Transferring Data from old hard drive to new Mac

[festus]

The motherboard died on my 7 year old MacBook Pro. A friend removed the hard drive off the old laptop and suggested I get a docking station to transfer my old files to the new MacBook Pro I'm getting. Not sure if this matters, but I was running Snow Leopard on the old Mac and the new one will have Lion.

Will any dock with these specs to the trick?: 2.5"/3.5" SATA to USB 2.0

 

[Apple fanboy]

The motherboard died on my 7 year old MacBook Pro. A friend removed the hard drive off the old laptop and suggested I get a docking station to transfer my old files to the new MacBook Pro I'm getting. Not sure if this matters, but I was running Snow Leopard on the old Mac and the new one will have Lion.

Will any dock with these specs to the trick?: 2.5"/3.5" SATA to USB 2.0

If there is a lot of stuff to transfer you might be better off getting a USB 3 as it is quicker. Thunderbolt docks are more expensive, but again would be a faster data transfer option. Plus you can continue to use your old drive as a back up or external.
Something like this will match your needs (as well as looking nice IMHO)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/IB-111StU3-...&qid=1371242540&sr=1-8&keywords=usb+3+docking

 

[drsox]

The motherboard died on my 7 year old MacBook Pro. A friend removed the hard drive off the old laptop and suggested I get a docking station to transfer my old files to the new MacBook Pro I'm getting. Not sure if this matters, but I was running Snow Leopard on the old Mac and the new one will have Lion.

Will any dock with these specs to the trick?: 2.5"/3.5" SATA to USB 2.0

If all you want to do is to connect your 2.5in drive to your new MacBook, then look for something like this : http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLOCK-6188...1278400&sr=1-10&keywords=usb3+to+sata+adapter.

I wouldn't think you will have a transfer problem if you use Migration Assistant to do the change.

 

[festus]

If there is a lot of stuff to transfer you might be better off getting a USB 3 as it is quicker. Thunderbolt docks are more expensive, but again would be a faster data transfer option. Plus you can continue to use your old drive as a back up or external.
Something like this will match your needs (as well as looking nice IMHO)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/IB-111StU3-...&qid=1371242540&sr=1-8&keywords=usb+3+docking

That is a nice looking dock. I ended up ordering a Thermaltake BlacX Duet ST0014U through Walmart's site to store service to save on postage, etc. For the long term I'll probably look into the Thunderbolt as you suggested. Your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[festus]

If all you want to do is to connect your 2.5in drive to your new MacBook, then look for something like this : http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLOCK-6188...1278400&sr=1-10&keywords=usb3+to+sata+adapter.

I wouldn't think you will have a transfer problem if you use Migration Assistant to do the change.

Very nice. I had no idea something this straightforward existed. I've already ordered a docking station but will definitely keep this in mind for future reference. For the most part I'll be transferring WORD and PDF docs. I'd also like to transfer MS WORD off the old hard drive too and will use Migration Assistant if it does that. Thanks so much for your help.