Introduction
The hard drive cable also contains the IR sensor/sleep indicator.
Tools
Parts
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Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:
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Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.
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Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.
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Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent to pop it off two clips securing it to the upper case.
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Remove the lower case and set it aside.
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Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.
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Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.
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Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.
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Remove the following four screws securing the hard drive and IR sensor cable to the upper case:
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Two 1.5 mm Phillips screws.
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Two 4 mm Phillips screws.
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Slide the hard drive and IR sensor bracket away from the edge of the upper case.
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Carefully peel the hard drive and IR sensor cable from the upper case.
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Lift the hard drive and IR sensor assembly out of the upper case.
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Use the tip of a spudger to flip the ZIF connector on the hard drive cable.
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Gently pull the sensor bracket cable out of the ZIF connector.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the hard drive cable up off the sensor bracket.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
8 comments
Any recommendations on a known supported 512gb for MBP A1286. I've been looking at the Crucial m4. Seems legit. More options welcome. Thanks. http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-512GB-2-5-...
I have a macbook pro with a blue screen showing up. I am wondering if the symptoms I'm seeing on this computers might be related to this problem. i"ve read it's fairly common for these macs to have issues with those cables.
Worked for me, after my MacBook stopped working I first just replaced the harddisk for a SDD one only. But the re-install did not work, I lost the file system and managed to partially install the new drive. I realised this might be caused by the faulty SATA cable and was proven right.
I also taped some electrical isolation tape on the alu cover to protect the SATA cable.
martin38 -
Step 1 (technically step 9 - replacing the base plate) Apparently one of my screws was a micron or two smaller than the others. This screw belongs to the hole above the optical drive, which is also apparently a couple of microns smaller than the others. It took seven attempts to figure which screw had originally been in that hole; all the other screws were too large, but fitted perfectly everywhere else.
Bizarre much?
Will -
It might be a matter of how the screws are driven in, and not that they're slightly different sizes. When I reassembled my MacBook, a couple of the screws, including the one over the optical drive you mention, were hard to drive in and jutted up a little bit instead of sitting entirely flush. Swapping screws didn't help. The solution was to unscrew them and drive them in at a bit of an angle - perpendicular to the slightly curved surface of the back plate where the screw holes were, instead of fully vertical with respect to the ground the Macbook is sitting on. Doing it that way, the screws were easier to drive in and they all ended up flush in their holes. Didn't matter which screws they were. (I swapped a few around just to check after reading this.)
Andrew Janke -
I had no such screw issues. Either there are differences in manufacturing lots or I just got incredibly lucky during reassembly!
xtophr -