MBP Upgrade questions

Im looking to upgrade my Mid-2010 Macbook Pro but I'm a complete noob when it comes to specifics. Any answers you guys can provide to the following would be greatly appreciated!
I have a 500GB 5400 HDD. I want to Upgrade to at least a 750GB, possibly a 1TB. Would a 7200 RPM 750 be more beneficial than a 1 TB 5400? I want to dual-boot so the added space would be nice but I also do moderate heavy load stuff like gaming. What do you recommend? And which HDD should I purchase as far as brand/measurements and all that. I see laptop HDD on new egg but im not sure whats compatible with my laptop.
I also want to upgrade the RAM from 4 to 8GB. I have 1066 right now..will my mid-2010 support 1333 or should i stick with the speed it was shipped with? Same question as above regarding which to buy as well. Thanks in advance for the help!

Would a 7200 RPM 750 be more beneficial than a 1 TB 5400?
Not by much. The larger capacities don't have to be as fast because the tracks are thinner.
On the other hand the lower capacities have been around longer, thus are more rigorously tested for longevity. It still won't substitute the need for a backup plan*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Stick with the speed it shipped with, and remain within specs*:
http://www.macmaps.com/badram.html
Using anything out of spec, can lead to more kernel panics, and a greater likelihood of running into bad RAM.

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I'm getting "Installer disk not found" message during boot camp 5 and windows 8 install on late 2011 MBP upgraded to Mavericks.

hello,
And thank you in advance.
I'm getting "Installer disk not found" message during boot camp 5 and windows 8 install on late 20011 MBP upgraded to OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Any ideas?
I've downloaded the Window support option software and the WindowSetupBox.exe and copied it to the USB drive. I tried to create an iso image from my Windows XP machine but recieved messages that Windows 8.1 could not run on XP. I've ordered the Windows 8.1 backup media.
Any way to proceed?
Thanks Tim

download the win 8 iso from here;
http://getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/download-windows-8-pro/
then start over. install on to your usb along with the support software.

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I have an upgrade question. I received a notification when I connected my computer to the internet that Lightroom 5.7.1 was available

I have an upgrade question. I received a notification when I connected my computer to the internet that Lightroom 5.7.1 was available it included HDR & Panoramic photo merge. I cant find these. Where do I find them.

well that was a big waste of my time & data allowance then ...
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Another RAM upgrade question

Hi everyone,
I know there seems to be lots of RAM upgrade questions here but hey thats what forums are for.
I'm looking to upgrade my macbook's RAM it's currently got 2GB (2x1GB)
Is it possible to purchase 1x4GB and put that with one of my current 1GB sticks to create a total of 5GB?
I would be interested to know if this is possible or if anyone has tried it.
Thanks in advance
Scott

This will work if your MacBook is late '07 or newer.

Old External to New MBP cable question (Time sensitive)

I have a new MBP (purchased late january 2011). New external drives all connected properly and working. However, I need to access some old files for tax purposes (and that is why this is a time sensitive question.) These files were kept on a 60GB, small, portable drive: SmartDisk FireLite Model #FWFL60-N. This drive connected to my old MBP with a 4-pin firewire cable (wire has IEEE 1394 printed on it.) Obviously that cable is outdated for my new MBP. Question: Is there some type of wire (or conversion adaptor) I can purchase that will allow me to connect this old drive to the new computer? I never thought I'd need those old files -- but tax season has me scrambling for help or advice. Thanks!

You need a 9-pin to 4-pin cable or adapter. For example this one from Macsales.
[http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/1394B94036/|http://eshop.macs ales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/1394B94036>
Similar are available from Amazon and other places. [Best Buy lists one (for a higher price)|http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23153%3B-+6'+FireWire+9-Pin+to+4-PinCable/9539092.p?id=1218121950002&skuId=9539092&st=firewire&cp=1&lp=4]so if you are near a Best Buy, perhaps they'll have it in stock, if you need it sooner.

