Swapping HDDs between Macbooks?

This is my first post here, and will be my first Mac Computer.

I have been with Windows PCs for years but a few months ago my wife got a MacBook. I am due to upgrade soon and will be getting a MacBook now too. It is a little of the unknown to me, but I will take the plunge since I think once I adjust I'll be happier.

My question lies here: Her older gen MacBook has a 120GB HDD and the one I will purchase will have the 250GB. I am curious if these are interchangeable? I use less HDD than she does and it would be convenient for me to just interchange them. I understand that replacing a HDD does not void warranty, correct? Can I simply drop the newer HDD (from a 2nd gen) into her older (1st gen) Macbook and power up and restore from Time Machine? Can I then drop her older HDD into my newer (2nd gen) Macbook and "restore" with included system disks to like new condition? Are there any conflicts between the hardware of a older gen and a second gen Macbook? Are there licensing or serial number issues, etc? In the end they will both end up with the software intended for that computer, but installed on the different HDDs.

If this is not feasible, what upgrade HDDs are most compatible for (1st gen) Macbooks?

Thanks for the advice.

David

They should be compatible, but a warning, if you swap out the hard drives yourself you void the warranty.

Jhorra said:

They should be compatible, but a warning, if you swap out the hard drives yourself you void the warranty.

Click to expand...

Only if they are still swapped when I carry them in, right, and only if associated would they catch it, right? I mean, If my keyboard quit how would they know I'd swapped the HDD? Or is it all visible by software somehow?

I'm not sure if there is a sticker cover or something, but if you can put it back in without being noticed . . .

Anyone had any experience with this or know for sure if it voids warranty? The manual that comes with them has instructions for replacing the HDD. Thanks.

replacing the hard drive does not void the warranty but obviously if the replaced hard drive fails then apple will not replace it

The MacBook's hard drive is like the RAM, defined as user-replaceable.

You can do what you are saying without any problems and without voiding the warranty - just make sure that you have the latest version of Leopard on the old hard drive so it will be compatible with the new MacBook.

If you do run into problems, you can always do an archive and reinstall.