[alligator]

I have a 1.33 GHz 12" PowerBook. It works perfectly, but I need a larger hard drive. How tough is it to upgrade the drive myself?

Or should I just get a firewire drive to add on to this computer? Basically, I can't fit my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on this hard drive. They're just too big.

Thanks!

[Dr. DDS]

If you want to see how hard it is, go to ifixit.com. There you can see the hole process.
I bought an external HD to do exactly what you want to do. The only problem is that if you want to carry your library around you will need to carry the Ext. HD also. So i kept most important files in my internal HD (not in itunes or iphoto, just inside folders) and the others in the ext drive because i carry my ibook to my office and i need this files.

[tooki]

IMHO, the process for that model is a nightmare.

tooki

[amazing]

Why aren't you carrying your tunes around on a 60 GB iPod? 'Course you should back the tunes up onto DVDs, but at that point you can delete from the HD, leaving room for all the pics in the world. Personally, I've got an external fw-400 case with a 120 GB Seagate, it's only the size of a pack of cards (well, a bit more...) Also, you'd be able to take the fw-400 HD with you when you eventually upgrade to an MB (when they come out with the choice of a matte screen.)

A 12" 1.33 Ghz PB could still have its applecare (if you bought the extra 2 years) and it'd be a shame to void the applecare.

[alligator]

I don't have Applecare. I also use this as a second computer (mainly for my wife). I'm just waiting for the G5 replacement to come out and I'll eventually transfer everything back to that.

[mad cow disease]

Hard drives are so cheap nowadays that the trouble you'd go through to unscrew the case, put everything back together, etc. is simply not worth the effort, or economical resources, in my opinion, to boost your hard drive to 120GB - at best.

Do you absolutely, positively, without a doubt require your photos on the road? If not, buy a cheap 3.5" drive, slap it into a $30-40 enclosure, and end of conversation.

[azt33]

Well, my father replaced my HDD when it died some months ago. It's not that hard, at least in my eyes, you just need to be patient. Everything took about 45 minutes, from starting to dismantle the PB to starting the PB with the new HDD in place.

If you are somewhat handy with installing hardware, then I don't think that it will be such a difficult task. YMMV though.

[SierraDragon]

Like others have said, a big problem is just finding a high quality replacement hard drive that adds enough caoacity to make it worth the effort. A FW external allows much more capacity and possible redundancy as well. And, you can use it with your next laptop too.

-Allen Wicks

[hldan]

Originally Posted by alligator

I have a 1.33 GHz 12" PowerBook. It works perfectly, but I need a larger hard drive. How tough is it to upgrade the drive myself?

Or should I just get a firewire drive to add on to this computer? Basically, I can't fit my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on this hard drive. They're just too big.

Thanks!

It's about as hard to replace as paying Apple to do it. Don't try it unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Gir]

Its possible - I've done it on a rev. a - but its not fun.

I'd go with the firewire drive. The only downside is you'd have to carry it with you. But maybe you could find one of the smaller ones that contains a laptop drive and gets its power off of the firewire bus.

[marissa]

In my opinion, it's pretty simple. I followed the ifixit.com guides and pretty much all I did was remove the top part with the trackpad (after the battery and little screw next to the ram), unplugged it from the logic board and the screws around the existing hard drive and that was it. I like tinkering with things, so maybe that's why it seemed so easy. If you're not comfortable, just get an external. The upside to going that route is that you can use it with all your computers.

[Harry Schaefer]

I have an 17" powerbook and took it into my local apple rep dealer and upgraded to 160g at a resonable cost. I then put the old drive into a firewire shell and continue to use it as an external drive.
Harry

[all2ofme]

Yeah, I agree with the above posters who say that it's worth getting someone else (authorised or very able) to do it. It's not fun in my opinion. Better to earn the money doing something you're definitely good at and give that cash to someone else

[Toyin]

Originally Posted by alligator

I have a 1.33 GHz 12" PowerBook. It works perfectly, but I need a larger hard drive. How tough is it to upgrade the drive myself?

Or should I just get a firewire drive to add on to this computer? Basically, I can't fit my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on this hard drive. They're just too big.

Thanks!

I assume you got a 12" Powerbook for it's portability and convenience. Slapping on an external firewire drive seems to be the antithesis of what the 12" Powerbook represents

It isn't easy but it IS fun if you like that kind of thing. I ruined the keyboard of my 1st 12" PB doing the replacement because I forgot step 2 . Just follow the directions, have all the proper gear, and run through the process several times before actually doing it. If it's still under warranty, I'd have an authorized dealer do it.

[glhart]

It's easy to do if you take your time, follow the directions, and keep careful track of where each screw goes. I've done it several times with different Apple portables without problems. I print out the directions and scotch-tape each screw to the picture to show where it came from. Then I can get it back correctly. The only time things didn't work was when I tried a shortcut. This was on a Clamshell iMac, and I thought I didn't have to take the screen off. As a result, I bent a part and messed up the connection to the cdrom. So be careful to follow the directions very carefully and don't try to skip any steps even if they don't seem needed.

[marissa]

Scotchtaping each screw next to the picture -- very nice tip, glhart!