Bryan, I have opened my MBP once and the screws weren't to bad if you took your time as you discovered. I did find it interesting that the screws along the hinge-side were quite long. I am curious however, where exactly is the ram. I thought it was mid-way back on the left-side (where the hard drive is located), but I was not able to locate it. I may not be used to what DDR 3 ram looks like, but can't imagine it's significantly different than what I have seen in the past. Oh and yes those screws are much smaller than seems necessary and what I did was once I had the screwdriver seated, I'd give it a little tap with my hand to help ensure a good fit. So, far that has worked, but agree the screws are entirely to small. :) On Jun 4, 2010, at 1:23 AM, Bryan Smart wrote:
> Ben, I'd normally agree with you. I'm no newbie to laptop maintenance. I've > been upgrading drives and memory for years. I've replaced screens and swapped > out motherboards. I've modded netbooks with cellular data adaptors, and > regularly remove the screens for the headless netbook approach. > > Give the MacBook Pro a try for yourself, but, in my experience, those are > some of the absolute smallest screws that I've seen on any equipment. You > need an eyeglasses driver kit to turn them. The official size is 000, but > 000s don't quite fit. The heads are less than an 8th of an inch across, and > the shafts are, unbelievably, shorter than the heads are wide. Beyond that, > on most of the MBPs, you still need a Torx T6 driver to remove the hard drive > bracket. Why on earth would Apple still use a security screw? You're supposed > to be able to replace the drive. Why not use a standard screw? > > Cara, I have a mid 2009 MBP. Unless I'm mistaken, your 2007 model doesn't use > the aluminum unibody design. The older models, being plastic, require long > screws to help hold everything together. The screws in the lower plate of the > unibody MBP don't have anything to do with stability. They simply hold the > access plate in place. Since the screws won't be subject to structural stress > from the case flexing, and since the aluminum holes are harder to strip, > Apple probably doesn't see the point in using long screws any longer. > > I'll have to tell you, when taking the screws out, the heads are so small, > that, even with the correctly sized driver, it was extremely hard to turn the > screw without the driver jumping out of the head. I worked very slowly, but I > was really scared that some of the screws would strip. On screws that small, > it is extremely easy to do. I had horrible visions of having to drill a screw > out of the aluminum case. They're so small, I don't even think that would > work. Even if I were to drill with an extremely skinny bit, I doubt I could > get enough tork to remove the screw's remains. I'm certain that damage like > that wouldn't be covered under warranty. > > Apple acts as if the memory and drive are user serviceable, but the design of > the panel's screws is just begging for something bad to happen. Even if they > made them just a tad longer (like another 8th of an inch), they'd be > manageable. Being so short, they will flip over in the hole, when you try to > put them back in. > > I haven't opened a 2010 MBP. Maybe Apple improved the screws and access > panel. Maybe this is just how things must be in order to have a thin MBP. > > Bryan > > -----Original Message----- > From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose > Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 7:58 PM > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: hard drives in macbook pro. > > I think it depends on what your comparing it to. > > Obviously, taking a desktop apart is probably going to be easier than a > laptop, but I find that in situations like this, practice really does make > perfect. 3 years ago, i was limited to upgrading memory on laptops, but now I > can do complete tairdowns and motherboard replacements. > > What I'm trying to say is if you find laptops hard, just keep at it and > you'll get better lol. > > On 04/06/2010, Cara Quinn <modelc...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Wow, I've had the opposite experience! lol! go figure! >> >> I've had one of mine (a 2007 white) apart several times and have had >> no issues with stripping screws or such. >> >> Which model is yours, by chance?. >> >> Smiles, >> >> Cara :) >> --- >> View my Online Portfolio at: >> >> http://www.onemodelplace.com/CaraQuinn >> >> Follow me on Twitter! >> >> https://twitter.com/ModelCara >> >> On Jun 3, 2010, at 8:47 AM, Bryan Smart wrote: >> >> However, taking the MacBook apart to put in the drive will be a >> frustrating experience. You've never seen screws that tiny, or that >> strip that easily. I upgraded my memory to 8GB, and will never again >> open my MacBook if I can help it. >> >> Bryan >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com >> [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose >> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 8:18 PM >> To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com >> Subject: Re: hard drives in macbook pro. >> >> It will be a normal sata ii 5400 rpm drive. There not designed >> exclusively for the mbp's, so you can go onto a pc components website >> and buy a normal & cheep 7200 drive. >> >> On 03/06/2010, Ricardo Walker <rwalker...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> Hi kimberly, >>> >>> look under apple in the menu bar. Go into about this Mac. >>> >>> hth >>> On Jun 2, 2010, at 7:28 PM, Kimberly thurman wrote: >>> >>>> I do know the ram is DDR3, but I would be interested in knowing what >>>> type hard drive is in the MBP as well. Also, where do I go to find >>>> out my system information, i.e. hard drive capacity, amount of ram, >>>> etc. TIA Kim On Jun 2, 2010, at 6:13 PM, Dónal Fitzpatrick wrote: >>>> >>>>> Evening all, >>>>> >>>>> I'm thinking of upgrading both the memory and the HD in my MBP. >>>>> Anyone know what type of drive is inside these things? I want to >>>>> get a bigger 7200 RPM disk and replace the one it came with. >>>>> >>>>> Cheers >>>>> >>>>> Dónal >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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