Do I Need To Be Concerned With SATA When Replacing A Hard Drive?

Hi,
I have an early 2008 15" MacBook Pro running on Snow Leopard, and need to replace the hard drive.
I'm pretty certain I saw somewhere on this forum that I have to be concerned with SATA, i.e,., 1.5Gb/s.
Does anyone know if this is true?
Thank you.

All SATA HDDs are backward compatible. If it is the correct form factor, 2.5" diameter and 9.5 MM thick, it will work.
Ciao.
Look for possible options here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Message was edited by: OGELTHORPE

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I need help re-installing my OS on a new hard drive. Having MAJOR issues with this simple task.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" (mid 2009) I recently needed to get a new hard drive for it, the old one stopped working. It came with OS X Snow Leopard already installed from Apple, and it also came with the install disks. I have booted up using the install disks and put OS X Snow Leopard back on the computer.
I tried booting with a USB install disk of OS X Lion (10.7) but had no luck on multiple occasions. It would only get through the initial step of the install and then say it couldn't download additional components needed for OS X
So finally, I decided to try a full erase and reformat of my brand new hard drive (less than a week old) and stated with the basic software that came with the computer. Installing that worked fine, until I tried to do a software update through the built in program. My computer refused to download 10.6.8 from the apple servers, so I had to find it on a 3rd party website. Once I found it and downloaded it, I finally got it installed. There were 12 more updates after I did 10.6.8 and none of them worked when I tried downloading and installing as a group. I had to do each one individually, the last one being a security update.
Up to this point, the Mac App Store didn't work (even after the 10.6.8 update), I couldn't download any of my previous purchases. I needed to download lion, to see if having it on the Mac hard drive itself would help with the install, but I couldn't do that until after the security update.
Other than that, the Mac worked normally except for during each start up, the apple logo would flash along with the forbidden sign and the folder with a question mark on it. It flashed for a few seconds randomly, then would boot up normally or say that my computer would need to be restarted.i figured this issue would be fixed after I successfully installed lion.
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My questions are:
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*I have performed the Apple Hardware extended test and all systems are reporting normal function*

Okay, so, fast forward from July to now -
- I've visited my closest Apple store's genius bar twice now. (Over an hour and a half away.)
- My computer spent at least 8 hours behind their closed doors in the workshop
- Several complete erases of the harddrive have taken place
- Most of the Apple geniuses I dealt with were nice and very knowledgeable, but they were and still aren't 100% sure exactly what is wrong with my computer.
The good news is:
- They were able to at least get it running again, with a clean install from their servers of OS X Lion 10.7.5
- They believe that my problems stem from either 1 of 2 things:
        - Faulty Hard Drive (even though it is brand new)
         - The wrong build of software being installed.
Now, while the wrong build does seem like it could be the problem, it doesn't make sense in the aspect that all of the initial problems began when the first hard drive failed. The same problems continued when I changed out the failed hard drive with the brand spanking new one, and only slightly improved when I was able to successfully install the OS that came with the original disks for my computer. I'm not convinced this thing is back to normal, but hopefully I can make it last through getting a shiny new retina Macbook Pro in the coming future. Thank you so much to everyone who read and replied to this post!
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Need help with Macbook reinstall on new hard drive!

Hey Everyone!
So my old MacBook A1181 was damaged a bit in a fall from a shelf. I followed all the directions on PowermacMedic (bless them!) and put in a new LCD screen, as the old one was cracked. Cleaned a lot of cat hair out of machine while I was at it.
I also replaced the hard drive with a new one, because the old one had a question-mark-over-a-folder icon. I'm very proud of myself, as there are only four screws left over. LOL!
So now it's time to reinstall the Tiger system. The optical drive is not working, so I researched on how to make an external hard drive bootable, put the Tiger Installation on that and connected it via FireWire to the old MacBook.
Turned it on and pressed Alt/Option at the same time. Great...up popped the Tiger Installation information. I've clicked on Install, etc., and am at the point where I need to choose a destination drive. Except there is none listed.
I've gone to Disk Utility, and I can see the new drive there, but just the icon as the major piece of hardware...there's no sub-icon for it underneath, like there usually is.
So, any ideas on how to make my new hard drive readable so I can choose it from the Tiger Installer?
Any help would be much appreciated. I've never even attempted to do something like this before, and I don't want to give up just yet!
Jenny

Do this:
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
After the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Install OS X.

