Introduction
Having issues with your MacBook recognizing your brand new SATA hard drive? The problem could lie in the hard drive connector, the link between the drive and the logic board.
Tools
Parts
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Remove the three evenly-spaced Phillips screws from along the rear wall of the battery compartment.
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Remove the following 3 screws:
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One 11 mm Phillips #00 in the middle of the case.
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Two 14.5 mm Phillips #00.
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Remove the following 3 screws from the rear wall of the battery compartment:
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Two 3 mm Phillips #00. (A1181 has three 3 mm screws and one 4 mm.)
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One 4 mm Phillips #00 on the right side.
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Remove the two 6 mm Phillips #00 screws from either side of the right wall of the battery compartment (not the ones closest to the battery connector).
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Remove the four 3 mm indicated Phillips #00 screws from the front wall of the battery compartment. When working from the left, remove the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th screw.
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Remove the following 4 screws from the back of the computer:
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Two 7 mm shouldered Phillips on the far sides.
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Two 10.5 mm Phillips toward the center.
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Starting near the display and working around to the front of the computer, pry up on the upper case. It is held with clips on the right above the optical drive. These will release with some firm lifting pressure.
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Be careful when prying up the upper case. It's very easy to slice open a fingertip and thus provide the blood sacrifice the Mac gods sometimes require of those who insist on doing their own repairs.
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While holding up the upper case (from the bottom or the top), use a spudger to pry up the orange trackpad and keyboard cable from its connector.
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Disconnect the newly-revealed display data cable. If there is no pull-tab on the top of the connector, it may be helpful to use a spudger to disconnect this connector.
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Deroute the hard drive connector cable from the four tabs along the edge of the optical drive.
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Carefully lift the hard drive connector out of the case slightly, and turn it over to reveal the IR sensor connector beneath. Use a spudger to flip up the tiny bar holding the cable in place.
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Slide the orange IR sensor cable out of its connector, and lift the hard drive connector out of the computer.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.
jonathan55 -