Macbook Pro A1260 - HDD Assembly

[LosOjos]

Hi all.

 

I've been given an old Macbook Pro (A1260) for spares/repair. However, having had a look inside, I reckon it could be made to work again with a couple of parts. I've never repaired a Macbook before, so I'll list my plan and would really appreciate it if any of you more experienced Mac tinkerers can point out any misjudgements.

 

First things first, the screws are all missing. Easy enough to replace I think, this looks like a full set: NEW Bottom Base Screws For macbook pro 15" 17" A1211 A1260 2005-2008 | eBay

 

Now, the major replacement is the HDD, which has been removed. Again, not much of an issue, I'll pick up an SSD (can go in my PC if the Macbook turns out to be dead). I'm assuming any 2.5" SSD which is no more than 9.5mm think will work - am I right?

 

Problem is, the ribbon cable connector has been taken along with it. This looks like an easy replacement: New Ori Macbook Pro 15" A1226, A1260 HDD Hard Drive Cable 821-0513-A 632-0525-A | eBay

 

So far so good. Now the biggest problem: in all the HDD replacement guides I've seen online there are two cables attached to the power side of the SATA drive; one is a 2-pin, the other is a 4-pin cable. The 2 pin cable is present and attached to the hinge release, however there's no sign of the 4 pin. Does anyone know if I can get a replacement for this? If so, where from? Finally, anyone know where the other end connects to?

 

Never used OS X for more than short bursts, so I'd love to get this running again so I can learn the ins and outs of it.

[mac_shinobi]

Found the hard drive cable here

 

http://www.theappleshack.co.uk/MacBook-Pro-Parts/15-MacBook-Pro/2008-Penryn-A1260/15-Macbook-Pro-Hard-Drive-Flex-Cable-2.4GHz-2.6GHz-Used

 

SSD or hard drive can not be thicker than 9.5mm as won't fit

 

May also be worth while checking thebookyard.com

 

http://thebookyard.com/parts_macbookpro_15.php?cPath=39_64_132&sort=2a&filter_id=15

 

or amazon for a replacement hdd flex cable

 

ifixit guide with comments at the bottom

 

Edited December 7, 2014 by mac_shinobi

[LosOjos]

Found the hard drive cable here

 

http://www.theappleshack.co.uk/MacBook-Pro-Parts/15-MacBook-Pro/2008-Penryn-A1260/15-Macbook-Pro-Hard-Drive-Flex-Cable-2.4GHz-2.6GHz-Used

 

SSD or hard drive can not be thicker than 9.5mm as won't fit

 

May also be worth while checking thebookyard.com or amazon for a replacement hdd flex cable

 

Thanks, I did manage to find that part a bit cheaper.

 

Glad any SSD will work (given thickness), ones being marketed as "Apple SSD" are much dearer.

 

It's really the power connector I could do with sourcing, plus a pointer as to where it connects to...

[mac_shinobi]

Thanks, I did manage to find that part a bit cheaper.

 

Glad any SSD will work (given thickness), ones being marketed as "Apple SSD" are much dearer.

 

It's really the power connector I could do with sourcing, plus a pointer as to where it connects to...

 

Other ssd's will work just means trim won't be enabled. There is trim enabler but then your system is less secure

 

Link and info thanks to @Arthur

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/TechNewsToday/comments/2m6wga/yosemite_kills_thirdparty_ssd_support_zdnet/cm1kig2

 

Must be full dis assembly vids or info either on youtube or ifixit

[3s-gtech]

Yeah, there's a bizarre firmware lockout with TRIM on them. Modern decent SSDs can manage garbage collection pretty well themselves, Samsung have a good page about it and I'd look at their drives: Samsung SSD White Paper - Understanding SSDs | Samsung SSD US

[Arthur]

Yeah, there's a bizarre firmware lockout with TRIM on them.

The lockout isn't firmware-based. The TRIM Enabler app patches a driver (IOAHCIBlockStorage.kext) which will refuse to load unless you disable .kext signing globally on your Mac because it has been digitally signed by Apple. The app does this for you but it also means that if your Mac got infected with malware it could also patch system drivers too and you wouldn't notice.

