Macbook Pro - Hardware Upgrades Please respond! :)

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Hi all,

I have a friends Macbook Pro 13" here. I'm a PC tech myself, and am not overly familiar with Macs.

He wants to upgrade to a 500GB HD (internal) and he wants to up his Memory, too.

basically, I'm wondering if a normal SATA notebook HD will fit and be compatible in a Macbook Pro? I've ordered a 500GB Hitachi Travelstar SATA 3.0Gbs? Can I just pop this into the Mac and be up and running? :)

I also need to know th same thing for the RAM. Can normal notebook RAM be alright in a Macbook Pro (The right type, of course)?
 

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Hi all,

I have a friends Macbook Pro 13" here. I'm a PC tech myself, and am not overly familiar with Macs.

Good thing you're working on a PC. Intel Macs use commodity x86 hardware, wrapped in a pretty Apple package.

He wants to upgrade to a 500GB HD (internal) and he wants to up his Memory, too.

basically, I'm wondering if a normal SATA notebook HD will fit and be compatible in a Macbook Pro? I've ordered a 500GB Hitachi Travelstar SATA 3.0Gbs? Can I just pop this into the Mac and be up and running? :)

Pretty much. Clone the old drive to the new drive using something like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner.

I also need to know th same thing for the RAM. Can normal notebook RAM be alright in a Macbook Pro (The right type, of course)?

Yep. I recommend Crucial.com or Otherworldcomputing.com.
 

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Yes, that kit appears to be compatible.
 
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re:

You also mentioned cloning the drive. How exactly do i go about this? Of course I can do a format with my eyes closed...but I would imagine the process on a macbook pro is different. Do i need any system discs or anything, after replacing the HD?
 

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Same bus speed and module type. I would imagine it would be OK.
 

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You also mentioned cloning the drive. How exactly do i go about this? Of course I can do a format with my eyes closed...but I would imagine the process on a macbook pro is different. Do i need any system discs or anything, after replacing the HD?

I would suggest purchasing (if you don't already have one) a USB to SATA adapter. This is a handy tool for anyone who works on PCs in general, since it allows you to quickly hook up an internal hard drive externally. An example is here, but any good computer store should carry them:

Newegg.com - VANTEC CB-ISATAU2 SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter

Hook up the new drive to the adapter and then boot up with Mac. Use SuperDuper or CCC to "backup" the internal drive to the external -- make sure you use the "make bootable" option. Once this is finished, it's just a matter of shutting the machine down and then installing the new drive in place of the old one.
 
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Re:

Thanks for all the help guys...

He wants the new HD partitioned so that one partition contains the Apple OS and the other has Win7. I was reading on how to do this..when you're logged onto the MAC OS..you go through a couple menus before it asks for the leopard disc..

I know with a Windows machine, you must boot up from disc and start the windows setup to add or delete partitions. But with this MAC, from what can gather.. you can actually make a partition when you're into the OS/X correct?

Just want to be sure of the process or installing the Apple OS And the Win7 OS once I put the new HD in. Thanks.
 
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Thanks for all the help guys...

He wants the new HD partitioned so that one partition contains the Apple OS and the other has Win7. I was reading on how to do this..when you're logged onto the MAC OS..you go through a couple menus before it asks for the leopard disc..

I know with a Windows machine, you must boot up from disc and start the windows setup to add or delete partitions. But with this MAC, from what can gather.. you can actually make a partition when you're into the OS/X correct?

Just want to be sure of the process or installing the Apple OS And the Win7 OS once I put the new HD in. Thanks.

Yep, no need to boot from disc. Clone the original drive to the new one, install new drive, start the computer, open applications/utilities/bootcamp assistant. This is where you will make your partition and install windows.
 
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I don't really have anything to clone with (software or hardware). He says he has all the discs for the macbook pro...so could I just completely reinstall the Apple OS/X onto the new drive without cloning? Then once its installed...go there and do my windows partition?

One the windows partition is made..does it automatically restart and ask for the windows disc or ???
 

cwa107


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Just pick up one of the $20 adapters I mentioned previously. Trust me, if you're a PC tech, you will most definitely use it again.

Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! are both free (the latter having a paid for version that does incremental backups, but you won't need to do that for this purpose).

Trust me, it will save you and your friend a ton of time and headaches.

Once you get the system cloned and running on the new drive, just open up Boot Camp Assistant and let it walk you through the partitioning. When it's finished, it will prompt you to insert the Windows disc and then reboot and boot off the Windows disc. It even supplies documentation that it will prompt you to print out (hint: read it!).
 
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If you don't want to use CCC or SuperDuper (which is what I recommend too) you can always use Migration Assistant... Also in the Utilities inside in the Applications folder...

BUT for this, you will need to install the OS from the original disk that came with the computer or from a install dvd from like from an apple store or sometime.

THEN once its installed, and you get to the welcome screen, you can choose to transfer data from time machine or other disk.

again CCC or SuperDuper is faster but this just a alternative.
 

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