MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Replacement

Written By: Andrew Optimus Goldheart
  • Comments: 113
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

9

Time Required

20 - 30 minutes

Introduction

Upgrade your hard drive for more storage space! This guide will also show you how to replace the hard drive bracket.

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    • Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:

    • Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.

    • Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

    • When removing these screws, note how they come out at a slight angle. They must be reinstalled the same way.

    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 -

    I discovered a great way of organizing the screws. I used an ice cube tray and added the screws in order, keeping the different kinds together. So when it came to reversing the steps, the screw order was an added control step to returning everything in its place.

    leonie -

    Great advise! Love it! :)

    Ririds -

    I used to do that and that worked really great until I bumped it by accident and the entire tray went on the rug! I spent the next day sorting things out.

    Now I use these:

    http://www.sciplus.com/p/50-114-CLEAR-PL...

    The lower ones 50 to a package. I mark them w/ blue tape. Often if it's part like the fans, or the optical drive I'll tape the screws into/near the holes where they belong. I did this a lot especially w/ the bottom screws from MBPs until I'd done so many I knew exactly where the longer ones went.

    Richard Sato -

    I wrapped the screws in a piece of blue masking tape and wrote the number on the little pouch I made. Then I stuck the blue tape pouches on the underside of the case bottom in order.

    Roscoe -

    I take double-sided tape, put that on a piece of paper, stick the crews to that, and label them.

    jelimoore -

    Best I've found is a bead sorting tray. They're like $5 at Wal-Mart and they have a lid that seals up and won't let them jump between containers.

    maccentric -

    I take a sheet of paper, pierce the screws through the paper, take a pen and box the screws and write out what step they belong to.

    Nils -

    @Will, in my case I had the same result as you did. As a reminder to myself the next time I need to open the computer, I put a dot of white paint on those two screw's head and a very, very thin ring of white on the very edge of each hole, that way I'll know they go into those two holes.

    Roger -

    Actually the four screws on the bottom were not threaded all the way up. I didn't check to see if the thread gauge was the same on them, but it wasn't until I had about four screws out (I didn't take them out in the order that the bottom all came out first) that I noticed a difference. I then took out the rest of the bottom ones to see if they matched the two that were already out that weren't threaded to the top. They did. So I went under the assumption that those were all bottom screws and when I put it back together everything went fine with no resistance.

    So there are three types of screws: Four for the bottom, three long ones as indicated and three others that might be slightly smaller than the bottom ones.

    wresnick -

    Hi,

    Although its more than a year since your contribution, I thought you might be amused to know that it is not just that the screws go in more easily when at an angle, Apple actually drilled and tapped the holes at a 15% angle. I too had tried to drive them in straight. An Apple "genius" - I was in for something else - clarified the design for me. It was done so that the screws lay flush on the angled part of the lower case. Nice design, but since Apple encourages DIY memory and drive changes, they could have mentioned this little ... trap.

    H Stahl -

    MacBookPro8,2

    Intel Core i7, 2,2 GHz, RAM 16 GB

    Mountain Lion

    May someone help me?

    I have installed the second drive with ssd 840 evo, but when I try to copy the file from the new drive to the main hd this in not allowed (errore -36)

    Piero -

    To my knowledge you can't transfer a single file more than 4gb. I advise compressing to a bunch of rars to split the file size and moving them individually

    1982sketcher -

    Hey everyone, here's the very best way to PERFECTLY organize your screws AND keep track of the order of the procedure: Get a piece of plain corrugated cardboard and a pen (I like using a Sharpie). For EACH step of the disassembly, draw a simple diagram of the layout of the computer on the piece of cardboard, with dots or Xs where the screws are located. Right after you remove each screw from the computer, poke a hole in the cardboard in its corresponding diagram position with your screwdriver and place the screw in that hole. If there are other non-screw related parts to be removed, you can add notes below each step diagram to remind you of where they go or how they should be placed. This cardboard method is great not only because your screws will not go flying or get mixed up by accident if bumped, but each screw goes EXACTLY back where it came from and you can keep the cardboard as a template for future use if necessary!

