01-25-2010, 01:32 PM

I have a first gen MacBook and only have 60GB drive it came with (TOSHIBA MK6034GSX) but am wanting to upgrade to something bigger. when I googled the the model number above, it tells me that the connector is ATA-7. Places like Newegg and Tigerdirect don't even carry any ATA-7 (2.5") drives. Can I use an ATA-6 (although this wouldn't help much since these are equally as hard to come across) but my big question is can I use a SATA drive with this connector. Probably the real question I have is: can I connect a 2.5" SATA drive internally to a first-gen MacBook?

Also--apple is a little picky about us opening up their hardware. Does it void the warranty (like my warranty is still valid anyway...psh) and are there any tricks to getting to the HDD.

Thanks!

01-25-2010, 02:44 PM

All of the MacBook models use SATA drives. If you want to confirm this, open Apple menu => About This Mac => More Info => Serial-ATA, you should see your drive listed on the bus.

You can use virtually any SATA drive that has a 9.5mm height (the vast majority of modern notebook drives). I would recommend sticking with either Seagate or Western Digital for the brand.

Changing the drive does not void the warranty. On the MacBook it's considered user-serviceable, there's even a handy pull tab (you'll remove the same plate that covers the memory modules).

01-25-2010, 02:46 PM

A good example (assuming you want to go with a faster, 7200rpm drive):

Newegg.com - Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9320423AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

01-26-2010, 12:48 AM

thanks!