Upgrading question with MBP's

I know the Retina cannot be upgraded, but what about the regular MBP 15"?
Can I change the RAM and HD?

both can be upgraded? what?
I thought the Retina was not upgradeable. I'm not talking at time of purchase, I'm talking afterwards.
This is important to me because I like to also fix my own computers.
I also will likely buy an aftermarket SSD instead of at the apple store. My current MBP has 2 SSD in raid 0
Thanks again everyone.

MBP 13.3" RAM upgrade questions

I'm currently planning on upgrading my MBP form 4gb to 8gb. Is is there an empty slot for another 4gb or do i have to purchase two new 3rd party 4gb?

You'll need to buy two 4GB modules. I'd buy these:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S8GP/

MBP C2D questions on upgrade

just curious if anyone thinks if there is a big enough difference btwn MBP and the new C2D that would warrant an upgrade.
I am thinking about upgrading and handing down the MBP to my son who has been buggin the heck outta me to give it to him.

1. That 39% performance improvement.
If you look at it, clock for clock, the speed should
only improve about 8% (2.33/2.16 = 1.08)...4MB cache,
improved pipeline etc. is adding a lot of
performance...can't wait to see the SSE benchmarks.
Right, and even 39% improvement won't be noticeable for MOST people. Keep in mind that they are comparing a 2.16 with 2GB Ram versus 2.33 with 3GB ram.
2. FW800
Yes, it should have been there from the start but now
I can access my external storage at full speed
I totally agree with you on this one.
On top of that, I get 20GB more HDD, Dual Layer
Burning,
I bought my external Sony DVDRW DL for $120 last year, and it's still faster and better then any internal. I think the Superdrive update is not noteworthy. 20GB more is great, but consider that external drives are about $.48/1GB... again a nice to have more memory, but really, it would be more cost effective to buy an external drive at 7200rpm
plus I get rid of CPU
whine
Speculation. There's no confirmation of that. For your sake, I sure hope so
Hopefully the thermal design is a little improved so
the machine runs slightly cooler on average.
The machine will run the same, if not hotter. Increase performance and you increase heat. It's a Portable, not a laptop. I think most companies have moved away from that term all together.
The downside is I've owned a MBP for only 3 months
and to 'trade-up' will cost me $1,000 (assuming a
re-sale value of my current machine of around $1.5k??)
Re sale of 1.5K? I think you'd be lucky to get $1200 for a used machine. Unless you know someone personally that will buy that from you, I think you may be overestimating. I don't think the benefit for you is worth your $1000. Your 3 month old computer will not be obsolete any time within the next 3 years so I would upgrade to something more significant... maybe something with a blue ray player, OSX 10.5 (since you will need it for 64 bit), and a licorice dispenser.

Ram upgrade question on Early 2011 MBP 13

I upgraded my ram from 8GB to 16 GB today. I want to find out if my computer is compatible with this ram. I got a Crucial 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800). So far so good my mac has not froze at all.
<Image Edited by Host to Remove Personal Information>

z31fanatic wrote:
Even though the new memory is 1600mHz, your motherboard sees it as 1333mHz so it's no problem. No need to worry.
Not true. It has been determined that 1600 GHz Ram will add a modest performance increase on 2011 MBPs.
Ciao.

2007 mbp 2.2 a1226 HD upgrade question

i have a JULY 2007 MPB 2.2 A1226 w/ silver keys. Will replacing my current 160 7200 Hd with a seagate momentus 500GB 7200rpm be okay for heat? i read something on amazon reviews -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3TVZ12EFWTOZ4/ref=cmcr_rdpperm
about the breather hole for a different hitachi drive.
i don't know if the reviewer has the same mbp as me, but i'm concerned for having the same problem.
however, the fact that i have a 7200 rpm drive already is good, i just don't know where the breather holes are on these new drives - and i don't want to have to rig up a special wiring plan.

transientattack:
I installed a Seagate 500 GB 7200 rpm drive a few months ago and it works great. No problem with heat or noise. My MBP is an Early 2008, not much newer than yours. I wouldn't worry about it. Check directions and pictures here to be sure you get it right.
cornelius