I am about to replace my hard drive with Apple. Do I need to format my existing drive to clear my data?

I am about to replace my hard drive with Apple. Do I need to format my existing drive to clear my data?

In my view, definitely. Make sure you have reliable and tested backup of all your important data by way of TIme Machine or a clone (preferably both) so that you can restore once the drive is replaced and then erase the internal drive.

Hp 4530s replace ide hard drive with sata

Would like to replace ide hard drive with a sata in a probook 4530s. any suggestions/information?

Not sure what you mean. It has no IDE hard drive it is SATA.
Look at disassembly video at 1:00 in. That is a SATA hard drive, my friend. Problem solved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWkCsrVJFlY

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I was wondering if the late 2011 macbook pro uses SATA II or SATA III for the hard drive. The reseason I'm asking this is because some day I'm going to replace the Hard drive for a SSD drive down the road and would like to use all the performance of the SATA controler.

SATA III.

Want to replace my hard drive from 160g to 500g what do i need to know

want to replace my hard drive on a compaq presario sr055cl. it has a 160 g hard drive how big can i go
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Here is the Service Manual showing how to replace a hard drive:
Manual
It does have 2 SATA connectors. Here is a picture of the motherboard.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00069442&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en...
This is primitive SATA. It is a SATA connection to an IDE bus. However, the fact that you have a 160 gig drive already installed tells me the motherboard will accept Large Block Addressing 48 bit (LBA48) which means you are not really constrained by size. I am sure a 500 gig drive will work and will bet a 1 TB would also work. I will also bet you would have problems with a high density drive of 2 TB or higher. The existing drive is a IDE, which means it is connected to the motherboard with a flat ribbon cable. You will have a hard time finding an IDE drive on the market these days. It will have to be SATA. Just attach a SATA data cable between the hard drive and the motherboard. You will likely need to get a molex (white 4-pin) to SATA power adapter, too, but those often come with the hard drive or are available for a couple bucks at the store where hard drives are sold.
You should be able to clone the old drive to the new using cloning software. I like and recommend Acronis True Image Home. If I were doing this I would connect the new SATA drive to the motherboard port with the side cover off and also bring power to the SATA drive. I would leave the original drive in and boot from the cloning software disk doing a proportional resize so all partitions are expanded the same percentage. After the clone is complete remove the original drive and bolt the SATA drive in its place. I would just tell you to add a second hard drive but the computer only has space for one unless you want to remove the card reader.
You may need to enable the SATA ports in the BIOS if they are not currently in use. The motherboard picture page linked above tells how to enter the BIOS. Post back if you need more help.
If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

ILife with both internal and external hard drives?

I've been considering switching from a homebrew, multi-boot desktop to a MacBook for my primary computer, in part so I can hang out with my family in the living room rather than be exiled to the home office when I want to compute.
But here's my concern: I have media. We have about 50 GB of iTunes; maybe 30 GB of iPhoto; and tons and tons of digital video that would be stored in iMovie. Obviously the libraries are all interlinked. And it's all growing. I also like to rip DVDs and re-encode them for my iPod and AppleTV. Right now, my desktop has 480 GB of internal storage and that's just about enough.
I have discovered that the MacBook only comes with an option up to 250 GB. I absolutely need AppleCare, so I can't get an aftermarket hard drive. (All my Macs break - this one from the office that I'm on right now has a bum DVD drive, and my wife's has needed both fan and logic board replacements.)
While I'm aware of the existence of external hard drives, I'm concerned about Apple's non-external-hard-drive-friendly way of storing iLife data. If I wanted to keep more recent or useful music and photos on the internal drive but older stuff on an external, and still be able to use iLife seamlessly, would that be possible? (I see myself editing recent video in the living room, but then hooking back into the external HD in the office if I need older stuff.)
What solutions are out there for integrating data stores on both internal and external hard drives into an iLifestyle?
Thanks!

