subject: How to do a Macbook Pro Repair of the Hard Drive [print this page] It is a fact of life that hard drives failIt is a fact of life that hard drives fail. When the moving parts in the drive wear out, you can hear the clatter of a bad
drive head or the whine of a bearing that has failed. If this is happening to you, there are some things that you need to
know before replacing your hard drive. When you replace your hard drive, you will lose all of your data unless you have
backed it up first.
The first thing to do is to remove the battery and all other power sources. The Macbook Pro computer uses sliding switch type
of battery latch. But, these dual latches make it somewhat difficult to remove the battery. When you remove the battery you
will see the RAM shield, which is held in place by 3 Phillips screws.
Next, you'll have open the top case by removing the 18 screws including 8 on the bottom case, 2 on the back, and 4 on each
side. These screws look the same, but they won't fit properly if they are put in the wrong hole. After these screws have been
removed, carefully pull up on the upper case. Pull it off slowly because the case still has a cable that attaches the logic
board to the keyboard.
You'll need something like the flat blade screwdriver to remove the ribbon/trackpad cable from the logic board. Squeeze the
flat blade of the screwdriver between the male connector and the board. Give the screwdriver a careful twist and this action
will separate the socket from the male connector.
You now have access to not only the hard drive, but also the speakers, fans, optical drive, and logic board. The hard drive
is held in place with a retaining bracket that is screwed in place on the right side. Remove the 2 Phillips or Torx screws
and the bracket will be released which will allow the hard drive to slide out of the rubber bumpers that are on the left
side.
After you have removed the hard drive, you need to detach the cable from it by wiggling it somewhat to remove one end the
cable. The other end of the cable will still be connected to the Macbook Pro computer by two small connectors. Carefully
remove them.
There are 4 Torx screws that hold the hard drive in place in the Macbook Pro computer. On the right side these screws will
still have the bumpers attached, while on the left side, these screws will slide out of the rubber bumpers. You will have to
reuse the 4 screws when replacing the hard drive.
To reassemble with the new hard drive, simply follow these instructions in reverse. Turn the Macbook Pro computer on and
