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

Macbook Hard Drive replacement steps

boston04and07

boston04and07

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 13, 2008
1,846
952
So I'm going to be replacing my internal hard drive today with one I just got from Other World Computing, and even though I think I've got all the steps down I'd just like to double check before I begin! Here's what I was planning on doing:

1. Put the new hard drive into the enclosure that came with it
2. Connect the drive to my Macbook
3. Create a clone of my current hard drive
4. Remove the old hard drive from my computer, remove the new hard drive from the enclosure, and put the new hard drive into my computer
5. Boot up the computer again, and (hopefully) have everything be the same except for the amount of storage space available.

Does this sound right, and am I missing anything? I was planning on cloning with either Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner, but since I haven't decided yet, any suggestions there would be appreciated as well. :)
 
boston04and07 said:
So I'm going to be replacing my internal hard drive today with one I just got from Other World Computing, and even though I think I've got all the steps down I'd just like to double check before I begin! Here's what I was planning on doing:

1. Put the new hard drive into the enclosure that came with it
2. Connect the drive to my Macbook
3. Create a clone of my current hard drive
4. Remove the old hard drive from my computer, remove the new hard drive from the enclosure, and put the new hard drive into my computer
5. Boot up the computer again, and (hopefully) have everything be the same except for the amount of storage space available.

Does this sound right, and am I missing anything? I was planning on cloning with either Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner, but since I haven't decided yet, any suggestions there would be appreciated as well. :)
Click to expand...

Wait, since when do drives come with enclosures?
 
macbooker15 said:
which package is this, i was looking to replace my HDD
Click to expand...

WD ones do ie passport & so does the samsung 500GB, basically any notebook drive in an enclosure can be used as long as it's the right size and has the right connections,the only other consideration is how easy/hard it is to get out off the enclosure ,reason being it'll void the warranty on the new drive by taking it out of the enclosure ,this is why it needs to be easy because if it craps out and you have to swap them back to return it any damage will be noted

note the WD passports are easy & so is the samsung
 
Oh, I just thought of something else. I think I remember reading somewhere in another thread about hard drive replacements that there is something you have to do to the new drive before you clone your existing drive to it... like, through Disk Utility or something... am I making this up or is it ringing any bells?
 
Ugh, okay, yet another question! I have the drive in the enclosure ready for backup, plugged into the USB port on my Macbook, with the power on - but the computer isn't recognizing that the drive's plugged in...
 
boston04and07 said:
Oh, I just thought of something else. I think I remember reading somewhere in another thread about hard drive replacements that there is something you have to do to the new drive before you clone your existing drive to it... like, through Disk Utility or something... am I making this up or is it ringing any bells?
Click to expand...

You will want to format the drive using Disk utility. Partition it first as GUID, and then format the drive.

After you install the drive in the enclosure, plug it into the usb/firewire port on your Macbook. It may already be formatted for windows, and may show up on your desktop.

Here are the to partition and format the drive:

1. Launch Disk utility
2. Click on the drive in the Left hand pane of Disk utility
(MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DISK)
3. Click on the partition tab
3. Click on Options
4. Select GUID format
5. Click Apply
6. Click on the Erase Tab
7. Set the VOlume FOrmat to Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
8. Click Erase
9. The volume should show up on your desktop now.

Once you get to this point, you can clone your drive.
 
aross99 said:
You will want to format the drive using Disk utility. Partition it first as GUID, and then format the drive.

After you install the drive in the enclosure, plug it into the usb/firewire port on your Macbook. It may already be formatted for windows, and may show up on your desktop.

Here are the to partition and format the drive:

1. Launch Disk utility
2. Click on the drive in the Left hand pane of Disk utility
(MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DISK)
3. Click on the partition tab
3. Click on Options
4. Select GUID format
5. Click Apply
6. Click on the Erase Tab
7. Set the VOlume FOrmat to Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
8. Click Erase
9. The volume should show up on your desktop now.

Once you get to this point, you can clone your drive.
Click to expand...


Yes, that is exactly what I needed to remember - thank you :D
 
Sorry if i kinda high jacked this thread but ive been looking for a HDD upgrade but this kit, lets you back up your original HDD to the new one with the incloser then you swap internally? So all your old files are already on the new HDD ready to go? If so im going to buy asap
 
Ozzhead said:
Sorry if i kinda high jacked this thread but ive been looking for a HDD upgrade but this kit, lets you back up your original HDD to the new one with the incloser then you swap internally? So all your old files are already on the new HDD ready to go? If so im going to buy asap
Click to expand...

Which kit are you talking about the passports? all they are is a external that can be taken apart and used as an internal once you have cloned over OS X, you don't have to buy them you can buy a drive & enclosure separetly

Just download ccc or superduper and away you go

boston04and07 sorry but i presumed you would have known about formatting the drive first before cloning over OS X
 
Neil321 said:
Which kit are you talking about the passports? all they are is a external that can be taken apart and used as an internal once you have cloned over OS X, you don't have to buy them you can buy a drive & enclosure separetly

Just download ccc or superduper and away you go

boston04and07 sorry but i presumed you would have known about formatting the drive first before cloning over OS X
Click to expand...

Oh no worries, I found instructions on how to format somewhere in the Macbook Pro forums. I knew that formatting had to be done but couldn't think of the word, hahah, and wasn't sure how to do it. This was my first hard drive replacement in a Mac. :) But I figured it out and now the new drive is in my Macbook, and is working great!
 
Ozzhead said:
Sorry if i kinda high jacked this thread but ive been looking for a HDD upgrade but this kit, lets you back up your original HDD to the new one with the incloser then you swap internally? So all your old files are already on the new HDD ready to go? If so im going to buy asap
Click to expand...

Hey Ozzhead, the drive kit I got was from Other World Computing, I didn't know this until someone else recommended them to me but I guess they sell a lot of hard drives bundled with an enclosure. The enclosure they sent with my drive was their Mercury enclosure, which was easy to use and worked nicely. The drive and enclosure came in the same box but not put together. When I got them I put the new drive in the enclosure, formatted it, cloned it with Superduper, and booted from it to make sure it worked (which it did :D ) Then I just swapped drives, putting my old one in the enclosure so that I'll always have a spare. A little nicety is that the enclosure came with its own leather case, so that's where my old drive and enclosure will stay, just in case!

This is the one I bought, but they have them in smaller sizes in case you don't need all those gigabytes: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/HM500JIMU2/

As for the drive itself, it's been in my Macbook for a few days now, and so far so good! *crosses fingers* For 500 gb it barely makes any noise, which I didn't expect. :)

Sorry for taking so long to respond, but I hope this helps!!
 
boston04and07 said:
Oh no worries, I found instructions on how to format somewhere in the Macbook Pro forums. I knew that formatting had to be done but couldn't think of the word, hahah, and wasn't sure how to do it. This was my first hard drive replacement in a Mac. :) But I figured it out and now the new drive is in my Macbook, and is working great!
Click to expand...

Glad it worked out Ok & all well, nice having more space eh ?, me i don't own a MB but have a couple of MBP's that i upgrade their HDD's when needed, put the same drive in you have about a month back sweeeet. All that's left now to do is wait for Nehalem Mac Pro's to be released and i'll be cooking on gas
 
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