Upgrade help

sonicthebadger*

Hi all,

I have a MacBook 13" Which I bought in 2006. The Hard disk failed and I figured it would be astronomically cheaper to DIY the replacement (I hope! Ha ha!). I have bought a new HD and am in the process of installing it. The new one is 640GB. I have the device connected and the install disk starting its job. But it doesn't seem to be able to locate the new HD. How long should this normally take?

Ham'nd'egger

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

Hi all,

I have a MacBook 13" Which I bought in 2006. The Hard disk failed and I figured it would be astronomically cheaper to DIY the replacement (I hope! Ha ha!). I have bought a new HD and am in the process of installing it. The new one is 640GB. I have the device connected and the install disk starting its job. But it doesn't seem to be able to locate the new HD. How long should this normally take?

Did you verify the new hard drive?

sonicthebadger*

Hamndegger wrote: »

Did you verify the new hard drive?

Eh, embarrassingly, no. It is installed now. Thanks for that tip.

You wouldn't happen to know why my battery has decided not to exist though would you? I just have a little x written in the battery symbol at the top of the screen.

Ham'nd'egger

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

Eh, embarrassingly, no. It is installed now. Thanks for that tip.

No problem; installing a hard drive is so easy a job that the verification bit's often forgotten about

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

You wouldn't happen to know why my battery has decided not to exist though would you? I just have a little x written in the battery symbol at the top of the screen.

Off the bat, have a look into Energy Settings on System Preferences and see if a tab for "Show Battery Status" is ticked or not; this might help. If not, ensure your OS is completely up to date (Always a Must Do after a job that entails Install Discs) in case there is a fix for it and download a wee application called Coconut Battery; this will show your battery life and health status and is worth having.

Greentree_uk

hmm.. astronomically cheaper maybe, but apple may have replaced your HDD for free.. with a 160gb. Certain models are covered, yours may be just too old, and out of the program... ok it's not a 640gb but just thought I'd point it out for others. your battery has probably just failed coincidentally.

sonicthebadger*

Greentree_uk wrote: »

hmm.. astronomically cheaper maybe, but apple may have replaced your HDD for free.. with a 160gb. Certain models are covered, yours may be just too old, and out of the program... ok it's not a 640gb but just thought I'd point it out for others. your battery has probably just failed coincidentally.

I didn't want to include a rant about that in my original post but let's just say that I was told in no uncertain terms that they would most certainly not be doing anything for free on my machine. I made several phone calls to three continents judging by the accents and bemused expressions of the people on the phone at my lack of postcode (I spent far more of my life than I am happy about explaining to one gentleman with an Indian accent that Ireland does not have postcodes and that I do not live in Dublin and that no, Wexford is not in Dublin). Eventually I got a nice man with an English accent who, while complimenting me on my excellent second name, could not agree that Apple's extended warranty on the hard drive failure should extend to me. Despite the fact that I have an early 2007 model MacBook and thus am one of the people affected by the bad batch of drives they put in. I eventually got phone numbers for the cost of having it fixed here in Ireland (of all places!) and it would have been 200 Euro.

Thanks for your input on the battery problem too, you have been.

sonicthebadger*

Hamndegger wrote: »

No problem; installing a hard drive is so easy a job that the verification bit's often forgotten about



Off the bat, have a look into Energy Settings on System Preferences and see if a tab for "Show Battery Status" is ticked or not; this might help. If not, ensure your OS is completely up to date (Always a Must Do after a job that entails Install Discs) in case there is a fix for it and download a wee application called Coconut Battery; this will show your battery life and health status and is worth having.

I thought the OS was up to date so I ran another software update check and there was plenty more to download. Nothing left to download now but the battery still shows an x. I tried Coconut Battery and it tells me the battery is not only fully charged but in perfect health, then promptly crashes. I have a feeling that's not supposed to be how it goes so I'm not sure if it really is reading the battery for the few seconds it is running or just showing me a nice picture.