 

It's a bit like enabling test signing mode on 64-bit versions of Windows when you want to load an unsigned (or hacked) driver.

 

I'm assuming any 2.5" SSD which is no more than 9.5mm think will work - am I right?

You're right, but no SSD manufacturer has ever made a 2.5" SATA SSD thicker than 9.5mm so it will be difficult to buy one that doesn't fit.

 

A lot of SSDs these days are 7mm. They will be fine too.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Arthur

[3s-gtech]

That makes sense. Samsung at least (and some reviews/tech reports I read earlier this year) suggest that TRIM can be lived without with newer drives, with little detriment (unless you're writing data like Techreport are I suppose!)

 

On a side note, had to enable test signing mode on our laser cutter PC running W7 64bit, as the controller driver is basically not fit for purpose. That's a fun one to explain to users. Wouldn't want to do it on a regularly used machine.

Edited December 7, 2014 by 3s-gtech

[Arthur]

Now the biggest problem: in all the HDD replacement guides I've seen online there are two cables attached to the power side of the SATA drive; one is a 2-pin, the other is a 4-pin cable. The 2-pin cable is present and attached to the hinge release, however there's no sign of the 4-pin. Does anyone know if I can get a replacement for this? If so, where from? Finally, anyone know where the other end connects to?

Looking through the photos in the iFixIt guide and on eBay it appears that the 4-pin cable is for the IR sensor on the front of the MBP and the 2-pin cable is for the sleep LED. I think the part you need is 922-7195.

 

 

 

 

Btw, if you want to put a HDD in the optical drive bay you will need a 9.5mm PATA (ATAPI) to SATA drive bay adapter like this one.

 

Assuming the MacBook Pro only has 2GB RAM, you may want to bump that up to 4GB (or 6GB) to improve performance.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Arthur

[LosOjos]

Looking through the photos in the iFixIt guide and on eBay it appears that the 4-pin cable is for the IR sensor on the front of the MBP and the 2-pin cable is for the sleep LED. I think the part you need is 922-7195.

 

Thanks @Arthur - that's exactly what I wanted to know.

 

There is some very strange wiring inside these things - I suppose that's how they keep the size down though, by getting creative with these things!

 

Last question - does anyone know if the MBP will boot without the IR cable? As I'm unsure if it's working or not (it was given to me as parts after all), I'm keen to spend as little as possible on it until I know one way or the other. Once I know for sure it's working, I'll put in the extra cash to bring it all up to speed, but for now I just want to see if it'll boot.

[3s-gtech]

I'd be 99% confident that it'd boot and work fine without it.

[Arthur]

does anyone know if the MBP will boot without the IR cable?

Not sure to be honest. I suppose you could buy the screws and SATA HDD cable initially and fit any old drive to see if it switches on.

[LosOjos]

Not sure to be honest. I suppose you could buy the screws and SATA HDD cable initially and fit any old drive to see if it switches on.

 

I don't actually have any 2.5" HDDs knocking around! Loads of old 3.5" but no 2.5". Don't mind buying a new SSD though as even if the MBP turns out to be dead, it can go in to the Steambox which currently runs on a Hybrid drive.

 

Thanks for the advice all - got a little post-xmas shopping list now. Then I just have to resist the urge to shove Windows on the thing!

[LosOjos]

Last question; if I buy this copy of OS X, is that all I need OS wise? Are there any additional costs? Seems extremely cheap...

 

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (UK)

[Arthur]

if I buy this copy of OS X, is that all I need OS wise? Are there any additional costs?

10.6 is fine although you'll probably find that a lot of Mac apps no longer support it.

 

According to the EveryMac link below, your MBP is compatible with Yosemite (10.10) so you could download that for free if you have access to another Mac and save yourself £14.

 

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.5-15-early-2008-penryn-specs.html

Edited December 8, 2014 by Arthur

[3s-gtech]

It may be easier and handier to get that copy of SL if you don't have another Mac to build a Yosemite boot disc from; the upgrade to Yosemite from 10.6 is free anyway. OS X is cheap - makes you realise just how expensive Windows is.