    - zerø K

    zeroK -

    These instructions worked great for me. I ordered a replacement battery from Key Power (on Amazon) for my 15" Macbook Pro (mid-2010). Cost was $74 shipped.

    Battery came with 3 different screwdrivers to help with installation. I just needed the one size though, since my 2010 seemed to use all the same size screws.

    Thanks!

    Marcos -

    During re-assembling (put the screws back in), it is important to note that the 3mm threaded holes are not completely vertical, but bent a little bit such that the hole direction is rectangular to the tapered surface. The force of the screwdriver must point towards the direction of the hole. Otherwise the screw gets jammed

    kusi -

    There is a FOOLPROOF WAY TO ORGANIZE ALL SCREWS and other parts removed.

    Print the repair guide.

    Yes, the actual photo of the bottom of the laptop with the circles around the screws.

    When you remove the screw, tape it to the photograph.

    You will tape the screw to the exact location that you just removed it from.

    Same thing with any part you remove.

    splashzoneent -

    Thanks Splash!!! I used your suggested method, and it was perfect: kept all my screws, and i was able to, very easily, put them back in their correct place. I greatly appreciated your feedback. Thank you for sharing!!

    Tommy Kedar -

    Thank you!!! This worked fabulously - even the I.T. people at my workplace were excited as they never thought to do that before. Replacing the battery took about 10 minutes!

    nclarke36 -

    Worked like a charm! Took less than 20 minutes.

    It's Oct. 2015, and the fan cost me about $10. it was the same brand/model...

    SUNON MG62090V1-Q020-S99 .

    SOME TRICKS -

    1- no T6 screwdriver- was careful using needle nose players to loosen 2 screws protruding up, then use a small phillips to push real hard into the T6 slots, SLOWLY turn , also used a small flat head screwdriver (for eye glass repair) was able to grab thread on T6's, made a small mark with screw driver across the top so I could see when it started to turn.

    2- no spudger -made one; cut a little strip 1/2" x 1 1/2" of plastic. couldn't get it to slide under plug, there's an edge where plug fits. so lifted old fan out, pulled upward on the plug it popped right out with very little effort. I used my home made spudger to push the new plug into place.

    3- download free "Macs Fan Control" This is how I was alerted to the fan not working in the first place. Program shows temperature of all key components in the computer.

    cheers- Durango CO!

    Dgodrummer -

    Watch the video first, read the entire tutorial and all the comments before you start, and spread a white towel on the floor so you can find screws when you drop them. Watch this first -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiBxhA29e...

    kevicoll409 -

    The link above is no longer available.

    Kristina Graham -

    I will be buying a battery from you and using your instructions. I just installed a new CD/DVD using your instructions and 1) I feel like I owe you something and 2) Although more expensive, I have the confidence your battery will work. My current battery is the original with 1399 cycles in 7.2 yrs. A tech buddy had bought me a replacement and I installed it. I had just installed a new OS and the kernel_task went going nuts, using 90% of the CPU. Hours on the phone with Apple did not resolve the issue. On a whim, I put the old battery back in and Voila! But I cannot risk my battery swelling and going south on me. I am also going to buy your installation tools. Yeah, I already have them. But you can never have enough tools…or beer. And you don’t sell beer.

    Pete Banks -

    The instructions say that I am removing PH00 screws. I found that my MBP, mid ‘12, Retina has pentalobe screws instead!

    jsandersonq -

    This laptop definitely originally shipped with Phillips screws—but, Apple has been known to replace Phillips screws with pentalobes when one of their devices is brought in for service. Sorry for the rude surprise! Fortunately the correct driver is easy to find nowadays. [Blatant self-promotion alert!] If you support free repair manuals, consider picking one up from iFixit. Good luck!

    Jeff Suovanen -

    Me, too, and it’s plausible that this machine has been serviced by Apple in the past, replacing the screws as Jeff Suovanen suggests.

    iFixit shipped a pentalobe bit with the kit, but it’s too large for the actual screws, so it looks like I now need to get another bit. But what size?

