Difficulty
Easy
Steps
8
Time Required
15–30 minutes
- Battery 2 steps
- Memory Cover 2 steps
- Hard Drive 1 step
- Hard Drive 3 steps
Featured Guide
This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.
Parts
- 1 TB SSD Hybrid 2.5" Hard Drive
- 750 GB 7200 RPM Seagate SATA Hard Drive (New)
- 500 GB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive
- 500 GB 7200 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive
- Universal Drive Adapter
- 500 GB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive
- 320 GB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive
- 500 GB SSD Hybrid 2.5" Hard Drive
- 1 TB 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive
- 128 GB SSD
- 256 GB SSD
- 512 GB SSD
- 1 TB SSD
Introduction
You can install hard drives up to 9.5mm thick.
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Use a coin to rotate the battery-locking screw 90 degrees clockwise.
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Lift the battery out of the computer.
I just replaced the battery as indicated (with a iFixit part), but the computer says there is no battery connected, even after letting the power plug in for more than one hour.
I think I found the way to have the new battery to charge!!!!!
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRYIMDQx....
Essentially, you have to follow a very precise order: 1/shut down the computer, 2/take off the magsafe connector, 3/remove the old battery, 4/put back the magsafe connector, 5/put the new battery, 6/power on, each time leaving a few seconds in between.
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Unscrew the three evenly-spaced Phillips screws from along the rear wall of the battery compartment.
Lay the screws out in a ”timeline” like a circle, Then when you reassemble just start from the end of the “timeline”
The screws have to unscrewing positions, first they unscrew from the whole body BUT if you move the lid without entirely removing the screws, they will remain attached to the lid. This I find much more recomendable!
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Rotate the L-shaped memory cover so it clears the battery compartment opening and lift it up and out of the computer.
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Grasp the white plastic tab attached to the hard drive and pull it to the right, removing the hard drive from the computer.
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Remove the two black T8 Torx screws securing the silver bracket to the hard drive.
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Rotate the hard drive and remove the two black T8 Torx screws on the other side of the drive.
As seen in the photo, yes as you said
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Lift the silver metal hard drive bracket off the hard drive.
When sliding in the new hard drive, I had one of the T8 Torx screw to fold the rubber guide glued on the sides of the hard drive slot (but why did they used rubber guides????).
So the SATA connector was no more reachable.
Had to open the whole case.
Heep it in mind and close the screws very well
This happened to me too, although it was caused by the harddrive tray catching on the rubber strip rather than a loose screw. Had to take top off of laptop and need double-sided tape to re-attach the rubber strips.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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15 Comments
This upgrade is so easy. Just do it. Even your dad could do this.
After the upgrade to a 320 GB 7200 rpm, the MacBook (1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo A1181, with 2 GB of ram) works like a new computer. However, the fan comes on so easy - and stays on forever. Is this due to the increased speed of the hard drive? Is there a way to turn down the hard drive speed when used on AC power?
The rubber guide came off on mine too. The mistake is that the screws without the flanges go on the outside edge of the Mac and the flange ones towards the inside. If you do it backwards it will pull the rubber guide off and then an otherwise effortless install will take a while longer to complete.
it's really easy to do this - there's no need to pay someone else! thanks for this awesome tutorial.
Very simple and easy! The biggest challenge was the walk to Radio Shack in cold weather to go get a !#!@ torx! The OSX installation guide was also a big help.
Bought a Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 (128 GB SSD), removal was quick and easy. This was my wife's mac, I personally do not own Apple products. My challenge was that I had to erase the drive (which in the process re-formats the ssd) which got the install up and running.
Went perfect, I bought the complete kit this time and had all the right tools. The installation was done before I knew it, even surprised the wife. I just wish the back-up installation and OS 10.9.2 had gone that easy, but that's another story. All is up and running and the wife is happy as a clam.
A cinch compared to early MacBook Pros
Kev in Australia
I have both a MacBook 1,1 and 3,1. Are the hard drives compatible? The 3,1 keyboard died and I'm wondering if I can put it's hard drive in the 1,1 shell (which otherwise works, I got the 3,1 when I couldn't do anything being stuck at OS X 10.5.8)?
Have a problem here with brand new Samsung 850 EVO 250 Gb. I was about to replace my standard HHD with it. But i'm not able to boot from it. System doesn't recognize it. Any advices, what may be the cause?
I used this guide plus the Thermal Paste guide to resolve my MacBook RRS (Random Restart Syndrome) issue. My MacBook would randomly restart after the fan kicked into high speed. When I removed the heatsink I discovered an an irregular patch completely free of thermal compound of about 15-20% of the area on one of the processors. I removed and re-applied the thermal paste. I ran a memory test utility overnight that previously caused a restart after a couple of hours, and the probelm seems to be solved. TIme will tell.
ServiceDocs - Reply
This guide was seriously helpful, so thanks for putting this together. I found a thick ribbon of dust/muck whatever between the fan outlet and the exhaust port that was almost as dense as felt. My fan must have been fighting like crazy trying to pass air through that blockage, which explains the high temps and excessive fan noise. Wish I'd done this sooner...
Thanks again!
skraggle - Reply
Just R&R'ed the fan in my black MacBook Core 2 Duo tonight. Took me 30 minutes tops and I was taking my time. These instructions are SPOT ON! Great job ifixit.com! Two thumbs up!
Follow the instructions exactly as you see and have a piece of paper taped to the table next to you that you can outline all the screws you took out so you know where they go back in. I expected this to be a LOT harder, but it was one of the simplest repairs I've ever done to ANY computer!
mikeutter - Reply
Piece of cake--or should I say gum. If you don't have a magnetized screwdriver, load up a stick of gum and chomp on it until it's needed then use a bit to retain screw on the driver. And if you should tear the black tape, or if the silver tape won't stick any more, just bubblegum it together. The instructions were clear and correct, which made for a very simple repair.
Mike Woodruff - Reply
My battery does not pop out when after step 1. Any idea why, and how do fix it?
Calvin - Reply
Will not drop out even if you turn it upside down?
skraggle - Reply
Somehow, now my isight camera doesn't work and the light is always on. Cannot figure out what I did wrong.
josefsalyer - Reply
Somehow the plastic disc with the slot for a coin got dislodged from the case, and I can't seem to get it open now. Any tips/links on how to open this without the aid of the plastic disc?
Peter Wood - Reply
i broke my disc off as well. I used two toothpicks to rotate the thing. hi tech.
howard bederman -
Outstanding guide - thank you!
owen bullock - Reply
My computer will not charge when plugged in. It will stay on as ling as the plug is in the wall however if the power source gets disconnected it will shut down immediately. I removed the battery and put it back in that did not help. It worked and charged fine 2 days ago. I have a backpack with a laptop storage area. I went to hang the backpack up and it fell and ever since the battery is not functioning. Is there some fix I can try or is my only solution to replace it? I would have thought that dropping it would affect more than the battery?
Beth Tomasek - Reply