Anyone thought about upgrading their Hard Drive?

[acosmichippo]

I would really like to, but as far as i can tell, it's gonna be a PITA... one of the very few design specs that kinda piss me off about my MBP...

one of the guys i worked with tried to replace a HD in a powerbook G4, and after he finished, the optical drive wasn't working right.

[Hawk]

Taken from my Geeks.com Newsletter:

Types of hard drives

Not all hard drives are the same. The two most common types of drives are IDE and and SATA.

IDE is short for Integrated Drive Electronics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Drive_Electronics) -- these types of drives are sometimes known as ATA or PATA. IDE has been the standard type of drive in personal computers for well over a decade now. When IDE drives were introduced, the innovation that it brought to the table was that the electronics for controlling the drive were moved from the PC motherboard to the drive itself. This ensured that the drives were compatible with as wide a range of other hardware as possible.

http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2008/Images/Ide.pngOne of the distinguishing features of an IDE hard drive is the cable (http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=121&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink) used to connect it to the motherboard. The cable looks like a big, gray ribbon. The connectors themselves had either 40 or 80 wires attached from the main body of the ribbon. Each ribbon connects to a pin on the hard drive, and either carries data or is used for grounding.

SATA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA), short for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, was introduced in 2003 and is gradually becoming the standard for PC hard drives. SATA offers faster data transfer rates than IDE, and the connectors are smaller. On top of that, you can hot swap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_swapping) drives while your computer is working.

http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2008/Images/Sata.pngThe SATA cables themselves look sort of like network cables (http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=128&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink). The connectors have seven pins. What's interesting about SATA cables is that they enable you to use notebook hard drives (http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=906&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink) in desktop computers (http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink), something that can't be done with IDE hard drives.

Newer motherboards (http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=MBB&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink) have connectors for both IDE and SATA drives. If yours only has one set of connectors, then you're stuck using an IDE hard drive.

Note: This TechTip (http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2005/techtips-010605.htm) offers a good look at the differences between IDE and SATA drives.


The need for speed

This is an easy one. Most modern desktop hard drives have a speed of 7200 rpm. They spin 7,200 times per minute and can read about 1 Gbit of information per second from the surface of the disk. Notebook hard drives usually have a speed of 5400 rpm; they spin 5,400 time per minute.

You can still get desktop hard drives with a speed of 5400 rpm, but these are becoming rare. As are notebook hard drives that spin at 4200 rpm; 7200 rpm notebook drives are available, but they cost a bit more.

Size matters

I can still remember when around 120 MB was considered enough hard drive space. In fact, when I got a 540 MB hard drive, I had about as much space as I needed. Those days are, obviously, long gone. That 540 MB drive couldn't hold a modern operating system, let alone a fraction of my photos and MP3s. In fact, I have a couple of USB flash drives (http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=UFL&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink) that hold almost eight times as much as that old drive.

Nowadays, most new computers come with at least a 120 GB hard drive. For less than a hundred dollars (depending on who you're buying from), you can often get a bigger hard drive installed.

But if you're buying a replacement drive, then you have quite a few options. The standard hard drive sizes nowadays are 120 GB, 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB, 400 GB, and 500 GB. You can also buy 750 GB http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2008/Images/hdd2.pngdrives and, depending on the vendor, a 1 TB drive. TB is short for terabyte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terabyte), and is equal to 1,000 GB. That's a lot of hard drive space!


How much drive you need depends on what you use your computer for. If you just use your PC to access the Web, do household accounts, and just general computing, then a 120 GB to 160 GB should be plenty. If you're doing audio editing and graphics, or have a large collection of music and photos, then a drive in the 320 GB range should be enough. Anything else, like making music or working with video then you'll probably need at least 500 GB; music and video files can get pretty large.

Going external instead

If you have a lot of files that you don't use regularly, then you might be tempted to buy an external hard drive (http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=416&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-techtips-_-01JUN08_techtips-_-storylink). There's nothing wrong with that. An external drive is a great way to back up your files (which is something that you should be doing regularly anyway). You can find out more about external drives in this TechTip (http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2008/techtips-03FEB08.htm).

But remember the average lifespan of a hard drive? If yours is coming to the end of its life and if getting noticeably slower, then you're going to have to replace it regardless of whether or not you have a big external drive.


Choosing your drive

Now that you know the language and what to look for, you're ready to buy a drive. Here are a few pieces of advice:

Go for a fairly large hard drive; 200 GB or 320 GB at least. Even if you can't see yourself using a fraction of the space on the drive immediately, remember that you're also trying to future proof yourself. You definitely don't know how much hard drive space you'll be using in a year or two.

Another good guide is to get a drive that's one and a half to two times the size of your current one, if possible. Of course, if you have a 500 GB or 750 GB drive that might not be possible. But you can try putting another drive in your computer -- assuming that it has enough space and connectors. Use the new drive for storage and the old one for applications.

Speed is important if you need fast access to the disk -- for example, when working with video or when gaming. In those cases, definitely switch to a faster hard drive. Or, if your computer supports it, get a SATA drive.

No matter what people might say, the brand of hard drive can be important. Some are definitely better than others. My more technically-inclined friends often recommend drives from Seagate (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/), Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com/en/), and Samsung (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/). I know one or two people who also recommend Hitachi hard drives (http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.368c8bfe833dee8056fb11f0aac4f0a0/).


