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MacBook Pro hard drive bit the dust. Advice?
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Feb 12, 2019 11:49:42   #
taj334 Loc: Long Island
 
My five year old MacBook Pro hard drive just bit the dust. Wondering what I should go with next. My budget is in the $2000 (or less) range. I use the computer only for photos and photo editing because I have an iPad and an iPhone as well. I am a Grandma with 12,000 photos to play with. Just recently I subscribed to the Adobe Creative suite (jury still out on keeping it). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Feb 12, 2019 12:00:05   #
Fred Harwood Loc: Sheffield, Mass.
 
Perhaps talk to your local Apple store about solid-state drives?

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Feb 12, 2019 12:04:05   #
vg Loc: Kansas City area
 
You can buy an awesome Mac desktop .Unless you need a laptop go for a desktop 21.5 inch, 8 gb ram and a 1 terrabite solid state hard drive cost about 1400.
Apple can then download all your programs and photos from the cloud for free.

As for creative suite. It’s the best deal at about $10 a month and all upgrades are free

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Feb 12, 2019 12:15:35   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
taj334 wrote:
My five year old MacBook Pro hard drive just bit the dust. Wondering what I should go with next. My budget is in the $2000 (or less) range. I use the computer only for photos and photo editing because I have an iPad and an iPhone as well. I am a Grandma with 12,000 photos to play with. Just recently I subscribed to the Adobe Creative suite (jury still out on keeping it). Any thoughts would be appreciated.


You have a lot of options, if you want to stick with a MacBook Pro.

One option is replacing the hard drive in your existing computer with a greater capacity hard drive or an SSD. If you are the least bit handy with tools, and you have fine motor skills (dexterity), well-corrected close vision, and patience, AND can follow instructions to the letter, this would be the approach I would take. At least, you should consider exploring it.

Other World Computing, AKA OWC or http://www.macsales.com, has all sorts of options you might choose. They also have SUPERB, free installation instruction videos, and kits with all the tools and parts you might need to crack the case and swap components. Another great source is http://www.ifixit.com.

Depending upon the exact make and model of your Mac, your options may be quite attractive. I recently upgraded my iMac with double the RAM and an SSD with twice the storage space. This was a job Apple says can't be done by users, but OWC's instructions and parts kits made it possible. It was slow going, and a bit tricky, but TOTALLY worth it.

If you take this route, you can restore your last backup of the old drive to the new one. The path I would take is to format the new drive and install a virgin system 10.14.3 on it. OWC has instructions for that. Once you have the new system (or a new computer), you can use the Migration Assistant Utility in Mac OS to move your old User Profile (and all your data) from the backup to the new drive or Mac. In my case, building a new system with all virgin software installations took about a day and a half. But now, my computer SCREAMS. The extra RAM and the SSD make a tremendous difference.

OWC and many other Internet retailers sell used Macs. These are usually tested, reconditioned, and may be upgraded to your specifications. I bought two 2012 MacBook Pros from OWC for my twins a few years ago, and they still work flawlessly, despite rough handling by college students.

New MacBook Pros are expensive, but if you want to keep a machine for 5-7 years, may be your best choice. You probably don't need the high end, loaded models, but bear in mind that the LATEST MacBook Pros are either not upgradable at all, or only partially upgradable, so you want to get all the SSD drive space and RAM you can afford, right up front. The 13" models are more limited than the 15" models, but the 15" models are much more expensive.

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Feb 12, 2019 12:31:24   #
lsaguy Loc: Udall, KS, USA
 
What does, "bit the dust mean"? As extreme as the hard drive won't spin, or something more like the operating system won't execute?
With either one a new hard drive is less than $100.
It it's the latter you can get the new hard drive and reload the operating system and you're good to go. Then you can get a case for the old drive that will let you hook it up as a secondary drive and download all you're photos and stuff off it. They're less than $20. Moving the programs is a bit more hassle and requires some technical expertise but it can be done.

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Feb 12, 2019 12:59:12   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
lsaguy wrote:
What does, "bit the dust mean"? As extreme as the hard drive won't spin, or something more like the operating system won't execute?
With either one a new hard drive is less than $100.
It it's the latter you can get the new hard drive and reload the operating system and you're good to go. Then you can get a case for the old drive that will let you hook it up as a secondary drive and download all you're photos and stuff off it. They're less than $20. Moving the programs is a bit more hassle and requires some technical expertise but it can be done.
What does, "bit the dust mean"? As extre... (show quote)


Apple APP STORE purchases are just re-downloaded. Log in with your Apple ID, and go to the App Store. Anything you bought with that Apple ID can be re-installed to another device. The same goes for music and books and...

Adobe Creative Cloud apps can be re-downloaded, too. You might have to de-activate on one computer, but they allow two active installations per license.

Microsoft Office 365 apps can be re-downloaded as well. Sign in with your Microsoft ID and manage your devices.

If you have your license key and serial number, practically any other software can be re-installed from disc or download. In some instances, you might have to call the developer's support line for assistance.

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Feb 12, 2019 15:15:25   #
taj334 Loc: Long Island
 
Fred Harwood wrote:
Perhaps talk to your local Apple store about solid-state drives?


Thanks Fred. I’ll probably head that way when the sleet and freezing rain subsides.

