an expert, people turn to it, write about it, and recommend it. We know what we are talking about, since 98% of incoming devices in the service center are restored.
Other service centers trust us and refer complex cases to us.
How many masters in areas
If there are always several engineers waiting for you for each type of equipment, you can be sure:
1. there will be no queue (or it will be minimal) - your device will be taken care of right away.
2. you give your Macbook for repair to an expert in the field of Mac repairs. He knows all the secrets of these devices
Technical literacy
If you ask a question, a specialist should answer it as accurately as possible.
So that you can imagine what exactly you need.
They will try to solve the problem. In most cases, from the description you can understand what happened and how to fix the problem.