Fresh install of Mavericks on new SSD

[jan08]

I have just purchased a non Retina MBP and have ordered an SSD to fit into it. I have watched all the videos and tutorials but cannot get my head around what I need to do to get Mavericks on to the new SSD drive

It would seem I need to create a bootable USB drive copy of Mavericks but how would I do this? If someone could explain this to me as though I was a six year old I'd be most grateful

 

[davidlv]

I have just purchased a non Retina MBP and have ordered an SSD to fit into it. I have watched all the videos and tutorials but cannot get my head around what I need to do to get Mavericks on to the new SSD drive

It would seem I need to create a bootable USB drive copy of Mavericks but how would I do this? If someone could explain this to me as though I was a six year old I'd be most grateful

Read this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1649986/

 

[Weaselboy]

Did your Macbook come with Mavericks from the factory when new? If it did, you can just install the SSD then hold command-option-r when booting and you will see a spinning globe while the recovery utility downloads. Once that is done you will see this screen.

Launch Disk Utility and erase the SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Then quit Disk Utility and click Reinstall OS X. The ~5GB OS will download over the Internet and install.

If your Macbook did not come from the factory with Mavericks. Just redownload Mavericks from the App Store and do not allow the installer to run. Then use this free utility along with a 8GB or larger USB key to make the Mavericks installer.

Then option key bot from the USB key installer and you will see the same recovery screen I posted above. From there follow the same process to format the disk and install the OS.

 

[jan08]

The MBP I have bought is only 6 weeks old so I assume it came installed with Mavericks?

Thank you both this is very helpful. If the MBP came with Mavericks, even if I install the SSD I won't have to re-download Mavericks which is fantastic as where I live a 5.2GB download will take 18 hours

 

[hallux]

You'll still need to re-download it. The recovery partition (which may contain the OS install) goes with the drive. If you swap the drive out, you lose the partition. The system itself will contain the capability needed to connect back to Apple to download and install the OS. What the previous person was getting at with the "if it came with Mavericks..", all that was implying was that you'd be able to go directly to Mavericks rather than through another version first.

If it has iLife and iWork, make sure you register them as "purchased" in your MAS account, so you can reinstall them on the new drive.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

The MBP I have bought is only 6 weeks old so I assume it came installed with Mavericks?

Thank you both this is very helpful. If the MBP came with Mavericks, even if I install the SSD I won't have to re-download Mavericks which is fantastic as where I live a 5.2GB download will take 18 hours

Weaselboy's method does download the full 5.2GB file via Internet, so use that method only if you're able to do it at a location with faster service.

You can create your own bootable USB installer of Mavericks but this also requires first downloading the file.

Your best options are:

1. Buy the computer with the SSD already in it, save yourself the trouble

2. Take the computer somewhere with decent broadband and follow Weaselboy's method

3. Get a SATA external dock, use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone over the HDD to the SSD before swapping them

 

[Weaselboy]

The MBP I have bought is only 6 weeks old so I assume it came installed with Mavericks?

Thank you both this is very helpful. If the MBP came with Mavericks, even if I install the SSD I won't have to re-download Mavericks which is fantastic as where I live a 5.2GB download will take 18 hours

Yes, that would have come with Mavericks. Since it is so new, why are you wanting to do a fresh install? If things are working okay, I would just get a cheap external USB enclosure and put the old drive in there and option key boot to it then use Disk Util to format the now installed SSD then clone the old drive to the new with either Disk Util or CCC. Watch this video.

Like others mentioned, to get a fresh install, you will need to download the entire OS. Doing the clone method would avoid that.

 

[Fishrrman]

The OP wrote above:
[[ t would seem I need to create a bootable USB drive copy of Mavericks but how would I do this? If someone could explain this to me as though I was a six year old I'd be most grateful ]]

If you follow the instructions below, it is guaranteed to work..

1. First, you need a USB3/SATA docking station. To see what these are, go to amazon.com and enter "usb3 sata dock" into the search box. There are many choices available, usually start at around $24 or so (US). I see you're in the UK, not sure what is available there. Here's one I would recommend, but again, not sure if it's available there:
http://plugable.com/products/usb3-sata-u3
If the above isn't, how about this:
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Docking-...398523665&sr=8-1&keywords=syba+usb3+sata+dock

2. Once you have the dock, put the SSD into it, connect it to the Mac, turn it on.

3. Now open Disk Utility (in the Utilities folder). Initialize the new drive, use HFS+, journaling enabled. Give the new drive whatever name you'd like.

4. Now, download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html
CCC is FREE to download and is FREE to use for 30 days.

5. Launch CCC and clone the contents of your internal drive ("source" drive on the left in CCC's window) to the docked SSD ("target" drive on the right). It will take a few minutes to copy things over.

6. Next, TEST the new drive BEFORE you install it. Restart and hold down the option key immediately, and keep holding it down until the startup manager appears. Select the docked SSD with the pointer, and hit return.

7. The MacBook should now boot from the SSD in the dock. When you get to the finder, take a good look around. Is everything as it should be?

8. If things look good, NOW it's time to open the MacBook and "do the drive swap". One warning: BE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS (shouting very intentional). The wrong tools could strip out the small screws.

Final thought:
When you get the drives swapped out and the MacBook is back together, you can continue to use the old drive as your backup drive. Just put it into the dock, and use CCC to backup from the MacBook to the docked drive...