[tabascoishot]

Hi all-

Decided to upgrade to an 80gb 5400rpm Toshiba drive. I'm relatively experienced when it comes to desktop computers, but i've never cracked open a laptop before. Should I do it myself or hire someone?

I live in the Boston, MA area. Does anyone know what the going rates are for service? I really can't afford to pay more than $25-30/hr (and will it take more than an hr?)

Thanks in advance for your help.

[phobos]

Definately do it yourself.
I installed a ned drive myself a couple of weeks ago and it was very straightforward.
Apple has on their site very detailed pdfs on how exactly to do that depending on your machine.
Let me search for a while for the link.

[chabig]

Do it yourself. Illustrated guides are available from PBFixit. I've done four and it still takes me about 2 hours each time, simply because I go slowly and methodically.

Chris

[phobos]

That's weird.
Apple has hard disk step by step instructions only for the Ti models:
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/15ti/
but not for the aluminum.
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/12al/
If you had a 15 inch aluminum I would have advised you to follow the Ti instructions. But since you have a 12 inch maybe it's better to give your machine to a technician. Mainly due to different placement of the parts.

[webb3201]

Originally Posted by phobos

That's weird.
Apple has hard disk step by step instructions only for the Ti models:
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/15ti/
but not for the aluminum.
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/12al/
If you had a 15 inch aluminum I would have advised you to follow the Ti instructions. But since you have a 12 inch maybe it's better to give your machine to a technician. Mainly due to different placement of the parts.

Check out this walk through and decide for yourself. I changed drives all the time on my Ti Powerbook, but was too chicken on the smaller 12".

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/p...e.htm#storytop

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by phobos

That's weird.
Apple has hard disk step by step instructions only for the Ti models:
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/15ti/
but not for the aluminum.
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/powe...yourself/12al/
If you had a 15 inch aluminum I would have advised you to follow the Ti instructions. But since you have a 12 inch maybe it's better to give your machine to a technician. Mainly due to different placement of the parts.

That's because a hard drive in the Titanium machines was user upgradeable as opposed to the Aluminum models, where it's a bit more difficult to do. A hard drive replacement in the aluminum machines is not the most difficult upgrade. Follow the guides at http://www.pbfixit.com and you'll be fine.

Steve

[tabascoishot]

You guys are da bomb. I'm calling home depot for the tools right now. Thanks for the help, I'll let you know how it goes.

[tooki]

1. Home Depot will probably not have the correct tools for this job. You need very small precision screwdrivers for this; go to Sears instead, or order online from a company like Jensen Tools.

2. Installing a hard disk in ANY aluminum PowerBook is not for the faint of heart -- it involves removing dozens of tiny screws in a very specific order, and then reinstalling them in the same specific order.

3. A 15" AlBook's innards are completely different from a TiBook. The instructions for the latter are entirely useless for the former.

tooki

[chabig]

Radio Shack sells an excellent set of jeweler's screwdrivers for about $10.

[OmniX]

On a somewhat related note, I am considering purchasing an 80GB 2.5" Samsung drive for my TiBook. Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter, or specifically know of any reason why _not_ to get this drive, from this company? Is Samsung a reputable source, when it comes to notebook drives?

btw, here are the specs:
SAMSUNG MP0804H 2.5" NB HDD 80GB Ultra ATA100 5400RPM 12ms 8MB BUFFER ATA-7 INTERFACE

thanks,
ox

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by OmniX

On a somewhat related note, I am considering purchasing an 80GB 2.5" Samsung drive for my TiBook. Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter, or specifically know of any reason why _not_ to get this drive, from this company? Is Samsung a reputable source, when it comes to notebook drives?

btw, here are the specs:
SAMSUNG MP0804H 2.5" NB HDD 80GB Ultra ATA100 5400RPM 12ms 8MB BUFFER ATA-7 INTERFACE

thanks,
ox

I think you need to start your own thread. But do a search. There are many drive recommendation threads.

Steve

[mdc]

just to chime in.
i did an out of warranty install of a new hard drive into my 15" aluminium powerbook. it took me an hour or so because i did it so slowly.
i had the whole pbfixit.com guide and it went through fine.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by chabig

Radio Shack sells an excellent set of jeweler's screwdrivers for about $10.

Really? The last time I was in a RS (admittedly a while ago) most of their screwdrivers were junky. By pure chance, Sears has a set that contains almost all the screwdrivers needed for PowerBooks -- just the hex keys for G4 models is not there.

tooki

[kmarketing]

Hi,

is it important to mention that by doing this you likely/void the warranty on your powerbook?

I've done it a few times myself, but the warranty never bothered me. It may for some.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by kmarketing

Hi,

is it important to mention that by doing this you likely/void the warranty on your powerbook?

I've done it a few times myself, but the warranty never bothered me. It may for some.

You could do it on your Titanium Powerbook and not void your warranty, as the hard drive is user-upgradeable.

DON'T try to upgrade your own hard drive yourself on an Aluminum PowerBook if it's still under warranty. You WILL void your warranty!

[SeattleWRX]

I just purchased a 100G Hitachi 5400rpm drive and will be installing it when it comes in next week. Thanks to this thread I'll be able to find tools and instructions pretty easily.

Wish me luck.