Custom drive config on a MacBook Pro

Hat tip to Cor for seeing his tidy little configuration.

I asked the business account manager for Apple if I could order a new MBP with SSD and have them replace the optical drive with a "spinning" drive, preferably 1TB.

Just mentioning such an idea sent the dude into shock. It was if I had torn off the labels of every mattress at the furniture store. The horror! Such a thing cannot be done, nor could it ever be condoned. Seeing as I haven't taken tools to computer since before Windows, does anyone have any recommendations for actually getting what I want instead of what Apple wants to sell me, without being a real techie?

Hi,

I've just installed an additional 500gb spinning drive in my MBP. It was simply a matter of removing 13 screws, unclipping two cables, reclippping them and putting 12 screws back in! Took me about 15 mins! It was a really simple easy job. I used the same unit as Cor's. They haven't been very efficient though -they were out of the Super drive enclosures, and promised to send me one on when they had stock. Three emails and 3 weeks and no reply, let alone an enclosure!

I haven't gone down the SSD route yet though....!

Adam

George - there are some services who will do this:

I used this one when I built Tony Wu's:

http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cf...FTOKEN=24161731

I have these in mine:

http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/

I *think* MCE will do it for you, but I'm not sure.

MCE will do it for you. You can ship them your laptop and they send it back all ready to go.

"You may install the MCE OptiBay yourself* or, if you prefer, you may have it professionally installed into your MacBook Pro or PowerBook G4 by MCE Technologies or one of our worldwide Authorized Upgrade Centers. "

I'm no techno-geek, but doesn't opening up the MBP instantly turn it into a brick, in the sense that it becomes uninsurable and un-warrantied? I have an MBP with SSD, which is great, and then I plug in a rugged-ised drive (upgrade-able by buying another one). Why is this non-expert option such a no-no? I quite like carrying my MBP and drive in separate places...

... is it naive to think that not having a spinning drive makes my MBP more robust in the field?

Tim

If you're happy with your MBP, who cares what others say

What you're doing is not a nono at all. It's fine. I dont think twice about opening up a laptop so I had no problems replacing my DVD drive (that I never use) with a 2nd harddisk. It gives me 1 very large advantage. The internal connector is MUCH MUCH faster than the external USB or firewire connector. So my 2nd harddrive is going at top speed, while your external plug in drive is taking a 'tad' longer. I can run Lightroom off my second 500GB internal drive and it'll be fast. Running lightroom from a USB or Firewire drive can be a pain. But I take extra external drives as well.

So I have an internal SSD drive (like you, only I didnt take the apple one but a faster one), and an internal 500GB data drive. Im not convinced I voided the warranty simply because I did not remove anything that cant be placed back, and I did not see any painted screws or anything. I dont see how they can know I opened it. But if I did void warranty, then thats a risk im taking.

Thanks, Cor, for enlightening the (computer) technologically illiterate!

Tim