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Feb 12, 2019 15:26:09   #
taj334 Loc: Long Island
 
vg wrote:
You can buy an awesome Mac desktop .Unless you need a laptop go for a desktop 21.5 inch, 8 gb ram and a 1 terrabite solid state hard drive cost about 1400.
Apple can then download all your programs and photos from the cloud for free.

As for creative suite. It’s the best deal at about $10 a month and all upgrades are free


Thanks vg. Since I learned to download my images to my iPad when I’m away from home, I really think the larger screen of a desktop would work better. I’ll remember your specs when I go shopping. I may even get a little bit for trading the laptop in.

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Feb 12, 2019 15:29:09   #
taj334 Loc: Long Island
 
burkphoto wrote:
You have a lot of options, if you want to stick with a MacBook Pro.

One option is replacing the hard drive in your existing computer with a greater capacity hard drive or an SSD. If you are the least bit handy with tools, and you have fine motor skills (dexterity), well-corrected close vision, and patience, AND can follow instructions to the letter, this would be the approach I would take. At least, you should consider exploring it.

Other World Computing, AKA OWC or http://www.macsales.com, has all sorts of options you might choose. They also have SUPERB, free installation instruction videos, and kits with all the tools and parts you might need to crack the case and swap components. Another great source is http://www.ifixit.com.

Depending upon the exact make and model of your Mac, your options may be quite attractive. I recently upgraded my iMac with double the RAM and an SSD with twice the storage space. This was a job Apple says can't be done by users, but OWC's instructions and parts kits made it possible. It was slow going, and a bit tricky, but TOTALLY worth it.

If you take this route, you can restore your last backup of the old drive to the new one. The path I would take is to format the new drive and install a virgin system 10.14.3 on it. OWC has instructions for that. Once you have the new system (or a new computer), you can use the Migration Assistant Utility in Mac OS to move your old User Profile (and all your data) from the backup to the new drive or Mac. In my case, building a new system with all virgin software installations took about a day and a half. But now, my computer SCREAMS. The extra RAM and the SSD make a tremendous difference.

OWC and many other Internet retailers sell used Macs. These are usually tested, reconditioned, and may be upgraded to your specifications. I bought two 2012 MacBook Pros from OWC for my twins a few years ago, and they still work flawlessly, despite rough handling by college students.

New MacBook Pros are expensive, but if you want to keep a machine for 5-7 years, may be your best choice. You probably don't need the high end, loaded models, but bear in mind that the LATEST MacBook Pros are either not upgradable at all, or only partially upgradable, so you want to get all the SSD drive space and RAM you can afford, right up front. The 13" models are more limited than the 15" models, but the 15" models are much more expensive.
You have a lot of options, if you want to stick wi... (show quote)

Wow Bill! Wish I had your expertise. I don’t quite have the confidence to build my own, but thanks for your input. Appreciated.

Reply
Feb 12, 2019 15:39:13   #
taj334 Loc: Long Island
 
lsaguy wrote:
What does, "bit the dust mean"? As extreme as the hard drive won't spin, or something more like the operating system won't execute?
With either one a new hard drive is less than $100.
It it's the latter you can get the new hard drive and reload the operating system and you're good to go. Then you can get a case for the old drive that will let you hook it up as a secondary drive and download all you're photos and stuff off it. They're less than $20. Moving the programs is a bit more hassle and requires some technical expertise but it can be done.
What does, "bit the dust mean"? As extre... (show quote)

I tried to run Photoshop Elements and all it wanted to do was spin that rainbow disk. Everything else seems to be very slow too. I took it to a computer store ( I live on Long Island) and he said it would cost $220 to repair it. Since it’s five years old I thought I might just as well put it towards a new one. Thanks for your suggestions. Hard drives probably don’t cost more than $100. Good to know.

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Feb 13, 2019 05:51:11   #
johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio
 
I woud just get the hard drive replaced with the same kind unless you really want speed. A 5 year old Mac is still young, will probably last another 5 at which point you ma not be able to load the newest operating system. I had a 2007 Macbook Pro, worked fine but then the motherboard went. My Imac on the other hand had a hard drive go bad $199, a video card, which Apple replaced for free and recently another board, for $400, It is 2012. It works just fine. If the main board goes bad I'll get a new computer, but after 7 years, I think $600 in repairs is ok vs buying a new one

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Feb 13, 2019 06:04:27   #
jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida
 
Fred Harwood wrote:
Perhaps talk to your local Apple store about solid-state drives?


I agree. Put in a SSD and max out your RAM. You will think you have a new computer. She will boot up in 23 seconds.

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Feb 13, 2019 06:52:56   #
sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey
 
Apple used to refurbish a computer for $300. It may be worth it for you to see if they still do that.

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Feb 13, 2019 06:54:06   #
ggenova64
 
Replace the HD! Much cheaper. Are you in North NJ? I can recommend a certified Apple Repair Center which is also a Photo Store. If you go to the Apple Store they would send you to a certified repair center because of Macs age!

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Feb 13, 2019 08:50:15   #
jsfphotos Loc: New York, NY
 
My 15" MacBook Pro lasted almost 9 years. My son has the 13" -- about 6 years old -- and he just replaced the hard drive and added RAM and it works great. I think personal service in the Apple Stores has gone way downhill but there are places like Mike's Tech Shop in Chelsea area in NYC that can replace hard drives/add RAM etc.

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