My Problem
My daughter's 13" MacBook Pro from 2010 was not responding as quickly as usual and we began to hear a series of clicks. From past experience, I recognized that this was likely a failing hard drive issue and we backed up her data to an external and I made calls to determine the best route to repair. Local shops quoted anywhere from $200-450 for this repair which I could not rationalize given the cost of a replacement computer wasn't much more than that. I proceeded to research online and stumbled across the ifixit videos on YouTube. Intrigued, I decided this might be something I could do myself with the proper tools and guidance.
My Fix
Initially I was going to order a replacement drive and tools through a shopping site but I soon realized there was not much of a difference in price between purchasing it through ifixit.com and the miscellaneous sellers. I decided to go with ifixit.com and ordered the replacement kit. It arrived a few days later and that evening I cloned my daughter's 250GB drive to the new 1TB hybrid drive(following the simple directions from an ifixit.com video about data transfer using Super Duper). The next day I decided to tackle to actual physical replacement. Reviewing the video once more and following the step-by-step guide from the ifixit.com site, I managed to successfully replace the hard drive and have my daughter up and running in under twenty minutes! The tools were perfectly suited to the task and it was a really fulfilling experience to successfully take care of the problem myself (with sufficient guidance). Not that I want more of our computers to fail anytime soon, but, thanks to ifixit.com, I am now looking forward to the next replacement/upgrade! Thank you for making what may have been a daunting experience so positive with such clear and accessible instructions and materials. Unfortunately, in all my excitement I forgot to take pictures of the actual repair! Good to note, the repair kit includes a rubber case for the hard drive that connects via USB. This and the tools can be reused for future projects.
My Advice
My main advice would be that for most people, a repair of this sort no longer mandates a visit to the repair shop or Genius Bar. With reasonable dexterity (the screws are very small) and patience, you can upgrade your hard drive for a fraction of the cost of a service call. My daughter's computer now runs as fast or faster than any of the newer computers in our home. Ifixit.com provides clear guidance and quality products. Very highly recommended.
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