My Hard Drive Died, Apple wants $400

That is too much to invest into my 2 year old Powerbook. I am really surprised that it is so much money. I mean Hard drives on Ebay are like $80.

So what are my options here? I mean do I have to go through Apple and get this repair?

What would you do in my shoes?

if you have another computer/ don't care about loosing your powerbook.. then go to pbfixit.com and try to repair the computer yourself if you are confident in your ability to take it apart but only do so if you are willing to live with out the powerbook in the event you make a mistake.

gabe90 said:

I mean Hard drives on Ebay are like $80.

So what are my options here? I mean do I have to go through Apple and get this repair?

What would you do in my shoes?

Click to expand...

I bought a new 80GB 5400RPM drive from newegg.com and installed it myself. If you are comfortable with taking your powerbook appart you can do it yourself. But be warned, apple doesn't make it easy to swap the HD out. You have to remove about 30 screws!!! Make sure that you track where they came from. I found a PDF of the service manual online and it showed you exactly what screws need to be removed from where.

1. Fix it myself using instructions at www.pbfixit.com. Add a few bucks for purchasing the special screwdrivers you'll need to do it yourself. And don't forget to download the handy dandy Powerbook Screw Guide PDF at pbfixit so you won't get your screws all mixed up.

2. Go through a third party outlet like TechRestore or MacResQ, both of which have so-called "24 Hour Hard Drive Upgrade Service". Either outfit will do it for $220-$300 depending on what size and speed drive you want put in--their prices include the cost of overnight shipping to and from them, and the whole process would take 3-5 business days after accounting for shipping time.

3. Think a little harder about doing it myself because it's not THAT hard.