    Jeff’s link is to a driver with a P5 bit, and that page links to a P2 screwdriver, but since I don’t know what size I actually need (and I don’t have a micrometer to hand) I’m reluctant to buy two on spec.

    Norman Gray -

    (The bit in the kit appears to be a P6, so I’m inclined to order a P5 and see what happens)

    Norman Gray -

    You’re using the wrong repair guide. This guide is for the 2012 NON-Retina MBP. You have a Retina MBP. The stock case screws in the 2012 NON-Retina are all Phillips, just as the guide says.

    Steven Wymor -

    To keep track of screws, I used the suggestions above by taping a photo of the lower case to a piece of corrugated cardboard and inserting/taping the screws in place. Also, as some have noted, the screws go back in at a slight angle; they are angled toward the center of the unit.

    Kristina Graham -

    If your vision, like mine, is getting too fuzzy to be able to distinguish between a tiny Phillips screwdriver and a tiny Tri screwdriver, there’s an easy way. With a Phillips (or a Pozidrive) you can get two opposite wings to reflect the light from a lamp or window straight towards your eye at the same time. With a Tri (or Penta) you can only get one wing to reflect at a time, however much you twiddle it.

    Alan Waller -

    There’s a very easy way to avoid cross-threading a screw thread, any size.

    Put the screw into its hole and start by turning it gently, slowly BACKWARDS. When you hear a little “Click!” sound, the male thread has just passed the opening in the female thread and is in exactly the right position to enter into it correctly when you start to turn in the correct forward direction.

    Remember, all drivers except hex (Allen key) and TorX need pressure to avoid slipping out and damaging the head. So even when you want to turn it in with LOW moment/torque, keep the CONTACT PRESSURE high.

    Alan Waller -

    The keep the pressure on is on point. In my case once I loosened my first screw I thought I could relief my initial pressure. It was a mistake. I was doing the whole thing very slowly as a precaution. That helped me notice that the Phillips screw driver was sliding up out of the screw head. Not being sure why, I put pressure back on the screw driver until almost all the screw was out of the hole. Once out, I examined closely to find out that the threads have some sort of coating. It looks to me like some kind of locktite. Then I understood the importance of keeping the pressure on all the way through. It made me uneasy having to keep so much pressure on such tiny screws, but I found it was the only way to prevent damage to the “slots” on the heads. Anyway, all of them suffered some degree of damage, but I was able to successfully remove them and reinstall all of them back in their original holes.

    Martin Mejia -

    After reading this page on iFixit several times, I just could not face all the work of replacing the Logic Boards on two MacBookPro 2011s even if I was prepared to pay approx 400 USD (which I wasn’t). Then I read the reviews of a couple of folks who’d stripped down their machines and put their logic boards in the oven and, it worked! I wondered, if I just used my new Steinel Hot Air Tool (heat gun in my language) recently delivered from iFixit, on the logic board in-situ, without removing it? So I removed the battery, hard drive, and RAM and unplugged all the leads I could see WITHOUT removing anything else physically. Then using the 500 degrees set on the gun (setting 2) I ‘played’ the gun over the logic board for about 60 seconds on machine one with the restart problem (plus latterly, not completing start-up). Long story short… it worked! I spent a long time getting the s/w to load, but the commentary is too short to let me relate that part… ping me if I can help you do the same! blackaye@gmail.com

    Ian Black -

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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.

    • Remove the lower case and set it aside.

    What is the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed in this MacBook?

    michael -

    16 GB is the max

    Bradon Kelley -

    I can’t get the back panel off !! Removed all 10 screws but the panel is still on. Not a quick easy lift like in the picture of videos on youtube what going on…are the hidden screws locking tabs?

    Tachyon -

    Solved the tabs were hard to get off to the point I thought I was going to bend the back case off before it would let go.

