Need 800 GB hard drive on my 15' MBP-pls advice

All MacBook Pros that have a built-in battery support the larger notebook hard drives. The ones with a removable battery, only the 17" supports larger than 9.5mm notebook hard drives. Since you have an i7, I suspect that means your battery is one of the ones that is not user removable without a screwdriver, thus compatible with any of the 1 TB and 750 GB notebook hard drives.

a brody: For future reference, all unibody MBPs (including the early ones with user-replaceable batteries) can use drives up to 12.5mm high.

No need to look on YouTube for instructions. They're right in the little owner's guide that came with your MBP.

You can also see more options at "Data Storage Upgrades for Your Apple MacBook Pro 2.66GHz (15-inch Unibody w/Intel Core i7) - April 2010:" ( http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?sort=pop&model=391&type=DataStorage&TI=2635&shoupgrds=ShowUpgrades).

Just a few things to note that may or may not help out. OWC also has several DIY Upgrade Bundle for the 1.0TB Western Digital Scorpio 5200RPM 12.5mm 2.5" SATA HD 8MB Cache. You can see these from the link above. So, if you wanted to still use your current drive for backup, etc, then one of these might be worthwhile. When looking at the different upgrade bundles it seems the main difference is in the interface (USB only or USB and firewire). For instance, the "DIY Upgrade Bundle:1.0TB Western Digital Scorpio 5200RPM 12.5mm 2.5" SATA HD 8MB Cache +OWC On-The-Go FireWire 800 / USB 2.0 Kit" ( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western%20Digital/DIYWD1TBUF8/), has FireWire 800 / USB 2.0. So, if this route looks appealing, then may want to consider the difference in transfer rates and see if it is worth the extra cost. One nice thing about these kits is that they include the tools needed if you don't have them.

Again, if that route is appealing, OWC also has good instructions on how to setup " How to Transfer Your Data From Your Old Drive to a New Drive" ( http://eshop.macsales.com/articles/how-to-transfer-your-data-from-your-old-drive -to-a-new-drive)

Aside from that, OWC also has "MacBook Pro 15" Mid 2010 "Unibody" OWC's step-by-step videos of how to install a hard drive in the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Mid 2010 Unibody)." ( http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro15_unibody_mid10hd/)

One last option to throw in is the "Special OWC Bundle! OWC Data Doubler with 1.0TB 5200RPM Drive and 5 piece toolkit." ( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/DDMB5KT1.0/). - take note:

OWC NOTE: This bundle requires that your current drive is a 9.5mm tall drive and that drive be moved to the optical bay using Data Doubler. The optical drive bay does not allow enough clearance for a 12.5mm tall drive. The 12.5mm tall 1.0TB Western Digital 5200RPM Drive will only fit into the main 2.5" Bay of the MacBook/ MacBook Pro.

They also make similar in 500 GB option. I would be cautious with the Data Doubler or other similar options that involve removing the MacBook Pro's internal SuperDrive. First, I think it voids Apple warranty. Second, although, OWC states you can use the Apple Disk Utility Program and have several configuration options (below) I have read conflicting posts on integration and actual performance issues (not particular to OWC, but just in general with these configurations that replace the SuperDrive):

Some OWC Data Double configuration options (from previous link):

* Creating an individual volume with its own desktop icon.
* Combining a new drive with the existing internal drive for one larger volume (SPAN).
* Combining a new matching drive with existing internal for high-performance RAID-0 Stripe volume.
* Configuring a new drive as a Time Machine™ backup drive.
* Formatting one drive for the Mac OS and the other dedicated for Windows.

Granted the RAID-0 would be a total waste if you have the original 500GB and the 1TB, since it limits it to the smallest capacity drive.

So, you do have some choices, hope you find the one that is right for your particular computing environment.

That's what I said.
I couldn't remember the term uni-body, but any MacBook that has a built-in battery is a uni-body.

Yes, but not every unibody MBP has a built-in battery, so your answer might mislead someone who was wondering whether his or her late-2008 unibody could use a 12.5mm drive. Your post indicates that they couldn't:

The ones with a removable battery, only the 17" supports larger than 9.5mm notebook hard drives.

That isn't true.

Message was edited by: eww

Name one unibody that doesn't have a built-in battery?

The late-2008 15" 2.4, 2.53, 2.8, 2.66 and 2.93GHz unibodies (MBP 5,1). I have one, so I know.

Message was edited by: eww

Well I'll be hoodwinked. Unibody with removable battery. Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but I guess because the aluminum blended more from piece to piece they decided to call it that.

The MBP 5,1 is indistinguishable from any other 15" unibody until you look at its underside. There's an easy-to-remove (no screws) latched panel covering the battery and hard drive, separate from the screwed-on panel that covers the rest of the innards. In every other respect it looks exactly like the unibodies that followed.