MacBook HD transplant between generations: possible or not?

March 12, 2009 8:28 PM

Can I swap the HD from a last-gen (black plastic) MacBook into a new aluminum MacBook?

I dropped my last-gen MacBook from the towering height of about six inches and broke my screen. I'm not about to pay $800 for Apple to repair the screen, so I figure I'll just buy a new aluminum MacBook with a 160 GB HD, swap the 250 GB HD from my previous gen MacBook into it, and flip the old MacBook on eBay.

Will this work?

posted by entropicamericana to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

My first reaction was to say that it would be difficult given the new MacBook Pro's unibody design, but this review seems to think it's not terribly difficult as long as you've got a screwdriver and some patience.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 8:34 PM on March 12, 2009

Yea, they're both SATA drives so they are mechanically and electrical compatible. I dont know of any issues of having to reinstall OSX when moving systems like that, but just be sure to backup any important data before you swap HDs.
posted by SirOmega at 8:35 PM on March 12, 2009

Best answer: yeah, sure. but not without some complications.

the aluminum macbook probably won't run using the old macbook's OS install. best thing to do is:

1. BACK UP YOUR DATA.
2. i mean it. BACK IT UP.
3. did you back up? okay, swap the drives. you'll need a torx (6 or 8, i think) screwdriver to remove the mounting screws from the black macbook's drive. move the aluminum macbook's mount screws to the larger drive, connect the drive cable, and close the machine.
4. find the CDs that shipped with your new macbook. BEFORE YOU BOOT TO THE HARD DRIVE, boot to disk 1 and perform an "archive and install" of the operating system. this will convert the black macbook's OS to one compatible with the aluminum macbook.

that oughta do it. good luck!
posted by hollisimo at 8:42 PM on March 12, 2009

Yes.
posted by CommonSense at 8:46 PM on March 12, 2009

Best answer: i just realized that i might have left out some critical details. forgive me-- i've swapped out literally hundreds and hundreds of macbook hard drives and in that hazy mindset, it doesn't seem possible that anyone would might not possibly possess the same knowledge.

to remove the drive from the old macbook, you'll need a phillips 00 screwdriver. remove the battery and then remove the L-shaped metal piece that covers the RAM banks. the hard drive is accessible to the left of the RAM slots-- there's a white tab that will be tucked under the drive. use that to pull it out.

the aluminum macbook is even easier. remove the panel on the bottom using the latch and, using your philips screwdriver, remove the one screw in the mounting plate that secures the hard drive. easy peasy.
posted by hollisimo at 8:46 PM on March 12, 2009

You might also need a Torx screwdriver to take off the magnetic plate. Not sure if the new macbook uses it as well.
posted by stresstwig at 11:11 PM on March 12, 2009

Also chiming in, since I just swapped my drive yesterday -- you need a Torx 8 screwdriver -- there's no getting around it, no using pliers or a similarly shaped screwdriver unless your flat screwdriver fits the screw exactly which is quite frankly probably. Just get one for a few bucks online and don't strip the screws like I did.
posted by suedehead at 12:54 AM on March 13, 2009

Best answer: hollisimo is way overthinking the software end. No need to archive and install. If you are running Leopard and are up to date on updates, it'll just work.
posted by rbs at 9:20 AM on March 13, 2009