Changing hard drives on the new MBP

Okay, so I just got a new MBP, and it is absolutely beautiful. I was planning on changing the hard drive out, however, with a 500 GB one as soon as I got it, but I simply could not get the Phillips head screw out of the bracket holding the old hard drive in. I tried 1.4 mm, 1.6 mm, 2.0 mm, and 2.4 mm screwdrivers, but the screw just refused to come out for any of them. Does anyone know what the exact size screwdriver necessary for this job is? Any help would be appreciated.

 

I took a file and filed down the sharp point of the screwdriver. After that the screw drivers seemed to work a lot better. Remember to just do a little bit at a time when filing. To me it seems like the screws that apple use aren't as deep as a standard philips screw driver.

Hopefully that will help. Just be careful to strip the screw head.

 

It's a #00 Phillips screwdriver, and the hard drive holster screws are Torx T6. I picked up a husky 8-in-1 mini screwdriver with a bunch of phillips heads and another one with the Torx heads for like $6 each at Home Depot.

I switched out my MB hard drive last night with no troubles after I had the right screwdrivers. I first tried my generic set I use for my desktop, and it stripped the phillips screw real quick. So make sure you use the right one.

Here's a guide that's helpful:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/Mac/MacBook-Pro-Unibody

 

Use pliers. No joke. It works wonders.

 

That's one thing I love about the new MBP's: Easy to service. I'm too intimidated to open up my current MBP (early 2008), but I do want to get a better HDD eventually.

 

Yea, isn't the harddrive held in place by Torx, and not philips? That could be your problem..

 

Well, there are Torx screws holding the hard drive in place, yes, but there is a Phillips head holding the bracket that holds the hard drive in place. I finally got a screwdriver for it... As it turns out, that screw, at least on mine, was size 0, not 00. Luckily, the only 00 I could find was in a set, and when that didn't work, I decided to try the other sizes, and 0 worked perfectly.

Upon re-installing Mac OS, though, I did find my first minor problem with my MBP - the Superdrive is really quite noisy. But I don't use it that often (obviously, since that was the first time), so it's not a big deal. It is also running a little slower now, but since I went from a 250 GB at 7200 rpm to a 500 at 5400, I was kind of expecting that. If I hadn't used it with the old hard drive, I probably wouldn't even notice. It's also been a little louder since I did the change (I couldn't even hear it running before), but I'm not sure if that's the hard drive, or just the fans running, since it's been unseasonably warm here today.

 

I hope its not the latest WD 500GB 2 plates hard disk you got, cause i just ordered them online.. and i really like my mbp being this quiet..

 

Have to agree with that.
I stripped the screws on my mb trying to change the hard drive. Switched to pliers and I had the thing apart in seconds.

Also I am interested in doing the 500Gb upgrade in a new mb (not pro). Anyone out there no if this will fit?
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It is, actually. But, again, it might be the fans that I'm hearing.

On the plus side, it has raised my battery life a touch from around 4 1/2 hours to 5 hours +, and for that, I'm willing to put up with a little extra noise.