Can I replace the Hard Drive on Macbook 13" Aluminium late 2008?

[Alan Nelson]

I have Macbook 13" Aluminium, late 2008. It has 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and 4 GD 1067 Memory. The HArd drive has only 2GB of storage left. Serial Number 348482C71AQ.
I was wandering whether it is possible to replace the HArd Drive with a larger capacity drive. I have found some on the internet that claim to be compatible with the Macbook, and range in size up to 1TB. Would a drive of this size work with the Macbook? Would it place additional stress on other components (fan, etc)? Is there a limit to the size of the Hard Drive?

 

[Kaveman]

It's not a User Serviceable part, it can be done, but we have a constant stream of people looking for help after it has a problem.
I'd recommend taking it to an AppleCare Service Centre near you if you are not an Apple Trained Technician.

 

[honestone]

Whenever I want to do any type of hardware things on any Mac I have owned, I go to www.ifixit.com. Looking at that site for the 13" Macbook A1278 (that A1278 seems to be the designation for your machine), it looks like you can replace the hard drive:

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Unibody_Model_A1278

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook Unibody Model A1278 Hard Drive Replacement/816

(The second link is actually from the first link, which shows all the various types of repairs you can do.)

Now, I see where the original hard drive inside your machine was 256 gig in size. When you replace the drive, what do you plan on doing with the "old" 256 gig drive? One reason I ask is that maybe you can do what I did with the original (slow) 1 TB drive I had inside my Mac Mini:

1. Purchase a 256 gig SSD (I bought a Samsung 840 Pro; excellent drive, and fast).

2. Purchase a small, slim 2.5" external case.

3. Install the SSD inside that external case.

4. Install Mavericks on it (your machine can run Mavericks; by the way, the last update to Mavericks, 10.9.5, came out yesterday).

5. Remove the original 256 gig drive from your Macbook, and remove the 256 gig SSD drive from the external case.

6. Install the 256 gig SSD in your MacBook, using the instructions from ifixit.

7. Boot the Macbook, and hopefully it will work. You'll also appreciate how much faster it boots up.

8. Install the original 256 gig drive inside the external case. You can then connect it to your Macbook.

I did exactly the same thing for my Mac Mini, except the original 1 TB (slow) drive went into a slim, external case.

I guess the other thing you need to decide is to whether a total of 512 gig is enough for your needs. Myself, beyond the OS, I do not have too many other things on my SSD (also have a 250 gig SSD inside my 13" Mac Book Air). I just try and manage it the best way I can. By doing that, I am not even using half the storage space on either SSD (nice to have the extra space, though, just in case I download some large files). If necessary, you could purchase a larger, 2.5 " drive and put it into the external case. Then, you can try and sell the original 256 gig drive (after completely wiping it clean). Or, you can use that original 2.5" drive in another external case for backing up the information from the SSD inside the Macbook machine.

 

[honestone]

To add something to my post above, NeweggFlash has the same Orico 2.5" External STA to USB 2.0 Enclosure I have for only $5.99, with free shipping:

http://dealmac.com/Orico-2.5-SATA-t...ve-Enclosure-for-6-free-shipping/1152472.html

As I said, I have one of those, it is perfect, especially when we go on long airplane trips. I just attach it to my 13" Mac Book Air, and can watch either movies or TV series that I placed onto the disk inside the case.