Mid 2009 MacBook Pro 13 Hard Drive Upgrade Questions

I bought an upgraded hard drive for my mid-2009 MBP 13. I've done some reading and it appears that my model of MBP shouldn't have drive issues, but I still have a few questions that I'm hoping someone will answer. Perhaps this will all boil down to a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That is, I may be worried without good reason. If so, I apologize ahead of time.
MacBook Pro 5,5
2.26 GHz
4GB RAM
10.6.3
Firmware version is: EFI64
The stock drive is a TOSHIBA MK1655GSXF (160 GB):
The new hard drive is the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB 5400 RPM drive.
I noticed that the temperature seemed to spike after installing the new drive. I didn't get the temperature of the hard drive before I took it out, but the CPU was consistently around 170 degrees Fahrenheit and the fan was in the 2,800-2,900 RPM range.
After putting the stock drive back in the MBP, the temps are consistently 142-145 degrees F for the CPU and 95-97 degrees F for the hard drive. The fan is right around 2,000 RPM.
I've read a bit about outrageous load cycles and just wanted to check the numbers.
The WD Scorpio Blue around 4,055 after 27 power on hours.
The stock drive was at last count, at 206701 after 2215 power on hours.
The machine is doing comparable things, downloading podcasts, Time Machine backups, browsing, etc.
The general questions, I have are:
Is the temperature supposed to spike like that when handling a larger drive?
If so, what is a reasonable range? I know I don't have the temperature of the new drive, but if I knew what to expect, I guess I would be more confident putting the new drive back in and not returning it.
What's a normal/healthy/reasonable (don't really know the term I'm grasping for) load cycle to see? I divided the load cycles by the number of power on hours and get around 150 for the WD and 93 for the Toshiba. Are either of those outrageously good or bad? I haven't been able to tell in my reading.
The bottom-line questions are:
Am I just overreacting based on what I've read? Or, is something not kosher and should I return the new drive and get something else? Should I try hdapm or something? If I should return the drive, any recommendations?
I've talked your collective ear off, I'm sure.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Cheers,
Rob

For what it's worth I've put aftermarket 7200 rpm hard drives in 2006 and 2008 15" MBP's and also a WD Scorpio Black 320GB in a 2009 13" MBP 2.53GHz and have had no changes in cpu temp or fan speed. Your fan speeds and cpu temp with the new drive sound too high. Something else is going on here. The temp is not supposed to spike when handling a larger drive. Maybe it's something like
Spotlight indexing the new drive? Have a look at your Activity Monitor for an active process drawing resources with the new drive.

Replacement MBP; resolution questions

My previous MBP (17" 2010-ish model) died a week or so back and I'm now in the process of looking into a replacement. I do have some questions I'd like someone to help me out on, all mostly resolution related.
So the first few are related to old software:
I have Photoshop/Premiere Pro CS5.5, which Adobe seems to have given me the finger over in regards to resolution compatability because it's not CS6 or above. Without having seen a Retina Display MBP running any CS5 software (and I'm unlikely ever to at this point) I'm unaware of how atrocious it supposidly looks running on such a machine. How bad/acceptable does it look on a Retina Display MBP? Slightly fuzzy or downright horrid?
Are there any third party plugins or software to bring it Retina support? Same questions applied to Office 2011 and stuff like Google Chrome. How a Retina Display MBP treats my old software is the biggest deal breaker as to whether I simply buy a Retina Display or pre-Retina Display model. I'm not interested in upgrading to CS6 simply because Adobe clearly hates their older customers.
Hardware:
IF the answers to the above are "no" or "you'll have to upgrade your software" and I went ahead and acquired an older Macbook Pro, for this example a 2011-12 15" (even refurbished) model at a 1680x1050 resolution, how does this affect output to an external screen?
Can the external screen display a 1920x1080/20 resolution on a system without a native 1920x1020 resolution like the 17" model did? Using the example machine's native resolution when using it by itself is not a problem for me, but not being able to get the desired external resolution when it's connected to another screen is.
I'd very much appreciate it if someone could help me out here. I don't want to pay a ton of money for something that doesn't apply to the above.

