MacUpgrades.co.uk offers a wide range of fixed price upgrades and repairs for your Apple computers. You can drop in to our offices in Sawston, Cambridge or if you are not local you can either have us collect or send in your computer yourself. Sameday fitting is available for most items, contact us for details. We also offer on site installation services and training on your premises.
Macupgrades offers a wide range of on-site services for your Apple equipment. We offer all of our upgrade services, and most of our repair services too.
All our engineers have at least 15 years of experience with Apple hardware and software
Enter your serial number into the box below for specific upgrades for your machine. Each upgrade has been tested in the machine we list it for. Compatability is 100% guaranteed or your money back.
How to find your serial number in software
You can find your Mac's serial number in Apple System Profiler: Select the Apple Menu > About This Mac, then (depending on the version of OSX you are running) click the System Report button or the More Info button. This brings up System Profiler, and on the Hardware Overview that is displayed by default you should see your serial number, and be able to copy/paste it. The procedure does vary slightly between different versions of OSX.
If you can't boot your Mac
If your Mac is not working, the serial number is printed on the computer casing but the location varies. Here are the main locations of serial numbers on Apple computers.
Unibody MacBook Pro - Laser etched onto the base.
MacBook, Early MacBook Pro, PowerBook G4 - Inside the main battery bay. Remove battery to locate.
iBook (White) - Under the keyboard. To lift keyboard, pull back on the release tabs between the F-keys.
Intel iMac, iMac G5 - Underside of the foot/stand.
iMac G4, iMac G3 - Underside of the iMac.
Mac mini - On the underside of the Mac mini.
Mac Pro 2006-2012 - On rear of machine near graphics card ports.
PowerMac G5 - On lower chassis under side panel. To remove side panel, lift lever on rear of Mac.
PowerMac G3, PowerMac G4 - Label on the back of the Mac.
Your Mac's Model Identifier can be found in System Profiler. You can use the drop-down menus above to be taken to a page that displays upgrades specifically for your exact model.
This tool is also available on its own page, with a list of all Model IDs here.
COVID Update: We are still processing and shipping orders placed online, and operating our mail-in repair and upgrade service. But our premises are closed. Phone, email, and chat answered 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday.
MacBook Pro 17" 2006-08 Upgrades
This page covers all the upgrades we sell for the original MacBook Pro 17",
before the Unibody case redesign Models made between 2006 and 2008.
Choose the type of upgrade you are looking for from the tabs below. (Not
the right Mac? See here for
more MacBooks and MacBook Pros, or here for
all Macs.)
If you want specific upgrades for your exact model, choose it from the Model ID links below, or enter your serial number here:
This page covers the early (2006-2008) models of the 17" MacBook Pro,
which was released in April 2006, three months after the debut
of the 15" MacBook
Pro. Models covered on this page are the "pre-unibody" models.
All of these have a silver keyboard. The later Unibody models (October
2008 onwards) have a black keyboard and are dealt with on their own page: MacBook Pro 17" Unibody. We also have pages on the MacBook
Pro 13", MacBook Pro 15" 2006-08 and MacBook Pro 15" Unibody.
These 17" models are very similar machine to the 15" machines,
they uses the same Intel Core Duo (later Core 2 Duo) CPU, have
a 2.5" SATA
hard drive and has an ExpressCard expansion socket.
The major differences apart from screen size are that this 17" model
has FireWire 800, while the early 15.4" does not (it was added to
the Core 2 Duo 15.4" model).
This 17" also has 3 USB 2.0 ports as opposed to 2 on the smaller
model.
Apple specs for the original 17" MacBook Pro can be found here.
In October 2006 the line was updated to use the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and take up to 3GB of RAM (as opposed to 2GB on the original model). Apple specs here.
In June 2007, a further revision bumped the speed up to 2.4GHz, updated
the Airport card to use the 802.11n draft specification, and
allowed up to 6GB of RAM to be installed. Apple specs here.
There was a minor refresh in November 2007, Apple specs here.
In February 2008 the MacBook Pro moved to the Penryn processor running at 2.5 or 2.6GHz and introduced a multi-touch track pad. Compatibility for upgrades was unchanged. Apple specs here.
The MacBook Pro looks similar to the 17" PowerBook G4 Aluminium - it is the same colour, although slightly thinner and with a slightly larger screen.
