bought a new SSD HD for my Macbook Pro--where do I even begin???

[proverbs]

hello everyone.

i just bought a new Crucial M4 256gb SSD HD. i have an old 2.33 C2D 3gb ram (maxed) MBP from 2006.

the laptop still runs great; however, it could definitely be more snappier. i heard that a SSD would be the best solution for this. the other big reason i bought it was because i occasionally need Windows for some software that i have that is not compatible with Mac.

well, now that i have the HD, i realized i have no idea where to start. i have close to 7 years of data on this thing. i've never had to do a format or anything like that. i have an external HD, and i back my files up ever 3 months or so.

i'm trying to decide whether to do a clean install or move everything over to my new HD. actually, i don't even know if the latter is possible. what would you guys suggest?

any help on getting started will be greatly appreciated.

TIA!!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Can this help?

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:

• 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
• 1. Getting a new HDD
• 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
• 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
• 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)

​

How to format a new HDD to install Mac OS X onto (or make a bootable copy onto)​

 

[proverbs]

thank you simsaladimbamba!

its a lot more difficult than i thought

 

[kiopoptr877]

Don't Clone Your Old HDD to Your New SSD

I actually have a late 2006 Macbook Pro 15" that I fitted with a Corsair Force 3 120. Most of the forums I read suggested to NOT clone over an old HDD to the new SSD. This is because it can cause alignment problems with the SSD. It seems that most places suggest a clean, new install. I did a clean install and just migrated some of the data over from my old HDD.

The actual replacement process was pretty straightforward. I just followed an iFixit guide and replaced my Superdrive with a HDD housing for the optical bay.

Hope this helps!

 

[Mal]

I actually have a late 2006 Macbook Pro 15" that I fitted with a Corsair Force 3 120. Most of the forums I read suggested to NOT clone over an old HDD to the new SSD. This is because it can cause alignment problems with the SSD. It seems that most places suggest a clean, new install. I did a clean install and just migrated some of the data over from my old HDD.

Unnecessary. If you were to do a block-by-block clone, then you could perhaps have some issues, but using Carbon Copy Cloner will simply copy the files over, which cannot cause any problems. Many users here have done so without issue.

jW

 

[r0k]

Unnecessary. If you were to do a block-by-block clone, then you could perhaps have some issues, but using Carbon Copy Cloner will simply copy the files over, which cannot cause any problems. Many users here have done so without issue.

jW

Agreed. CCC only uses block mode if you run it on a drive other than the one you booted from. Using file mode skips temp files and so forth and thus often results in a smaller image on the new drive.