Failing Hard Drive

I have searched all over every forum, and it seems every post starts as a similar situation to mine but then resolves with an answer that cannot help me.

My hard drive failed on my macbook unsurprisingly, so instead of paying close to $300 dollars to have it repaired, I am trying to fix it myself. I built my first PC with no problems what so ever, which is why I don't understand how a simple hard drive install is troubling me so much.

My macbook is Sata, so I originally bought a SeaGate 2.5" Sata HD compatible w/ mac and upon installing I launched the computer from the OSX install disc and the computer could not locate the HD in the disc utility or system profiler.

Thinking it may be the HD I exchanged it and now have a Western Digital Scorpio Blue Hard Drive.

Specs include 320GB, 8MB|MO Cache and 5400RPM

Mac Specs
MacBook 4.1
Intel Core 2 Duo
2.4 GHz Processor Speed, 800Mhz Bus Speed

I am running Leopard OS 10.5.2 on the install disc
AHT version 3A143
Disc Version 1.1

I really am dumfounded as to why the disc utility can't pick up the hard drive as there is no way I incorrectly installed the hard drive, it simply plugs in. If there is another way to format the hard drive so my macbook can read it I also have a Macbook Pro, and a PC running XP SP2

You need to format the HD so that OS X will recognize it.

Follow these directions.



I had the same problem when I replaced the factory 160GB HD with a WD 500GB hard drive on my new 13" Macbook Pro 1 month ago. Freaked me out a little bit til I figured it out.

so i need to format it using a different computer?? Because the hard drive won't show up in the disc utility so i can't format it?

No, you can do it on the same computer.

So then how??? The hard drive will not show up in the disc utility. The instructions you posted require me clicking on the drive that i would like to erase/format. There is nothing there for me to click other then the CD Drive showing the OSX install disc in it.