The best way to distinguish this machine from the earlier PowerBook G4
is to check System Profiler for the CPU type (Intel Core Duo or Core 2
Duo), although it can also be easily identified by Apple's new MagSafe
power connector - the power cable is held on magnetically when attached,
eliminating the possibility of damaging the machine by tripping on the
power lead.
This machine can be distinguished from the later MacBook Pro 17" Unibody by the keyboard colour. Machines dealt with
on this page have a silver keyboard. Later Unibody models have a black
keyboard.
There is also 15" versions of the MacBook Pro, which have their own
pages. Compatibility between the two ranges of machines is very similar,
although not identical, and dates of revisions vary. See the pages for
the MacBook
Pro 15" 2006-08 and MacBook
Pro 15" Unibody.
There are 4 revisions of the pre-Unibody MacBook Pro 17", and while
compatibility is similar there is a difference in the amount of
RAM they can use.
To tell the difference between revisions, check the CPU type and speed in System Profile, and compare to the below.
1st Revision: Released Jan 2006 with a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo CPU. Maximum RAM 2GB (either 2 x 1GB modules or 1 x 2GB). Apple specs here.
2nd Revision: Released Oct 2006 with a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. Maximum RAM 3GB (1x 1GB + 1 x 2GB modules). Apple specs here.
3rd Revision: Released June 2007 with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.
Maximum RAM 6GB (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB modules). Apple specs here.
And for the November 2007 refresh, here.
4th Revision: Released February 2008 with a 2.5GHz or 2.6GHz Intel Core
2 Duo (Penryn) CPU. Maximum RAM 6GB (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB modules). Apple
specs here.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412, or by email for confirmation. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install your upgrades then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.
Not suitable for first revision MacBook Pros, so only for models with a Core 2 Duo processor, not the original Core Duo models. Second revision models can not use 2 of these chips together.
2
Only suitable for models from June 07 onwards - models with a system bus speed of 800MHz can run up to 6GB in 1 x 4GB + 1 x 2GB.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 3 / 5 - Reasonably easy.
Turn off the machine and remove the power cable and battery.
The RAM is accessed via a cover on the bottom of the machine secured by three screws. Remove the holding screws and install the new RAM.
Apple's memory installation guides can be found here.
Blu-Ray is not fully supported in OSX. Disks can be mounted and read, but movie playback requires third party software.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
The MacBook Pro 17" uses a 2.5" SATA hard drive. All of the
following drives are compatible with the MacBook Pro.
If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.
Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 4 / 5 Difficult
For the pre-Unibody (prior to Jan 2009) MacBook Pros, the internal hard
drive is difficult to get to, and is not classified by Apple
as a user installable part. Installing a replacement drive
during warranty will void any remaining warranty. Mac Upgrades
does sell drives for user installation, but we cannot offer
instructions or support for the install.
For models listed in, and suffering the fault mentioned in this Apple advisory.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Expansion Card Upgrades
Your MacBook Pro has an ExpressCard/34 slot for expansion. This is a modern, high bandwidth slot, considerably superior to the old PCMCIA found on the PowerBook range.
There is also an internal slot for the Airport Extreme card, which can be replaced or upgraded.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy (Express34 slot only).
Install any supplied software, turn off the machine and insert the ExpressCard into the socket on the machine.
Restart machine and away you go.
Keyboards & Mice
The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Cables & Tools
Listed below are power cables, tools and related products
we supply for this Mac.
The 17" version of the Macbook Pro has FireWire 800, FireWire 400
and USB 2.0 connectivity. The laptop also has an ExpressCard slot which
is a high bandwidth expansion port, suitable for adding connectivity suitable
for fast external storage.
Any complete machines of this type or similar that we have for sale are listed here. Please note that these are refurbished models with a 3 month warranty, and that delivery is likely to take 3 - 5 working days. These can be purchased online with the standard website courier delivery charge for the mainland UK only. Please contact us for a quote on shipping to other areas.
There are none available.
Repair Services for this Mac
Here are the various repair services we offer for this Mac. You can have us take the machine in for evaluation, or book a fixed-price repair if you already know what the fault is and the service is listed below (for services without parts, please see the relevant tab on this page for compatible parts that we sell). If you know what the fault is, but we don't have a fixed-price repair listed below, please contact
us for a quote.
