Hey guys I'm about to replace my HDD with a SSD. However the ssd does come with a SATA to USB cable , do I still need to do a backup or can I just install the SSD, take the HDD out and plug it into the computer using the cable later to restore data ?
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Urgent help needed! Backup !
- Thread starter quadcoreguy
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You can do as you want, you just need to boot from some kind of medium, either the external HDD (old HDD connected to that SATA-USB cable) or any install media you have to properly format the new SSD, which should be done while the old HDD is still in your Mac and the SSD connected to the adapter.
MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD
the guide includes:
the guide includes:
- 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
- 1. Getting a new HDD
- 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
- 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
- 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)
I have made a recovery partition on a USB stick . So I swap drives , boot with option key down and select my USB stick , select the SSD and reformat it . Boot then restore data from my HDD with the cable (
Even easier... I would swap the drives and then attach the old drive with the sata/usb cable and option key boot to the old drive. Start Disk Utility and format the new drive. Then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the old drive to the new. Restart with option key boot to the new drive and make sure all is well. Go to System Prefs / Startup Disk and select the new drive. Disconnect the old drive. Done.
No need to mess with a USB key since you have the data/usb cable.