Sascha Segan1 wrote:
.. What solutions are out there for integrating data stores on both internal and external hard drives into an iLifestyle?
all iApps (iPhoto, iTunes, iM08) support usage of external drives as 'mass storage' devices.. you can tell all apps which drive to use for the Libraries.. there some tools out there, which even allow the usage of 2/many different Libraries in iTunes/iPhoto..
for iM in detail: the Projects are small files, and should stay internal (allthough I'm discribing a 'hack' on my site: http://karsten.schluter.googlepages.com/im08tricks Project Library (and Events) on External Harddrive); the Events (=GBs) could be located on as much ext. HDDs as you want..
but ...
all iApps are single-user .. you can NOT 'share' Libraries to 2/many different users; the idea of a 'media server' which hosts/shares all kind of data to all kind of users is not 'on concept' of iLife ..

CQ62-220US Laptop PC with Short DST Failed and hard drive replacement availability...

I posted this on the lockup/freeze forum and got absolutely no response so I am hoping I might get a little advice on this forum.
Got the following error...
FailureID M4W4GF-55G5S1-XD003G-60T003
ProductID WQ850UA#ABA
Short DST Failed
...and cant get it to boot up any more. From other similar posts I have read they all seem to indicate I
need a new hard drive but when looking at the HP replacement part numbers for this I got...
Part 599055-001 is no longer supplied. Please order the replacement, 603783-001
...and then I got...
The following part(s) you entered were not found or not orderable:
603783-001 (Part Not Orderable)
Does any 2.5" SATA drive work in this laptop or are there particular models or brands I need to avoid. HP parts don't
seem to be an option.

Hi,
You are not restricted in any way to a particular HDD manufacturer, so for example, the drive on the link below is an of one that would be fine for your notebook.
500Gb Hard Drive
The procedure to replace the Hard Drive starts on Page 47 of your Maintenance & Service Guide.
Once done, simply use your Recovery DVDs to reinstall the Operating System on the new drive.
If you don't have your Recovery Discs, you can order a replacement set using the link below.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00810334&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en
If you have any problem with this link, order them directly from HP.
If you live in the US, contact HP Here.
If you are in another part of the world, start Here.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Problem with the connection to the hard drive.

G5 Single core 1.8GHz stop working. I was told that there is a problem with the connection to the hard drive.
It boots but freezes after a few minutes and fans go full blast.....
Is this a logicboard problem, or something that can be fixed with a little work?

Hi j hallow-
Whose diagnosis declared a bad connection?
Have you opened it up and looked inside? It may need to be cleaned out.
You could install a second know good SATA drive and see what happens: Hard Drive Replacement Instructions
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Need guide on how - remove/replace the hard drive in my dv6t-6100, manual on hp shows different dv6

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Another problem I have is my screen flickers a lot from time to time like something is loose, can i do something to fix that.
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Here a repair site for the MacBook http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Unibody_Model_A1342
For a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the White Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_09_unibody_hd/
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then partition and format the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B002JQNXZC/r ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332118549&sr=8-1
You can get a new third party power adapter on eBay for about $20
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=macbook+power+adapter&_sacat=0&_sop=12&_dmpt =Apple_Laptops&_odkw=macbook+power+adapter&_osacat=111422&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270. l1313
You can order a Snow Leopard 10.6 install disk for $29 as long as you have at least 1gb of RAM and 5gb of free space on your hard drive. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY
A 10.5 Leopard disk will run you around $200
To upgrade your iLife and iWork. If you only want iPhoto or other single apps from iLife '11 you can get them from the App Store after you've upgraded to 10.6.6. iPhoto, iMovie or Garage Band for $15 each and Pages, Keynote or Numbers from iWork '09 for $20 each.

