Upgrading Mom's MacBook

[cmcbridejr]

My mom has a MacBook Core Duo (the first Intel MacBook). Currently, the OS is Tiger and her internal hard drive is completely full.

So, I bought her a new internal hard drive and Leopard. How do I upgrade her computer? Do I first install the new internal hard drive and then boot the computer with the Leopard install disk? I want to start from scratch (clean install).

Thank you in advance.

[sheepopo39]

I'm no expert but I believe thats what you do since you want to do a clean

Oh and you would have to partition the disk in disk utility before you can install Leopard

[cmcbridejr]

Oh and you would have to partition the disk in disk utility before you can install Leopard

How would I do that?

[r.j.s]

Just install the drive, then install leopard.

Do you have all the files from the old drive backed up somewhere, or do you have an enclosure to place the old drive in?

How would I do that?

The installer will take care of it.

[GfulDedFan]

How would I do that?

Once you boot to the install disk, goto Disk Utility from the menu and Format the new drive as Mac Extended (Journaled) and then Partition it as 1 (or more if you desire) partition and give it a name like Macintosh HD or whatever and hit the Options button to map it as GUID.
Now you are ready to install Leopard.

[cmcbridejr]

Thanks for the help, everyone.

I managed to upgrade the hard drive in my Mom's MacBook and get Leopard installed. Actually quite easy.

However, I have a new question and thought that I would continue in this thread.

Now that I have removed the 80GB hard drive from my Mom's MacBook, can I now get an enclosure and boot Tiger off the external?

[GfulDedFan]

Yes you can.

[cmcbridejr]

Yes you can.

Great!

Does it matter if it is a firewire or usb enclosure?

I am sure that Macs used to require firewire to boot off external, but hasn't that changed since moving to Intel?

I should be able to boot the old internal in a usb enclosure. Right?

[Darth.Titan]

You can boot off a USB enclosure, but firewire is better.

[BulkHedd]

I'm about to upgrade my MacBook's HD as well. I have an external enclosure but I think it's USB only. What I want to do is install the new drive and do a fresh install of Leopard and all the updates. Can I put the old drive into the enclosure and copy all of my music, pictures, documents AND installed software over easily? Maybe using migration assistant?

EDIT: I just remembered I am using Time Machine so will Leopard rebuild my system from the Time Machine backups after a fresh OS install???

[r.j.s]

EDIT: I just remembered I am using Time Machine so will Leopard rebuild my system from the Time Machine backups after a fresh OS install???

Yes.

[BulkHedd]

Yes.

Would it be best for me to just put in the new drive, format it and do the restore directly from the OS X DVD or should I go ahead an install Leopard, THEN do the restore?

[r.j.s]

I restored directly from the DVD, and I've had no problems. Faster this way too since you don't have to install the OS first.

But, if you want a clean install, just install OS X, then use migration assistant.

[BulkHedd]

Well I just got the new drive installed and formatted. I attempted to do the Time Machine restore but after I select the Time Machine backup it just sits there at the Select a Destination screen "searching for disks". Nothing happens.

[r.j.s]

What did you format it as?

[BulkHedd]

What did you format it as?

Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

[cmcbridejr]

Hey, ya'll!

I just wanted to chime in on my experiences.

I upgraded my Mom's laptop with the new hard drive and it was a very simple process. Just put the new one in and boot up. The Leopard install disc walks you through the rest of the steps. No problems.

Thanks for all the help!

[harry454]

install new hd with leopard, then use migration assistant to copy the files from older one.