Best option to install/clone new hard drive

[coghlan]

Yeah, CCC will clone your drive, but if other apps like MS Office notices a change and it wants you to reactivate, then there's not much you can do to get around it. I'm glad you were able to dig out your old license key - that makes life a lot simpler

Yeah, the weird thing though is that, on another MBP, MS didn't ask for the key after: a) back up hard drive, b) install SSD, c) have Genius Bar install El Capitain and d) restore from Time Machine. In this case, I cloned the original drive to the SSD via CCC, and MS wanted me to re-activate.