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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > MBP C2D swapping harddisk yourself?

MBP C2D swapping harddisk yourself?
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iSoul Monkey
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Nov 11, 2006, 04:05 PM
 
Hello, I bought a MBP Core 2 Duo with a Hitachi 160 GB on thursday and I don't like that noisy harddrive. I can clearly hear whenever it access data or writes data and I know other people that hear the same things with their MBPs. In an AppleInsider article I read the harddisks are already noise dampened, but my Seagate 160 GB in my PowerBook G4 is very silent even without that modification.

Also in that AppleInsider article they say you can't change the harddisk yourself and have to order a replacement from Apple. But since Apple seems to use Hitachi disks these days they probably would just send another Hitachi drive?

So what are the latest news about the situation, is there a chance a service man or I could put a Seagate disk into the MBP? Thanks!
     
Tuoder
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Nov 11, 2006, 04:20 PM
 
I think that you have to have it installed by and Apple-certified tech, or else you void the warranty. I am not entirely sure.
     
jlgrandam
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Nov 11, 2006, 05:39 PM
 
Hi, I also have a C2D with the Hitachi 160 GB drive and I have noticed no audible noises coming from the HD. You may want to have it looked at by Apple or run the hardware check disk that came with it.
12.1" Powerbook G4
     
SierraDragon
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Nov 11, 2006, 05:58 PM
 
MBP drives are not inherently noisy. Call 1-800-SOS-APPL and tell them your hard drive is too noisy and you want a quiet one.

-Allen Wicks
     
iSoul Monkey  (op)
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Nov 11, 2006, 07:22 PM
 
Ok thanks I will contact Apple then.
     
boromir
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Dec 17, 2006, 08:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by iSoul Monkey View Post
Hello, I bought a MBP Core 2 Duo with a Hitachi 160 GB on thursday and I don't like that noisy harddrive. I can clearly hear whenever it access data or writes data and I know other people that hear the same things with their MBPs. In an AppleInsider article I read the harddisks are already noise dampened, but my Seagate 160 GB in my PowerBook G4 is very silent even without that modification.
Hi,

I've got a MBP 15" C2D 2,33Ghz and its Hitachi 160GB 5400rpm HD is also pretty loud when reading/writing data, especially compared to the Seagate 100GB 7200rpm HD in my PowerBook 15" HiRes.

Did you get your MBP checked out by Apple?
What did they say about the noisy HD?

Thanks.
     
itistoday
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Dec 17, 2006, 10:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by boromir View Post
Did you get your MBP checked out by Apple?
What did they say about the noisy HD?

Thanks.
I would also like to know, I've got a 120 GB Hitachi drive in my MBP and it's also really noisy. It'll click even when there are no read/writes to the drive.
     
itistoday
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Dec 18, 2006, 09:51 PM
 
I took mine over to the Apple store near my house and after leaving it over the night the guy said that he couldn't detect any abnormal sounds coming from the hard drive, so perhaps the clicking is "normal", I don't know... I still encourage others to ask though, perhaps my guy just didn't do a very good job (his idea of making my hard drive spin was to duplicate the Applications folder...). I would be interested if anyone else has any luck with them.
     
solofx7
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Dec 19, 2006, 01:02 PM
 
i have the 160, and have not heard any audible noise.
     
chipchen
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Dec 21, 2006, 12:08 AM
 
Hmm... to me, my 160 Hitachi has always been quiter than any Seagate drive I've had inside (PowerBook or MBP).

You do void the warranty by opening it up... they can't really prove an authorized service provider didn't do it, but first timers tend to make cosmetic blemishes when trying to open up the tricky cases. There are instructions at ifixit.com if you really want to proceed.
     
mad cow disease
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Dec 21, 2006, 08:29 AM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
Hmm... to me, my 160 Hitachi has always been quiter than any Seagate drive I've had inside (PowerBook or MBP).

You do void the warranty by opening it up... they can't really prove an authorized service provider didn't do it, but first timers tend to make cosmetic blemishes when trying to open up the tricky cases. There are instructions at ifixit.com if you really want to proceed.
If you ask me it's pretty simple to check.

Apple: Where was this repair done?
Guy: Uh...Bob's Computer Shop.
Apple: Okay, do you have documentation?
Guy: Uh...look! It's Steve Jobs! *runs away*
     
MrN79
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Dec 21, 2006, 09:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
Hmm... to me, my 160 Hitachi has always been quiter than any Seagate drive I've had inside (PowerBook or MBP).