    Tachyon -

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    • For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), disconnecting the battery connector is not necessary but is recommended as it prevents any accidental shorting of electronics on the motherboard. If you do not disconnect the battery connector, please be careful as parts of the motherboard might be electrified.

    • Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.

    • It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to "walk" it out of its socket.

    nails work pretty well as well...

    Sibe Jan Kramer -

    At first sight I was confused when I read the description at this step, 'cause it seemed that disconnecting the battery connector was optional, in order to eliminate static discharge. While it's a helpful advice in other circumstances (as mentioned as an example changing hard drives), when changing the battery it is not an option - you have to disconnect the battery connector.

    It would have been better to mention the optional disconnecting recommendation in a side-note.

    Other than that, an excellent guide!

    Damienn -

    the fact that this step is optional can not be stressed enough. i tried disconnecting the battery and in the process it short circuited which now leaves me with an even more expensive problem than i had before when i just wanted to change hard drives (at least the new hard drive works fine..)

    the hard drive changing worked though.

    nina -

    Any tool used to pry on the battery connector must be non metallic, to prevent unintentional short circuit between the connector pins. In my case, my index finger nails were strong enough.

    Martin Mejia -

    Excellent guide, it was as easy as a breeze to replace my battery. I can't believe I nearly followed Apple in their saying that this part was not user replaceable. Great job for this description, and many thanks. iFixIt is THE reference for Mac owners.

    Patrick.

    Patrick Demaret -

    So - I have a weird comment about this. I wanted to make sure that I was getting the right model - so I opened up my laptop and then thought "well, why not just remove the battery while i'm in here, it's shot anyway". Though, I forgot about the stupid screws (Apple really did us over on that one!). Though I disconnected the battery connector and didn't bother to re-connect it when I was finished and just put the cover back on.

    Here's the weird part - when I went to turn my laptop back on...MY BATTERY WAS RECOGNIZED...AND WORKING! I was under the impression that the connector "connects" the battery's charge to the laptop, but this just doesn't make sense! Plus, now my very dead battery is in "normal" condition according to the system report. I haven't worked for apple, but have about 5 years of IT experience and am baffled by this! I'm starting to think i've experience a miracle! Has this happened to anyone else?

    Shelly -

    Possibly disconnecting the battery caused the System Management Controller to reset. That might have been your problem rather than the battery itself. See http://osxdaily.com/2010/03/24/when-and-...

    Duke Briscoe -

    I'd just like an advise of where to dispose the old battery. Thanks

    Jaime Serafim -

    Any Best Buy or Batteries + Bulbs accepts batteries for recycling in their stores. Many other stores such as Home Depot do as well.

    xtophr -

    Office Depot will take any batteries and dispose of them for free

    silas -

    My battery connector pulled off parallel to the board surface

    Mazo -

    I tried spudging the corner closer to the wires which was probably a bad idea. The corner broke off! I can't believe it was that brittle. So be careful. If it did it again, I'd aim for the corners AWAY from the wires or the sides themselves, though I seem to recall there not being much of a lip.

    Dave Kitabjian -

    I used the spudger to gently ease the battery connector out. I then placed a q-tip between the connector and it’s socket to avoid making an accidental connection. A toothpick or some other soft stick might also work.

    Kristina Graham -

    My battery connector had a shiny metal cover over it like a male USB plug. I had to take the 3 peace symbol screws oit and remove the battery before I could access thr plug properly. My battery plug also came off parallel to the board by walking the black plastic part off the metal part towards the battery. It required quite a bit of force to walk it off the connector. I broke a spudger trying. Something nonconductive but strong like a wittled down bamboo chopstick could work well.

    Pii -

    Translate to Spanish:

    Para ciertas reparaciones (por ejemplo, el disco duro), no es necesario desconectar el conector de la batería, pero evita cualquier cortocircuito accidental de la electrónica en la placa base. Si no desconecta el conector de la batería, tenga cuidado ya que partes de la placa base pueden estar electrificadas.

    Use el borde de un spudger para levantar el conector de la batería hacia arriba desde su zócalo en la placa lógica.

