Adding a second hard drive to late 2008 Macbook Pro

I have a 15"unibody Macbook Pro from Late 2008. It works great, but I only have 320 GB of storage. I would like to add an additional hard drive to store all my files on. Is this possible or do I just need to replace the current drive with a larger one?
Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can put a second hard disk where you have got the SuperDrive, but in that case, you will have to use an external optical drive.
You just need a peripheral to put the hard disk and a 2'5" SATA hard disk, that can be a SSD if you want. You have the steps and parts to do that on iFixit > http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Late+2008+and +Early+2009+Dual+Hard+Drive/8526/1

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Replacement hard drive for late 2008 Macbook Pro

I need to replace my drive in a late 2008 Macbook Pro 15". I can access the battery and what looks like the hard drive from the underside, if this helps. Would this be a good replacement choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136279
Finding exact specs for the drive has been tricky, or maybe I just need to have the physical size verified. What I know/have found is:
5400rpm       (would a 7200rpm improve performance, or am I limited by hardware?)
SATA II        (does this matter tese days?)
2.5" drive   (needs verification)
open drive? (do I need this or not?)
Any other options or advice? I'd like to spend a small amount since this is an older computer and won't be around a whole lot longer anyway. Thanks in advance!

The link you posted above is for a WD drive,....dont get it.   WD drives (some) have SMS sensor coflicts with Mac, and the consumer grade western digital HD are the worst you can buy.
Same as used by Apple below, best option, cheapest price.
best likewise replacement 1TB 9.5mm Toshiba
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-1TB-MQ01ABD100-HDKBB96A1A01-2-5-5400RPM-Laptop-N otebook-9-5mm-HDD-/171120091488?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item27d78d 6 160
$68
Stockdizzle
I will need to clone the current drive before it fails; is there an article in this forum on that?
Easy, 3 clicks and sit back and let Superduper CLONE your HD.....about 40 mins average.
Superduper is free and most of the pros use it (or carbon copy cloner)
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
See instruction and get software there<     very very easy to do

Will adding an SSD HD to my late 2008 MacBook Pro make a difference to its performance?

As the title says - this is my only Mac, I can not afford to buy a new one, and it is just dead slow, the most basic tasks, browsing, using Finder are now just time consuming.
I have made as much space on the drive as possible and ran Disk Warrior to defrag it, but it has had a neglible effect.
I've been looking at the Samsung 840 Pro Series - thing is, at 200 Euros, I could just save up a bit longer and get a refurbished Mac Mini or something..

You will notice better performance in read and write tasks, so startups will be faster, and also the times to copy files and create other ones. You won't notice any difference in processes that require GPU or processor performance, as the only difference is your disk.
The SSD will give your MacBook a much better performance, so if you don't have enough money, you can get a SSD and install it. Personally, I don't recommend the Samsung 840 Pro because I have seen multiple cases here of sudden damages to it.
Depending on the Mac mini you want to get, it will have better hardware that will allow you to get better performance in tasks related to GPU and CPU, for example, but the read and write speed will be near the same. It's worth saying that the Mac mini will be useful for more years, depending on the generation you get

Can i connect thunderbolt duo hard drive to the mini display port of a late 2008 macbook pro which do not have thunderbolt port, but have mini display port.

hi, i have a late 2008 15 inch macbook pro, which have a mini display port.
I noticed that thunderbolt and mini display port looks a like. So, my question is :
can i connect thunderbolt duo hard drive to the mini display port of a late 2008 macbook pro which do not have thunderbolt port, but have mini display port.
thank you

ken94538,
no, you’d need a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter or Thunderbolt-to-USB adapter to be able to access your Thunderbolt hard drive from your 2008 MacBook Pro.

I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro last updated to Mavericks OS. The screen died and it's not worth replacing. How do I remove the hard drive and use a drive sled to access info I need?

I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro last updated to the Mavericks OS. The screen died and I took it into an Apple store and was told replacing the screen and the hardware to repair everything would cost almost as much as buying a new laptop or a cheaper model. I was told that I can use a drive sled to access data I need on my hard drive. How do I remove my hard drive and use a drive sled to get to the information I need? What makes matters more complicated is I need to update my iPhone and my iTunes/App store purchases. How can I accomplish this?
My wife has a late 2008 Macbook Pro as well, which I am assuming I need to run my hard drive. Is there a way to just access just my hard drive without interfering with hers?
I know this is lengthy. Thanks to whoever looks at this and offers advice/instruction.

the device you need is an External enclosure for a 2.5" (laptop form factor) SATA drive.
A USB-interface enclosure will be slow, but is adequate for this task and for re-purposing as a backup drive later. A firewire-interface drive would be faster, but is harder to find, more expensive, and faster than needed for this purpose.
The drive will mount as an "extra" drive on your wife's Macbook, and you can drag and drop whatever you wish. You could create a separate Account for yourself on her computer, and use Migration Assistant or just copy your stuff over to the new account. Then it would not interfere with her files.

