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Swapping hard drives between Macs = fresh install?

I

inertiat

macrumors member
Original poster
May 9, 2008
86
0
Hey guys,

Quick q. I'm running a 2010 Macbook Pro (installed Mountain Lion) and I've just bought a 2011 model from eBay and I'm wondering if I can just straight swap out the drives without having to do a new install?

I ask because I know some features like Airplay won't work on the 2010 model but will on the 2011 - so will the system recognise this automatically? Is it worth doing a clean install just to be safe anyway?

Thanks very much

Btw I'm selling my old 2010 17" in the UK if interested
 
it should boot, after that just run the installer again, make sure you download it from the app store on the new machine. it will install overtop of itself keeping all of your files and whatnot but install any additional features that your new system needs.
 
Thanks for both of the replies guys, but it seems I have two opposing answers - can anyone give chime in?
 
I don't recommend just swap out the drives, because the system on the 2010 MBP hard drive is designed to run on a 2010 MBP, not a 2011 MBP, so you might run into hardware issues and so on, and the system might not even boot. If you want your files, just use Migration Assistant, Time Machine, or copy-and-paste to transfer your files.
 
Thanks max. Yeah I'd rather be safe than sorry. So if I use Time Machine will that eliminate that problem? Is it smart enough to screen out the preferences from the 2010 image which wouldn't be compatible with the new 2011 system?
 
1. Create a Mountain Lion USB Flash drive (I have created a tutorial video on how to do this on my YouTube channel - link in sig).
2. Use this to install Mountain Lion on your newer MBP.
3. Create a Time Machine backup of your 2010 system.
4. Use Migration Assistant on your 2011 MBP to restore from Time Machine - this will put all your settings etc back into place.
5. Enjoy!
 
inertiat said:
Thanks max. Yeah I'd rather be safe than sorry. So if I use Time Machine will that eliminate that problem? Is it smart enough to screen out the preferences from the 2010 image which wouldn't be compatible with the new 2011 system?
Click to expand...
If you use Time Machine to restore your files in Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant, it won't restore the system files, only your files and applications. If you try to restore your 2010 system through the "Restore System from Backup" option in Recovery HD, well... It won't even let you do it.
 
Ifti said:
1. Create a Mountain Lion USB Flash drive (I have created a tutorial video on how to do this on my YouTube channel - link in sig).
2. Use this to install Mountain Lion on your newer MBP.
3. Create a Time Machine backup of your 2010 system.
4. Use Migration Assistant on your 2011 MBP to restore from Time Machine - this will put all your settings etc back into place.
5. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Do you think this would also transfer MS Office 2011 together with product key?
As far as I understand, MS Office license is bound to some HD numbering scheme, and there is no way to recover the product key since there is no uninstallation procedure (I have a 3 seat license)
Thanks
 
spaziobds said:
Do you think this would also transfer MS Office 2011 together with product key?
As far as I understand, MS Office license is bound to some HD numbering scheme, and there is no way to recover the product key since there is no uninstallation procedure (I have a 3 seat license)
Thanks
Click to expand...

No it doesn't.
I used this to migrate to my newer MBP and although it transfers all of the MS Office applications, it does not transfer the key - maybe its something to do with it going onto a different system?
Nevertheless, just put your key back in and it reactivates straight away.
 
Best to de-authorise your software keys before you uninstall just to be safe, and also iTunes
 
Ifti said:
No it doesn't.
I used this to migrate to my newer MBP and although it transfers all of the MS Office applications, it does not transfer the key - maybe its something to do with it going onto a different system?
Nevertheless, just put your key back in and it reactivates straight away.
Click to expand...

I finally got in touch with MS helpdesk (international, not italian), they confirmed that activation is bound to HD serial number or similar. Just gave me a new numbering scheme, ms office was up and running in 5 minutes
 
spaziobds said:
I finally got in touch with MS helpdesk (international, not italian), they confirmed that activation is bound to HD serial number or similar. Just gave me a new numbering scheme, ms office was up and running in 5 minutes
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I never had to re-activate when I moved to SSD in my previous MBP.
I then moved to my new MBP and simply used my original license key to reactivate.
Will see what happens when my new SSD arrives later today and I have to move everything across to that yet again! lol
I thought it was tied to the machine rather then the disk drive......
 
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