You do void the warranty by opening it up... they can't really prove an authorized service provider didn't do it, but first timers tend to make cosmetic blemishes when trying to open up the tricky cases. There are instructions at ifixit.com if you really want to proceed.
Really easy to see if the hard drive was replaced with one bought from apple or approved apple repair center...this was taken from appleinsider.com (link in the first post)

Hard disk noise dampener

For starters, the new MacBook Pro ships with hard drives that come with a metal disk attached to their top cover to dampen hard drive noise. The disk is not removable, meaning replacement drives will need to be ordered directly from Apple until a third-party solution is developed and deployed.
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bigmike
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Dec 21, 2006, 09:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by MrN79 View Post
Really easy to see if the hard drive was replaced with one bought from apple or approved apple repair center...this was taken from appleinsider.com (link in the first post)

Hard disk noise dampener

For starters, the new MacBook Pro ships with hard drives that come with a metal disk attached to their top cover to dampen hard drive noise. The disk is not removable, meaning replacement drives will need to be ordered directly from Apple until a third-party solution is developed and deployed.
Does the "new MacBook Pro" refers to C2D or CD? Thanks.
we are all part of a masterplan.
     
chipchen
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Dec 22, 2006, 01:06 AM
 
Originally Posted by MrN79 View Post
Really easy to see if the hard drive was replaced with one bought from apple or approved apple repair center...this was taken from appleinsider.com (link in the first post)

Hard disk noise dampener

For starters, the new MacBook Pro ships with hard drives that come with a metal disk attached to their top cover to dampen hard drive noise. The disk is not removable, meaning replacement drives will need to be ordered directly from Apple until a third-party solution is developed and deployed.

Yes, it's easy to see if it's not an Apple drive in there.... but that's not a requirement for warranty. You could have a smaller drive or larger drive or faster drive put in that's non-Apple..., it wouldn't matter. It's just a matter of "who" technically put it in there. And "where" this procedure took place. Bottom line is, unless you did a crap of a job doing it, they're not going to ask or care.
     
MrN79
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Dec 23, 2006, 01:42 AM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
Yes, it's easy to see if it's not an Apple drive in there.... but that's not a requirement for warranty. You could have a smaller drive or larger drive or faster drive put in that's non-Apple..., it wouldn't matter. It's just a matter of "who" technically put it in there. And "where" this procedure took place. Bottom line is, unless you did a crap of a job doing it, they're not going to ask or care.
did you even read the part about the noise dampner?
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MrN79
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Dec 23, 2006, 01:45 AM
 
Originally Posted by bigmike View Post
Does the "new MacBook Pro" refers to C2D or CD? Thanks.
The appleinsider article refers to Core 2 Duo
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zac4mac
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Dec 27, 2006, 10:50 AM
 
Haven't checked the "fine print" lately, but Apple's warranty policy has always been -" do whatever you want, but if something you do could be the cause of a failure, they won't cover that". If you think you can get in and out of an MBP to swap HDDs then get after it, just be careful and put everything back where it came from...

As chipchen said above, iFixit has detailed instructions for cracking iPods and Apple Portables.

I have a RevA-MBP 2GHz with the 100GB 7200rpm and it's plenty quiet for me.

Z
( Last edited by zac4mac; Dec 27, 2006 at 12:48 PM. )
     
iREZ
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Dec 27, 2006, 01:48 PM
 
MrN79...i dont think YOU'RE reading carefully. what if i wanted a hard drive that apple didnt carry, say a 40gb drive for examples sake. i know of many Apple techs that would install this drive in my MBP.

with that said, if i could sneak in and do a good job of replacing my hard drive theres no way apple could tell me the warranty is void if i tell them an apple certified tech installed it. what are they gonna do? ask me for receipts and names? id laugh in their face if they did.
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
MrN79
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Dec 28, 2006, 01:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by iREZ View Post
MrN79...i dont think YOU'RE reading carefully. what if i wanted a hard drive that apple didnt carry, say a 40gb drive for examples sake. i know of many Apple techs that would install this drive in my MBP.

with that said, if i could sneak in and do a good job of replacing my hard drive theres no way apple could tell me the warranty is void if i tell them an apple certified tech installed it. what are they gonna do? ask me for receipts and names? id laugh in their face if they did.
Why would you replace a drive that isn't noise dampned? Obviously apple did it for a reason...and not so sure apple techs would replace a drive that isn't recommended in a one of it's computers.

But if you want to replace a component in your expensive computer with something else by all means do it, it's YOUR computer. What i was pointing out in the posts was that apple sells hard drives with noise dampners, and if you wanted to replace it with something similiar and not cheaper you had to buy from apple.
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molarszbt18
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Dec 28, 2006, 06:45 AM
 
Did the fine print say a metal cover attached to the HD? Weird??
     
   
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