    Es útil hacer palanca hacia arriba en ambos lados cortos del conector para "sacarlo" de su zócalo.

    Pakito Villaseñor -

    The BATTERY MUST BE DISCONNECTED - it is NOT OPTIONAL if you are going to remove the logic board.

    These instructions are for Removing The Logic Board, so if that is what you are going to do the battery MUST be disconnected.

    The informational item beginning with the words “For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), disconnecting the battery connector is not necessary … “ is NOT applicable to a set of instructions on removing a logic board and it should be deleted from this otherwise excellent set of instructions.

    Michael Walsh -

    In my opinion the RAM should be removed first - i.e., before the battery is removed.

    The RAM DIMMS are just in the way if they are left in their sockets on the logic board until step 33.

    I cannot see any useful reason to not remove them very early in the sequence.

    Michael Walsh -

    I disconnected the battery because it is an opportunity to reset the SMC (which is how the SMC has to be reset in some older Macs.)

    Barb -

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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.

    My battery connect was like mid 2010 model

    Iain Friend -

    Why not go ahead and remove the battery at this point instead of bending the battery connector back (see steps 23 -25 below)?

    BilMcKelvy -

    Translate to Sanish: Doble el cable de la batería ligeramente lejos de su zócalo en la placa lógica para que no se conecte accidentalmente mientras trabaja.

    Pakito Villaseñor -

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    • Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.

    • These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.

    love the attention to detail added to this step "screws are captive" thanks. :D

    aaronmiller -

    One of these screws has damaged thread and needs replacing - does anyone know what size they are so I can search and purchase a replacement?

    Andy -

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    • Lift the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

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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 hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.

    I just replaced my hard drive; but I notice that my ribbon cable does not have pins for one of the three connection sections of the new hard drive. It is a new SSHD, hybrid drive from Seagate, while my Mac is early 2011.

    Does this matter that the far right port on the hard drive does not actually connect electronically to the ribbon cable?

    I have been having issues with the computer (since installation) suddenly shutting off/freezing (persistently) with the need to force shut down. When I turn it back on, it often starts up trying to initiate Internet Recovery.

    However, after that is completed I am able to go to disk utility and select the new hard drive like it was always there.

    I do not know if this is a function of a faulty hard drive, the ribbon, or something pricier; but it is getting worse.

    Now it starts up to just a blue screen or white screen. I checked out the physical hard drive and somehow the ribbon cable had become bent and squished underneath it.

    Could this be the source of all my problems?

    Hunter Lindberg -

    You might be referring to the four pin section that would be used for jumpers. These are a hold-over from older IDE hard drives, where the placment of a jumper on the corresponding pins would dedesignate a drive as either Master, Slave or, on newer iterations Cable Select. To my knowledge the pins are not used in most applications of SATA hard drives.

    Michael -

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    • Remove two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total).

    • You'll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you're changing drives.

    • If desired, peel the pull tab off your old hard drive and transfer it to the side of your new drive.

    • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running. Many recent Macs may be able to use OS X Internet Recovery.

    what is the maximum tall of supported harddrives?

    patrick -

    i just successfully installed a Samsung spinpoint 1000Gb HDD.

    Sibe Jan Kramer -

    I looked up the Samsung spinpoint: It's 9.5mm thick/tall.

    The Hitachi removed in the video is also 9.5mm thick.

    enlimydna -

    yes 9.5 mm work fine!

    KlawWarYoshi -

    Making your SATA3 drive work, in your early or late 2011 15"mbp:

    If you are unfortunate, and have the "faster" SATA3 chipset for the optical bay, use a hard drive that is either ONLY SATA2 or has a bootable utility you can use to FORCE the drive to run at SATA2 (3gpbs) ONLY. Otherwise, the hard drive (in the optical bay) will NOT be recognizable by the system...This is a lesson in futility, but....There is a cure. I know for *SURE* if you use fast (as of 2014.08) HGST 7k1000 (model HTS721010A9E630), you will NOT be able to run it at 6Gbps. You WILL be able to run it at 3Gbps though, and that beats 0Gbps!

