What is the largest HDD I put in my MacBook Pro 15"?

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I need a lot of storage for my MacBook Pro 2.16ghz 15". It currently has the 160gb HDD, but I need at least 250gb (I only have 20gb left). The reason being, I convert my whole CD collection and some of my favorite DVD's over to the laptop and it is part of my home theater system (seperate components; ie. Classe, Krell, Wilson, B&W).

So I was wondering if the Western Digital 320gb Scorpio would work if I just swap it out of my current drive? Also, what type of HDD does the MBP use? From what I've read, it seems like it's SATA, but will SATA2 also work? I might also consider going with a smaller (around 250gb) HDD that runs at 7200RPM and then adding an 1TB external HDD using firewire.

And also, do you guys know any software out there that I can just duplicate my current drive over to the new drive so I don't have to repload leopard and all my softwares? I know there are some, but if I can get your inputs about the best ones out there to use, I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance for any help you guys can provide!
 
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Your Mac's Specs
2.2Ghz i7 Late 2011 MBP: 16GB Ram 500GB Seagate XT HD
From what i've read the Macbook and macbook pro's all use sata drives. The largest 2.5 inch sata drive is the 250GB. I've heard that they are not compatible with SATA-II drives.

For copying your drive most ppl use super duper or carbon copy cloner. Both are free and both produce a bootable 1 to 1 backup. Right now it seems like your only option is the 250GB and 1TB external.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 8 core 2.8Ghz, 12GB RAM, 2.3TB HD; MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 200GB HD
There is a 320GB disk from WD that will work in your MBP - at least, it fit in my MacBook. Here's how I did it, including using Carbon Copy Cloner.
 
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2.2Ghz i7 Late 2011 MBP: 16GB Ram 500GB Seagate XT HD
Cool, good to know. I was told the SATA-II drives (aka SATA 300 drives) would not work with macbooks and macbook pro's.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 15" Gloss, 2.4 GHz C2D, 4GB DDR2, 160 GB @ 7200 HDD, 256 MB 8600M GT
Hmmm.... if I recall correctly, the 320 GB drive lacks the sudden motion sensor that the stock drives come from.

Although it is a minor feature, it may save your hard drive (and hence your data) should you drop your Mac.

I suggest you replace your drive with something that has the sudden motion sensor.
 
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I am considering a 500GB drive for my MBP

After some searching this is what I found:

On ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HITACHI-5K500...ryZ16178QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

After messaging him he provided a link to this write-up:
http://www.digitalreaction.co.uk/installing-125mm-sata-hd-into-macbook-pro-599-c.asp

I have asked him what his "best price" will be and if he will do a group buy rate. I will post back when he responds.
A."I only have 1 x 500 left, I think you could offer me £210 and I would accept, but they are really hard to get – actually nearly impossible.

I do have 9 of the 400gb ones though, I am asking for £160 each for the 400gb drives, & £220 for the 500gb drive I have left which comes to a total of £1660 + £82 P&P. I would accept an offer for £1600 for all of the 10 drives including postage, which would give you nearly 10% reduction in price."


It should also be noted this is not the only 500 GB/12.5mm drive on the market.

-micah
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 2.2ghz, 3GB, 250GB - 16GB White iPhone 3G - 2nd Gen 1GB Shuffle
Hmmm.... if I recall correctly, the 320 GB drive lacks the sudden motion sensor that the stock drives come from.

Although it is a minor feature, it may save your hard drive (and hence your data) should you drop your Mac.

I suggest you replace your drive with something that has the sudden motion sensor.
The sudden motion sensor is built into the Macbook not the HDD.
 
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I need a lot of storage for my MacBook Pro 2.16ghz 15". It currently has the 160gb HDD, but I need at least 250gb (I only have 20gb left). The reason being, I convert my whole CD collection and some of my favorite DVD's over to the laptop and it is part of my home theater system (seperate components; ie. Classe, Krell, Wilson, B&W).

So I was wondering if the Western Digital 320gb Scorpio would work if I just swap it out of my current drive? Also, what type of HDD does the MBP use? From what I've read, it seems like it's SATA, but will SATA2 also work? I might also consider going with a smaller (around 250gb) HDD that runs at 7200RPM and then adding an 1TB external HDD using firewire.

And also, do you guys know any software out there that I can just duplicate my current drive over to the new drive so I don't have to repload leopard and all my softwares? I know there are some, but if I can get your inputs about the best ones out there to use, I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance for any help you guys can provide!

Why don't you use an external drive?
 
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Why don't you use an external drive?

I have (3) 1TB external drives among other externals that adds up to be another ~4TB (including my 2 HTPCs at 1TB each). I'm a big audio/videophile and so I transfer in and out music and movies/videos a lot because my HD on my Mac is so small and I use this MBP purely for personal purpose when I travel for both business/travel. Someone on another forum advised me to get the WD Passport external drive and just take the drive out of it to use since it would be much cheaper than purchasing an internal drive itself which is a very good idea. I'll go out and purchase a WD Passport tomorrow (found them locally for $135) and I'll probably end up upgrading to the 500GB Samsung in a couple of months. The Samsung is supposed to be released to retailers at the end of this month or beginning of April, but I won't need all of that right now and I'm sure the price will drop (from $299). Then I'll just put the Passport back together to use as an external drive.

As for the other 500GB HDD comments. From what I understand, 12.5mm is too big and we need the 9.5mm. Samsung is the only one that I am aware of that has one and it spins at 5400rpm. The Fujitsu and Hitachi are both 12.5mm and spints at 4200rpm (Fujitsu) and 5400rpm (Hitachi).

