Upgrading my hard drive and adding Lion

[Primejimbo]

Since I want to do a clean install with Lion, I figured it would be a great time to upgrade my hard drive. Everything is backed up in Time Capsule and since I figured I have to re-load after the clean install, might as well do this with a new and bigger hard drive.
I have a 250GB hard and think I want to put a 500GB hard drive. So I think what I need to do, so correct me if I am wrong..

Do a final back up
Add the new hard drive
put the Snow Leopard disk in
update to the latest Snow Leapard
Down load Lion
re-install from Time Capsule

Is this right?

 

[gmanterry]

I don't think that will work.

I don't use Time Capsule but my understanding is that it will only restore data to the version of OS that the data was archived from. You will need the Migration Assistant to move your apps, settings and data from Snow Leopard to Lion. I don't believe you can do that with Time Capsule. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I have three computers that I have upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion. I did a Carbon Copy Clone of each Snow Leopard disk onto an external drive before I erased the internal drive. Then I did a clean install of Snow Leopard, I updated it and then I installed Lion. The next step was to use the Migration Assistant to move my apps, settings and data from the external drive onto the Lion install. I had no problems with any of them. It was a MBP 15, a MBP 17 and a Mac Mini. Make sure before you go ahead although you can probably go back to Snow Leopard without any problems with your Time Capsule. Hope this wasn't too rambling but it's better to be safe than sorry. I really like Lion.

Terry

 

[Primejimbo]

I don't use Time Capsule but my understanding is that it will only restore data to the version of OS that the data was archived from. You will need the Migration Assistant to move your apps, settings and data from Snow Leopard to Lion. I don't believe you can do that with Time Capsule. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I have three computers that I have upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion. I did a Carbon Copy Clone of each Snow Leopard disk onto an external drive before I erased the internal drive. Then I did a clean install of Snow Leopard, I updated it and then I installed Lion. The next step was to use the Migration Assistant to move my apps, settings and data from the external drive onto the Lion install. I had no problems with any of them. It was a MBP 15, a MBP 17 and a Mac Mini. Make sure before you go ahead although you can probably go back to Snow Leopard without any problems with your Time Capsule. Hope this wasn't too rambling but it's better to be safe than sorry. I really like Lion.

Terry

If this is the case, it's going to a long project..

So maybe put the new hard drive in, migrate from Time Capsule then upgrade to line, back up and do a clean install?

 

[MaxBeagleton]

You can migrage from TC

The Lion install lets you migrate from a TC backup, with all of the usual options to select various pieces of your account. Do this during the Lion install and not after. Using MA after lion installs will create a new user. Of course you can just create a temporary account during installation and then after Lion is up, you can use MA to clone your old login, go to that account and then remove your temporary login. So I guess you might want to do this if you have many GBs of user data and don't want to migrate this in the middle of the Lion install.

You don't need to install SL on your new drive. Download the Lion installer on your old drive and follow the well documented procedure to make a bootable lion installer disk on an 8GB thumb drive or a writable DVD.

 

[Primejimbo]

The Lion install lets you migrate from a TC backup, with all of the usual options to select various pieces of your account. Do this during the Lion install and not after. Using MA after lion installs will create a new user. Of course you can just create a temporary account during installation and then after Lion is up, you can use MA to clone your old login, go to that account and then remove your temporary login. So I guess you might want to do this if you have many GBs of user data and don't want to migrate this in the middle of the Lion install.

You don't need to install SL on your new drive. Download the Lion installer on your old drive and follow the well documented procedure to make a bootable lion installer disk on an 8GB thumb drive or a writable DVD.

Ok so my idea will work? (sorry)

So after I make the DVD I pop in the new drive and pop in the DVD and on my way?

 

[Daffodil]

Ok so my idea will work? (sorry)

So after I make the DVD I pop in the new drive and pop in the DVD and on my way?

Pretty much. What MaxBeagleton said is essentially:

1. Download Lion installer on old disk
2. Make the DVD
3. Install Lion
4. Use migration assistant with TC to copy your users from time capsule during installation
5. Done

Or

4. Complete installation with temporary login if user data is lots of GB and you don't want to move stuff over in the middle of the install
5. Use migration assistant with TC after installation => clone old login
6. Get rid of temporary login you no longer need
7. Done

 

[Primejimbo]

Pretty much. What MaxBeagleton said is essentially:

1. Download Lion installer on old disk
2. Make the DVD
3. Install Lion
4. Use migration assistant with TC to copy your users from time capsule during installation
5. Done

Or

4. Complete installation with temporary login if user data is lots of GB and you don't want to move stuff over in the middle of the install
5. Use migration assistant with TC after installation => clone old login
6. Get rid of temporary login you no longer need
7. Done

THANKS A LOT!!
Now going with steps 4,5,6,7 I know some people use 2 log-ins, the "Admin" side and the side they use all the time for security reasons, would this be a good time doing this and not deleting the temporary log-in?

Also next question. My daughter also has a user name on my Macbook, will this also copy over at the same time or do I have to do it separately?

 

[MaxBeagleton]

Once you migrate an account you can change most anything you want, like removing admin access.

You can migrate multiple accounts in a single MA session. Open up the users and you can select and unselect whoever is in the TC backup.

 

[satcomer]

Read the article How to make a bootable Lion install disc or drive. So buy a USB stick and us the MacWorld steps to make a Lion install USB Flash drive.

Then buy an external drive case (to the fastest port on your Mac). Put your old drive into this external, connect it to your Mac, put the new drive into your Mac, use the Lion Install USB flash drive and install Lion onto that drive. When the Lion install asks to import user data you can point the program to your external. IMHO import only your pictures, music, personal data, etc. and NOT you networking setup! Set the network setup after you boot up Lion.

I installed Lion onto my Mac Mini this way and it went just fine. IMHO after you get all you data back and are all setup and satisfied you could format that old drive and use it as a backup drive.