Replacing notebook components is no small matter, even if the screws take on the tiniest of proportions. I’ve upgraded the hard drive in my MacBook Pro, and so I have weathered my struggle with 2.55 mm Phillips screws. Opening the case of the MBP accounts for two-dozen of these fasteners, most of them at 000 size of the screw-head. Work slowly and set everything out in a pattern to keep the four differing styles of screws organized. My friend Steve Hardwick said he puts out a strip of duct tape, doubled over to expose its sticky side, and put the screws onto the tape.

Small businesses and independent creatives consider this kind of self-service, perhaps to replace a failed Superdrive like mine, because self-service saves a lot. This was an $85 repair at the Apple Store, and might have been more at a provider unfamiliar with the MacBook.

Other World Computing offers replacement components for Macs as well as tutorial videos on how to install drives and memory. The video makes the process seem easier than it looks; your garden-variety computer tech spins a 000 Phillips screwdriver a lot faster than a frugal small business owner. But there’s a feeling of clever accomplishment when you snap the MacBook back together and punch that start button to hear the signature chime of Mac startup.One issue to consider: how to transfer the contents of an outbound internal drive to a new drive that’s taking its place. I used SuperDuper! to make a clone of the outgoing MacBook drive, copying every last file and permission. Then when the new drive was screwed and clipped in place I partitioned it, using Apple’s Disk Utility (Drive Genius also does this, and so much more.) I then booted from that external copy of the old internal drive, then SuperDuper-ed it all back onto the new drive’s startup partition.

It’s good to have onboard disc burning and reading capability on this two-year-old system again. The Sony 840 is a faster burner, but since it’s a USB drive it won’t book this vintage of MacBook from an OS X disc. And now I own a 000 Phillips screwdriver, and a little more moxie about working in millimeters.