MacBook hard drive is full again. Replaced original hard drive with a Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series 256GB hard drive about 18 mo. ago, but my MacBook is now already saying that my hard drive is full again. 13in. Alum. Late 2008 MacBook

My MacBook hard drive is full again. I have a 13in. Aluminum, Late 2008 MacBook, and about 18 months ago (in October 2013), I replaced the original hard drive with a Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series 256GB hard drive. However, my MacBook is now already saying that my hard drive is full again. When I check "System Information," under "Storage," it states the following: Audio 52.02 GB; Movies 33.68GB; Photos 43.13GB; Apps 14.76 GB; Backups 174.4 MB; and Other 96.39GB.
Also, at home, I have an Apple Time Capsule 4th Generation 2TB that I use as my wireless router, and I also use it for automatic backup via Time Machine. And when I first purchased Time Capsule, the first time I connected Time Capsule, Time Machine asked if I would like to use it to back up my files, and I clicked, "Use as Backup Disk." And that's really all I've ever done with Time Capsule.
In addition, I also have a LaCie Porsche Design P'9223 1TB external hard drive. I have copied my MacBook's hard drive onto my LaCie external hard drive.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Obviously the Audio, Movies, Photos, and Apps are taking up a lot of space... Any suggestions re: what I can do with Audio, Movies, Photos, and Apps? And what about the Other? Other is taking up 96.39 GB. What is Other, and what can I do about it?
And what about partitioning my hard drive... Is that something I should do? Should I partition, or configure, my MacBook's internal hard drive differently? And should I partition, or configure, my external hard drive? And if I need to partition, or configure, my MacBook's internal hard drive differently, how do I setup Time Machine to backup per any such changes? Same thing for my external hard drive?
13in. Aluminum, Late 2008 MacBook, 250 GB (with upgraded Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series 256GB hard drive)
Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
OS X 10.9.5
plus
Apple Time Capsule 4th Generation 2TB
LaCie Porsche Design P'9223 1TB external hard drive
Thank you for your help.

Partitioning makes no sense. You have a drawer full of stuff. Split it into two smaller drawers and you have two smaller drawers full of stuff.
Decide what you can store on external storage - your iPhoto/Aperture/Lightroom libraries can all be stored on externals, as can your iTunes Libraries and so on. Do you need to carry 30 gigs of movies with you all the time? You can get portable drives the size of an iPhone these days.

Need advice on replacing Toshiba hard drive

I have other manufacturers laptop with a Toshiba 60GB MK6021GAS hard drive. I believe the hard drive is on its way out and I want to pull everything off of the disk for restoring to another new one. I need everything from the drive because the OS image is one which was loaded by the company I contract with and apparently, the standard one which came with the laptop is not compatible with their applications which I also have loaded on the laptop.
I don't want to have to travel over 100 miles to the company's IT offices to have another OS loaded onto the new drive unless I have to, so what I guess I want to do is create an exact image of the existing drive, then restore the image back to the new disk when I get it.
I tried making an image of the disk using Paragon Exact Image 7 SE, but the download from the existing faulty hard drive to a DVD dump disk fails consistently, after copying 1.6gb of 8.32gb, reporting that the hard disk is damaged.
Another piece of software, Active SMART also reports that disk failure is imminent, reporting a "Bad" status for this disk. I have run chkdsk several times over the last few months on the hard disk and on a couple of occasions, it has isolated bad sectors. So everything points to the disk's days being truly numbered.
What I'd like to be able to do is buy another MK6021GAS hard disk unit, and get all the files from the faulty one onto the new one without having to reload the OS, application software data etc.
Is that possible? If so, what's the best way? How can I get everything from the disk if this Paragon software will not let me extract everything? Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Phil.

Thanks for the feedback fellas.
ActiveSmart is reporting that the drive is bad and failure is imminent because the "Reallocated Sector Count" attribute is not what it should be. From this, I'm assuming that any data, system or otherwise, was reallocated to another "good" sector, perhaps by chkdsk(?) at some point and everything that's vital is intact.
The PC is working as it should except that every so often (2 weeks can elapse for example), the hard drive starts to make an audible clicking noise which causes the system to stop. Sometimes, tilting the PC forward brings it back to life and everything carries on as normal, but just as often, the machine has to be switched off and left alone for a few hours, or a hardware BSOD happens. This suggests a mechanical failure of some kind to me.
Maybe I should add Norton Ghost to my toolbox anyway - I'm sure it'll come in handy again at some point and it sounds like I might be able to make progress with this if it allows the skipping of bad sectors.
Thanks again guys.

