iFixit.com Macbook Pro DIY Repair
Right before I left for Guatemala the hard drive of my Macbook Pro ate it. I stupidly didn’t buy AppleCare when I bought the thing and it is now way out of warrenty. The HD failed only two days before I left for Guatemala so I was forced to just throw the thing in storage and deal with it upon my return.
I returned. After evaluating all my options-Applestore, private Mac repair shop, or DIY-I decided to just buy a new hard drive from iFixit.com and attempt to do it myself. I had never attempted a hardware repair on a laptop before but they have these detailed illustrated guides on iFixit that made it look pretty easy. I got the drive in the mail today and it only took me about a half hour to unscrew everything and swap the drives. Installing Mac OS adds another hour and I’ll of course probably never recover all the programs and stuff I lost.
Total cost was $174.92 for a 300GB drive (triple the space of my old one!) including shipping and a couple of specialty screwdrivers I needed to order (also available on iFixit).
So far I’ve sunk $274.92 into repairing my Macbook Pro. One more injury and I’ll be over the cost of AppleCare. If I count my wonky mouse button, something I would repair if it was still covered under AppleCare, it would have already paid for itself.