MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive Replacement
Replace or upgrade the hard drive on your MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010.
- Author: Walter Galan
- Difficulty: Moderate
Upgrade your hard drive for more storage capacity!
Sections
- Lower Case 2 steps
- Battery 1 step
- Hard Drive 4 steps
- Hard Drive 1 step
Tools
Relevant Parts
- 1 TB SSD Hybrid 2.5" Hard Drive, Upgrade Kit This kit contains the drive and all tools needed.
- 500 GB SSD Hybrid 2.5" Hard Drive, Upgrade Kit This kit contains the part and all tools needed.
- 256 GB Solid State Drive, Upgrade Kit This kit contains the drive and all tools needed.
- 128 GB Solid State Drive, Upgrade Kit This kit contains the part and all tools needed.
- Universal Drive Adapter
- MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Hard Drive Bracket
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Remove the following 10 screws securing the lower case to the MacBook Pro 13" Unibody:
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Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.
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Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.
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Slightly lift the lower case and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs.
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For precautionary purposes, we advise that you disconnect the battery connector from the logic board to avoid any electrical discharge. This step is optional and is not required.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the battery connector up out of its socket on the logic board.
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Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.
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These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.
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Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.
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Remove the hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.
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Remove the two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total).
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You'll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you're changing drives.
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If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.
Comments Comments are onturn off
I'm about to take this on. A little nervous as I haven't done anything like this before. When I get the new drive in, can I just restore from Time Machine? Do I actually need to reinstall the operating system first?
Replaced my HD a couple of days ago. I did disconnect the battery. No problems. Thanks iFixit!.
Installed osx (yosemite) on blank hard drive in 2010 macbook pro according to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K82njigC...
BUT instead of getting the spinning planet at first step, I got a padlock (apparently to keep non-apple employees from futzing around). However, the following got me past that point:
http://www.justanswer.com/mac-computers/...
and to be a little more descriptive than the link, with one memory stick out I held down r+p+option+comm
THAT got me past the padlock but then there was another problem getting the new OS (non-descriptive error message "there was a problem..."). The solution there was to open terminal and change the date according to
https://bensmann.no/changing-system-date...
Finally it was smooth sailing after that.
It looks like you need a Phillips #000 screwdriver for the 10 bottom screws. I tried the #00 and it's too big. Good thing I bought a 23 piece precision screwdriver set or else I would have been screwed.
The 10 screws that hold tha bottom case take a #00 Phillips driver, if yours doesnt fit it's probably because it's cheaply made & not precise enough. The only thing that I needed a #000 driver for was the keyboard screws. They're so small they look like specks of dirt or sand. I stripped out 4 of them & now will need to grind the heads off with a Dremel/rotary tool. The other thing that sucks is iFixit doesn't have a tutorial for keyboard replacement!
Compare the short screws carefully before reinstalling them. The shouldered screws go in the holes on the front edge.
thanks twisk, I wish i would have read your tip before I finished putting the bottom of my laptop back together. I managed to get all screws in somehow, but one was in fact too-tight.
BTW, big big thanks to the Author: Andrew Bookholt. Just used this guide and my trackpad now works again.
Before I started removing any screws I took a piece of paper and drew the bottom of the laptop and put a piece of double-sided tape in the spot where each screw goes. That way when I took out the screws, I could put them on the tape so I knew exactly which screw went in which spot. I did the same thing for dismantling the inside on another sheet of paper, then a third sheet for the screen after getting the front glass off.
I use a similar technique: I print out the iFixit manual for the job, and Scotch-tape down the screws/brackets
The colours you used for these circles are indistinguishab
Squares, Circles, Triangles (you get the idea) would work as well to distinguish the different screws.
I'd use a Phillips #000 screwdriver also. The #00 can work, but if the screws are in really tight, it doesn't get far enough down into the screws to get purchase, so it will start to strip (and I agree that the screws are pretty soft). On mine, the screws for the fan were really tight, started to strip with #00, needed a #000 and quite a bit of pressure to get them to move.
why is step 3 necessary?
gansodesoya, · Reply
Quote from gansodesoya:
why is step 3 necessary?
