Questions about what do about installing OS X on my new HDD

[mac2x]

Well in my quest to upgrade my MBP 5,1 I got my memory and a 500 GB Seagate Momentus XT from Newegg. I'm enjoying 4 GB of RAM now...awesome. See this thread for more on that.

So, I'm debating with myself about what to do. Obviously, a new HDD is a great opportunity to install Snow Leopard and start from a clean slate. Or I was thinking about cloning my current Leopard install to an external HDD with CCC, but I'm having trouble understanding how I would accomplish getting it back. I'm thinking you can do this by booting from the install disc, but I'm not sure.

So, if I go the SL route, will I be able to use Migration Assistant and an external enclosure (if anyone could recommend one, that would be great!) for the old boot drive to move my important stuff over?

Also, does anyone have experience restoring from CCC? How did you go about it?

Thanks!!

 

[TheBritishBloke]

I'm sure you can. Because when I did mine it just transferred over documents and settings rather than system files.

I'd just install SL and use migration assistant.

 

[amusiccale]

Just as a note of caution: I've heard that cloning the HD onto a Momentus XT somehow causes problems. I used Time Machine to restore to a fresh install on mine without problems (and updated to the new firmware using the boot CD without issue).

 

[mac2x]

I'm sure you can. Because when I did mine it just transferred over documents and settings rather than system files.

I'd just install SL and use migration assistant.

I'm kind of leaning towards that, but we'll see.

Just as a note of caution: I've heard that cloning the HD onto a Momentus XT somehow causes problems. I used Time Machine to restore to a fresh install on mine without problems (and updated to the new firmware using the boot CD without issue).

Thanks, that's good to know. I might just do a fresh install and restore from Time Machine if I stick with Leopard. I'd wait to see if there were any problems before doing the firmware update.

 

[amusiccale]

I just installed mine last Wednesday but there's a chance you might have ended up with the newer firmware (shows up as Revision SD23 in System Profiler; the old one is SD22)

 

[Sun Baked]

I just used Time Machine to make a backup, then used migration assistant to put the data and apps back on the new drive.

Can use the other methods. But it is worth it to have a backup available just in case later.

 

[mac2x]

I just installed mine last Wednesday but there's a chance you might have ended up with the newer firmware (shows up as Revision SD23 in System Profiler; the old one is SD22)

Thanks I'll keep an eye out. I'm still on the fence about SL vs. Leopard, so I'm going to be thinking a while.

 

[mac2x]

Sorry to revive, but saw no reason for a new thread.

I successfully installed my Momentus XT and SL last night. Updated to 10.6.4, got my mail and music moved, and got the developer tools installed. Still have some more to install, but I am really pleased. This disk is unbelievably fast compared to the old boot volume (which I'm keeping!). Xcode launches in 2-3 seconds rather than 10-12 seconds like on my old system.

The firmware revision on the HDD is SD22, but I'm not noticing any issues ATM; I haven't seen a single beachball yet. So I think I'll leave well enough alone unless I begin to notice unusual slowness.

 

[mangrove]

Firmware revisions--never have done that. Any checklist for a novice firmware updater. I have 2 Momentus XT with SD22. Thanks for any help.

 

[mac2x]

I made the bootable disc as per the instructions on Seagate's site and did the update to SD23 tonight. I did start to notice beachballs, so I bit the bullet. Took maybe a minute for the actual firmware update. Be sure you follow the instructions to the letter, or you run the risk of owning a very expensive paperweight! (i.e. back it up FIRST!) But for me, problem solved.


http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=215451&NewLang=en