I know there are a bunch of threads for this, but I can't seem to find the answer to this question. I am getting a brand new 13" MBP which will have Lion installed on it. I want to replace the hdd immediately with a 750gb. How do I install Lion on the new hdd without having downloaded it from the MAS? Is the only option to clone the original drive to the new drive?
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Lion clean install question
- Thread starter panopticblue
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Download a recovery utility and install it on a USB drive. Boot with that to install Lion fresh.
Or, pop the default HD into an external case, and boot into the recovery volume on that, then install Lion clean onto your new HD (this is the method I used, but I did this before Apple released the recovery utility.
Then you can use Migration Assistant to carry over your stuff. Total process takes a couple of hours.
Congrats on the new MBP!
Boot into it and then attach the new HD as an external drive.
Run Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the stock drive onto the new drive. Then replace the stock drive with the new one......
http://www.bombich.com/
Cloning the drive will mean not having the recovery partition. If you're cool with that proceed. If not, you have to use a method sanctioned by Apple.
What I will suggest you is to create boot able DVD of your OS X Lion that will not only help you in this scenario but also it will act as backup of your OS X. Make sure, you have taken proper backup of whole data before doing anything. Now create bootable DVD (Visit here for Creating Bootable Disk For your Mac OS X Lion). Now add new hard drive and install Mac supported file systems and install lion using Boot DVD.
Thank you for the answers! This will be my first mac (longtime pc guy) Is there then no way for me to obtain an install dvd (or even usb stick)? All future clean installs will involve using the recovery partition to get lion from the internet? I can't wait to get my MBP, but this is really annoying me.
Edit: niksimpsons, this is a new mbp with lion pre-installed. I have no way to make a bootable dvd. Which is the main point of my frustration :/
Edit: niksimpsons, this is a new mbp with lion pre-installed. I have no way to make a bootable dvd. Which is the main point of my frustration :/
there is a little app, that allows you to produce a bootable usb stick, it was featured recently in the minimal mac blog...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4848
So I am here with my practical with disk assistant, I have installed it on my Mac and also tried to boot the Mac using it. To know how I install disk assistant on my Mac read here : http://drive-recovery-mac.blogspot.com/2011/08/lion-recovery-disk-assistant.html.
I hope this could help you.
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In all honesty, you may never need to reinstall. But typically, you have to use the methods that come with your Mac. Traditionally, all Macs used to come with their own set of install DVDs. That may have changed.
Making your own tools may see your mileage vary as none of the methods are supported by Apple. Some may work just fine, others will see you wasting your time.
Lion throws a wrench in the mix because it is extremely tied into Apple's servers. I'd call Apple Tech and ask them for solutions. Cloning or using 3rd party utilities to make special bootable discs or partitions may compromise your system's integrity or not install at all. A word of warning.
The new Mac Minis don't allow for Lion to be installed except through the two methods I outlined above. Your Mac may be different but be warned, Lion is not nearly as forgiving as SL when it comes to clean installs.