Im wondering if there exists any guidance on upgrading the hard disk/hard drive for a mac book pro. A plenitude of articles on how to do it exist. I mean on whether there are limits or maximum hard drive capacities? according to apple tech support (see my chat convo below), there is NO hard drive upgrade path for the mac book pro, and doing so will not only void your warranty but could 'burn out your processor'. Is this possible? I see the apple store certainly sells options from 200GB-300GB but duly noted their 300GB drive is at 4200rpm. Anyway, i have the last gen 2.2Ghz mac book pro, 120GB harddrive which just isnt enough.
* You are chatting with Yolanda, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Yolanda. Welcome to Apple!
Yolanda: How may I help you today?
You: im looking into upgrading the hard drive on my macbook pro
You: what does the service cost?
You: do i have to buy the hard drive from apple?
You: can my local apple store do the upgrade while retaining the warranty?
Yolanda: Great question!
Yolanda: At this time, we do not recommend internal hard drive upgrades.
Yolanda: We would offer you an opportunity to add external storage space with an external
hard drive.
You: huh??? you mean apple doesnt support the upgrade? what if 120GB just isnt enough?
You: i have external storage and wouldnt need to contact apple about thatYou: this is the mac book pro... which i assume is short for professional... youre telling me that apple hasnt planned for the upgrade path on this?
Yolanda: External hard drives are plug and play, the warranty would not be voided.
Yolanda: The Mac Pro is the only system that can have the hard drive internally upgraded.
You: you mean its the only system for which apple supports an internal upgrade?
You: because its clear that the mac book pro has been upgraded by others
Yolanda: Its the only model that allows for an internal upgrade and the only model that we actually sell the hard drives separately for.
You: its hard to imagine that apples high end laptop doesnt have an upgrade path...
You: thats really disappointing
You: youve heard this before?
You: i mean the folks who most need the mac book pro are also the folks who need to carry alot of heavyweight apps around
Yolanda: Understandable.
You: can you communicate the disappointment? are you able to do that?
You: i mean its rediculous really
You: since the upgrade is certainly possible and from the many pages on it, its not even that hard... i just didnt want to void my warranty.
Yolanda: If you have a local Apple Store near, you have an opportunity to stop by and revi
ew any other options within the technical services.Yolanda: The Time Machine program is a great alternative to manage moving unused data from
the main hard drive to the external.
You: So as i asked before, can you communicate the disappointment? or are you simply not a
llowed to do such a thing? ie no channel?
Yolanda: We have heard and understand your concern.
Yolanda: The warranty would be void if you add additional internal software that go beyond
the maximum capacity of the system, possible burning out your processor.
You: hmmm... i dont think thats even possible... you mean hardware?
You: additional internal hardware?
You: so you are saying that a mac book pro is only designed to handle a 120GB hard drive a
t maximum?
You: thats hard to believe
Yolanda: I am referring to any internal hard ware or changes above the maximum design.
You: its a mac book PRO
Yolanda: That's not what I mean.
Yolanda: What is your product serial number?
You: its clear from the apple website that there are 200, 250, 300GB hard disk options
Yolanda: Are you able to provide me with your product serial number?
You: well, i understand what the policy is, and i realize that apple wont assist me in an upgrade, so i am forced to void my warranty. So I think rather than provide the serial number, it'll be more worthwhile to the user community to blog this information. Thanks for your help, Best
* You are chatting with Yolanda, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Yolanda. Welcome to Apple!
Yolanda: How may I help you today?
You: im looking into upgrading the hard drive on my macbook pro
You: what does the service cost?
You: do i have to buy the hard drive from apple?
You: can my local apple store do the upgrade while retaining the warranty?
Yolanda: Great question!
Yolanda: At this time, we do not recommend internal hard drive upgrades.
Yolanda: We would offer you an opportunity to add external storage space with an external
hard drive.
You: huh??? you mean apple doesnt support the upgrade? what if 120GB just isnt enough?
You: i have external storage and wouldnt need to contact apple about thatYou: this is the mac book pro... which i assume is short for professional... youre telling me that apple hasnt planned for the upgrade path on this?
Yolanda: External hard drives are plug and play, the warranty would not be voided.
Yolanda: The Mac Pro is the only system that can have the hard drive internally upgraded.
You: you mean its the only system for which apple supports an internal upgrade?
You: because its clear that the mac book pro has been upgraded by others
Yolanda: Its the only model that allows for an internal upgrade and the only model that we actually sell the hard drives separately for.
You: its hard to imagine that apples high end laptop doesnt have an upgrade path...
You: thats really disappointing
You: youve heard this before?
You: i mean the folks who most need the mac book pro are also the folks who need to carry alot of heavyweight apps around
Yolanda: Understandable.
You: can you communicate the disappointment? are you able to do that?
You: i mean its rediculous really
You: since the upgrade is certainly possible and from the many pages on it, its not even that hard... i just didnt want to void my warranty.
Yolanda: If you have a local Apple Store near, you have an opportunity to stop by and revi
ew any other options within the technical services.Yolanda: The Time Machine program is a great alternative to manage moving unused data from
the main hard drive to the external.
You: So as i asked before, can you communicate the disappointment? or are you simply not a
llowed to do such a thing? ie no channel?
Yolanda: We have heard and understand your concern.
Yolanda: The warranty would be void if you add additional internal software that go beyond
the maximum capacity of the system, possible burning out your processor.
You: hmmm... i dont think thats even possible... you mean hardware?
You: additional internal hardware?
You: so you are saying that a mac book pro is only designed to handle a 120GB hard drive a
t maximum?
You: thats hard to believe
Yolanda: I am referring to any internal hard ware or changes above the maximum design.
You: its a mac book PRO
Yolanda: That's not what I mean.
Yolanda: What is your product serial number?
You: its clear from the apple website that there are 200, 250, 300GB hard disk options
Yolanda: Are you able to provide me with your product serial number?
You: well, i understand what the policy is, and i realize that apple wont assist me in an upgrade, so i am forced to void my warranty. So I think rather than provide the serial number, it'll be more worthwhile to the user community to blog this information. Thanks for your help, Best