My Problem

I replace the battery. Then the "flashing Question Mark and Folder" I did some research and decided to try a new Hard Drive Cable, since it has been known to fail. Still the flashing question mark and now desktop Hard Drive image. Tried "restore" and couldn't find the hard drive. Next step "new hard drive"!

My Fix

Straight forward with clear visual directions. Took my time. The right tools made it easier.

My Advice

Remove Torx Screws "over" the work bench! My time would have been shorter had I not stopped to look for the 4th Hard Drive screw!

My Problem

I was running out of space on my 250gb drive constantly and didn't want to have an external drive connected to my laptop.

My Fix

The replacement guide was great, very easy and straightforward. However, there was no guidance on how to migrate your existing data from your existing drive to the new drive. A couple of Google searches later I had my answer.

My Advice

Plan ahead for all sets. The "External USB SATA Enclosure" provided in the kit didn't work, or perhaps I was unable to slot the drive correctly. It's pretty much impossible to tell if you've got it lined up correctly due to the way it's made. I would either not buy the kit, or buy a HDD Enclosure separately. I was lucky that I had an external drive I could leverage.

My Problem

Beach Ball, all the time. I think the hard drive cable was the real issue, it still worked, but was just ridiculously slow on our MacBook Pro 2012. I tried the electrical tape thing for the cable, but that didn't fix it.

My Fix

We changed the Hard Drive Cable. Well I was in there, figured we might as well also add RAM and change hard drive to a hybrid model. So now Mom and Dad have a speedy little computer running the latest OS like a champ. No more pauses! and they also know they have a hard drive they won't need to worry about for another 3 or 4 years! We hooked up the old drive using the USB drive holder and copied the contents to the new drive in its entirety using Disk Utility. rebooted and viola! The old hard drive functioned wonderfully once plugged in via USB, so I think the cable was the real issue.

My Advice

It was easier than I thought it would be. Feel like I have gained a new skill set, directs on fixit were excellent and having read through them a few times, watched videos online, etc... it went very well. Likely took barely an hour. Way to go ifixit. Cable was the real issue behind the spinning ball on the MacBook Pro and reading online, it does seem that they really are an issue for that model A1278!

My Problem

Computer very slow and old.

My Fix

It was a breeze to install.

My Advice

Good choice.

My Problem

Changed the hard drive to an SSD drive.

My Fix

Easy and whiteout any hesitation because I followed the instructions

My Advice

Nothing. Everything is Perfect

My Problem

Replace HDD in MacBok Pro

My Fix

Simple. Just followed easy directions .

My Advice

Suggest easier way to get in contact with a real person.

My Problem

Laptop suddenly stopped charging. Was coping for a while with a track pad that wouldn't drag and drop or click and select ranges. So decide to fix the latter while trying to bring my MBP back to life. Also decided to do it myself as official service estimate in India was 2x the part cost (HDD). iFixit's cost for an SSD and trackpad replacement came to around the same number, so opted for 2 for the price of 1.

My Fix

Smooth sailing. Watched the videos once in advance to see what was involved. iFixit and Apple make it easy to take apart a macbook. No surprises. The 16-bit toolkit was perfectly equipped for the job. Thanks for making it so easy addictive. I remember using iFixit in 2010 to fix a broken iPhone 3G screen. So 100% success rate so far.

My Advice

Get the tool kit. If replacing a HDD and reinstalling the OS via a bootable drive, you may run into an issue where it says the OS copy couldn't be verifies or got corrupted. It's actually a logicboard date issue (mine was reset to 2001), that can be fixed via a simple terminal command 'date mmddhhmmyy' to the current date and time. Trackpad, you won't need screws or cable unless they are damaged. Since repairing isn't your day job, just review the videos a couple of times and then it's smooth sailing after that.

My Problem

The original HD in my wife's macbook pro died. Replaced it with a 500G SSD, and put in a new battery while I was at it. The replacement probably took 15 minutes. Formatting the SSD in an external housing, and loading it with the backup software took far longer.

My Fix

Just fine. Already had a full complement of iFixit tools, and the repair guide was clear.

It was a good thing that I had recently purchased a new set of drivers, though. The battery was held in with Tri-wing screws, and it was fortuitous that the needed driver was in the new kit.

My Advice

No discoveries. No drama. Except that it would have been simpler if my wife had run a backup in the past two months! Software upgrades and finding license codes was the only pain. Hardware replacement was a piece of cake.

My Problem

The old hard drive that came with the MacBook Pro died completely.

My Fix

The replacement of the hardware went well and worked per the instructions but loading OS X was much trickier and time consuming than I expected.

My Advice

The replacement ssd comes with a case to allow it to connect via usb. If you have another OSX device I would use the usb connectivity to format the new drive and install OSX and then follow the replacement guide. If need be use internet recovery from the newly installed SSD to reinstall OSX but installing via USB first allows you to create the recovery partition and allows for the recovery tools to function way better, or at least that was my experience.

My Problem

my HD was damaged...

My Fix

just clone the HD and install it, simple as that.

My Advice

do it yourself is great, repair is possible and cheap.