MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Hard Drive Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

No estimate

Introduction

This guide is an internal private guide used as a prereq.

Remove two 11 mm Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.
These screws are captive in the hard drive bracket.

Which screwdriver do I need for this? I can't seem to get them moving with the Philips one I used for removing the case of my Macbook.

You´ll need a Phillips 00 and a Torx T6 Screwdriver

Lift the retaining bracket out of the upper case.
When putting the bracket back after replacing the drive, it is easy to put in backwards. If it doesn't seat smoothly, then reverse it and try again.

Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it away from the upper case, minding the cable still attaching it to the logic board.
In some revisions of the MacBook A1342, the hard drive bracket may include two rubber brackets (as highlighted in the second picture.) The correct orientation of the rubber brackets is shown in the third picture.