How-to Tuesday: MacBook Hard Drive Surgery

Last week, when I finally decided that blogging would be a good outlet, the unthinkable happened. Friday afternoon, I got home for lunch to do something on my computer when it was frozen. Great, I thought. Restarted it, and got what can only be described as a nightmare for any MacBook user - the flashing folder with an exclamation point. You know what they might as well flash on the screen? 'YOUR HARD DRIVE IS DEAD, YOU'RE FUCKED'.

Once I was done hyperventilating and flipping out over how "Oh god I can't afford a new computer right now, what am I going to do?" I set to Googling and figured out that I could get a new hard drive for the price of $50, versus $1000+ for a new MacBook. After I left work, I headed to Best Buy to buy one (word to the wise, you can use basically any internal laptop hard drive that's 9.5mm tall in a MacBook), after borrowing the necessary screwdrivers from one of the mechanics at work (they have to be good for something), and almost bought a 40 on my way (to calm my nerves), but opted against it.

This is a step-by-step manual on how to replace a MacBook hard drive. I'm sure if you Google it, you can definitely find one that has better pictures and more technical advice, but screw it - I did it, I know enough!

You will need:

• MacBook (dead or not, does not matter)
• Internal hard drive that will fit (mine was a Western Digital ScorpioBlue, 250 GB)
• Torx T8 screwdriver
• Philips screwdriver, size 00 (AKA f'n small)

And last but not least, a rosary and/or a stiff drink, to pray you won't fuck up, and to drink if you do. I opted against the drink, but it's still an option.

1. Use a coin to unlock the battery from the back of your machine. Pull it out. 
2. Locate the metal memory cover and its' 3 Philips screws. Pull those out, and remove the memory cover, being careful not to bend it. 
3. Using your Torx screwdriver, remove the 4 screws on the hard drive's metal casing. Remove the old hard drive. 
4. Unwrap the new hard drive and set it into the casing. Replace the 4 screws. 
5. Slide the casing back into the laptop. I learned the hard way that the print on the drive should be facing down - if it's facing up, you're putting it in upside down and will have to gut your laptop more than once. 
6. Replace the memory cover, battery, and voila! Turn on the machine and check your work. You will need to start the computer from an OS CD and run Disk Utility. You will know if you were successful if the new drive shows up in Disk Utility. 
7. Format the new drive and reinstall your operating system. 

Below, find photos of the steps - Blogger is being awful to me and not letting me post them alongside their directions.

See? Easy as pie! I didn't need that rosary OR that drink!

This was a one-off technical post - most of my 'how-to's will be craft related. It's not every day your computer basically decides to eat shit, so I decided to commemorate it forever with a blog post! Enjoy, good luck, and godspeed.