    1. Get the HDDFT10.iso (from here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.p... ),

    2. Burn it to a CD

    3. Plug in a USB keyboard WITH FUNCTION KEYS (You WILL need them)

    4. Holding down the Option key, select the CD when you boot up

    5. When prompted, hit F1 to change drives

    6. Hit F3 to change to 3Gbps

    7. Reboot

    8. *POOF* magic Pixie Dust rains down upon you...and your MBP

    clay -

    If you want to install OSX on it, this is what I've done (without a USB or bootable drive). First, if you're replacing the hard drive with the SSD (for example), then you just need to plug in the harddrive you replaced and boot it up via USB. Format the new hard drive you installed as a Mac OS Journal (eg: a drive that Mac understands it can install an OS on). Then, restart the computer, press CMD+OPT+R to start up the internet recovery off of the USB-attached hard drive, which will allow you to install a copy of Lion or Mavericks or Yosemite (depends on what was on your old hard drive) to the new one within the computer.

    So far, It's installing and it seems to be doing amazingly well.

    kratsgfixit -

    Kratsgfixit-

    Could you format the new drive before taking out the old one and replacing it? I'd rather know I had it formatted correctly, etc....before taking the old one out and putting a new SSD in. Could I just put the new SSD into one of those eSata drive holders (sorry can't remember official name) that connects via USB and do it using the instructions you provided in your post?

    Liz -

    I found out the hard way that the HDD screws are actually hex; 1.3mm if I remember correctly. I actually ended up stripping one of them by using a torx bit.

    jelimoore -

    The nuts sticking out of the hard drive are definitely not T6 Torx, the smallest key in my hex set worked, which I believe says .05 inches on it.

    Thom B -

    Yes. .05 worked. Thank you.

    Karen Fitzer -

    I too found the HDD had four hex screws .050 inches (smallest one in my set). I suggest updating tools required to indicate a .050 hex key may be needed.

    Peter Broad -

    I had to reset the SMC after installation to fix the fan noise (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295).

    anonymous 9048 -

    My Mid 2010 MBP 15” definitely has T6 Torx screws for the HD. I replaced my 500GB 7400RPM Seagate with a Samsung EVO 860 500GB SSD. I now have a new machine! Can’t believe how much difference this made! Also used Carbon Copy to clone my old drive to the new SSD, worked perfectly.

    KenT -

    At first I didn’t understand why I needed to transfer the screws from the old drive to the new one. Then I figured out that the screws are used as pegs to keep the drive in place.

    Also, the software side of things confused me until I found ifixit.com’s video on copying the old drive to the new one. On YouTube it is titled “How to Transfer Your Mac’s Data to a New Hard Drive SSD”.

    ifixit.com has some amazing tutorials. Thanks! I can’t believe I’m running the latest OS version on my mid 2012 Macbook Pro!

    Kristina Graham -

    If you do a RAM upgrade at the same time and wish to install OSX via Internet Recovery mode you will run into dramas with any RAM over 2GB per slot. I am having to try booting via a USB and having enormous troubles with the Sierra installer. Going to try El Capitan and upgrade later.

    Toby Cameron -

    but what about the included external drive case? No comments on how to put your old hard drive into it?

    Matthew Matthew -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Member since: 17/10/09

502341 Reputation

31 comments

This made me feel like techie instead of a newbie!

djsnooze831 -

Hi, Im going to replace my mac hard drive. Looking at this guide it seems that I wont have too much difficulty in doing so, but do i need to format the new hard drive before I replace the old one? or can I just replace it and then format it when I boot it up for the first time?

Jamie -

U don't need to format the hdd before you replace it with the ssd

Arfan Ali -

will this fix my hard drive corruption.. i received a mac from ebay with no disk utility aswell

mshawn600 -

I have the MacBook Pro mid-2012 15" and I have installed Samsung SSD 840 EVO 2.5" form factor drive and it fits fine. Really makes the MacBook fast.

