MacBook -> MacBook Pro Transition

[CylonGlitch]

Ok, here is the situation. I have a MacBook at work, and a MacBook Pro at home. We just hired another employee and he is going to get my MacBook. I am going to move the data on my MacBook to my MacBook Pro and that will become my work machine. Eventually work will buy a replacement MacBook Pro for me (we are on a big contract right now but it will be a few months before we are paid).

Here is what I want to do. I want to take the hard drive out of MacBook and put it in the MBP. Will this work? Or do I have to reinstall the OS with the version made for the MBP? Next I need to copy my data from one machine to another and finally put the original hard drive back in the MB and reformat it. (both machines have been upgraded to 500gb HD's).

Are there any other problems I might run into? I hope I don't have to reformat when transitioning from MB to MBP, but it wouldn't be that bad if I did. Any thoughts?

 

[JediMeister]

Why not just use Migration Assistant and a FireWire 400-400 or 400-800 cable? Swapping out the HD entirely seems a bit much IMO.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Why not just use Migration Assistant and a FireWire 400-400 or 400-800 cable? Swapping out the HD entirely seems a bit much IMO.

I need my work machine, that's the most important. Then I need to add in, to another account, the data on my home machine. Because for the first month or two my home MBP becomes my work machine, I won't have a home machine, and the current MB goes to another employee. Then when the new MBP's are announced, that is when I'll get a replacement. Oh yeah, my current home HD is 5400RPM and the work HD is 7200RPM.

 

[alphaod]

If the MacBook has the NVIDIA chipset it should work. Worst case scenario, you have to do an 'Archive and Install' which just installs the core OS files and drivers. Then just update to the latest point release. Only a few programs may need to be reinstalled. Most should not have any issues.

Always remember to back up!

 

[ayeying]

If the MacBook has the NVIDIA chipset it should work. Worst case scenario, you have to do an 'Archive and Install' which just installs the core OS files and drivers. Then just update to the latest point release. Only a few programs may need to be reinstalled. Most should not have any issues.

Always remember to back up!

Really doesn't matter for the hardware. As long as the OS is up to date with the newest one and the "." updates, you can switch hard drives.

 

[alphaod]

Really doesn't matter for the hardware. As long as the OS is up to date with the newest one and the "." updates, you can switch hard drives.

When I tried moving my MacBook Pro HDD from a Early 2008 model to a Late 2008 model, it did not work.

Anyways I did say worse case, the OP would need to an Archive and Install.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Thanks for the suggestions, looking good so far. I do want to copy my user account from one hard drive to another, still working on getting that all setup.

Thanks again.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Thanks everyone for the help, I used the Migration Assistant to move the data over to the work hard drive (170+GB) and then swapped out the hard drives and now have it running in my MBP. So far so good. I have an extra 500GB drive now, but no big deal, I'll use it I'm sure.

BTW, Migration Assistant is AWESOME! Really, one of the hidden gems of OSX!