My Problem

Computer became very slow, sluggish and in "forever" mode to respond.

My Fix

good. done in 15 minutes

My Advice

but... it took me many hours to figure out how to restore from the folder on a time capsule. This was very frustrating as it is supposed to be seamless. The MacBook A1342 does not respond to Command-R so I reinstalled the OS, then booted to the disk and Restore from Back-up. I may not have needed to do the OS install because I may have not waited long enough for the system to read the TC back-up file. At first I waited 10 minutes and nothing happened. After the OS install, boot to disk, Restore from Backup" I was distracted for 40 minutes and when I returned the folder was available. So, you may want to give the Boot disk utility enough time to read the data file from Time Machine.

My Problem

Previous hard disk was failing after 4 years of heavy use

My Fix

The instructions were great and super clear. It was easy to disassemble everything. One thing that was not so good was that the ribbon connector for the keyboard (held down by orange tape) was difficult to remove. The tape actually pealed some of the connector off.

When I put the new drive in, and booted from the DVD, I started getting kernel panics (the descending grey shade of death). At this point, I plan to remove the (new) HDD and see if I can bring it up at all. If you have advice, please feel free to comment.

My Advice

Be careful removing the keyboard connector to the motherboard. The orange tape in mine was old, and very sticky, and tore the cover on that connector.

My Problem

My internal 200GB drive in a six-year old MacBook gave up the ghost.

My Fix

From order to install I had a new Seagate 500GB replacement up and running in 72 hours. It was a cinch to install with your clear instructions.

My Advice

Always have a fresh backup -- two if you're cautious.

My Problem

I had an old MacBook that sat unused for years. My son wanted to flex his programming skills in developing apps, and I thought it would make the perfect platform. It used to seize quite a bit in the day, and remember leaning it was the drive. It also came with 512 megs of RAM. Not much.

My Fix

I've never had such a hassle free experience. We literally yanked out the old RAM and drive, popped the new ones in, installed the new O/S, and it all went without a hitch.

My Advice

None. ifixit covered everything soup to nuts. If you have an old Mac, these upgrades are a snap.

My Problem

Two repairs: both failed internal drives. One MacBook and one Macbook Pro.

My Fix

Painful. but I should first say that everything that iFixit sent and all of the repair videos and advice were perfect. The actual physical replacement of the drive (in both computers ...) was a complete snap.

The black MacBook was never repaired because it seems the drive was never the problem, but there is no way I could have known this without the tools and drive enclosure that I got from iFixit. Once I hooked up the "failed drive" externally using the drive enclosure, it worked. The new drive would not work when installed, so obviously the failure is upstream, and I don't have the time to figure it out (this computer was just going to be a "bonus" as it was long given up for dead--I thought to resurrect it only because I was already ordering stuff to fix my "important" computer: the macbook pro which ....

Was a complete pain. The issue was that my drive was failing, not just being upgraded, so the SuperDuper plan was not going to work. I cloned my old drive with Data Rescue 3. But the clone, once put on the new drive (and yes, I formatted and partitioned correctly) would not boot. ProSoft (makers of Data Rescue) point out that the do not intend or guarantee the drive to be bootable--cloning is meant just to save all the data you can. The next four days were filled with frustrating iterations, attempts to "bless" the clone, reinstalling OS's, etc ...

Finally, I hit on backing up to Time Machine while placing my old badly failing drive in the disk enclosure (it would boot from this position, just not internally, or I would have done this first). I then restored the new drive from Time Machine and only lost a little data to corruption ...

My Advice

If your disk will not boot, it may be the drive, but it may also be something else. A data rescue program (if you do not have a very recent backup) is a good first step (unless the data is crucial, in which you case you should immediately hand over the drive to professionals--BEFORE defragmenting or doing anything else.). Then, once you have created a clone, and you can be sure that the vast majority of your stuff is safe, see if you can create a time machine backup by using an OS install disk to select the disk and "backup to Time Machine".

Also, a drive enclosure is a very useful diagnostic tool. If your drive has disappeared or won't boot, try removing it and running it as an external drive. Does it boot? If not, can you access (and save) your data while using it as an auxiliary drive? Or, as was the case with one of my laptops, is it totally fine? If so, there is a hardware problem upstream from the drive.

My Problem

First, my Hard Drive was too puny to contain my music and photo collection. Second, I can hear a spinning noise. Third, the runtime of my battery was short.

My Fix

A bit stressed at the beginning because it was the first time we replaced a Hard Drive on this type of computer. However, we followed the instructions of the ifixit guide one by one and everything went well. Concerning the battery, the one I received was not better than the one that I had: a short runtime. I am waiting for the replacement.

My Advice

We didn't have a T6 Torx Screwdriver. Instead of, we used a T7 Torx Screwdriver and it worked out without any problem.

My Problem

Superdrive broken, I need to replace it. I am very happy with your help and I think that in future I'll contact you again if I need to fix my computer. Thak you for you kindness, the high quality of your repairing guides and for the fast delivery!

My Fix

Very fast and easy with your great guides.

My Advice

...

My Problem

My original 250GB HD was running low due to all the pictures and music I have on it. It was time to replace it with a bigger one.

My Fix

Repair was quick and easy. This MacBook makes it incredibly simple to access the drive and replace it. The iFixit guide was a great help. The only snag was when I couldn't find my Torx T6 driver and had to run out to buy another one.

My Advice

Make sure you have the tools before you start!

My Problem

During the summer of 2009, I had about enough of having to clean install my Windows XP PC every year to a year and a half. So I did it. I switched. I went and bought a used Mac Mini. The one that came out mid-2007, model #A1176. The factory specs for this machine were: 1GB of RAM, 80GB 5400 RPM hard drive and a 1.83 GHz. The guy I bought it from had already upgraded the RAM to 4GB and the hard drive 160GB 7200 RPM. So I've been using my Mac Mini flawlessy for over two years. No problems what so ever. I even upgraded to Snow Leopard and enjoyed the "under the hood" improvements.

Then I started running out of space. I eventually bought an external hard drive to store multimedia files, but my free space problem was worse. I no longer had any space on my main hard drive. Not even enough to install Apple's security updates. So I really thought about getting a new Mac. But I wasn't ready financially the get the Mac I _really_ wanted. That's when I decided to upgrape my hard drive. I thought that when I was ready to buy my new Mac, I would turn the Mac Mini into a home theater PC. So my investment in a 500GB hard drive would be helpful now, as well as in the future.

My Fix

The repair went absolutely great! Before actually opening up the Mini and going to work, I made sure to read the guide a couple of time to really grasp every little steps I had to perform. I also watched the video 2-3 times.

When time came to do the work, it was as if I had already perform this repair before. It was so easy! The guide is really really well made.

For my data, I bought the universal drive adapter from iFixit, so I was able to clone my old drive onto the new before installing it. That process was executed seemlesly.

My Advice

My only advice would be to follow the tools recommendation carefully. For this fix, the Phillps #00 screwdriver was recommended. I used the universal screwdriver with the Philips #00 bit, but the dedicated Philips #00 was recommended. The reason was that two screws from the Mini were located in tough to reach places and the bit is not long nor thin enough to reach there. Luckyly for me, the guy who did the previous upgrades seemed to have ran into the same obstacles and the 2 hard to reach screws were simply not there. So I was able to perform the repair with my universal screwdriver, no problems.

My Problem

the clicking! all i heard was the clicking!

My Fix

very smooth, thanks to the ifixit gods.

My Advice

be not afraid! its easier than you're thinking.