Francisco Moreno -

I just measured the SSD thickness of a Samsung 850 EVO and it is 7mm. The Samsung spec sheet didn't have that info, it just said it was a 2.5" form factor. BTW, I also removed the DVD drive and installed another SSD as well. OWC has a good drive adapter to do this, called DataDoubler.

Francisco Moreno -

Following this excellent guide, I had my hard drive out in just minutes.

Robert See -

In terms of the practical hard drive swap itself, this guide was perfect, and it took 5 minutes. I didn't know though, that I had to partition my new hard drive before I could install new OSx. Found the info elsewhere, but would be useful to have it on this guide. Thanks

cloud.tzu -

Thank you. Clean and simple.

David -

What is the best way to get all my data from the old hd to the new ssd?

Aaron Moore -

1. Install new (blank) hard drive in external enclosure. 2. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to literally clone your internal HD to the new drive. 3. Install new drive.

Gary -

Thanks for the great info. I have a mid 2012 15" non-retina macbook pro (non-SSD). Its specs are 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, RAM 8GB, Graphics 1GB. Do you think if I upgrade to a SSD my mac would be able to run Adobe premiere pro, after effects, FCPX and photoshop better. Some apps crash at times and it really slows down if I try to edit 1080 videos. I mainly do weddings, so the projects are not that small. Thanks again.

Amandeep Singh Multani -

Upgrading from HDD to SSD on this machine Tripled my overall Xbench score

Rob Anthony Dire -

1. Install new (blank) hard drive in external enclosure. 2. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to literally clone your internal HD to the new drive. 3. Install new drive.

Gary - May 3

That made me think of a more straightforward way of installing a new hard drive in my MacBook Pro.

Right now I boot from an external ( 1 TB ) USB drive, bootable copy made with SuperDuper!.

I intend to replace the internal drive ( 500 MB ) with un-formatted, fresh 1TB hard drive.

I wonder if, with the external drive connected, and after formatting the new drive, I could just use the SuperDuper to simply copy on the new installed drive?

Thoughts much appreciated,

AperteDeVue

AperteDeVue -

No matter what you are working on, whenever the back is off of the computer, the first thing that should be done is disconnect the battery.

As long as the battery is connected, there is power going to the motherboard and if anything were to touch it while it is powered, you could easily cause several hundred dollars worth of damage. While the motherboard is powered up, there is always a danger of something rolling onto it, such as one of the screws you are removing while you're working on the hard drive. in fact, disconnecting the battery will still leave many of the motherboard components with a charge so great care should be taken not to touch the motherboard even when the battery is disconnected.

Electronic damage to a motherboard can be catastrophic and in many cases can cost more to repair than the computer worth. The battery should not be reconnected until you are ready to close the back of the computer.

Tony Ketcham -

If you are going to show how to replace the hard drive, Why would you have them remove the old hard drive without explaining to them that they should back up all of their important data first need to clone the information off of their old one first?

As far as I can tell, you have everybody removing the old hard drive without ever transferring their data.

Here is a link that explains in step one everything you need to do to before you start taking your computer apart

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/upgrade-your...

Tony Ketcham -

Easy to do upgrade my MacBook to an SSD took about 10 minutes. But then i was trying to reinstalling macOS and that took a long time cause i was transferring all the information off the old HDD

Benjamin Manning -

I purchased a 2.5” 1TB to replace the 250Gb storage only to find out that the 250Gb is a flash drive and there is NO way a standard optical drive will fit! As I had already formatted and copied all my files onto the new drive I could not return it to the supplier. A small consolation is that the 15” has 2 USB3 ports so I will be able to use it as an external without too much hassle.

janekszy46 -

This model uses a standard 2.5” laptop drive, as shown in the photos. If you have a Retina model then yes, it’s a whole different animal. ;)

Jeff Suovanen -

What is the difference between the Samsung’s SSD 840 EVO 2.5 and SSD 850 EVO 2.5 ?