Renewing a Late 2008 MacBook Pro: hard drive and battery substitution

Hi all,
I am an happy user of a late 2008 MacBook pro.
However, with the passing of time, it became slow and the battery also deteriorate (it still quite OK, but it is not like at the beginning).
But let's start from the beginning: the hard drive
By googling for a while, I noticed that several people experienced very slow performance of their late 2008 MacBook Pro. That is also my case. Apparently, this is due to the hard disk which is dying, and then I considering to change it. However, I haven't found answers to these questions:
- Is it possible to mirror all the containt of the current disk to the new one?
- I only have the original installation disks of the first Leopard. I made all the updates through the network. Moreover, since it passed lot of time, I am afraid that some sector of the installation disks may be damaged. This means that I may fail in the installation of Mac Os X on the new hard drive. If I have to reinstall everything from scratch with the new hard drive and without installation disks, how should I do?
- If I go a Mac Reseller shop, will do they perform this operation? And how much does it costs to make it? Or I may also go to some generic computer reparation guy?
- Is it convenient to save all the data (movies, documents, pictures, emails, etc) somewhere (e.g. external HD) and then perform a completely new installation?
Next, let's consider the battery.
Here is a screenshot taken with iStat Pro:
Do you think it is worth changing it? From System Profile I have those other info:
Full charge capacity (mAh):          3386
       Current (mA):          846
       Voltage (mV):          12029
Condition:          Replace soon
What do you suggest to do then? How much does it cost a new battery? Actually, I think that also the processor performance deteriorate (it often becomes very hot, especially when watching Flash or Silverlight stuff), but, unfortunately I cannot change it.

Hi!
Thanks for all the answer. Please let me to resume this old and interesting discussion.
After having evaluated several solutions (including NAS, different ways of backup, etc) I bought an external firewire HDD, since I believe it nicely fits my necessities. Next, after these holidays, I will finally replace my old HDD with a SSD one. I think 120 GB are ok. I just need the apps and small-sized documents (rather LaTeX, Matlab, word, pages or excel documents, etc. - no movies or mp3 (I have Spotify, for that) ). Large files (e.g. movies, pictures, etc) may end up in external firewire HDD.
Now, let's consider the OS. I currently have 10.6.8 and I am very satisfied of that. I find it very stable, and all the apps I need are still well supported. On the other hand, given that there are like 5 years that I have the same installation, I may have a lot of obsolete files and setting that I can safely remove. This means that once I will have performed a backup of my documents, my email, my pictures etc. I can safely throw away all the rest. Hence, I may perform a brand-new installation of the OS. Although I am happy with 10.6.8, I was wondering if it is worth to upgrade it (I have a 2.53 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo - 4 GB 1067 Mhz DDR3 RAM) to Lion, Mountain Lion or Mavricks. In that case, which would be the real benefits? And what about the cons?
Finally consider that I only have the Leopard installation disks from 2008 (not even Snow Leopard) and I will bring my laptop to a techician to change the HDD (I know, it is simple but I don't have all the screws etc. and I will not buy them only for this purpose). Once he will have replaced the HDD, will he re-install the OS also? Or I have to reinstall the OS through my original DVD (5 years old, I don't even know if they still work) and upgrade to Snow Leopard again by myself? I would exclude the carbon copy solution since I may want to throw away a lot of garbage and perform a brand new instalation of the OS. How to proceed? Thanks again!

How much ram can I add to my late 2008 MacBook Pro? I run Mavericks and just got a new inexpensive hard drive. RAM is not very expensive so Thought I would bump it up from the current 2MB of 1067 Mhz DDr3

How much ram can I add to my late 2008 MacBook Pro? I run Mavericks and just got a new inexpensive hard drive. RAM is not very expensive so Thought I would bump it up from the current 2MB of 1067 Mhz DDr3

Maximum Memory
8.0 GB (Actual) 4.0 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots
2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

What internal hard drive is compatible with Macbook Pro (15-inch, late 2008)?

G'day guys,
I was just wondering which internal hard drive is compatible with Macbook Pro (15-inch, late 2008)?
Thanks
bryce

same as used by Apple:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-MQ01ABD1001TB-1TB-2-5-inch-SATA-Laptop-Notebook- Hard-Drive-1-0-TB-/380643766002?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item58a022e ef2
I own many of them.

I want to install a new hard drive on my 2008 MacBook but do not have the instillation discs that came with my computer. Can I use instillation discs from a 2009 or 2010 MacBook?

I want to install a new hard drive on my 2008 MacBook but do not have the instillation discs that came with my computer. Can I use instillation discs from a 2009 or 2010 MacBook? The hard drive I am planning to install is a WD Scorpio Black 500GB SATA 2.5'' internal hard drive.

Sometimes they do work - i've done it before. I have a late 2008 Macbook Uni and used the install dvd of my 2009 Macbook White and it worked.
Why not just clone your hard drive? It'll save you a lot of time doing a clone rather than doing a clean install.
Unless you're having issues with your old set up or your old hard drive is dead.
You can download Carbon Copy Cloner - install your new hard drive in a external usb enclosure (around $10) and clone fromt here then test it before you install it in your Macbook.
Once you've done the swap, you can install your old hard drive in the USB enclosure and use it as a backup drive.
Good luck

HT4718 I had a copy of Mountain Lion on my late 2008 MacBook Pro, having replaced Lion which it came with. But the drive,crashed, so I replaced the drive and reinstalled Lion from the original disks I had. How do I get another copy of Mountain Lion?