While I'm asking silly questions could anyone provide me a link to the latest version of iTunes compatible with Mac OS 10.4? I can't pull it off the website, it will only allow me to download iTunes 10, and since I don't have Mac OS 10.5 I can't run that. I currently have iTunes 7, and it's making my ears sad, not to mention my iPod! :pac:

Ham'nd'egger

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

I thought the OS was up to date so I ran another software update check and there was plenty more to download. Nothing left to download now but the battery still shows an x. I tried Coconut Battery and it tells me the battery is not only fully charged but in perfect health, then promptly crashes. I have a feeling that's not supposed to be how it goes so I'm not sure if it really is reading the battery for the few seconds it is running or just showing me a nice picture.

While I'm asking silly questions could anyone provide me a link to the latest version of iTunes compatible with Mac OS 10.4? I can't pull it off the website, it will only allow me to download iTunes 10, and since I don't have Mac OS 10.5 I can't run that. I currently have iTunes 7, and it's making my ears sad, not to mention my iPod! :pac:

This link will lead to to iTunes 8 http://support.apple.com/kb/DL857

This may assist you further with the battery "x" issue. Read through it a few times and print it before you do anything as it will require you running the battery flat entirely. I am assuming that the battery works fine, yes?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1119

Also, install this battery firmware update

http://support.apple.com/downloads/Battery_Update_1_2


But 10.4???:eek: Man, go out and spend €29 and upgrade to Snow Leopard... NOW!!!!! You will not regret it and you will notice a lot better performance overall from your Macbook.

Lastly; @Greenwood. Apple won't replace the hard drive unless it shows up as being one of those called back. In certain cases, they will refund you the price of replacing a failed hard drive but the scheme finished in August 2010 and even then I'd doubt if it will cover a hard drive fitted at home. I doubt if they will cover this machine but still, it's worth calling them to see if they can help.

sonicthebadger*

Hamndegger wrote: »

This link will lead to to iTunes 8 http://support.apple.com/kb/DL857

This may assist you further with the battery "x" issue. Read through it a few times and print it before you do anything as it will require you running the battery flat entirely. I am assuming that the battery works fine, yes?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1119

Also, install this battery firmware update

http://support.apple.com/downloads/Battery_Update_1_2


But 10.4???:eek: Man, go out and spend €29 and upgrade to Snow Leopard... NOW!!!!! You will not regret it and you will notice a lot better performance overall from your Macbook.

Lastly; @Greenwood. Apple won't replace the hard drive unless it shows up as being one of those called back. In certain cases, they will refund you the price of replacing a failed hard drive but the scheme finished in August 2010 and even then I'd doubt if it will cover a hard drive fitted at home. I doubt if they will cover this machine but still, it's worth calling them to see if they can help.

It's only €29? I didn't realise it was only that price.

I did let my battery run totally flat while the machine was in sleep mode. I didn't give it any charge before installing the new HDD. Maybe that has caused me a problem. The battery was totally fine before the HDD install now the computer thinks there is no battery at all. I don't know if it's charged or not. Even the lights on the bottom of the battery have stopped working. Anything else I can try before I spend more money? It'll be a couple of months before I can save up for a non essential item like a new battery.:(

Ham'nd'egger

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

It's only €29? I didn't realise it was only that price.

I did let my battery run totally flat while the machine was in sleep mode. I didn't give it any charge before installing the new HDD. Maybe that has caused me a problem. The battery was totally fine before the HDD install now the computer thinks there is no battery at all. I don't know if it's charged or not. Even the lights on the bottom of the battery have stopped working. Anything else I can try before I spend more money? It'll be a couple of months before I can save up for a non essential item like a new battery.:(

Yes, that's all it costs; just ask for basic disc of 10.6 and it will work 100% fine on your Macbook.

Before you do that, try and check the SMC is . Turn off the MB and take out the battery and disconnect the charger. Hold down the start button for a good 7 seconds and let it go before reconnecting the charger, reinstalling the battery and powering up again. That or perhaps go in and reinstall the OS again but this would be drastic.

sonicthebadger*

Hamndegger wrote: »

Yes, that's all it costs; just ask for basic disc of 10.6 and it will work 100% fine on your Macbook.

Before you do that, try and check the SMC is . Turn off the MB and take out the battery and disconnect the charger. Hold down the start button for a good 7 seconds and let it go before reconnecting the charger, reinstalling the battery and powering up again. That or perhaps go in and reinstall the OS again but this would be drastic.

Thanks for your advice, I'll try those last two things before I buy a new OS and that before I go and buy a new battery.