Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Installing ML to new SSD via old HDD?

M

MattRJH

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 24, 2009
4
0
My 2011 Macbook Pro hard drive is on its way out, so I've gone out to buy a new SSD. I'm aware of how to install the new drive and what-not, but I'm wondering how I'd go about installing ML to it in my situation.

I have no internet connection available to me at the moment (except work, where I am now), so I cannot re-download the 4gb ML install, and I don't feel like forking out money for an 'official USB key'. I also can no longer boot into the OS X partition on my HDD (Tried repairing it etc. No luck), but luckily I can still grab my files from that partition in Bootcamp, so I'll end up just throwing that drive into an enclosure.

I have noticed however that when holding the option key while the system boots, I can still get to the backup/recovery utility etc.
There is an option in there to do a fresh install of ML to the drive....

1) Would I be able to put my SSD into an external enclosure and use that utility to do a clean install to my SSD, WITHOUT losing the files on my HDD.
2) When you click through to do a fresh install, does it end up asking you for a disc or the 'official USB key', or does the HDD hold the install files somewhere in a hiddden partition and install it from there? :/

Any help would be great.
Thanks guys!

EDIT: If this has already been answered elsewhere, sorry! I havent found an answer anywhere though.
 
Last edited:
MattRJH said:
My 2011 Macbook Pro hard drive is on its way out, so I've gone out to buy a new SSD. I'm aware of how to install the new drive and what-not, but I'm wondering how I'd go about installing ML to it in my situation.

I have no internet connection available to me at the moment (except work, where I am now), so I cannot re-download the 4gb ML install, and I don't feel like forking out money for an 'official USB key'. I also can no longer boot into the OS X partition on my HDD (Tried repairing it etc. No luck), but luckily I can still grab my files from that partition in Bootcamp, so I'll end up just throwing that drive into an enclosure.

I have noticed however that when holding the option key while the system boots, I can still get to the backup/recovery utility etc.
There is an option in there to do a fresh install of ML to the drive....

1) Would I be able to put my SSD into an external enclosure and use that utility to do a clean install to my SSD, WITHOUT losing the files on my HDD.
2) When you click through to do a fresh install, does it end up asking you for a disc or the 'official USB key', or does the HDD hold the install files somewhere in a hiddden partition and install it from there? :/

Any help would be great.
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Are you near an Apple store? You could connect to their Internet and download ML from Internet recovery. You can put your SSD in an enclosure and install ML. However you need to format the drive first then connect to wifi to download ML. Or if you have a cloning software you can clone your HDD and restore your SSD while its in the enclosure.
 
Irock619 said:
Well then you can clone your info and put it on your SSD. I believe CCC also clones the OS.
Click to expand...
use an external enclosure with new ssd drive in it, then use Super duper download from internet (CCC will charge you, super duper will not) to clone your internal drive to ssd drive.
Then boot up from external drive (press option key when the chime sounds), see if you can access your system.
Then swipe the old drive with the ssd drive and you are in business.
Make sure the start up drive is highlighted when you check with apple menu > system preference > start up disk > highlight the start up disk, if not restart after highlighting it.
 
To complete a fresh installation from the Recovery Partition on the failing drive or from the Recovery functions built into the MBP itself both requires an internet connection.

When you wrote that repairing the drive didn't work was that because Disk Utility was unable to repair it or because Disk Utility didn't see the drive at all?

If Disk Utility sees the drive and sees the partition with all your files in particular you can perhaps use Disk Utilities own Restore functions to clone the drive.
Disk Utility > Erase to format the SSD for Mac
Disk Utility > Restore to clone your drive to the SSD
Drag Old drive to Source
Drag SSD to Destination

(Provided you want to go that way. That HDD is failing, after all, and cloning may transfer the problems to the SSD if System files have become corrupted.)

Best bet seems to me to find an internet connection to download and install a clean version of Mountain Lion somehow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back