I had a copy of Mountain Lion on my late 2008 MacBook Pro, having replaced Lion which it came with. But the drive crashed, so I replaced the drive and reinstalled Lion from the original disks I had. How do I get another copy of Mountain Lion?

A 2008 Mac won't have originally shipped with Lion. You need to install 10.6.8 on the computer, log into the Mac App Store with the Apple ID you used to purchase Mountain Lion, click on the Purchases tab, and download it.
(121465)

My 2008 Macbook Pro logic board failed...am I still able to copy that hard drive onto my 2011 Macbook Pro hard drive?

My 2008 Macbook Pro logic board failed...am I still able to copy that hard drive onto my 2011 Macbook Pro hard drive?

What you can do is to extract the hard drive from your old computer, put it in an enclosure and connect it to your newer computer, so you can restore your data.
It's not too difficult to do it yourself, but if you think you will do something wrong, take it to a store where you can get your data restored

HT3275 Since Installing a new hard drive on my 2008 macbook and reconnecting to to time capsule through time machine, I can only get backups since the install.

Since Installing a new hard drive on my 2008 macbook and reconnecting to to time capsule through time machine, I can only get backups since the install.
I receive a message saying identity of backup dis has changed and offers me the choice of either Don't back up or Use this disc.

Time Machine treats any new drive like a new computer. It starts a completely new Time Machine backup. So you now have two backups - a new one and all your old ones.
Visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with managing your Time Machine backups.

Just updated from a late 2008 Macbook Pro and I am getting a blink on my external screen

I just upgraded from a late 2008 Macbook Pro with a AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1024 MB graphics card and I am now getting a blink (black screen) every few seconds.
Anyone know a fix.
Thanks

You could always give it a shot - the only problem that you might run into is that the the early 2011 might not boot when the hard drive is swapped from the 2008 hard drive. Some versions of OS X are simply not compatible between different models.
But it's worth a try...
Clinton

Hello. I recently pieced together a late 2008 MacBook Pro 15". Everything works fine except the battery constantly goes between "not charging" and "calculating" or, rarely "charging". It does charge after a long while and will report that it is charged.

Hello. I recently pieced together a late 2008 MacBook Pro 15". Everything works fine except the battery constantly goes between "not charging" and "calculating" or, rarely "charging". It does charge after a long while and will report that it is charged.
I have reset the NVRAM and the SMC a couple of time but that didn't work so I ran an Apple Hardware Test and while testing the logic board it gives the following error:
4SNS/1/40000000 LB1T
I've done some research and found this is a temperature sensor related to the battery, but cannot find where the sensor is located in the computer. Would you know how I can find the sensor to test it? Could my battery problem be related to something else? Would a fresh install of Lion help?
Thank you!
Mike
Two pieces of information that may or may not b helpful, the hard drive is from my early 2008 MBP and the only test disc I have access to is from an iMac.

Why do you have LION installed on that older machine?
So you say you built a macbook from a bucket of parts eh? Kudos
heres a pic of the battery temp sensor

Late 2008 Macbook Pro doesn't boot after installing Mavericks

I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro, dual core 2.53 GHZ, 4 GB Ram (2x2).
I've been tearing my hair out trying to get this computer to boot up. Many things have been tried here. So here's the history.
Before starting this, I was running 10.6.8 on this computer.
First time I tried to install Mavericks, the installation failed, and when the computer went to restart, it just went in a loop, never really booting up, just getting the to gray screen with the apple symbol, spinning the wheel, and then going black again, restarting, and repeat. So, I took it into the Apple Genius Bar, and they diagnosed a bad battery. I replaced the battery, and had them do a clean restore back to 10.6.8.
I got it home, and tried to do an install again. This time, I downloaded the installer, and put in on an external firewire drive, and attempted to do a clean install of Mavericks. I ended up with the same boot failure problem.
I went back to the apple genius bar, and even though the diagnotics said my harddrive was fine, they said in the troubleshooting list, that the harddrive with the first thing they suspected. So, I replaced the harddrive. I did the Mavericks install again from an external HD, and for a moment, everything was great. It booted up into Mavericks. But, after my first restart, the problem was boot failure was back.
After reading a few articles, I tried booting in Safe mode. That worked. I also ran disk repair on the HD and it looked great. Still, it won't boot up out of Safe mode.
After being very frustrated, I tried just installing snow leopard from the dvd, but the install keeps failing.
Not sure what to do next.

Micajah10,
rather than a hard drive problem, you might have a faulty internal SATA cable. Do you have an external disk enclosure, or a SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FireWire adapter? If you can boot from your hard drive without problems when it’s external, but it remains problematic internally, then that could point to the internal SATA cable as the culprit.

Adding a second hard drive to late 2008 Macbook Pro

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