Checking hard drive load and unload cycles + restoring HD

[Andy348]

I just put in a 320gb 7.2K HD to replace my MacBook's 120GB. I'm wondering how to check the load and unload cycles of the new hard drive?

Also, I've got all my stuff on my 120GB drive while the new 320 is in my MacBook with a fresh install of Snow Leopard. I've got a hard drive dock that connects via USB. Can I somehow get all my files off of the 120gb drive without switching the drives out?

Thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

With hard drive dock, do you mean an external USB 2.5" HDD enclosure?

 

[Andy348]

With hard drive dock, do you mean an external USB 2.5" HDD enclosure?

Yes.

 

[spinnerlys]

Then you should be able to put the 120GB HDD into the enclosure,
unless you mean with hard drive dock, that there is already a hard drive in the enclosure.

To get access to the data on the 120GB HDD you have to connect it to some SATA connector that converts the signal into USB, like an external HDD enclosure does.

There might be some cable though, I have seen such but don't know their name. It connects to an SATA drive (3.5" and 2.5") and the other end has a USB connector.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=sata+to+usb&x=0&y=0

 

[Andy348]

Then you should be able to put the 120GB HDD into the enclosure,
unless you mean with hard drive dock, that there is already a hard drive in the enclosure.

To get access to the data on the 120GB HDD you have to connect it to some SATA connector that converts the signal into USB, like an external HDD enclosure does.

There might be some cable though, I have seen such but don't know their name. It connects to an SATA drive (3.5" and 2.5") and the other end has a USB connector.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=sata+to+usb&x=0&y=0

I have got a thing that you put the HD in and it comes out as a USB. How would I get the stuff off of that?

 

[spinnerlys]

I have got a thing that you put the HD in and it comes out as a USB. How would I get the stuff off of that?

So you have an external USB enclosure for 2.5" SATA drives I presume, which you can use to put several HDDs into (but separately, not all at once)?

If that is the case, disconnect the residing drive (if there is one) from the enclosure by removing any screws, pulling the drive away from the black SATA connector and put in the 120GB drive. Make sure the drive is properly connected to the SATA connector. If you only want to copy data from the 120GB HDD, and then put the old drive back in, you don't need to re-fasten the screws.

Example of open 2.5" USB HDD enclosure.

Then use the USB cable to connect the drive to your Mac and the 120GB drive will show up as an external drive in Finder.

The small end goes into the enclosure.

Your user data is located in Users/your_user_name_here/ and from that you can copy what you want.

You can also use the Migration Assistant to import all the data on that HDD, including your home folder and Applications and settings and so forth.


Sorry if that was too much detail, but I assume, that you don't know that much about computers according to your previous posts in this thread, which is not meant as an insult. I mean, I can't hot-wire a car (example).