Does this sound correct?

[basesloaded190]

After much deliberation as to what machine I am going to be buying, I have decided to get the low end i5 Macbook Pro. I was all set on the high end, but read that the upgrade to i7 really wasn't worth the money. I won't be doing any video or much photo editing so the extra savings will be going to RAM and an SSD.

That being said, before I purchase my SSD and computer, I want to make sure that i have plan of action correct. I will be buying the data doubler and installing the SSD in the HDD position and replacing the optical drive with the original HDD. Here is my question. Can i install the DD and the SSD before even turning on the computer for the first time, and insert the Install disk and boot from there? I would format the drives appropriately and install the OS directly on to the SSD. From there I would use Migrate Assistant to move all my old files and programs on to the HDD after that. Is this an appropriate way to go about doing this?

 

[alust2013]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Be sure to erase/reformat the HDD, to get rid of the OS X install there.

 

[tamvly]

And the advantage of NOT turning on the machine first is ???

 

[basesloaded190]

And the advantage of NOT turning on the machine first is ???

Not sure if there is one. Just thought i would get all the upgrades done and over with before doing anything else

 

[tamvly]

Seems to me that confirming the system actually works would be an important first step. Plus, if anything goes wrong - horrible display problem, etc - there is nothing to undo before returning to Apple. Unlikely, but possible.

I suggest you set the machine up the way you want. Then do the SSD install and HD move to the optical bay. Make sure this works by booting from the HD. Then clone the HD to the SSD and continue setting up the system as you choose. I suppose you will be moving the user partition to the HD while OS + apps live on the SSD.

You might also consider how you are going to back all of this up. So you might consider a small partition on the HD as a backup boot.

 

[basesloaded190]

Seems to me that confirming the system actually works would be an important first step. Plus, if anything goes wrong - horrible display problem, etc - there is nothing to undo before returning to Apple. Unlikely, but possible.

I suggest you set the machine up the way you want. Then do the SSD install and HD move to the optical bay. Make sure this works by booting from the HD. Then clone the HD to the SSD and continue setting up the system as you chose. I suppose you will be moving the user partition to the HD while OS + apps live on the SSD.

You might also consider how you are going to back all of this up. So you might consider a small partition on the HD as a backup boot.

Let me make sure I get what your saying. I should boot up just to make sure it looks good to go. Make the upgrades as I described. I can then boot from the HDD that is now in the optical position, then clone this onto the SSD? I have externals that i could use to make a back up of this. I could then erase/reformat the HDD and move over the old stuff?

 

[tamvly]

Basically, yes.

Not sure exactly what you mean by "stuff'. A popular configuration for this combo would put OS + apps on the SSD and move user data onto the HD. My Mac Pro has an 80GB SSD with a TON of apps on it and I have never approached more than 60 GB used. So if that is your plan you can save some serious money by getting a smaller SSD.

Per previous post, I'd suggest after rebooting on the SSD (and making sure that everything is hunkey-dorey) that you erase the HD and create two partitions: one for user data and one as a back up boot partition. Then move your user data to the user partition and cone the SSD to the backup boot partition on the HD.

If you don't feel you need a backup boot partition on the HD - and many people don't - then just copy the user data to the newly formatted HD and you're done.

 

[basesloaded190]

Basically, yes.

Not sure exactly what you mean by "stuff'. A popular configuration for this combo would put OS + apps on the SSD and move user data onto the HD. My Mac Pro has an 80GB SSD with a TON of apps on it and I have never approached more than 60 GB used. So if that is your plan you can save some serious money by getting a smaller SSD.

Per previous post, I'd suggest after rebooting on the SSD (and making sure that everything is hunkey-dorey) that you erase the HD and create two partitions: one for user data and one as a back up boot partition. Then move your user data to the user partition and cone the SSD to the backup boot partition on the HD.

If you don't feel you need a backup boot partition on the HD - and many people don't - then just copy the user data to the newly formatted HD and you're done.

Makes sense. What i meant by stuff is moving all my old files (music, docs, movies, etc.) over from my old computer. I think i have a pretty good idea of how I will go about doing this now.

 

[dagamer34]

If anything, just boot from the HDD with the SSD installed, clone your drive with SuperDuper, then boot from the SSD and wipe the HDD. It's a lot faster to copy data from one drive to another than to install OS X from scratch (which takes a good 20 min or so) but you'll need to install iLife as well.