Fix Your Stuff

Right to Repair

Store

MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009 Hard Drive Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan (and 13 other contributors)
  • Comments: 101
  • Favorites: 222
  • Completions: 554

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

8

Time Required

30 minutes

Sections

4

Flags

0

Introduction

When replacing your hard drive, you must transfer the four locating pins (removed with a T6 screwdriver) from the old hard drive to the new one.

  1. Remove the following 10 screws securing the lower case to the MacBook Pro 13" Unibody:

    • Remove the following 10 screws securing the lower case to the MacBook Pro 13" Unibody:

    • Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

    • Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.

    Edit

  2. Slightly lift the lower case and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs.

    • Slightly lift the lower case and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs.

    Edit

  3. For precautionary purposes, we advise that you disconnect the battery connector from the logic board to avoid any electrical discharge.

    • For precautionary purposes, we advise that you disconnect the battery connector from the logic board to avoid any electrical discharge.

    • Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the battery connector up out of its socket on the logic board.

    Edit

  5. Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.

    • Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.

    • These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.

    Edit

  6. Lift the the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

    • Lift the the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

    Edit

  7. Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.

    • Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.

    Edit

  8. Remove the hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.

    • Remove the hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.

    Edit

  9. Remove the two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total). You'll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you're changing drives.

    • Remove the two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total).

    • You'll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you're changing drives.

    • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

    Edit
Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

554 other people completed this guide.

30 Comments

Add a comment

The T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive do not fit exactly in The Crucial M500 240GB I used as a replacement; they are a tiny bit too long. As a result, the SSD is harder to fit in the available space. Amazing performance though, well worth this little intervention.

I have to update my iMac 24" next.

Cyril - Reply

I'd suggest using the free software "Super Duper" to clone the hard drive. It worked wonders for me and after the 2 hour clone, I was up and running in 5 minutes!

cmoore22739 - Reply

I wholeheartedly agree. Super Duper! made the task effortless.

danzeitlin -

The T6 torx screws on the side of the existing Hitachi drive fit my Crucial M500 240GB replacement perfectly. Be aware that they were originally installed into the HDD with blue Loctite, so it takes a bit of effort to break them loose.

Thanks ifixit for excellent guidance!

danzeitlin - Reply

Huge thank you for this guide! The HD on my mid-2009 MacBook Pro died yesterday (it was the original 160GB HD from 2009, so I can't complain, I guess) and instead of shedding a few hundred euros to the Apple geniuses, I saw this tutorial and thought I could give it a try. I bought a new HD (this time 500GB), replaced the fried one, reformatted the new one and now I'm doing a fresh install of OS X. Total cost: 41euros and some careful screwdriving here and there. Et voila!

Thank you, thank you, tank you!

Sara - Reply

Add Comment

View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 19

Past 7 Days: 265

Past 30 Days: 1,192

All Time: 603,004