Your replacement came out of a warehouse not off the assembly line.
Jim
PowerBook G3 500 Mhz "Pismo"/ 2.0Ghz BlackBook 2GB OWC RAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

HDD/RAM upgrade question - 400 mhz sawtooth

Hello!
My Sister has a Sawtooth G4 - Well, I believe it's a sawtooth anyway. I don't know for sure, so I'll post a bunch of specs:
It's a 400mhz model, early 2000. It shipped with a 10GB HDD, and 128 RAM. I believe it also has a 100 Mbps Ethernet. It has a DVI and VGA monitor video card, but i'm not sure the Video RAM level. It has an internal FW 400 port as well. The internal Airport card is shot - er, maybe the extension.
It has major issues with the system - and it seems to stem from a botched OS 9.2 install. It's running 9.1, but with trouble. For one, I can't open the extension manager. For two, it's slow, and acts funny.
Well, I thought i'd be nice, and try to get the G4 working for my Sister. It seems that it may require an Clean install of OS 9.0. Oh well, I can do that easily enough. However, before I go through all that trouble, I'm contemplating upgrading the hard drive (at least). With only 10GB, it's not very useful for iTunes, Photoshop, or our old OS 9 games - things she'd like to have.
I looked at the specs for the Mac at:
http://www.lowendmac.com/ppc/g4saw.shtml
It takes an 3.5 inch Ultra ATA drive? I've seen those around - and a 60GB drive or so is becoming pretty cheap. (I've seen 80G for under $50) I just figured i'd ask if anyone has tips on what to buy, how to install it, and Particularly if I need any special adapters for the G4. It does have a slot for a second internal HDD. I've also heard that a fast, second internal HDD can overheat the computer - is this a common issue I should be worried about?
The same questions go for the RAM. I'd like to add at least an extra 128MB, but I'm not entirely sure what to get. The above site mentions that it uses PC100 SDRAM in DIMM mode? Hmmm... I'll have to look around.
Please excuse any silly questions, I'm just far more familiar with more current systems, and it's 1 AM
Thanks,
Dan
PS: It looks to have a slot for a floppy drive under the DVD-ROM drive. I have a bunch of files on our OLD PowerBook 5300 that i'd like to move - but I need a floppy drive. Our old external USB floppy drive is.... very dead. The external floppy drives i've seen at stores seem to be pretty expensive, but internal drives are still fairly cheap (some under $30). How hard would it be to find/buy/install a compatible floppy drive? What format would it need to be? If such an upgrade runs over the $40-50 that a new USB drive costs, it's not really worth it.
15" Powerbook G4 (May 2005 ed), iMac DV (9.2.2) Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1G Ram, 192 (iMac)

