I want to add an aftermarket HDD to my MacBook. Does it alter my AppleCare?

I'm purchasing a 2.16GHz MacBook with 2GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD.

I want a 160GB HDD instead. But, it is financially unwise for me to purchase the drive preinstalled from the vendor.

(It is a long story, but here's the short version. My grad school has remarkable deals on a select number of Mac configurations. These particular configurations are available to us students at considerably below the standard educational pricing... so, they're very cheap. The 2.16GHz/2GB/120GB HDD combo is one of the preset configurations, and it is a great deal, as it shaves over $150 off of the standard educational pricing for the unit. But, because they're set configurations, making adjustments to the units is costly. The school needs to special order the setup, meaning that it is no longer purchased at the sub-educational-discount price. Ultimately, I'd have to pay about $150 extra to get a 160GB HDD instead of the 120GB drive!)

So, I still want the 160GB drive if possible. It isn't the end of the world if it can't happen, but it would be my preference.

(1) How much would it cost for me to purchase an acceptable 160GB HDD for the MacBook?

(2) Will installing and running the new HD in the MacBook void or change my AppleCare package?

Thanks guys!

I bet a search will find your answer. The button is right at the top of the page

I tried looking, albeit briefly. I guess I'll go look again. I'm not trying to spam the boards, but I didn't find the answer on my first glance.

(Notably, it might not have cost you any more time to answer me than to chastise me. But, obviously that would set a precedent whereby people expect to have their already-asked-a-million-times questions responded to. So, I understand.)

Alright, so, in another thread, another person asked a very similar question (except with reference to a MBP). They received the following response, regarding whether drive swapping will void the AppleCare.

cwa107 said:

Officially, yes. The AppleCare warranty stipulates that you may not open the case, which is required to replace the hard drive. With that said, as long as you don't cause any damage while opening the case, it should be fine. But I do recommend you keep the old drive to swap back in, in the event you ever need warranty work.

Click to expand...

So, OK. This is interesting.

I can hang onto my original 120GB drive (which will have all of the original stuff pre-installed on it) for just in case I have a problem. And, if I do, I can just throw it back in my computer, and ship it off to Apple.

So, a few questions:

(1) Is it absolutely true that they will be unable to detect the fact that I've swapped drives (once the original one is back in place)?

(2) Does the MacBook require opening the case (as the MBP does)?

On Apple's support page they have an entire section for the macbook, in that section they have things called DIY replacement parts. These are parts you can order and replace yourself without voiding your warranty. The macbook has a hard drive as a DIY replacement, so putting in a new one should not void your warranty.

You really dont open the case to put a new hard drive in, you just take out the battery and remove a metal cover. If you want a 100% yes or no answer, call apple, but as far as im concerned from what I saw you should be fine installing a new hard drive.

PunkRockTuba said:

On Apple's support page they have an entire section for the macbook, in that section they have things called DIY replacement parts. These are parts you can order and replace yourself without voiding your warranty. The macbook has a hard drive as a DIY replacement, so putting in a new one should not void your warranty.

You really dont open the case to put a new hard drive in, you just take out the battery and remove a metal cover. If you want a 100% yes or no answer, call apple, but as far as im concerned from what I saw you should be fine installing a new hard drive.

Click to expand...

Thanks man, this DIY option through Apple sounds pretty good.

It looks like I'll need to have an Apple technician order the part for me.

Anyone have any idea how much a DIY 160GB HDD for MacBook costs?

You don't need to have Apple order the hard drive for you. You can use any SATA notebook hard drive. At newegg.com, a 160GB hard drive costs about $110. Here's a link:

hard drive