OK to transplant system HD onto identical MBP?

[randyhudson]

I purchased a MBP 15" last July to use at my job. My employer has finally decided to upgrade my 3-year-old (windows) laptop (which I wasn't even using), with the exact same configuration MBP I bought for myself: the high-end 15" MBP w/ 7200rpm option. My parents will be buying my current MBP from me.

I would simply sell them the one I got from my company, but the company probably cares about the serial #s matching what they gave me. So, is it safe to simply swap the harddrives? It seems like that would be much faster than doing a time machine backup & restore.

Is there anything in the OS that cares about the hardware's "hash" or "signature", like there is in windows XP? I know my MAC addresses will change, etc., but what other problems should I look for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MacDawg]

You should be fine

 

[PuckDaddy]

i've taken an HDD out of one Macbook and put in another and it worked fine
also, did an install of OSX onto a new 320gb that was in an external dock, then put it in a Macbook and it worked fine

if you're just taking one MBP HDD and putting it in another similar MBP , you should be fine ...... just don't let the other drive go too far just in case

 

[mousouchop]

This is a practiced method at the Apple Genius Bar. I have gotten replacements for Macbooks where the issue was known to not be the harddrive. The genius put my harddrive into the replacement machine and I was on my way with a new system without the hassle of data transfer!

 

[Wehrwolf]

Should be ok...

I'd be sure to at least de-authorize the old machine in iTunes, and de-activate any software such as Adobe Creative Suite that requires and keeps track of online activation before making the swap. You can re-activate everything afterwards.

 

[pit29]

Some time ago, I replaced my MBP's HD with a bigger one. That was not too complicated; however, in this case it would probably be much easier to clone your old MBP's HD to your new (using FireWire and SuperDuper, e.g.), and then install a fresh system on the MBP you're giving away. It'll be faster than TimeMachine, and maybe even faster than opening two MBPs.

Unless, you're up for the challenge, that is...