New MBP from MB... fresh OSX install or reuse old HDD data?

[MrXiro]

I just got my refurbed 2.53 ghz MBP! Damn it's sexy... previously I had a White Macbook with a 500gb WD Blue drive in it. It's pretty full of stuff though not packed... well I've taken it out to put in the MBP but what do you all think I should do?

Just put it in and run what I've had on there (FCE 4.0, Photoshop cs4, final draft, Vuze etc) and let the new MBP figure out the settings... or just start fresh from a new install of OSX?

Come to think of it... will it even work since this drive is from an different laptop?

 

[MacDawg]

When switching Macs (not just HDD), I would either do a fresh install of everything or use Migration Assistant

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[rick3000]

Installing the old drive in the new computer will work if they are both intel formatted. But I would do a fresh install and use migration assistant.

 

[jpur]

Agreed. Fresh install and then migration assistant. One tip, on your new MBP make sure the first user account you setup does not have the same name (short name more importantly) as the one you want to transfer. This will make things easier down the road.

 

[dacreativeguy]

Never physically swap HDs. First of all, why would you want to keep using an old drive when your new computer has a new drive? Second, it is always best to start with a fresh OS install to clear out some of the gunk that accumulates over time.

Whenever I get a new machine I reinstall the OS so that I can skip printer drivers for printers I don't own or use, and language help files for languages I don't speak (basically all but English). That'll save you 3-4GB on a Leopard install, if I recall correctly.

Then, use migration assistant to restore from a clone, timemachine backup, or another computer. After about an hour you'll be up and running.

 

[Z06jerry]

Installing the old drive in the new computer will work if they are both intel formatted. But I would do a fresh install and use migration assistant.

Actually it won't work properly because the uMBP is different hardware than the MB. A fresh install using the new uMBP install discs is required for everything to work correctly. I know this by first hand experience ;-)

 

[rick3000]

^ A 2.5" drive is a 2.5" drive as long as the connection type is the same your fine, and I believe they both use Sata (I've done this with a few older Mac's.). But I wouldn't recommend replacing the drive to begin with.

 

[vanc]

Actually it won't work properly because the uMBP is different hardware than the MB. A fresh install using the new uMBP install discs is required for everything to work correctly. I know this by first hand experience ;-)

That's right. Simply swapping in the old HDD may give you a lot of headache. Sound does not work, over heating, etc. Free install, then migrate data is the safest way to get a well-behaved Mac.

 

[MrXiro]

well my MBP has a 320 GB hdd... I wanted to throw in a 500 GB... I'm gonna import everything onto the 320 (since I actually use less that 320) and then format the 500 GB and import everything back into it again.

Thanks all! I'm so excited to use my big boy laptop... er notebook.