Fresh SSD install - a few OSX basic questions

[ls1dreams]

Hi all,

I am purchasing an SSD, and plan to do a fresh install of Mavericks. I also plan to move my 320gb HDD to the optical bay area.

I'm traditionally a windows user, so had a few questions on the backup process:

- Typically, does just backing up Users > Home Folder catch pretty much everything? Any other places I should keep an eye on? (I'm not sure if Chrome bookmarks are stored there, or other preferences, etc).

- My old HDD will still have OSX on there until I can reboot to start deleting stuff (the plan is to delete everything except the home folder). Will my macbook be confused at all by seeing 2 drives? Or can I simply hold option while I boot to pick the new drive?

- Should I completely format/wipe the old drive and copy the data back, or can I easily just delete everything but the home folder after?

My current plan looks something like this:
1. Backup anything important to an external drive just in case
2. Open up macbook, install SSD into the primary SATA slot, and my old HDD into the optical bay with a caddy
3. Boot up with a USB drive + mavericks to install to the SSD
4. Reboot computer, from Mavericks, copy my old home folder back onto the SSD (bad idea? maybe just reinstall everything from scratch?)
5. Delete all unnecessary files from old HDD, keeping just the home directory of my data (delete system files, etc. Not sure if i'll have problems with these being locked).

Any tips to make the transition easier appreciated.

 

[ufkdo]

I strongly suggest you to back up your current hard drive to an external drive using time machine. That way, when you fresh install Mavericks in your new SSD, you will be able to migrate all your data from your time machine backup without any hassle.

 

[pastrychef]

My current plan looks something like this:
1. Backup anything important to an external drive just in case
2. Open up macbook, install SSD into the primary SATA slot, and my old HDD into the optical bay with a caddy
3. Boot up with a USB drive + mavericks to install to the SSD
4. Reboot computer, from Mavericks, copy my old home folder back onto the SSD (bad idea? maybe just reinstall everything from scratch?)
5. Delete all unnecessary files from old HDD, keeping just the home directory of my data (delete system files, etc. Not sure if i'll have problems with these being locked).

1-3 will work fine.

In regards to #4 and #5, use Migration Assistant to move your old stuff to the new SSD.

What are you trying to retain on the old drive? If you intend on using it solely for backups, it might be a better idea to use it as a Time Machine drive.

You can lose some stuff if you just copy the home folder. For example, internet plug-ins reside in a subdirectory in the Library folder found on the root directory.

If/when you are trying to delete a large number of locked files, you can hold the [Option] key while selecting Empty Trash.

 

[ls1dreams]

1-3 will work fine.

In regards to #4 and #5, use Migration Assistant to move your old stuff to the new SSD.

What are you trying to retain on the old drive? If you intend on using it solely for backups, it might be a better idea to use it as a Time Machine drive.

You can lose some stuff if you just copy the home folder. For example, internet plug-ins reside in a subdirectory in the Library folder found on the root directory.

If/when you are trying to delete a large number of locked files, you can hold the [Option] key while selecting Empty Trash.

My plan right now is to use the SSD for the OS, applications, and for temporary downloads.

The 320gb drive would store all of my documents, photos, music, movies, etc, and this drive would be backed up to an external 1.5tb USB drive.

I'm not currently using Time Machine because my USB drive is formatted NTFS, and I'd prefer to keep it that way so I can share it with other PC's easily.

 

[pastrychef]

After you move everything from your old drive to the SSD, you won't need to keep the home folder on your old drive anymore. You can just use Disk Utility to re-initialize it to get rid of all the old stuff.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

I'm not currently using Time Machine because my USB drive is formatted NTFS, and I'd prefer to keep it that way so I can share it with other PC's easily.

So use it as a Time Machine drive until you have finished the reinstall, then format it. Oh, and if the drive is being used on both Windows and Macs, it's probably better to format it as exFat.