Just installed new HDD, issues/questions

[aznguyen316]

Hey MR, so I just installed a 320GB Samsung 5400RPM into my MacBook, check sig for details. Replaced the OEM 160GB. Well I used first SuperDuper! and it booted up fine, but I found it to be really laggy, specifically my dock is in hide mode and it would like lock up or something for a sec before showing. Same thing with the dashboard. I have it hot cornered and it will take a few seconds before popping up, even F12 won't work for a while.

So I redid the backup process using Carbon Copy Cloner and that seemed to copy over at a better 1:1 since the sizes were the same this time. Well the OS still seems to lag at times, not as bad, but there are still at times (often) for 2-3 seconds I can't access dashboard or the dock and then it's fine and snappy. Also other quirks I'm noticing is when in either Firefox or Safari, when I click within the window, it seems to click outside the window to gray out the window bar and does not register clicks very well. Annoying.

When I put my original 160GB back in, everything is snappy and great, which is quite annoying b/c I don't want to go back to the size but I might b/c of these lag issues and quirks.

Do I just need to give the new HDD time? I've went into expose/spaces to reset my preferences and restarted the machine, but ugh.

Thanks for your time!

 

[ftaok]

When I put my original 160GB back in, everything is snappy and great, which is quite annoying b/c I don't want to go back to the size but I might b/c of these lag issues and quirks.

Do I just need to give the new HDD time? I've went into expose/spaces to reset my preferences and restarted the machine, but ugh.

Thanks for your time!

Sounds like a definate HDD issue. If possible, return the Samsung for another one, or one of another brand.

ft

 

[skorpien]

I'm not sure if this will apply to you, but when I replaced my HDD I was running into the same issue. I solved my problem by placing my old HDD into an external enclosure, wiping it, using Time Machine to make a backup of the internal drive and doing a fresh install of Leopard on the new HDD. Then I restored using the Time Machine backup and everything's been super snappy since then.

I'd try replacing the new HDD with another one first though, as you might not want to completely wipe your original drive (make absolute sure it's not just the HDD causing things to lag). And if you try a different brand and it's still lagging, you might want to consider what I posted above.

 

[aznguyen316]

I may try this, but doing the opposite since I don't want to mess with the original HDD at all at this point. So I'll put the new 320GB into enclosure wipe it again and I guess I could use time machine to do etc etc.. I'll have to think this through, I have a 120GB ext also to use for backing up. It just takes soo long to clone my drive via the USB 2.0, like 2 hours..

**decided to do the time machine backup, erase and install Leopard onto the new 320GB HDD and now currently restoring from time machine backup lol. sigh here goes another couple of hours.

 

[aznguyen316]

just wanted to mention skorpien's method worked flawlessly. thanks

 

[skorpien]

Anytime Glad to help.

 

[miniConvert]

just wanted to mention skorpien's method worked flawlessly. thanks

I'm encouraged to hear the Time Machine restore went well! Not had to do one yet... Am curious to see if the end result is a Mac "just as it was before".

 

[skorpien]

Mine was. It copied all preferences and files that I had previously, but giving me a clean install of Leopard at the same time. As a side note, the reason the Time Machine restore is snappier is because (according to what I've researched) cloning the drive copies the files alphabetically, thereby fragmenting the drive as it copies. The Time Machine restore, on the other hand, keeps the drive as optimized as possible. Although you will need to run the Apple Update and download all updates for your programs.

 

[aznguyen316]

I'm encouraged to hear the Time Machine restore went well! Not had to do one yet... Am curious to see if the end result is a Mac "just as it was before".

It wasn't EXACTLY as it was before. Mostly yes, all my preferences seemed to be intact, desktop picture and program settings. I installed Leopard from the retail disc (10.5.1) even though my Time machine restore was up-to-date, I had to do the software update and re-download 10.5.6, as well as all other updates like for iPhoto, iTunes, an airport update and something else. It was like a 675MB total d/l and install.

I noticed this when I tried to open up iTunes but it would not allow me since my library was newer than iTunes ver on the Mac. But all iTunes settings were as before, nothing changed.

So yeah the only thing I had to do was do a software update. My Mail was all there and inbox was safely imported.