Macbook Pro 17 Unibody Hard Drive Replacement Repair Guide

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

                          15 - 30 minutes

Sections

Lower Case
2 steps
Battery
1 step
Hard Drive
4 steps
Hard Drive
1 step

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Introduction

Warning! If you have an older 3.0 Gb/s (SATA II) based system you need to make sure the drive you use is able to run at this slower speed. Review your drives spec sheet, make sure it clearly lists compatibility with 3.0 Gb/s (SATA II) systems. Most drives sold today are fixed speed 6.0 Gb/s (SATA III) which won’t work in 3.0 Gb/s (SATA II) systems properly.

What you need

Step 1

              Lower Case

Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:
Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.
Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

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

Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.

Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

1024

Step 2

Wedge your fingers between the lower case and the vent, and lift upward to release the two clips holding the lower case to the upper case.
During reassembly, carefully align the lower case and then press it firmly until both clips engage.
Remove the lower case.

Wedge your fingers between the lower case and the vent, and lift upward to release the two clips holding the lower case to the upper case.

During reassembly, carefully align the lower case and then press it firmly until both clips engage.

Remove the lower case.

Step 3

              Battery

Whenever working near the logic board, it is always wise to first disconnect the battery to avoid short circuits.
If present, grab the plastic tab attached to the battery connector and pull it toward the front edge of the device. For Late-2011 models the battery connector will not have a tab and is simply a plug that inserts straight down into the motherboard–to remove pry the plug straight up.
If the plastic tab is missing, use a spudger to pry the connector up from its socket.
Pull the tab parallel to the face of the logic board.

Whenever working near the logic board, it is always wise to first disconnect the battery to avoid short circuits.

If present, grab the plastic tab attached to the battery connector and pull it toward the front edge of the device. For Late-2011 models the battery connector will not have a tab and is simply a plug that inserts straight down into the motherboard–to remove pry the plug straight up.

If the plastic tab is missing, use a spudger to pry the connector up from its socket.

Pull the tab parallel to the face of the logic board.

Step 4

              Hard Drive

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

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

These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.

Step 5

Remove the hard drive bracket from the upper case.

Remove the hard drive bracket from the upper case.

Step 6

Use the hard drive’s pull tab to lift it out of the upper case.
Don’t try to completely remove the hard drive just yet! Its cable is still connected.

Use the hard drive’s pull tab to lift it out of the upper case.

Don’t try to completely remove the hard drive just yet! Its cable is still connected.

Step 7

Pull the hard drive connector away from the body of the hard drive.
Remove the hard drive from your MacBook Pro.

Pull the hard drive connector away from the body of the hard drive.

Remove the hard drive from your MacBook Pro.

Step 8

              Hard Drive

Remove the four T6 Torx screws around the outer edge of the hard drive.
If desired, peel off the plastic pull tab and transfer it to your new hard drive.
If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

Remove the four T6 Torx screws around the outer edge of the hard drive.

If desired, peel off the plastic pull tab and transfer it to your new hard drive.

If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

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

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                                                                                      235 other people completed this guide.

Author

                                      with 11 other contributors

                    Andrew Bookholt

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tech4eleven - Dec 4, 2010

Very easy to follow. Replacing the HDD on these unibodies is super easy. Thanks for the guide.

yello73 - Nov 4, 2014

Very easy, excepted for finding the right screw for Step 8. I replaced original HDD with a Samsung 840 EVO 500GB. Fine!

Deanna Ashby - Feb 6, 2016

Exceptional instructions. If you’re struggling to restore from a backup… connect your backup drive via cable, start your macbook, choose disk utilities, choose the new hard drive from the list on the left, if first aide options (repair/verify) are not available, erase and name the new drive, and then you should be able to restore from backup. :)

catchpaco - Jul 9, 2016

Thank goodness you posted this. I thought I messed up installation because there was no new HD when I turned on the laptop. I couldn’t figure out how to restore. Then I saw this and tried it and it’s restoring now. Thank you!!

Abdullah Alqassar - Oct 11, 2016

Very easy, Thank you for this tremendous guide. Works perfectly and I directly connected my old HDD to USB and restore all my information using the Migration Assistant app. Fine!

Introduction#

What you need#

Introduction

What you need