Swap drive from Macbook to Macbook Pro

Hi,
I'm about to swap a Macbook for a Macbook Pro. The two machines are 2.2ghz Intel laptops.
Ideally, what I want to do is simply take the drive out of the MB and put it into the MB Pro and vice versa, but I'm concerned that there might be hardware incompatibilities. Does anyone know if this simple drive swap will work or will cause problems?
Thanks in advance,
Pat

You should be aware that you must do substantial disassembly of the MBP in order to remove/replace the hard drive. It is not a DIY authorized project and is not supported by Apple as a user authorized project. Any damage resulting from it will not be covered under the warranty.
More than one type of screwdrive is required for the MBP. In addition to a very small Phillips screwdriver you will also need a Torx 5 screwdriver.
There is a video tutorial you can get from MacSales.com.

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Can I swap the hard drive from MacBook Pro 17 (2009) to MacBook Pro 15 (2006)?

My MacBook Pro 17 (2009) died. Pushing the power button gets no response. I had had problems with it for some time turning it on, it usually taking many many tries. Plus when I'd try to do a restart after updating software, instead of doing so it'd shut off super quick with a *pop* sound. There was never any of the typical hard drive going bad sounds I've read about and seen in videos. Since it has refused to turn on I've gone through every suggestion I can find to get it to turn back on. Unhook the battery and try starting from just the power cord; the shorting the power pads move; some thing undoing the battery, counting to 10, and then the next steps now escape my memory, but doing more counting to 10 inbetween; unplugging the battery and leaving it sit for 2 days with no power cord plugged in either, then hook it to a power cord and turn it back on; and so many more.
Also the symptoms just before this fiasco were as follows: I had a CD in the internal drive and was browsing through the images on it via the handy previewer using the space bar. Then I decided to quite, tried ejecting the CD by dragging the icon to the trash, and nothing. I tried again. The same. Then I pushed on the eject key, with the ejct icon popping up on the screen momentarily, but still nothing. Then it appreared as though some things worked and other things were not working. In my frustration I went to the Apple menu and clicked restart with a wince knowing it was going to take forever to turn back on. It did the usual quickly off with a *pop* and made super short lame attempts to turn back on when using the power button. Of course the CD kept trying to spin for a split second and then the little indicator light on the front would go out, then no noise at all.
Since I do not believe it is the hard drive (of course I could be wrong not being a Mac nerd at all), I was wondering if I can switch the hard drive to my Macbook Pro 15 (2006)?
I tried this, but it would not read the hard drive. Just a blank grey screen. If it is possible to do this swap, what are the exact steps to do? Please answer like I'm completely illiterate on this, because I really am. I'm super scared of losing everything on the dead MacBook's hard drive. Yeah yeah, I know: then why have I not been backing things up? I had the week prior. Believe me I WILL be doing it daily from now on if I get this mess straightened out!
Here are the specs for each MacBook Pro:
Name: MacBook Pro 17 (info gained from the serial on the bottom and then looked up online)
Model: A1297
Model Code: mbp_17_early_09
CPU Type: Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed: 2.8GHz
RAM Type: DDR3 PC8500 SODIMM 1066MHz
RAM Slots: 2
Max RAM by Slot: 2 x 4GB
Maximum RAM: 8GB
RAM Pairing: Modules may be installed individually
Hard Drive Connection: SATA 300
Hard Drive Platter Size: 2.5"
Device Connectivity: USB 2.0, FireWire 800
Video Output (base graphics option): Mini DisplayPort
Expansion Slots: ExpressCard/34
Max Operating System Version: 10.6.8 (I believe that is what was last on the computer)
Name:    MacBook Pro 15" (retrieved from the System Profiler on this Mac)
Model Identifier:    MacBookPro2,2
Processor Name:    Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:    2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors:    1
Total Number Of Cores:    2
L2 Cache:    4 MB
Memory:    3 GB
Bus Speed:    667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:    MBP22.00A5.B07
SMC Version (system):    1.12f5

OGELTHORPE really sorry to keep bugging you, but it's obvious you know what you are talking about and I'm stuck on thin ice here getting this fixed, because there are no authorized Apple reps here. I would rather shoot myself for messing up, then to trust someone who "says" they can fix my Mac down here.
I checked out a company owned by ebay that is the same down here, called MercadoLibre. There are quite a few adapters listed there. I'd like to give you links for some and was wondering if you minded taking a look to tell me if any seem to fit the bill. Some have specs in English, others don't. (Google translater is my friend!)
#1. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-415826915-adaptador-usb-a-ide-y-sata-con -cables-y-fuente-envio-gratis-_JM
#2. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-416270876-usb-20-to-ide-sata-25-35-hard- drive-_JM#D[S:HOME,L:HISTORY,V:1]
#3. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-416384859-adaptador-usb-20-a-sataide-_JM
#4. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-415596152-adaptador-usb-20-para-sata-e-i de-manhattan-_JM
#5. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-416061182-adaptador-de-usb-a-sata-o-ide- 3525-con-fuente-externa-_JM
#6. http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-416061069-convertidor-usb-20-a-sata-hdd- 25-soporta-hasta-1tb-_JM
These are all cost effective enough that I don't care the price - cheap, expensive - whichever will work the BEST!
I've also looked for the 7200 rpm HDD, and although I found some, I'll be danged if they are not 3.0, instead of the 2.5 that I have. Grrrr! I was willing to spend the $90 for 1tb... or being the non-techie that I am, can this 3.0 go into my 2006 MBP??
Just so you can see what all is listed right now:
http://listado.mercadolibre.com.uy/7200-rpm-hdd-2.5-macbook-pro
Another newbie question: How do I check what the amount if RAM is presently installed in it? (I might be a greenhorn, but I take pride in not being a dumbie and I learn when taught)
Right now, I'm willing to spend almost anything. I want a few files that are on the HDD at the moment that I was stupid and did not backup on my external. One file I worked on all day due to the dimensions I had to design it at and each effect took a long time to render. I really don't want to do that one again!.. I'm also willing to spend anything that won't cost me the price of a new iMac. Figure that should be the next one I buy that is affordable, but won't be overworked like the MBP was.
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