Macbook Hard Drive Upgrade Step by Step

[mcwbyu82]

I ordered some stuff so ic ould upgrade the HD in my 13" Aluminmum MacBook.
Here is what I have to work with.

2TB Seagate External USB Hard Drive
Hitachi 500GB 2.5" SATA drive to replace current 150GB Drive
Mobile Disk enclosure for 2.5" SATA drives, USB

My original plan was to
1. Use SuperDuper to clone my entire HD onto the external
2. remove current HD and install new 500GB
3. Boot from External
4. Copy over from external to new internal

Will this work? In reading the superduper user guide it says you cannot boot from a USB external.

Also at what point and how do i format the new internal drive.
Thanks for any help/suggestions

 

[simsaladimbamba]

1. Get the new HDD into the enclosure and connect it to the Mac via USB.
2. Format the new HDD as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" using "GUID" as partition map scheme.
3. Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a 1:1 copy of the internal HDD to the external HDD.
4. Switch the HDDs.
5. Boot the Mac.
Done.
Btw, Intel Macs can boot from bootable devices connected via USB.
Btw 2, MRoogle is a good tool to search for answers.

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD​

Guide on how to use Disk Utility from the restore / installation DVD.

Format Your Hard Drive Using Disk Utility
Partition Your Hard Drive With Disk Utility

Using Disk Utility - Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks

DiskWiping – One Pass is Enough​

 

[mcwbyu82]

Awesome, thanks for the help. The thought of using the enclosure occurred to me after posting.
Just to be 100% clear when you say "3. Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a 1:1 copy of the internal HDD to the external HDD." external HDD is reffering to the new internal in the enclosure correct?
I will not use the 2TB external at all for this process.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Awesome, thanks for the help. The thought of using the enclosure occurred to me after posting.
Just to be 100% clear when you say "3. Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a 1:1 copy of the internal HDD to the external HDD." external HDD is reffering to the new internal in the enclosure correct?
I will not use the 2TB external at all for this process.

Yes, the new HDD in the external enclosure, not the 2TB HDD.