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MBP hard drive replacement

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Original poster
Jan 7, 2008
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I have a MBP 2.16 ghz with a 120 gb hard drive. I have been using this external hard drive to store and playback video files:
I also have a 120 gb external hard drive as a time machine backup. Would it be possible to replace my hard drive with the 320 gb external, then restore everything on my original using the time machine backup? Im not worried about opening up my machine, but I'm not too familiar with how time machine works for restores. Thanks for the help.
 
Last edited:
When I tried out CCC, it didn't allow for a boot-able partition. SuperDuper allows you to literally boot up the backup copy.:apple:
 
Rdrnatn24 said:
I have a MBP 2.16 ghz with a 120 gb hard drive. I have been using this external hard drive to store and playback video files:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...tech&lp=12&type=product&cp=1&id=1198286609141
I also have a 120 gb external hard drive as a time machine backup. Would it be possible to replace my hard drive with the 320 gb external, then restore everything on my original using the time machine backup? Im not worried about opening up my machine, but I'm not too familiar with how time machine works for restores. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Yes you can. I have done so a number of times.

You should first format the 320GB drive and make sure the Partition map is set to GUID, otherwise it will not be bootable.

Once you install it in your MBP, you will need the Leopard DVD (the one that you bought or came with your Mac - Disc1) to boot from. Also have your TM drive connected.

Once you see the installer, check English and stop there.

Go to the Utilities Menu and select TM restore...

That's it.
 
n8236 said:
I don't know too much about Time Machine, but I use SuperDuper and it works great (plus, it's free)!

What I would do is this. Use SuperDuper to make a complete backup of your original hard drive onto your external drive. Then physically swap the drives. It's that easy.

Btw: Here's the guide to replacing ur hard drive http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-2-Duo/Hard-Drive-Replacement/115/10/
Click to expand...

Followed this guide and used super duper. Everything worked great and was pretty easy... Thanks a lot for the help.
 
what if my external is now by bootable drive and my internal drive is not booting?

will superduper still do what i need?
 
acrahm said:
what if my external is now by bootable drive and my internal drive is not booting?

will superduper still do what i need?
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

1. Boot up your laptop holding the alt/option key
2. Select your external (boot-able drive) and boot off of it
3. Use SuperDuper clone your ext. to your internal (NOTE: Make sure your source and destination drives are correct). Your Source drive is the one you want to copy FROM. And your Destination drive is the one you want to copy TO. So in your case: Source is external, destination is internal.
 
I swapped the drives of two MBPs the day before yesterday.
One went fine, the other didn't. You might want to read my post to be aware of what might happen. :)
 
Dave187 said:
I swapped the drives of two MBPs the day before yesterday.
One went fine, the other didn't. You might want to read my post to be aware of what might happen. :)
Click to expand...

Dave, I'm guessing u ran into permissions problems because the way CCC works. I don't know the exact details (as I read it in an article), but CCC does not make exact identical copies like SuperDuper does, thus leaving out permissions and relationships.

It's like trying to copy files from one ntfs partition to another using the xcopy of copy command, you'll lose permissions and such.
 
Rdrnatn24 said:
Would it be possible to replace my hard drive with the 320 gb external, then restore everything on my original using the time machine backup? Im not worried about opening up my machine, but I'm not too familiar with how time machine works for restores. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Yes use Time Machine. It will take a bit longer than just cloning, but the new drive will be defragged.
 
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