Conclusion

While choosing a new hard drive seems like a difficult task, it really isn't. If you're armed with enough knowledge and know what you want and need, then the job is definitely a lot easier.

[acosmichippo]

yeah, I'm familiar with hard drives, but the problem is the casing of the MBP. you literally have to take the entire casing apart to get to the harddrive to replace it.

[acosmichippo]

i really want one of these (http://www.slashgear.com/western-digital-scorpio-black-7200rpm-notebook-drives-0211860.php)...

320GB, 7,200rpm, 16MB cache... all supposedly only using the power of a typical 5,400 rpm HDD.

looks like i'm gonna be dismantling my MBP soon...

[up10ad]

As always, photos with your iPhone, I may need to upgrade mine later as well.

[Cantwait4iPhone]

I have not thought about upgrading the hard drive. I do not do anything huge graphically on this computer, so the space on the new MacBook Pro, the version I have, is sufficient. The RAM is the only thing I have really considered upgrading.

[acosmichippo]

well, i've ordered one. The site says it should ship on the 20th. I'll post pics, but i did find a great guide with pics here (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2119528,00.asp).

[kr3st]

well, i've ordered one. The site says it should ship on the 20th. I'll post pics, but i did find a great guide with pics here (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2119528,00.asp).

Where did you order the harddrive from?

Western Digital Scorpio Black 7,200rpm 320gb is the one im looking for.
(http://www.slashgear.com/western-digital-scorpio-black-7200rpm-notebook-drives-0211860.php)

[acosmichippo]

the only place i was able to find one was directly from Western Digital... and i had to check regularly on their site for about 2 weeks... and even then they were backordered. At the time, i think they estimated a shipping date of 6/22... and no word yet, so who knows...

EDIT: doesnt look like they're taking any more orders at the moment.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=482

[kr3st]

the only place i was able to find one was directly from Western Digital... and i had to check regularly on their site for about 2 weeks... and even then they were backordered. At the time, i think they estimated a shipping date of 6/22... and no word yet, so who knows...

I'm interested in it but I just read this as a review.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1330/1/page_1_introduction/index.html

[acosmichippo]

That's the standard Scorpio HDD (5400 RPM)... not the Scorpio Black (7200 RPM).

[kr3st]

That's the standard Scorpio HDD (5400 RPM)... not the Scorpio Black (7200 RPM).

DOH!:tounge:

Any reviews on the new one?

[acosmichippo]

not as far as i know... probably too new.

[dcom]

Be really careful taking off the ribbon cable that's stuck to the top of the HD case when you get to the point of removing the old HD. I replaced my drive but split the cable and had to order a new one ($40)

[acosmichippo]

thanks for the warning...

WD shipped it yesterday... should get here by tuesday.

[acosmichippo]

well, i did a dry-run just now, and everything disassembled and reassembled just fine. There were a couple of tweaks from the walkthrough i posted... mainly because there's a new Hard Drive mount... still not difficult to deal with. I'll post more next week when i actually get the new HD.

[kr3st]

I'm still waiting for them to add them to the site again so I can order one!!


EDIT!!!!


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280


What did you pay directly from WD?

And how do you plan on porting all of your software and settings over?

[acosmichippo]

alright, here I go...

[acosmichippo]

operation was successful. OSX is installing now... pics when it's done. although, they're nothing really special.

[kr3st]

Notice any difference in the speed installing OS X?

[acosmichippo]

it seems to be going a lot faster, although i haven't taken any direct measurements.

[kr3st]

Nice!!! How much did you pay directly from WD?

[acosmichippo]

i think it was $230 with shipping... i was originally going to wait for them to show up on newegg (or somewhere like that), but i'm impatient.

[kr3st]

This is the same one correct?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

$180

[acosmichippo]

yeah, that's it dammit. oh well.

anyway, it just finished installing. ~33 minutes.

[acosmichippo]

well, now i'm trying to finagle buying one from newegg and returning it to WD... we'll see how that goes.

[kr3st]

Lol well do what you can!!! Whats the total price difference between the 2? I'm ordering mine tmrw morning!

[acosmichippo]

yeah, i just ordered it. WD will accept returns within 30 days, so it should work. I figure the extra run to the UPS store is worth the ~$40 difference.

[kr3st]

So now you gotta reformat it, and take apart your laptop, take it out, put the old back in?

[acosmichippo]

screw that dude, i'm just gonna send them the one i get from newegg.

[kr3st]

the model # will be different won't they? From the wd box and the new egg hd?

[acosmichippo]

same model #... the serial # will be different... you think they'll check that?

If i need to format, so be it.

[kr3st]

damn man good luck with all that!

[acosmichippo]

i discovered something interesting earlier today.

yesterday i purchased an enclosure for my old hard drive (if you aren't familiar with those, they basically turn a regular internal hard drive into an external one). So, i hooked it up (via USB) to transfer some files from my old Bootcamp partition to my new one, and as i restarted my computer, and held down the option button to pick a drive to boot to, i noticed it gave me the option to boot to the external drive! Naturally, i tried it out, and it worked pretty well, all things considered.

The enclosure has an e-sata port, so i think i'm gonna get an express34 e-sata card to take advantage of this feature. anytime i need to try out something iffy with the OS or anything crazy, i'll give it a shot on the external one first. And with e-sata, it should perform at about the same speeds as it would internally. The only question is if the computer will boot to an e-sata device. we'll see, i guess.

Anyway, I'm sure this is well-documented, but i was pretty impressed...