Do I need to replace my Hard Drive?

My Mid 2012 13" MacBook Pro recently was not able to boot on startup when I reset the NVRAM. I looked on the commands and there was something to do with a hard drive error. I had to reinstall OS X for me to use it again.
Since then my computer has been unusably laggy at times and performance has dropped. YouTube and other videos will lag uncontrollably and Minecraft runs at about 1 FPS. I am also running bootcamp and problems are consistent on Windows 7 as well. Do I need to replace the Hard Drive or just completely reformat it and reinstall OS X from a bootable disk?
THANKYOU

You shoudn't consider replacing your drive unless you know that's the problem. AHT, to the best of my knowledge, does not do surface scans on drives and it can't tell you if you have bad sectors. It can, however, identify other problems so running tests on the system might help you.
Other things to consider are the following:
How much free disk space do you have? If you're running out of disk space the system will not be able to swap out properly or easily and your system will bog down.
How much memory are you using? If you're using a lot then swapping will be rampant and your system will slow down.
Are there problematic applications that don't work properly that are consuming too much memory or hitting your system with a lot of disk reads and writes?
If you're using Mountain Lion, have you upgraded to 10.8.4? If not, do so. A lot of your problems may disappear.
The easiest way to check the first 3 above is with Activity Monitor. You can find a good write up on it with the following link:
http://www.scsc-online.com/Activity%20Monitor.html
I'm sure there are others on the web that are every bit as good as well. If you're still convinced your drive is the problem then check out this link for a list of drive testing tools:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1544280
That list is pretty much the web's de facto standard list of reliable hard drive testing tools currently available for Macs, and it's reasonably up to date, unlike some of the other lists on the web that are 5 years old or older. I really wouldn't assume it's the drive until you check out other stuff first.
Good luck, diddypants.

What is FireWire and what FireWire adapter do I need to use FireWire 800 for my portable external hard drive ?

Hi guys, I'm new to Mac. I have a MacBook Pro 13" (late 2011) with Lion OS and Parallels 7 (Windows 7). My understanding is that there is FireWire connection / extension built in to the MacBook Pro already. I also have a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex portable external hard drive 750GB USB2.0 and 3.0 (that can be used for PC and Mac). It states that the portable external harddrive is FireWire 800 compatible. The questions are (1) how does FireWire works ? (2) how do I use or activate FireWire 800 ? (3) is there any setup / setting changes I need to on my MacBook Pro ? (4) what FireWire adapter do I need to purchase to connect my portable external harddrive to my MacBook Pro ? Is it expensive ?
I read a few articles online but they are too technical for me. They mentioned something about FireWire adapter with 6 pins or 9 pins. Not sure what that means. I'm totally confused. So any help, advise or guidance will be much appreciated. In Layman's term would be better. Thanks.
How about Thunderbolt ? Is it compatible with the above external portable hard drive mentioned ? Do I need a Thunderbolt adapter for it ? How do I activate or use Thunderbolt ?

Thanks, Clinton and Alberto.
The below link is the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex portable external hard drive (product code STAA750302) that I have. It states that it features USB 2.0 or 3.0 plug–and–play connectivity and easily upgradeable to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA. It only comes with a 18-inch USB 3.0 / 2.0 backward compatible cable.
http://www.seagate.com/au/en/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/ goflex/
Based on the above, my understanding is that I need to buy a FireWire 800 adapter to connect to the portable external hard drive so that I can use FireWire 800 with my MacBook Pro. Is this correct ? Do I need to get a separate cable as well or can I just use the 18-inch USB 3.0 / 2.0 backward compatible cable that was provided in the box ? If so, what sort of FireWire 800 cable do I need to get ? 9 pin to 9 pin ? 6 pin to 9 pin ? Or 4 pin to 9 pin ?
https://www.lindy.com.au/online/arrshop.exe?anonymous=true&cat=b1

Do I Need To Be Concerned With SATA When Replacing A Hard Drive?

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