Removes the possibility of any current flow. This is especially important if you are trying to mitigate the damage to the circuitry due to a spill on a keyboard.
amiller770, · Reply
$@$@. Don't use an non-isolated screwdriver for this. I just shorted-out my battery :(
Lukas Besch, · Reply
You are absolutely right, never use a screwdriver on the logic board or any connector! Delicate use of fingernails or a credit card will get you through most situations if you lack a spudger.
How do you get that battery connector back on? Do you just press it in back in place after you're done?
yes. I usually plug it in before I screw it down so I can lift the battery a bit and have enough slack to be able to go straight down on the connector, otherwise it comes in on a bit of an angle, which can't be good (though not necessarily bad).
Would it not be advisable to drain the battery completely before attempting to repair, if you want to be sure you don't get a spark when removing the battery connector?
Berlugana
Disconnecting the battery connector is not that different from simply unplugging a battery from an older model MacBook with a removable battery. You're not trying to protect yourself from a "spark", but the internal circuitry when taking the MacBook apart.
You can stop here if you only need to replace the hard drive, right?
Joe Ireland, · Reply
Only if you don't want a hard drive in your MacBook Pro. ;P
*Step 7: REMOVE HDD
*Step 8: REPLACE HDD
Key steps if you need to save or access data. That is, unless you use an external HDD. Then yes, you can stop at step 7.
Straight-forward and easy to follow.
No problems except minor ones from not reading all the text...easily fixed by reading :-)
Used Carbon Copy Clone rather than Super Duper to clone drive.
I fixed it. I don't know which of the following did it. 1) I ran all software updates to the OS using the MacBook before transferring the drive again into the MBP, and 2) when I installed the drive I disconnected the battery – perhaps this reset the SMC. While booting, I held Option and it recognized the new HD right away. From then on, it booted fine.
Quote from Blake:
I did this exactly with a 7200 RPM WD Scorpio that I had been using in my MacBook 13" Unibody (before Apple discontinued that). I get a nasty crash on boot, even with the OS X 10.6 Install DVD. I mean BSOD-equivalent crash. The MacBook Pro is brand new. Anybody know why this happens?
This could be from the Apple firmware update for 7200 RPM Drives. They released an update because these were causing vibration that people were complaining about. Maybe it wouldn't function without update?
I guess it's probably my fault that I broke the SATA cable during this step (unless the cable was somehow already weakened), but for anyone reading this, be extra careful. My connector was fitted really tightly, and when it finally came out it ripped the cable, which is pretty expensive in its own right (although you can get a cheaper deal on eBay).
Had no issue since installation of a 7200RPM WD Scorpio 750GB drive and had no issues with vibration. I did notice back when I got this MacBook Pro though, the pre-installed Apple branded drive was only performing at half of the 3Gbps potential (1.5)
I could see letting Apple get away with that on a consumer level machine but for the premium price, I expect performance.
Needless to say even running the same HDD on my same MBP, I've had not a single problem with the HDD upgrade. Best money spent on it along with additional RAM.
Does anyone know how I can get another set of the T6 screws I took out of my old HD? I forgot to save them and now my new SSD rattles around in the laptop!
help
Have you tried calling your local Apple store? The screws Apple uses throughout their devices are usually machined in large quantities of "odd" lengths that are not easily (if at all) found anywhere but from them. Good luck!
Andy,
Hi there. We sell the Screw Set for the MBP 13" Mid 09 which includes the hard drive T6 screws you require. Hope this helps.
Are the screws for the hard drive available along? The problem is that the only answer I'm seeing (from Walter above) is a $59 for the 4 screws needed, there has to be a more economical choice.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
THANK YOU! I'm still on a high from repairing my husband's Macbook. It feels so nice to have two computers up and running again. You saved me nearly a grand, and made me realize how much I really did learn as a kid building PC towers with my dad.
emhannaford, · Reply