Install Disks and New Hard Drive

[citywalk]

My new hard drive is arriving and I can not find my Install Disk's anywhere! I really don't want to wait another week for Apple to send replacements. Any ideas?

 

[spinnerlys]

3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD​

• 
  
  [*]Making a clone (1:1 copy)
  
  A "clone" is direct 1:1 copy of the contents of one HDD to another HDD and allows the target HDD to be bootable.
  

  • In order to clone your old HDD to the new HDD, you need to get an enclosure for your new HDD. If speed is not an issue, any USB 2.0 enclosure for S-ATA HDDs will do (examples of USB 2.0 enclosure).
  • If you move around a lot of data or need a faster interface, you can also go for enclosures with a Firewire 800 interface (examples of Firewire 800 enclosure).
  • There are also eSATA/USB docks for 3.5" and 2.5" S-ATA HDDs (example).

  
  After you put the new HDD into your MacBook or MacBook Pro and put the old HDD into the enclosure (you can do it the other way around too), you need to boot from your old HDD via holding down the OPTION/ALT key right after the Startup Sound chimes. After you successfully booted from the old HDD in the external enclosure you either get CarbonCopyCloner (CCC) (free) or SuperDuper (SD) (free, but buying it gives you additional options) and install them appropriately.​
  
  
  • How to use CarbonCopyCloner
    
    CCC offers you to select a SOURCE DISK, in this case your old HDD, and a TARGET DISK, in this case your new HDD. After you made your selection, there is only the CLONE button to click and to enter your account password. There are more options of course, but they are meant for backing up instead of making 1:1 copies.​
  • How to use SuperDuper
    
    SD offers you to select the source disk (COPY ...) and a target disk (TO ...). It has additional options for backing up only system or user files and to create a disk image and some more, but for the cloning process the above will do and the free version will suffice.​
  
  
  [*]Using Time Machine and the Migration Assistant
  
  If you use Time Machine as means to back up, you can just replace the old HDD with the new one and re-install Mac OS X via the Restore or Upgrade or Retail DVD and select the connected Time Machine HDD via the Setup Assistant to import ll your data and even your entire Mac OS X (if you backed it up too).
  
  If you didn't use Time Machine and want to start with a fresh installation of Mac OS X, you can either use the Setup Assistant during the installation process to import some of your data (including applications) or you can use the Migration Assistant to import the data after the installation is finished.
  
  Further reading upon Time Machine and Setup and Migration Assistant:
  

  • MacOS X 10.5, 10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
  • Pro Tip of the Week: Move All Your Stuff to a New Mac — Quick
  • Migration Assistant - Use Migration Assistant to Copy Data from a Previous OS
  • 6 easy steps to migrate your Mac using Time Machine

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

 

[citywalk]

Perfect. Thanks a lot. Everything I was reading about changing hard drives was all about using install disk's.

 

[citywalk]

like the time machine method. which I can't do without the install disc

 

[satcomer]

What you should really is find an external kit that you can put your old/new drive into. Then you could first put the new drive into that case and then clone to that drive. Then take that drive out and then remove the old hard drive from your Mac. Now put that new drive that you cloned to and put that in your Mac. Now you can boot from that drive.

Then you are almost done. Now put that old drive into the case and mount it on your Mac's OS X system and then boot from that external. This was once you are booted from the old drive you can launch Disk Utility and you can use that to repair permissions on the new internal drive.

Lastly you boot back into the Mac's new internal and then erase your old drive or keep it as an emergency bootable backup. Just remember to keep the external drive updated.

See what you can do in OS X, booting from externals can be VERY beneficial!

 

[HighTopFade]

I plan on going from a 250GB drive to a 500GB drive. If I use CCC or SD for cloning, will the cloned 500GB drive immediately see the added drive space? Thanks in advance.