MacBook For Dummies, 5th Edition

Chapter 21

Adding New Stuff to Your Laptop

In This Chapter

Adding memory

Upgrading your hard drive

Adding USB, Thunderbolt, and FireWire devices

Reviewing what add-ons are available

“No laptop is an island.” Somebody famous wrote that, I’m sure.

Without getting too philosophical — or invoking the all-powerful Internet yet again — the old saying really does make sense. All computer owners usually add at least one peripheral (external device), such as a printer, trackball, iPod, backup drive, or scanner. I talk about the ports on your MacBook in Chapter 1. These holes aren’t there just to add visual interest to the sides of your treasured laptop. I cover your ports (and what you can plug into them) in detail in this chapter.

But what about the stuff inside your road warrior? That’s where things get both interesting and scary at the same time. In this chapter, I describe what you can add to the innards of your computer, as well as how to get inside there if you work up the courage to go exploring.

More Memory Will Help

Every computer benefits from more memory — and no, there’s no ...