How to Install Two Hard Drives in a MacBook
In its basic configuration, Apple's MacBook comes equipped with a 250GB, 5400-rpm SATA hard drive and an 8x slot-loading SuperDrive. However, users who don't require the use of an optical drive can expand the computer's storage capabilities by replacing the SuperDrive with a second hard drive. This will require the use of a special bracket designed to adapt a 2.5-inch notebook drive to fit securely within the MacBook's optical drive bay. Apple doesn't manufacture this bracket, but they are available for purchase from third-party companies.
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Things You'll Need
- 2.5-inch SATA notebook hard drive
- Small Phillips screwdriver
- Nylon pry tool
- Torx T8 screwdriver
- Hard drive bracket
Instructions
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1
Shut down the computer and disconnect any attached cables. Close the display, turn the MacBook over and rotate it until the front edge is facing you. Touch a nearby metal surface to ground yourself. Examine the bottom panel and locate the eight screws installed along the edges. Use the Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws and set them aside. Lift up the near edge of the bottom panel, detach the panel and set it aside.
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2
Examine the back-left corner of the laptop's base and find the installed optical drive. Find the SATA connector attached to the lower right corner of the drive. Insert the tip of the pry tool underneath the connector. Lift upward until the connector comes free. Find the Phillips screw installed along the right edge of the drive, above the drive's connector. Remove the screw and set it aside.
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3
Examine the far edge of the laptop's base and find the installed metal bracket. Remove the four Phillips screws and four Torx screws and remove the bracket. Find and remove the Phillips screw installed by the lower left corner of the optical drive. Find and remove the Phillips screw installed by the upper left corner of the optical drive, underneath the long piece of black plastic.
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4
Remove the Phillips screw installed in the long piece of black plastic, above the upper right corner of the optical drive. Remove the Phillips screw installed in the metal located above the upper left corner of the optical drive. Lift the optical drive upward and extract it from the base of the MacBook.
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5
Use your fingers to work the SATA connector free of the end of the optical drive. Remove the Phillips screws securing the optical drive's mounting bracket in place. Detach the mounting bracket from the drive.
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6
Fit the new hard drive into hard drive bracket. Slide the drive's connector onto the connector installed in the bracket. Secure the hard drive to the bracket with screws. Fit the previously removed mounting bracket onto the end of the hard drive bracket. Secure the mounting bracket in place with the previously removed screws. Install the previously removed SATA connector into the matching port on the end of the hard drive bracket.
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7
Insert the completed hard drive assembly back into the bay previously occupied by the optical drive. Reinstall the screw in the metal located above the upper left corner of the hard drive assembly. Reinstall the screw in the long piece of black plastic, above the upper right corner of the hard drive assembly. Reinstall the screws in the upper and lower left corners of the hard drive assembly.
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8
Reinstall the metal bracket. Reinstall the four Phillips screws and four Torx screws. Reinstall the screw in the metal by the right edge of the hard drive assembly. Push the assembly's SATA connector down onto the matching connector on the MacBook's base.
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9
Fit the MacBook's bottom panel back onto the base and reinstall the eight previously removed screws. Return the computer to an upright position and open the display. Reconnect any previously disconnected cables.
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