Apple MacBook Pro new HDD?

[Doog]

My kids MacBook Pro needs a new HDD (2012 Model) I can get a 7200rpm drive off amazon for $75 bucks.

How hard is it to get the OS and where do you get it (?)because it didn't come with an installation disk? I know little or nothing about Apple computers.

Any help would be highly appreciated.

 

[kschachn]

When you say it needs a new one, do you mean the old one crashed and is unrecoverable or is it just full?

I've replaced the HDD in both my MacBooks with SSD but the old drives were operating at the time.

 

[sleddriver]

Call 800-APPLE and ask them.
I've had a local Apple store update SW for me when I had to replace a HD on a MacBook. They didn't charge me anything.

 

[mattwithcats]

I like Western Digital for laptop drives, and tend to shop at New Egg..

Assuming a 7200 RPM, 32 MB cache, with SATA III (6 Gb/s)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236873&ignorebbr=1

Here is NewEgg's house brand SSD, 512 Gb, $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226765&ignorebbr=1

Watch out, above 500 Gb, height goes from 7 mm to 9.5...

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Doog
My kids MacBook Pro needs a new HDD (2012 Model) I can get a 7200rpm drive off amazon for $75 bucks.

How hard is it to get the OS and where do you get it (?)because it didn't come with an installation disk? I know little or nothing about Apple computers.

Any help would be highly appreciated.


Given that its a 2012, it probably supports "OSX Recovery" (boot and install over network)... do you have a connection with enough bandwidth to do that? I did it once over 3Mbit/sec DSL, so you don't have to have Google Fiber, but you may have to kick it off and let it run for a few hours.

See this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

You can also order an install DVD from Apple.

Once you get it up and running again, I recommend you get an external USB drive and set it up as a "Time Machine" backup. Plug the laptop into it once a month or however often you think is appropriate and it'll do backups- the very first one will take a long time, but the rest are 'incremental' and go quickly. Restoration of a blank HDD from Time Machine is really easy, and it really does work as advertised (been there, done that!).

 

[Rocko1]

Don't waste anytime with hard drives unless they are SSD. So cheap and so much faster.

 

[uc50ic4more]

It's been a while, but my understanding is that you can use the "Disks" or "Disk Utility" to clone one drive to another. It might be worth a kick at the can if the original HDD is still functioning to just put the new drive in, clone the old to the new, remove the old one and carry one with the new one.

There is no copy protection on a Mac OS install disk so if there is any trouble getting one from Apple, one can always get got elsewhere.

 

[stchman]

When you install the new HDD. Power up the machine and hold down the option key.

From Mashable:

Quote:

Restart your Mac and hold down the Option key immediately. When your machine boots up, choose the USB drive that says "Install OS X Yosemite." Select "Disk Utility" and then select your main hard drive. Press "Erase" on the volume.


http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/clean-install-os-x-el-capitan/#iT_hc6vqDEqE

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: stchman
When you install the new HDD. Power up the machine and hold down the option key.

From Mashable:

Quote:

Restart your Mac and hold down the Option key immediately. When your machine boots up, choose the USB drive that says "Install OS X Yosemite." Select "Disk Utility" and then select your main hard drive. Press "Erase" on the volume.


http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/clean-install-os-x-el-capitan/#iT_hc6vqDEqE


FTR, the above assumes that you have created a bootable USB installation stick. There's a process for creating a bootable USB installer drive.

 

[JHZR2]

I used a free HD cloning software and cloned the HDD to an SSD. I've done this on a 2010 and 2012 pro and recently on a 2005 Mac mini. Works great.

I used super duper.

MBPs are easy to work on.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I used a free HD cloning software and cloned the HDD to an SSD.


Do third party cloning applications do anything that Mac OS's built-in Disk Utility does not? I've only ever used the Disk Utility to clone user partitions in preparation for a clean install, and never an installed OS.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I used a free HD cloning software and cloned the HDD to an SSD.


Do third party cloning applications do anything that Mac OS's built-in Disk Utility does not? I've only ever used the Disk Utility to clone user partitions in preparation for a clean install, and never an installed OS.


Can't comment to the relative merits of third party disk tools for Mac as I've never found any need for them whatsoever the way I need them on Windows machines. Disk Utility does work for cloning bootable drives very well.

Then again, so does opening a command line and using "dd" with the appropriate flags. Having Unix under the hood of MacOS comes in really handy at times... I've even cloned bootable Windows disks by hooking two to a Mac and using "dd".

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: Doog
My kids MacBook Pro needs a new HDD (2012 Model) I can get a 7200rpm drive off amazon for $75 bucks.

How hard is it to get the OS and where do you get it (?)because it didn't come with an installation disk? I know little or nothing about Apple computers.

Any help would be highly appreciated.


Given that its a 2012, it probably supports "OSX Recovery" (boot and install over network)... do you have a connection with enough bandwidth to do that? I did it once over 3Mbit/sec DSL, so you don't have to have Google Fiber, but you may have to kick it off and let it run for a few hours.

See this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

You can also order an install DVD from Apple.

Once you get it up and running again, I recommend you get an external USB drive and set it up as a "Time Machine" backup. Plug the laptop into it once a month or however often you think is appropriate and it'll do backups- the very first one will take a long time, but the rest are 'incremental' and go quickly. Restoration of a blank HDD from Time Machine is really easy, and it really does work as advertised (been there, done that!).





how big of a USB drive will I need to do the time machine back up?

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Doog

how big of a USB drive will I need to do the time machine back up?


I'd say as big as the hard drive. TM will back up all documents and setting across all users. Best to use one as big as the drive you are backing up.

To get the OS, here are the instructions:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

Follow them and you will have a bootable disk you can use. I've used USB sticks - cheap, easy, and fast.

Reinstalling is simple - plug it in, restart holding option and pick the USB And follow the prompts.

As far as HD's - any old drive of the same size will fit in there. I'd spend the $$ on an SSD. I put one in my iMac and it FLIES. My MacBook Air has one and you'd never know it only has 4GB.