One of the biggest issues with owning any computer these days is the possibility of running out space to store your valuable photos, movies, music and documents so in this blog we will give you an in depth look at what's needed to upgrade the hard drive in your mac.

Please note that dismantling your computer may void your warranty and we recommend contacting the manufacture before continuing

Now this is not a hard upgrade to perform but we recommend allocating at least 2 hours over the weekend to comfortably complete the process.

Step 1: Choosing the size of your hard drive

There are so many choices when it comes to choosing a replacement hard drive.
Brand, physical size, connections, speed and pricing are all important things to keep in mind.

160, 250, 320, 500, 750, 1000GB (1TB), 1500GB (1.5TB), 2000GB (2TB) and 3000GB (3TB) are the most common hard drive sizes currently available

2.5" and 3.5" drives refer to the thickness or height of a hard drive. (2.5" suited to Macbook or Mac mini / 3.5" suited to iMac or Mac Pro)

Hard drives start from as low as $60-70 from most computer stores, we recommend taking in your existing hard drive just to make sure that the physical size and connections are the same.

Step 2: Copying your data

For this step you will need to purchase a hard drive docking station and allows you to copy the data to your new hard drive easily.

We recommend the Shintaro disk docker which can be purchased here - http://www.myshopping.com.au/ZM--381027493_HDD_Accessories

Start by downloading and installing a program called SuperDuper for Mac OSX - http://download.cnet.com/SuperDuper/3000-2242_4-46651.html

SuperDuper is a popular, powerful, and easy-to-use app for quickly creating a fully bootable backup (or "clone") of your hard drive

Once you have installed SuperDuper you will need to plug your Shintaro disk dock into your mac using the USB cable, plug the power adaptor in, insert the new hard drive and turn the disk docker on.

Within a few seconds you will notice that you now have a secondary hard drive sitting on your desktop... So far so good!

Open SuperDuper and from the drop down box next to "Copy" select your old / original hard drive, in most cases your hard drive will be called "Macintosh HD"
Next select the new hard drive from the drop down box on the far right hand side - getting this step right is very important, if we choose the wrong hard drive the process will not work.

Click the "Copy Now" button and make your self a coffee as this step can take any were up to an hour depending on how much information you have saved on your old hard drive.

Step 3: Installing your hard drive

As this step is different for each model we have listed three different step by step guides.

For Macbook Pro owners follow this guide
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook-Unibody-Model-A1278-Hard-Drive-Replacement/816/1

For iMac owners follow this guide
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-EMC-2309-and-2374-Hard-Drive-Replacement/1634/1

For Mac Pro owners follow this guide:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-Power-Mac-G5-Hard-Drive/1952/1

Step 4:

Once you've installed the new hard drive into your system its time to hit the power switch!!! If all goes well your system will boot up with in seconds displaying all your original information.

If your system does not start up retrace your steps and double check all cables, if in doubt head to your nearest Mac store.