How to Replace MacBook Pro 13 Optical Drive: Step-by-Step Guide
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps: 13 Steps
Heads up, tech warrior! Make sure you’ve got your gear ready and your workspace clear. Let’s keep those screws and tools organized – we’re on a mission to fix this gadget!
Ready to jazz up your laptop by swapping out the old SuperDrive? This guide zips you through the process of replacing your laptop’s SATA SuperDrive. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
Step 1
– Unscrew the 10 little adventurers holding down the lower case of your MacBook Pro 13″ Unibody!
Step 2
– Gently hoist the lower case a tad and nudge it towards the back of the computer to unhook those sneaky mounting tabs.
Step 3
Just a heads-up! It’s a good idea to pop off the battery connector from the logic board to sidestep any sneaky electrical surprises.
– Grab the flat end of a spudger and gently pop the battery connector out of its cozy home on the logic board.
Tools Used
Step 4
Gently lift from beneath the cables with a bit of pep in your pry!
– Grab your trusty spudger and with the flat end, give a gentle nudge to the right speaker/subwoofer cable connector—it’s game time to lift it straight up from the logic board. Remember, we’re not making pancakes here, so keep that socket down! Once it’s free, slide that connector towards the optical drive like you’re sending it home!
Tools Used
Step 5
– Gently slide the camera cable connector towards the optical drive to unplug it from the logic board. Easy peasy!
Heads up! You’ll need to gently persuade the small clear plastic cable retainer (highlighted in red) that’s stuck to the logic board to scoot over before you can disconnect the camera cable. Slide it cautiously—let’s avoid any unplanned component casualties!
Heads up! This socket is a metal diva and can get bent out of shape easily. Make sure to line up the connector with its buddy, the socket on the logic board, before you bring them together.
Step 6
– Grab your spudger and use the flat end to gently lift the optical drive connector right off the logic board. It’s like lifting a slice of pizza—easy does it!
Tools Used
Step 7
– Grab your spudger and give that hard drive connector a gentle nudge straight up off the logic board. It’s like coaxing a stubborn cat off your laptop—easy does it!
Tools Used
Step 8
– Unscrew the dynamic duo of Phillips screws that are holding the subwoofer hostage on the upper case. Remember, the right screw is the longer 5 mm hero while the left screw is a slightly shorter 3.9 mm sidekick.
– Keep in mind, the longer screw is kicking it on the right side.
Step 9
– Hey, hold up! The subwoofer is still shaking hands with the right speaker, so let’s not part them quite yet.
– Gently hoist the subwoofer off the optical drive and just park it on top of the computer for a sec.
Step 10
Heads up! The right screw might just decide to hang out with the camera cable.
– Unscrew the two 8.4 mm Phillips screws holding down the camera cable bracket on top of the case. You’re doing great!
– Now, just lift the camera cable bracket right out of the upper case. Awesome job!
Step 11
– Unscrew the trio of 2.5 mm Phillips screws that are keeping the optical drive snug against the upper case.
– Gently lift the optical drive by its right edge and slide it out of the computer like a magic trick.
Step 12
Heads up! This connector digs deep, so make sure you give a good tug from the middle of the connector to disconnect it properly.
– Yank the optical drive cable right off the drive like you’re pulling a magic trick. Presto!
– Got a CD stuck? No sweat! Check out our guide for optical drive fixes and get that shiny frisbee out in no time.
Step 13
– Unscrew the two sleek black Phillips #0 screws that are keeping the tiny metal mounting bracket in place. Make sure to pass this bracket over to your shiny new optical drive or snazzy hard drive enclosure.
