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Blizzake · 12:52 AM

thats all i can say.

WD Passport Portable (Black) 320 GB USB 2.0 Hard Drives ( WDXMS3200 )

last night online at bestbuy they had a 250gb pink drive for 99 dollars. well it was unavailable today for that price online so i went to the store. it was 209. so i was looking around and went to the mac section

and saw a lonley 320gb drive in a sexy black case for 179 bucks.

walk over to the 24imac and check some prices online. it was about 20 bucks cheaper, but what the hell, i didnt want to wait. they retail it there for 250 or something, so 180 is fine with me.

came home, swapped it into my macbook and put the old 120gb drive in the wd case and i was off with a fresh install.

it runs amazing and with a fresh install of leopard, its awesome, its basically a new computer and its great. the 2gb of ram was a minimal notice before, but now it flies.

great upgrade and oh so simple

Nodnarb · Apr 9, 2008, 09:18 PM

Not trying to bump an old thread, but I just did the same! (albeit with 160gig rather than 320). I found the 160 for $79, so I figured what the hell. Now I have 160 gigs in my macbook and an 80 gig external for $80. Seems like a pretty good deal to me!

Installing this was sooooooooo easy. Remember the iBooks? You had to take apart the whole damned computer to touch the hard drive! This took literally about 3 minutes.

badidea · Apr 10, 2008, 08:02 AM

Just to make sure...you're talking about those cases right?

I always wondered if it's possible to take those apart without breaking them!?

ibook_steve · Apr 10, 2008, 09:50 AM

Yes, but they've changed the design from this photograph, making it almost impossible to not slightly break them. With the case pictured here, some guy has a Youtube video of opening the case with one hand (and another doing it in like 3 minutes). The newer design has sliding tabs that are angled slightly, meaning that once the case is sealed the first time, getting those tabs out without breaking the plastic "tracks" that they slide into is almost impossible. I damaged mine when I did it, but it still seals back up fine.

Steve

SEkker · Apr 10, 2008, 10:59 AM

The OEM 320GB WD drives are available on the net now for ~$130, and the price seems to be dropping.

I installed one in my MBP - was the best upgrade I've done in awhile.

ort888 · Apr 10, 2008, 11:04 AM

I've done the same. Anyone know of a good enclosure for the 160 gig I took out? Most of the ones I see around are from weird companies I've never heard of and look cheesy.

I'm looking for a nice enclosure that doesn't cost too much.

Nodnarb · Apr 10, 2008, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by badidea

Just to make sure...you're talking about those cases right?

I always wondered if it's possible to take those apart without breaking them!?

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

Yes, but they've changed the design from this photograph, making it almost impossible to not slightly break them. With the case pictured here, some guy has a Youtube video of opening the case with one hand (and another doing it in like 3 minutes). The newer design has sliding tabs that are angled slightly, meaning that once the case is sealed the first time, getting those tabs out without breaking the plastic "tracks" that they slide into is almost impossible. I damaged mine when I did it, but it still seals back up fine.

Steve

Yes, that's the kind I had in the picture. Steve, I'm not sure 100% what you mean... I'm not sure if I have the "old" or "new" model, but I actually looked around the internet for how to open it, and saw the same youtube videos you did. At first I was scared I was going to break it, but I figured what the heck, worst comes to worst I'll only break the case not the HD so I just went all out and ripped the thing open--- it didn't break at all.

When I was finished swapping out the drives, I just snapped the enclosure back together... good as new. It works 100%, I don't think I broke any tabs. You would not be able to tell that I opened it up except for a few scratch marks when I first tried to pry it open with a small screwdriver (<--- don't do that... you can literally do it all with your fingers... it helps to have some nails, I had just cut mine before doing this and it was a PITA).

I feel kind of dumb now that I just got the 160 gig for $80 rather than the 320 gig for only about $50 more. I mean I still have about 50 gigs free on the 160 now, but 320 would be almost unlimited for me.... hmmmmmm.....

badidea · Apr 11, 2008, 04:39 AM

Ok, thanks guys!
I haven't seen the video yet but since I now know that it's possible, I think I'll go for it!

ibook_steve · Apr 11, 2008, 09:43 AM

Nodnarb, then you have the older case (the one that's easy to open) with the blue circle light instead of the newer case which has the white USB symbol lit right by the USB cable connection and no blue circle. MacNN had a story about WD creating mult-color versions of the Passport, and they show what the new case that I got looks like (albeit in bright colors instead of jet black).

Steve

Nodnarb · Apr 11, 2008, 10:10 AM

You're right, mine does have the blue USB light.

I didn't know I was getting the outdated model (from amazon) but I guess I ended up getting lucky!

Timothy Maxwell · May 19, 2008, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

Yes, but they've changed the design from this photograph, making it almost impossible to not slightly break them. With the case pictured here, some guy has a Youtube video of opening the case with one hand (and another doing it in like 3 minutes). The newer design has sliding tabs that are angled slightly, meaning that once the case is sealed the first time, getting those tabs out without breaking the plastic "tracks" that they slide into is almost impossible. I damaged mine when I did it, but it still seals back up fine.

Steve

I just purchased the 320gig with the new design. Does both sides peel away from the drive or only one side? Do you have any suggestions?

ibook_steve · May 19, 2008, 01:45 AM

It's like a book with the cover wrapping around the drive. Pop the snaps on the long side with a straight screwdriver (small). Then try to carefully slide the drive out. There are snaps at the top and bottom, and unfortunately, they're angled so that once the drive is assembled, it's locked into place. The top and bottom snaps slide into plastic channels. I could not get them out without breaking the thin plastic rails that make up the channels. If you can figure out how to do without damaging the rails, that would be great.

Steve

wubrew · May 21, 2008, 04:08 PM

Can any one tell me whether the mbp 3rd ed (penry) can be installed with the soon to be available 2.5" 500GB 12.5mm hdd?

andylaiphoto · May 21, 2008, 08:57 PM

How did you guys migrate all your info and software over to the new drive from the old one?

wubrew · May 22, 2008, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by andylaiphoto

How did you guys migrate all your info and software over to the new drive from the old one?

Migration assistant or you can pre clone your old drive to he new hdd with carbon copy.
Bombich Software: Carbon Copy Cloner