Please Help New User With Macbook Problem

Hello, I am new to this forum, but my Mac has went down and I would like some answers. I have a 13" white Macbook, and about two days ago it just shut down as I was using it. When trying to restart, a flashing folder with a question mark inside flashes and nothing proceeds from there. I tried putting in my restart disc and that didn't do anything. I believe that it is my hard drive, and if not, please let me know. But if it is the HD, where is the best place to get one that is cheap, but still a decent quality HD? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

well it kind of sounds like your HD, but the restore disc issue bothers me. did you insert the disk and then restart with the "c" key held down?

if you did, and you're still having issues, it may be a bigger issue than your hard drive.

oh sorry, forgot to add. when i put the restore disc in, it worked, but it had nowhere to save the OS at. so that also leads me to believe its the HD.

oh, well, then yeah - likley a HD issue

k, thanks. where is the best place to get a replacement? And i understand they're easy to replace yourself, true?

I am planning on getting a new Hard Drive from Other World Computing:

Hard Drives for SATA, IDE, ATA - Notebook Hard Drives, Desktop Hard Drives, Internal and External Options with FireWire, USB2, eSATA and more at OtherWorldComputing.com

I know its been recommended on here a couple of times, so check it out.

Easy? Yes... How to Upgrade Your MacBook's Hard Drive | Macinstruct

Hope this Helps.

320GB 2.5" Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 7200RPM SA... (0A57547) at OWC
is this one pretty good? and will it fit my macbook, i bought it in June or July of '07?

I know that its the correct size, all Macbooks support 2.5" hard drives.

I'm not sure about the RPM. The macbook ships with a 5400RPM Hard Drive, so maybe go with the 5400RPM and 8MB cache model.

320GB 2.5" Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 5400RPM SA... (0A56417) at OWC

Thats what I think would be best, unless somebody wants to say otherwise.

ok, i just ordered the one you said Sam, hopefully that is what is actually wrong with my computer. I took my old HD out and put it back in and still same thing, so i'm thinking it is definitely shot.

SamJ35 said:

I'm not sure about the RPM. The macbook ships with a 5400RPM Hard Drive, so maybe go with the 5400RPM and 8MB cache model.

320GB 2.5" Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 5400RPM SA... (0A56417) at OWC

Thats what I think would be best, unless somebody wants to say otherwise.

Click to expand...

It may be a moot point now because the original poster has made a purchase, but I'll chime in nonetheless.

I have a 7200 RPM drive in my white MacBook and it works fine. In fact, I think it's made the computer perform better on the whole. Booting certainly takes less time and opening up certain apps is much faster.

The only downside I can see is a possible decrease in battery life. However, I think the performance tradeoff is worth the loss.

Just curious, what brand is the old hard drive that is in your macbook?

i just received the new HD and i have a few questions. 1 how do i format it so i can install the OS discs because there still is nowhere to save them. Also, i have a disc in there that I need to get out, but I cannot figure out a way to get the disc out. Is there any way to make the disc get out? because right now, my computer wont work.