Charb Turbo -

I am about to replace my Macbook Pro with an evo 2.5” ssd 860 1Tb. Still running on mountain lion. I am wondering which of these 2 ways would be easier or better:

1. Clone the whole existing disk (about 500gb) onto the new ssd. Replace the disk and then once it can boot up on the new ssd, update the OS to Sierra from mountain lion ( i can’t update to Mojave as i have an old Bamboo that wont work with it and Wacom is not making any new driver for it nor support it anymore! ) I am not sure if the apps will work after update of OS tho, coz they’re like all old apps like adobe cs6. and the old mac office.

or

2. Remove the old drive and put the new ssd in, and then do a fresh clean install of Sierra into the ssd. Then transfer all the files from the old disk and probably need to reinstall all the apps again.

Any recommendations on what would be the better thing to do ?

thanks so much !

Lilys -

@sleepycub Either method should work fine! I believe Apple recommends a fresh install of macOS, and then using Migration Assistant to transfer files, for the most stable result. So all things being equal, go with Option 2. Good luck!

Jeff Suovanen -

I have a question: Can you swap a MacOS SSD from a working mid-2012 MPB 13” to a MBP 15” of the same year period? Or you still need to format and then install OS?

I want to give my 13” laptop to my daughter and start using that of 15” with the premise of taking out the SSD and install it in the other machine.

Thanks in advance!!!

Martin Rios Arellano -

I would start by doing About this Mac and checking the model identifier in System Report. If they are the same (could be MacBookPro9,2 or MacBookPro9,1), your chances of a straight swap working are higher.

In general with different hardware spec you are safer doing a complete reinstall (you may be in luck if they are the exact same spec other than the screen size). Before you start, make a backup (I prefer Carbon Copy Cloner – it can make a full and bootable backup).

Put the SSD in the 15” and see if it works; if not, reformat and then use Migration Assistant to copy the backup onto the SSD once it’s set up for the newer Mac. This should work if you do a complete backup.

Philip Machanick -

Thank you, Andrew Optimus Goldheart and team iFixit! just swapped in a 1TB Crucial MX500 SSD, as the OEM 1TB 5400 rpm HD was getting suspiciously flaky. went smoothly, with the exception of cloning the drive before swap. i kept getting an error saying that the SSD was disconnected (USB 3.0 -SATA case/interface bought on-line). i went through SuperDuper!, which was an absolute fail, as i couldnʻt find a way to restart the cloning without an erase first. Then i tried Acorns, but realized it had that demon .exe extension. finally got CarbonClone, which 1) decreased the frequency of disconnect errors, and 2) allowed me to pick up the cloning from where it left off (after scanning all the previously completed cloning). three days later, iʻm running on a SSD, with much relief.

Kahana -

Thanks I Fix It! I performed all the suggested mods and my computer works better than it ever did 8 years ago when it was brand new out of the box. I always assumed I bought a lemon. Now, it is the machine that I thought I wanted to own. Thanks for making it possible.

Julie Garbutt -

Simple how to

Rodgerbodger -

Can I replace it with a 1TB SSD?

dirtybirdie956 -

Of course, I just replaced the 500GB SSD of a 15’’ 2012 MacBook Pro with a 1TB SSD (Samsung 860 QVO)

Christian -

The best advice I can give to anyone who is going to do this is to have a complete set of all sizes of computer screwdrivers from ifixit. And order at least two sets of replacement screws and rubber feet from eBay which you can get for six dollars. Chances are you’re going to end up stripping at least one screw and losing some of them. You need to make sure that you put the right side screws in the right places and that they are all back in. That is the number one thing that can make this go south. Do not even attempt to do this if you were not sure that you have all of the potential tools that you might possibly need even if it’s Unlikely. And again, have a full set of replacement OEM screws on hand

Rob Anthony Dire -

Thanks for the great guide.

Does someone know if there is a limit in capacity? I’m thinking of putting an 8TB Samsung 870 in my old MacBookPro9,2 … A Samsung 860 EVO with 4TB was no problem in the past.

Stefan -