Wow, thanks again!
I figured out that this is the AGP graphics Sawtooth - not the Yikes model. Where do these names come from?
As per upgrading to OS X - we have a G5 which she can use, and a XP box - which is down with the flu for the third (or fourth?) time. Therefore, the G4 will stay OS 9. She just wants to have a reliable machine that can play DVDs and music, and play some of our old OS 9 games. It's not intended to run any new programs, just the old ones that she can't run now. When I mentioned photoshop - it's a "Limited edition" of version 5.0 - and it's far, far, FAR more reliable on the G4 than on our 2-year-old XP box, despite the G4 running 9.1 with a wimpy 128 meg ram!
The main reason for upgrading the HDD was to make it more practical for games and MP3s - via iTunes 2! It won't play AAC, but it plays MP3s fine. She has at least 8 Gig of music - too much for a 10G drive! (Even half of it leaves precious little expansion room)
I'm watching for a "small" HDD - it seems that our local Fry's is no longer selling anything smaller than 100G - which was $100! Or perhaps they were just sold out at the time. I'll keep an eye out for another sale. In fact, asking my friend for an old drive is a good idea. They have parts from at least a dozen old windows and linux boxes floating around - so they likely have a drive or two. If it's a used HDD, loaded with Windows (probably 95-2000), will it confuse the system before re-formatting?
As per RAM:
I'm quite aware of the lack of RAM. However, I'll have to watch for sales! I'm not aware of any "Mom and Pop" stores close by, although that's a fantastic idea. A PC 133 128 MB card runs $40-50 at the local computer stores, but only $15 at OWC! Therefore, if I don't find suitable RAM locally, I'll order some. I wouldn't mind an extra 256 (or 512) for my iMac either.
Speaking of iMac - I've determined that it's the iMac DV Special ED from March 2000. (400mhz, originally 13 Gig Drive - now 60, 9.2.2) The question is whether or not it maxes out at 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM. One of the Apple support sites I found ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58007 ) said that the slot loading iMacs max out at 512. It makes no distinction between any slot loading iMac. However at http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/dvse.shtml, it mentions that this model specifically can accept 1 gig of RAM. I'll assume that the Apple article is correct, but I'd love to get a full 650 MB if I can! (I'd love to add a 512 to the 128 I have now)
It's amazing, really - after 4 years of constant use, a hard drive motor failure (hence the 60G HDD), and a year and a half burried on a desk, the iMac is becoming more handy by the day. It's good at capturing the Video and audio from say, Halo, while my PB's too busy to run anything else (via S-Video and audio through our DV cam). It makes a great DVD player, an iTunes Jukebox, and game machine - most of my games are still OS 9. To top it off, it makes a great wireless base-station for my Nintendo DS at school, where there's no WiFi! With 30 gig of space left on the HDD, it has plenty of room for whatever I want to do with it. Guess you can "teach and old dog new tricks!'
Well, I guess this means my question is answered for now - once I find the things I need, i may have some more questions, Thanks again!
-Dan

Macbook Pro Retina upgrade questions.

Hey guys,
A warm hello. This is my very first post on the community, and i feel privildged to be here. Been an iPhone user since gen 1, now want to extend my love to MacBook Pro Retina.
I am planning on getting the rMBP 15.5" 2.6Ghz, 16GB RAM, 256 Flash Storage. I am choosing the higher end setup in terms of CPU and RAM capacity, but below average in terms of storage. I already have 72TB media server hooked to my A/V Rack, that is on Windows Home Server. Most of the time i will be using the laptop at home, where i can map the network and store and access my files from the media server. But there might be times when i'll be touring, or on vacation. One of the main reasons i am getting the higher end laptop is for my new found love for Photography which requires CPU and memory intensive processing for rendering RAW images. I am not a pro, and wont be.. this is plain hobby.
Now here is my main question, will i be able to upgrade just the flash storage in the future. Not now!! Say like in a year or so? I realize there is a kit that can be used, but they dont have it for the newer models.. thats what my colleague told me.. is this true? And if so, how hard is to upgrade the storage on the newer mbp? i can setup new desktops etc.. so i somewhat good with PC hardware etc.
Also, if i install windows on the side, will running both the OS on the MBP draw double the cpu/memory resources? Its like when we install Windows in VMWare the cpu consumption doubles up along with RAM. Is this going to be the same for MBP?

will i be able to upgrade just the flash storage in the future?
No and maybe. Best to decide now. Apple's official stance is there are no user servicable parts on the new MBPs (except for the mid-2012 model).
It is possible that in the future OWC (macsales.com) and others will have SSD upgrades for your Mac but you can't count on that. Installing a 3rd-party SSD would void the warranty. If you take it to Apple for repairs with a 3rd-party SSD they will not touch it. At that point you could reïnstall the old SSD but if there is evidence you opened the Mac that might not help.
You can run Windows via a VM (as you described) or dual-boot using BootCamp (runing one at a time for higher performance).

MBP Upgrade questions

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