Question on reinstalling OSX on new SSD

[johnnnw]

I believe my SSD that was installed in 2013 is failing. The write speed went really low recently and now it's sometimes not booting the OS, and getting weird errors. Its working right now so I did a final Time Machine backup so I can reinstall it on a new SSD.

My question is, when I boot into the recovery section of my Mac when I install the blank SSD and choose to install OSX, it is going to install the newest version (Mojave) right? My last Time Machine backup is using High Sierra. When I go to restore the time machine backup option, will it allow me to use it even though the backup is under High Sierra and the MacBook now has Mojave on it? Or am I incorrect in how this is going to work?

I am a little out of touch with this information as the last time I dealt with this was in 2013 when I first installed my 840 Pro, the drive I think is dying.

Thanks for the help.

One extra question if anyone knows: Do you think there will be any issue with my last Time Machine backup even if the drive has issues? I was weary of restoring from this backup because I was thinking it could cause issues because parts of it could be corrupted. Will I be safe using the latest TM backup even with a sketchy drive? I was considering doing a clean install and only transferring files and installing my programs/settings is a pain.

 

[CoastalOR]

I did a final Time Machine backup so I can reinstall it on a new SSD.

My question is, when I boot into the recovery section of my Mac when I install the blank SSD and choose to install OSX, it is going to install the newest version (Mojave) right? My last Time Machine backup is using High Sierra. When I go to restore the time machine backup option, will it allow me to use it even though the backup is under High Sierra and the MacBook now has Mojave on it? Or am I incorrect in how this is going to work?

You do not have to install the latest macOS (Mojave), you can reinstall High Sierra.
The OS that is installed depends on the key combination used to enter Recovery.
Key combinations:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
Overview "About macOS Recovery":
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

One extra question if anyone knows: Do you think there will be any issue with my last Time Machine backup even if the drive has issues? I was weary of restoring from this backup because I was thinking it could cause issues because parts of it could be corrupted. Will I be safe using the latest TM backup even with a sketchy drive? I was considering doing a clean install and only transferring files and installing my programs/settings is a pain.

I would be concerned about the possibility of the TM restore failing.

I would recommend having another backup before proceeding, just in case. Get another external HDD (it does not have to be a SSD), format it Mac OS Extended (journaled), and do a clone of you internal drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC). It fully functional for a 30 day trial. After the internal is cloned then boot from the external clone to test that you have a functional cloned backup.

 

[johnnnw]

You do not have to install the latest macOS (Mojave), you can reinstall High Sierra.
The OS that is installed depends on the key combination used to enter Recovery.
Key combinations:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
Overview "About macOS Recovery":
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314


I would be concerned about the possibility of the TM restore failing.

I would recommend having another backup before proceeding, just in case. Get another external HDD (it does not have to be a SSD), format it Mac OS Extended (journaled), and do a clone of you internal drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC). It fully functional for a 30 day trial. After the internal is cloned then boot from the external clone to test that you have a functional cloned backup.

Extremely helpful, thank you. I did not know the computer could even know what the latest OS version that was installed was after starting with a blank new hard drive, that is convenient.

As for CCC, I actually did that last night as well. I love that program and have been using it since I got my MacBook in 2012. That's a good idea to check my backup with it. I've only used it as a last resort just in case, as I understand it isn't really the "cleanest" way to permanently restore from a backup. And that doing a TM backup is more ideal than just cloning back and forth. Is this true?

Again thanks for the info.

 

[CoastalOR]

Extremely helpful, thank you.
As for CCC, I actually did that last night as well. I love that program and have been using it since I got my MacBook in 2012. That's a good idea to check my backup with it. I've only used it as a last resort just in case, as I understand it isn't really the "cleanest" way to permanently restore from a backup. And that doing a TM backup is more ideal than just cloning back and forth. Is this true?

You are very welcome.
I have used both methods to restore from TM and a clone back from a cloned backup of the internal. Both methods have worked fine for me.
Good luck!

 

[johnnnw]

Another question. Is there any reason/downside I can't just use my SSD I have in the optical bay currently as the boot drive for the time being? I was just using it for files before but I think I am going to format it APFS and transfer the dying data over to it and use it as the boot drive until I find a sale on a 1TB SSD for my boot drive.

They are both SATAIII so I think this will be alright for now, yes? Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

 

[CoastalOR]

Another question. Is there any reason/downside I can't just use my SSD I have in the optical bay currently as the boot drive for the time being? I was just using it for files before but I think I am going to format it APFS and transfer the dying data over to it and use it as the boot drive until I find a sale on a 1TB SSD for my boot drive.

They are both SATAIII so I think this will be alright for now, yes? Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

Yes, using the SSD currently in the optical bay as your boot drive should work fine.

 

[johnnnw]

Yes, using the SSD currently in the optical bay as your boot drive should work fine.

Thanks a lot. I ended up finding that there is no sudden motion protection in the optical drive, but for SSD's this is irrelevant. With an HDD it would be a different story though.

I cloned my data over and running with no issue.