Installing new SSD, Backup, and Questions

First, you do the install of both drives where you want them to be.

Then, pick an option:

1) If you have another Mac with firewire, hold down T on your macbook to enter target mode. You'll see both drives as externals on the other mac, and can use super duper or whatever you want to copy from one drive to the other.

2) If you're proficient with the terminal commands, you could boot into internet recovery, and then just do a ditto from one drive to the other.

3) You could boot into recovery or internet recovery on your macbook, install onto the SSD, and then do a migration assistant.

 

Starting around OS X 10.7, recovery mode is a separate mini OS X that exists on your boot drive in order to make it easier to fix your computer.
In many of the recent MacBooks, it's possible to use "Internet Recovery" which actually downloads and boots the recovery OS from the internet if your boot drive's recovery partition is unusable.

When you're booted off the recovery OS, you'll be able to do a few things including:
1) Format a drive
2) Install OS X onto an attached drive.
3) Open the terminal to run more complex commands.

When copying an OS from one drive to another, it's highly recommended that you not be running that OS install you are trying to copy. Booting off recovery mode satisfies this requirement.

I don't remember the exact keystrokes since it's been a while since I tried it. So you'll have to look that up for your particular Mac.

Just checking, I was under the impression that your OS is on the hard drive, and you wanted to move that to the SSD?

 

Also please do NOT follow the steps to create a DIY fusion drive before 10.9 came out. Instead the steps in the MacRumor's post by Dark Dragoon to create a 10.9 Apple way of creating a 10.9 DIY version of a Fusion Drive.

First though get IMHO the best cloning software Carbon Copy Cloner and clone your current setup to it. Then once you create the Fusion Dive (listed in the previous paragraph) you can create a Flash drive installer (listed in the previous link) and install a Fresh copy onto the new Fusion Drive. Then in the Fresh copy use /Applications/Utilities/Migrations Assistant.app to move over your Data, Pictures, Music, etc. (just not Network connections - just make those manually again) back over from the clone you did before.

 

I just ordered an SSD & kit to put my HDD in optical bay (better to put the SSD in the original HDD spot) also, and am considering making a fusion drive out of them, found this: http://blog.macsales.com/17624-os-x...tup-option-for-non-fusion-drive-equipped-macs (if you read comments, same works for mavericks.)

Another (easier) option is to put your OS & apps and such on SSD and user files on HDD, see this: http://blog.macsales.com/13511-owc-introduces-techknowlogy-video-series

Posting both as I have not yet decided which way to do it. My SSD & "data doubler" kit for the optical bay is due to arrive Friday, will figure it out by this weekend.

I've found OWC to have some great DIY videos for upgrading macs and I just came across this stuff off their blog.