Macbook hard drive swap?

rudie152 · rudie152 #1 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 09:08 AM

Is it possible to swap the hard drive of a 13" macbook (aluminium unibody) running snow leopard, and a macbook pro 13" running Snow Leopard with no problems ?

thanks

bobtomay · bobtomay #2 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 09:16 AM

????

If either one of them have SL that shipped with the machine, probably not going to be a hassle free transition as the drivers for the other hardware will not be there.

rudie152 · rudie152 #3 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 10:50 AM

Thanks for the reply. The only hardware differences that I know of are the mbpro has a firewire port and sd card slot (and sd ram is expandable to 8 rather than4). Also the original unibody macbooks did not ship with leopard, I upgraded it. If I was to sell the 13" aluminium macbook (keep the hard drive), and buy a new 13" mbp (I need firewire), could I put my old hard drive straight into the new MBP and boot straight from that? Would the hardware differences cause any problems?

Thanks for the help

JohnCL · JohnCL #4 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 11:00 AM

You could leave the core OS alone and use a Time Machine backup to restore user accounts, settings, applications, etc. to the new machine. This would be the easiest way to get into the new machine.

rudie152 · rudie152 #5 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 02:35 PM

thanks for the time machine idea. If I just try the swap can I do any damage to the data on either of the hard drives? If it doesnt work too well I can always swap back? thanks

Slydude · Slydude #6 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 02:54 PM

I don't think it is going to damage the data it will likely just not function properly if my experiences have been any indication. I haven't done this in a while though so perhaps others can chime in here with more recent experiences.

JohnCL · JohnCL #7 (**permalink**)

03-27-2010, 08:40 PM

SL to SL should not be a problem. I have done it a few times without issue. when restoring the Time Machine backup you have choices on what you want to restore.

bobtomay #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 22, 2006 Location: Texas, where else? Posts: 22,042 Mac Specs: 15" MBP 2.33 C2D 256 4GB, MBA 13" i7 1.8, MB 2.0 2GB, Nano 4th, 3GS, iPad 1	03-27-2010, 09:16 AM ???? If either one of them have SL that shipped with the machine, probably not going to be a hassle free transition as the drivers for the other hardware will not be there. I cannot be held responsible for the things that come out of my mouth. In the Windows world, most everything folks don't understand is called a virus.
	QUOTE Thanks

Slydude #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 4,028 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	03-27-2010, 02:54 PM I don't think it is going to damage the data it will likely just not function properly if my experiences have been any indication. I haven't done this in a while though so perhaps others can chime in here with more recent experiences. Sylvester Roque Former Contributing Editor About This Particular Macintosh No matter what time it is where I am it's early morning somewhere in the world. At that hour of the morning follow my advice at your own risk. Anything sounds good before your first cup of coffee
	QUOTE Thanks

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Macbook hard drive swap?

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rudie152 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Mar 26, 2010 Posts: 3	03-27-2010, 09:08 AM Is it possible to swap the hard drive of a 13" macbook (aluminium unibody) running snow leopard, and a macbook pro 13" running Snow Leopard with no problems ? thanks
	QUOTE Thanks

JohnCL #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 29, 2009 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,025 Mac Specs: -->	03-27-2010, 11:00 AM You could leave the core OS alone and use a Time Machine backup to restore user accounts, settings, applications, etc. to the new machine. This would be the easiest way to get into the new machine.
	QUOTE Thanks

rudie152 #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Mar 26, 2010 Posts: 3	03-27-2010, 02:35 PM thanks for the time machine idea. If I just try the swap can I do any damage to the data on either of the hard drives? If it doesnt work too well I can always swap back? thanks
	QUOTE Thanks

JohnCL #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 29, 2009 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,025 Mac Specs: -->	03-27-2010, 08:40 PM SL to SL should not be a problem. I have done it a few times without issue. when restoring the Time Machine backup you have choices on what you want to restore.
	QUOTE Thanks

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