Hard drive is *Not* user replaceable on Pro, but *is* on Macbook?

warranty. Replacing RAM is the only supported DIY by
Apple.

You are aware of the fact that RAM slots are sitting on the logic board itself, of course? What do you think would happen if you managed to break the logic board physically while replacing RAM? And how would that be different from breaking anything while the MacBook Pro is open?

Or closed, for that matter?

Hence - opening your MacBook Pro doesn't change a thing regarding warranty.

The video John Lightstone recommended is a "must watch" before you start the process. I just upgraded my MBP 15" from 100GB to 160GB. Let me explain the setup I had just in case it can be useful for someone else.

I had partioned the original drive 80GB/20GB through Bootcamp. I gave Windows only 20GB since I thought of using an external USB drive with 100GB capacity just for Windows apps. Everything worked as planed until I got tired of having to connect the external drive every time I needed to boot in Windows. I was able to get a 160GB Hitachi drive from Newegg.com at reasonable price.

I downloaded and installed SuperDuper as recommended in this thread and installed Retrospect Express (on my Windows partion). Using SuperDuper I created a duplicate of my OS X volume to anothre external drive I have. I did the same thing with my Windows volume (I have the backup drive split in two - one OS X and one Windows partion.) I then went and watched the recommended "how to" video.

**You should have the torque and phillips screw drivers of the precise size mentioned on the video... these should also be professional grade tools... do not try using a cheap version!

I was able to replace the drive (once I used the correct tools) in about 10 minutes just by following the instructions on the video. Once I created the necessary partion on the drive, installing OS X again was a snap. Using the OS X setup program, I was able to pull all my settings, applications, and files from the duplicate volume I had created using SuperDuper. The only two things that were left to be done were re-associate my bluetooth phone and download a bunch of updates. It was that easy and painless!

Once OS X was completely restored, I used Bootcamp to partition the drive, install Win XP, and install Mac drivers. I then reinstalled Retrospect and perfromed a Volume restore. After two programmed reboots, the Windows side of my MBP was back to the state it was before upgrading the drive. Moving all Windows apps to C: was a little bit more tricky. I had to work a little bit with the registry and execute an MS Office repair (from original CD) to eliminate all the errors from MS Office 2003.

My new setup is like this: MBP 15", 2.0Ghz, 2GB RAM, 80GB OS X / 80GB Windows

Yes , I did the same thing.(160GB Hitachi from Newegg) I have a backup 2.5" clone of OSX anyway so I just reinstalled with Superduper.

I had to reinstall XP as cloning it can be stressfull so I figure why bother.

One thing that helped was getting a 'Black Stick' nylon probe from Staney.com tools (for about $.60. It's the exact same one Apple uses and is absolutely essential with taking apart these seemless devices. You can make one yourself But it's always much better to 'have the right tools', for any job.

So I just ordered it when I ordered the drive, and while I was waiting went to Fry's electronics and got the .000 philips, and the hex torque (forget the exact spec on that)