I do have a question for you guys. Do you guys know what I need to do to format the external drive and clear it before I clone it? Or should I just leave it as it is and clone it since it's already an external drive? I'm just wondering how much memory is already taken up when WD setup the Passport to be an external drive. It shouldn't be much...
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 8 core 2.8Ghz, 12GB RAM, 2.3TB HD; MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 200GB HD
If this drive will only be used by Macs then you should use Disk Utility to repartition the drive to use aMac OS Extended (Journaled) partition. It's quick and ensures you have a clean drive.
 
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OK, it's done. Did it with out a hitch. Took me about 30min from start to finish to open up the laptop and take off the keyboard (since it's a MacBook Pro and not regular Macbook), so I basically had to take the computer apart. Good thing though, I got the WD Passport 320GB for $97.xx w/ tax (they rang it up for $99 and I also used my 10% AAA membership card). Here's a screenshot:

http://mc2telecom.com/misc/320gbupgrade.jpg


I took photos of the inside of the laptop as well when I opened it up. I will post those up later. Thanks for all your help guys!
 
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I got it at circuit city. I brought the ad from bestbuy to pricematch it at 150 since their's was ~170. When she rang it up she said it was $99, I think there was an error in the system.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.4/2GB/200HD/256 8600gt
rang up 99$? why didnt you go get more :) you coulda sold them for 150 each, no problem.

good to see you got it switched. was there that yellow see-thru tape holding the ribbon down to the original HD?
 
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no...just some light goo that was really easy to lift off. i'd still be careful not to tear or crease the ribbon.

also, I came back to pick up another 320gb hd and got the same receptionist. she told me she accidentally rang up the wrong price (rang up for the 160gb).
 
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kind of long and off topic, but you guys might find it very helpful in the future :)

Samsung's new 500GB HD will be be hitting the retail channels in the next few months if you can stand to wait.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/09/samsungs-500gb-2-5-inch-drive-arrives-alongside-22x-dvd-burner/

MacService - I do intend get the 500GB HDD sometime in the future when they release them, there's a few companies that already announced it and I'm sure there will be a few other companies to follow. I really don't need the 500GB just yet, the 320GB I installed will be fine for a little while, but I do intended to get the 500GB or maybe even bigger because there will be larger ones out in 3-6months possibly. Also, the price will drop quite a bit when I'm ready for a larger drive, so it will work out perfect since I got a good deal on the 320GB PassPort. Then when I'm ready, the larger ones (500GB+) will be more readily available to the consumer market, which will drop the prices on them dramatically!


Since we were talking about the deal I got on the WD PassPort HDD at Circuit City, I thought I'd share a story with you guys. I've been really lucky with circuit city and their pricing. A couple of months ago, they had a deal for the 46" Sony Bravias but the one by me had a price error and it was even lower. I ended up getting (2) 46" KDL-46V3000 for around $950 each and (2) 46" KDL-46W3000 for around $1150, they only had 2 of each left in stock or else I would of gotten more. And no, I did not buy to resale so please do not bash me about it and saying I didn't give others the opportunity, I replaced all the 1080i's in my house with them. I paid cash so that they can't recharge my card, glad I did because the manager called me the next day and tried to get me to pay the difference or return them. I didn't feel too bad because it was their own mistake and they weren't going to be personally responsible for the price difference. Both were the new Bravia 1080P models. Then I got some other electronics, like 3 brand new Monster Power HTS 5100 MKII, these go for $400-500 on Ebay and MSRP is like $700 I believe, I saw them laying on the clearance table with no price tag and I asked an employee and he told me $119!! Then a few weeks later, I found a Monster Power Signature Series HTPS 7000 MKII for $369. If you guys don't know, that is their top of the line unit and they sell for $1499. Also about a month or so later, I dropped by and found the Samsung LN-T4669F(X), I saw the display at CompUSA and was amazed at the picture in 24p/120hz), so I was there to buy one expecting to pay their retail price which was around $2600-2700 I believe (MSRP $2999). The young lady that rang me up said, "your total is $1399.xx, oh and you also get a free wall mount bracket and HDMI cable since this week we're giving them away with any TV purchases over $999). I was shocked but had to keep my cool hoping she didn't go double check the pricing. She rang up the tv for $1289 before taxes! Glad it was a younger girl because I'm sure she didn't know much about those things so she didn't go double check to make sure the price was correct.

So now I'm always dropping by Circuit City to see if there's any pricing errors. The managers pretty much know me there now and it seems they're always watching me when I go to the register to pay, so now I always take a friend and we split up and I just tell them what to check on for me. I guess the one local to me just has really bad management and employees who don't pay much attention. When I got my TVs, I posted the receipt on another forum and everyone when to their Circuit City with a print out and actually got a price match! When I start posting the deals and my receipt copies, I highly recommend you find a younger female employee who does not seem knowledgeable about that stuff, it'll make it a lot less complicated. I hope this doesn't make me look bad to you guys. The way I see it, if management can't do their job right and train their employees right, I shouldn't be responsible for it. Plus, it doesn't affect those people personally or it'd be a different story. So I will start posting on here about deals I see there if you guys would like me to.

Sorry to rant and go off topic, but I love sharing good deals with others electronic/computer enthusiasts like myself and also love to find out about good deals from anyone who have any to share. I also decided to copy and paste this post on another mac related forum. I was just too lazy to rewrite everything.
 
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320gbupgrade.jpg
 

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