Switching HDD for SSD help!

triarii3

Gawd
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Messages
777
Hey guys.

I just bought a macbook pro 15 and a Samsung 840 240GB SSD. I want to switch out the the HDD and the SSD. how do I do this? in other words how do i successful transfer the MacOS from the HDD to the SSD? I dont have any files that i need to transfer inbetween the two.
 
We need more information. What model MacBook Pro is this? What version of Mac OS X is it currently running? The answers will change depending on what model you have.

For example, if you have a 2010 or 2011 MBP running OS 10.7 Lion or 10.8 Mountain Lion, you simply unscrew the bottom, swap the HDD for the SSD, and hold Command+Option+R at boot to access Internet recovery. Or if your MBP doesn't support Internet Recovery, you'll have to reinstall from USB.
 
its a Macbook 2010 model and it's running 10.8 mountain lion! so wow it's that simple? just replace the HHD with a brand new and do internet recovery? nice thanks for the help
 
its a Macbook 2010 model and it's running 10.8 mountain lion! so wow it's that simple? just replace the HHD with a brand new and do internet recovery? nice thanks for the help

Yep, it's that simple. I have the same model, a mid-2010 MBP. I swapped out the HDD with an SSD and installed Lion off USB.

I would recommend you use the USB method as well. It'll be a faster installation and you'll have a backup drive in the event you want to swap out for another SSD in the future.
 
Do a time machine backup, swap the drives, install OS X from a bootable USB or Internet recovery and setup as computer from time machine.
 
As an alternative, you can use Carbon Copy Cloner and make a complete backup of the hard drive (on an external drive), install the SSD in your Macbook, then use Carbon Copy Cloner to restore to the SSD. Or just clone the drive right to the SSD in an external enclosure. (Then you have an external drive enclosure for you old HDD for data storage).

At least I think you can do that. I'm new to using CCC, so I may not know what I'm talking about. :rolleyes: What I do know is that CCC is a better option than Time Machine for backup.
 
As an alternative, you can use Carbon Copy Cloner and make a complete backup of the hard drive (on an external drive), install the SSD in your Macbook, then use Carbon Copy Cloner to restore to the SSD. Or just clone the drive right to the SSD in an external enclosure. (Then you have an external drive enclosure for you old HDD for data storage).

At least I think you can do that. I'm new to using CCC, so I may not know what I'm talking about. :rolleyes:

Yes, CCC does exactly what you describe and is definitely one way to proceed. Though I find that clean OS installs on SSDs are better than clone installs from an HDD onto an SSD.

What I do know is that CCC is a better option than Time Machine for backup.

Not really. Time Machine is excellent for what it is, which is a direct 1:1 backup that tracks changes. Cloning is a nice secondary form of backup, but cloning is just a snapshot. Restoring from last hour's Time Machine backup is more comprehensive than restoring from last week's clone image.
 
Not really. Time Machine is excellent for what it is, which is a direct 1:1 backup that tracks changes. Cloning is a nice secondary form of backup, but cloning is just a snapshot. Restoring from last hour's Time Machine backup is more comprehensive than restoring from last week's clone image.

Hmm... I was under the impression that Time Machine was adequate, but progs. like CCC were better. Seems I have to do some more research, and listen to some more opinions. I'm also not sure who does a Time Machine backup every hour or so. Enlighten me, please (I'm still new to the Mac stuff).

The only time I'm in a hurry to back up is after scanning some new negatives.
 
Yep, it's that simple. I have the same model, a mid-2010 MBP. I swapped out the HDD with an SSD and installed Lion off USB.

I would recommend you use the USB method as well. It'll be a faster installation and you'll have a backup drive in the event you want to swap out for another SSD in the future.

This, creating a bootable Lion USB is very worth it, especially when 8gb flash drives are a few dollars.
 
I'm also not sure who does a Time Machine backup every hour or so. Enlighten me, please (I'm still new to the Mac stuff).

Everyone who uses Time Machine backs up every hour. By default, Time Machine backs up every hour, every day, and every week.
 
hmm guys..i put in the SSD and entered the installer. but the macbook won't detect the SSD....what should i do?

do i need to form the SSD before replacing the HDD?
 
hmm guys..i put in the SSD and entered the installer. but the macbook won't detect the SSD....what should i do?

do i need to form the SSD before replacing the HDD?

Yes, you need to format the drive, just as you would before installing Windows.

You'll want to format in HFS+ (Journaled).

The way to do this would be to boot into the OS X installer, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu at the top, and format the drive in there.
 
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