applecare newbie with question here

[spanky]

on my macbook, if i swap out the hard drive, would it void the applecare warranty? or will apple just not cover the new hard drive?

 

[Captante]

My suggestion for a first step.

 

[TheStu]

Replacing the hard drive in the macbook does not, repeat NOT!!!!! void the warranty. However, the second part of your question is correct, Apple will not cover the new hard drive.

The only, only, only reason that it would void the warranty is if you are an idiot (which I assume you are not) and break something in the process (pretty much impossible in the macbook)

 

[bearxor]

On a MacBook, the hard drive is considered a user-replaceable part. On a MacBook Pro, it is not.

So if you have a MacBook you're golden. Just keep the old drive around in case you have a problem and Apple attempts the 'it's your third party hardware' run around.

I was told by both the Apple store bar and my sales representative and the technical engineer that works with him that in fact opening a MacBook Pro (replacing anything other than the memory) will in fact void your warranty.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: bearxor
On a MacBook, the hard drive is considered a user-replaceable part. On a MacBook Pro, it is not.

So if you have a MacBook you're golden. Just keep the old drive around in case you have a problem and Apple attempts the 'it's your third party hardware' run around.

I was told by both the Apple store bar and my sales representative and the technical engineer that works with him that in fact opening a MacBook Pro (replacing anything other than the memory) will in fact void your warranty.

Is there anything inside the MBP (such a warranty void sticker) that gets triggered if you open the MBP to replace the HD? Since I have a 200gb 7200rpm drive sitting in my closet ready to go, the "user-replaceable" nature of the Macbook HD is making me lean towards saving a few bucks and going with it over the MBP.

Otherwise, I suppose if your careful and there is no such sticker, they wouldn't really know?

 

[Megatomic]

Speaking of upgrading the hard drive, does a 7200 RPM drive make a noticeable difference under typical OS X usage? Should this be considered a necessary upgrade, like going to 2GB of RAM is?

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
Speaking of upgrading the hard drive, does a 7200 RPM drive make a noticeable difference under typical OS X usage? Should this be considered a necessary upgrade, like going to 2GB of RAM is?

For every laptop i've upgraded in the past, the 7200rpm did indeed make a noticeable difference. Dunno if I would consider it as necessary as RAM (as things can cease to function properly with too little), IMO a worthwhile upgrade. Just gives a little extra kick, especially when working with large files.

 

[spanky]

thanx for the feedback TheStu & bearxor

 

[Kmax82]

Well, I opened mine up to replace the standard 160GB drive with the 320GB WD SATA, and I must say it was a fairly easy process for anyone who has worked on a computer before. No issues after install, and there weren't any stickers to show that it was opened. If you're careful with the screws, you can just keep the old HD and if anything ever breaks, take about 15 minutes to put the old one back in before you take it in to have them look at it. I know it's shady, but it's a little annoying that you would normally have to pay someone $100-150 to do something that is fairly simple to complete, as long as you're not throwing things around inside.

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: bearxor
On a MacBook, the hard drive is considered a user-replaceable part. On a MacBook Pro, it is not.

So if you have a MacBook you're golden. Just keep the old drive around in case you have a problem and Apple attempts the 'it's your third party hardware' run around.

I was told by both the Apple store bar and my sales representative and the technical engineer that works with him that in fact opening a MacBook Pro (replacing anything other than the memory) will in fact void your warranty.

Is there anything inside the MBP (such a warranty void sticker) that gets triggered if you open the MBP to replace the HD? Since I have a 200gb 7200rpm drive sitting in my closet ready to go, the "user-replaceable" nature of the Macbook HD is making me lean towards saving a few bucks and going with it over the MBP.

Otherwise, I suppose if your careful and there is no such sticker, they wouldn't really know?

There is no sticker or anything that would let them know. On the warranty card that comes with the notebook, it says that normal user replaceable parts are fine to replace, but the Apple reps tell me since you have to open a MBP, it voids the warranty. If you didn't mess anything up too bad and didn't remove a bunch of the tape holding things down on the motherboard and then switched your hard drive out with the original one in case you need service or anything then no, they would never know. Just keep in mind that it does indeed TECHNICALLY void the warranty.

 

[TheStu]

See, i know that Bearxor said that he was told by Apple people, adn I have no reason to disbelief him, but my understanding (and I am trying to find the site that references this specifically) has been that if it is removable, it is User replaceable. So... the soldered processor, not UR, but the hard drive, RAM, wireless card, optical drive... all are. ANd this is apparently some sort of ruling from a court I believe, or it could just be one guy's opinion.

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: TheStu
See, i know that Bearxor said that he was told by Apple people, adn I have no reason to disbelief him, but my understanding (and I am trying to find the site that references this specifically) has been that if it is removable, it is User replaceable. So... the soldered processor, not UR, but the hard drive, RAM, wireless card, optical drive... all are. ANd this is apparently some sort of ruling from a court I believe, or it could just be one guy's opinion.

Honestly, that was my understanding from the warranty card provided with the MBP.

I have been told, however, that only an Apple-certified technician can open a MacBook Pro. Since Apple does not count opening the notebook as user serviceable, since the hard drive is only accessible via opening the notebook, there's the problem. If you can find a counter like a court ruling or something that says otherwise I'd love to have it for the next time I need to have work done.

I just stared at the Apple genius when he told me the hard drive wasn't a user replaceable part. I just looked at him and said 'It's a hard drive...' and he says, 'Yes sir, but on this notebook since the hard drive isn't user accessible, it's not a user upgradeable part.' 'But it's a hard drive...' and so on and so forth.

I called my corporate sales rep and when I said I had problems at the Apple store and that they were refusing to work on my laptop because I had upgraded the hard drive, he said (in an amazed kind of voice) 'You replaced the hard drive in your MacBook Pro? I wouldn't want to do that!' I just told him it wasn't a big deal and he said something along the lines of 'That's a lot of screws...' or some such thing... I mean, it's a lot harder replacing the hard drive on a iLamp than it is a MBP.

As it is, I had to have my corporate reps push through the repair of my personal laptop and in thanks for providing such excellent customer service (/sarcasm) my company has simply stopped buying Apple computers.

The moral of the story here is: Don't piss off the IT guy in a company that buys your crap or he'll switch everyone to PC's.

 

[Kmax82]

That's my one gripe with a lot of warranty issues. You can look inside a machine and tell whether someone has butchered it internally, or done a good job installing something. Sure it might take you 10-15 minutes to open it up, but those people that have that knowledge shouldn't be shunned from having technical support. I can understand them not wanting to replace the HDD, which I totally understand, but if something else goes wrong that is in no way associated with that upgrade. It should be covered, with questions asked, but covered none the less.

Oh well... that's my gripe with all laptops in general though. Even though there are A LOT more Windows laptops that have a plethora of UR parts. I keep hoping that Apple won't go further away from having UR parts, but I think (as shown with the Air and new iMac Aluminum) it's only a matter of time.

 

[secretanchitman]

upgraded my hard drive and memory on my 2.2Ghz mbp. warranty is probably gone, but i dont think they'll notice.

 

[Kmax82]

I guarantee that they won't notice. Especially, if you were careful. Like I said earlier, you can always put the old HDD back in, and it would be next to impossible to notice, unless they took a microscope to it, or you really botched the internals.