[LosOjos]

10.6 is fine although you'll probably find that a lot of Mac apps no longer support it.

 

According to the EveryMac link below, your MBP is compatible with Yosemite (10.10) so you could download that for free if you have access to another Mac and save yourself £14.

 

MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.5 15" (08) Specs (Early 2008, MB134LL/A, MacBookPro4,1, A1260, 2198) @ EveryMac.com

 

So it's legal to download and install Yosemite? I assumed I'd need to buy a legitimate copy to upgrade from - coming from a pure Windows background! (well, I use a lot of Debian based distros, but that's an entirely different beast!)

 

It may be easier and handier to get that copy of SL if you don't have another Mac to build a Yosemite boot disc from; the upgrade to Yosemite from 10.6 is free anyway. OS X is cheap - makes you realise just how expensive Windows is.

 

Yeah windows has always been expensive - looks like from Windows 10 onwards, they may be going the way of Mac though...

 

I wonder if I could build a Yosemite boot disc from Windows/Debian?

Edited December 8, 2014 by LosOjos

[mac_shinobi]

Thanks @Arthur - always got the spot on info !!

 

Two ways

 

1) Update to the latest version of snow leopard and use the app store to install yosemite 10.10 - http://www.apple.com/uk/osx/how-to-upgrade/

 

2) Create your own installation media ( memory stick with at least 16gb )

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/2367748/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-10-yosemite-install-drive.html

 

Personally I would create and test the usb memory stick option just in case option 1 goes wrong, that way you can at least boot off the memory stick and install OS X 10.10 freshly

Edited December 8, 2014 by mac_shinobi

[Arthur]

So it's legal to download and install Yosemite?

I can't find anything in the EULA for Yosemite that would indicate it would be illegal to install 10.10 without installing 10.6 first.

 

The system requirements for Yosemite (and 10.7-10.9) state that you need OS X 10.6.8 or later, but that's only because the Mac App Store didn't exist prior to 10.6.

 

I assumed I'd need to buy a legitimate copy to upgrade from - coming from a pure Windows background!

Your MBP originally came with 10.5 installed so it's not like you would be upgrading from an OS-less computer. I suppose £14 isn't much in the scheme of things.

 

I wonder if I could build a Yosemite boot disc from Windows/Debian?

Unfortunately not.

[Quackers]

 

I wonder if I could build a Yosemite boot disc from Windows/Debian?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDfkLQqPIKA

[LosOjos]

I can't find anything in the EULA for Yosemite that would indicate it would be illegal to install 10.10 without installing 10.6 first.

 

The system requirements for Yosemite (and 10.7-10.9) state that you need OS X 10.6.8 or later, but that's only because the Mac App Store didn't exist prior to 10.6.

 

 

Your MBP originally came with 10.5 installed so it's not like you would be upgrading from an OS-less computer. I suppose £14 isn't much in the scheme of things.

 

 

Unfortunately not.

 

As it's lacking a HDD though, it is an OS-less machine at the moment... still, if there's nothing in the EULA, that's good enough for me. I'm more than willing to buy a copy later down the line if I find I need to - as you say, £14 isn't much to fork out

[LosOjos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDfkLQqPIKA

 

Thanks for that, but it looks as though someone is using an image of a pre-made Yosemite install disk, which I don't have. I'll see if I can jump on one of the school Macs later and make a bootable USB.

[Quackers]

Thanks for that, but it looks as though someone is using an image of a pre-made Yosemite install disk, which I don't have. I'll see if I can jump on one of the school Macs later and make a bootable USB.

 

DiskMaker X is what i use for that.

[LosOjos]

DiskMaker X is what i use for that.

 

That'll be very handy when I can get on to a Mac

[mac_shinobi]

Be good to see any progress / updates, just to see how you get on and if you manage to repair this MBP

[LosOjos]

Be good to see any progress / updates, just to see how you get on and if you manage to repair this MBP

 

I'll keep you posted

 

Going to pop over to our techies after lunch, see if they'll let me jump on a Mac for half hour to make a bootable USB, also see if they have an old HDD knocking about I can use for testing, so may have an update as early as tonight