Strategy for Internal HD Switch (various concerns)

Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
251
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 20", 250gb, 512mb, Airport/Bluetooth, wireless kb+mouse
Hi all,

I'm hoping someone smarter than myself can help me out with a strategy for moving my data around to various places when I switch my MBP's internal HD to a larger drive. I have access to a number of articles to help with the specific tasks, but I'm hoping someone will have an idea for a safe and secure strategy to get this done without any major headaches.

I'm upgrading my now outgrown internal HD to a 500gb HD currently in the mail. I have the system backed up on a 500gb LaCie external HD that I have partitioned so that I can put videos onto it that I can't fit on the internal drive. When I get the new internal drive, I'll want to erase the partition so that the full 500gb can be used for Time Machine. I also have a 120gb WD Passport that has the same videos on the partitioned LaCie Drive, functioning as a backup for those since they aren't accounted for on Time Machine. I also just purchased a 500gb Seagate FreeAgent to replace that Passport that will probably fail any day now like my last one. (thank you gift cards).

Here's my plan. When the new Seagate comes, I will migrate my Time Machine backup to it (using the information in this article to help me Migrate a Time Machine backup | Business Center | Working Mac | Macworld). Then, I can erase the partition on the LaCie drive, making it a clean 500gb, and move the Time Machine backup back over to it from the Seagate.

Next, I'll install my new internal HD into the MBP and use this article (The Secret of the Time Machine-Assisted Hard Drive Swap - 320GB - Gizmodo) to move all of my data over to the clean drive. I should be up and running from there.

I have a couple of concerns:
1. Obviously I'm worried I'll lose data somehow, but I think I should be well protected against this, given the amount of HDs I'll have around me.

2. When I initially upgraded to Snow Leopard, I just put it in over my existing Leopard system. I didn't feel like dealing with doing a clean install at that time. Is this a good time to do this? I've had a few very minor problems that an Apple Genius said would likely clear up with one of these clean installs, but I'm intimidated by this process. It seems easier to lose stuff in the mix somehow.

I'm hoping someone here has maybe done this before, or at least has an opinion on my strategy and/or suggestions for a different way to go. I'm just hoping this all works out without any major glitches. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Best,
Taylor
 
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Messages
96
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Medina, OH
Your Mac's Specs
Black MacBook 2.4C2D/4GB/250GB
i have used both carbon and superduper. they are both super easy to use.
 
OP
WasabiTaylor
Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
251
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 20", 250gb, 512mb, Airport/Bluetooth, wireless kb+mouse
Will using either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner affect my ability to start my Time Machine backup from where it left off? Or will I need to start from scratch? I'd prefer that Time Machine kept all of the changes I've made since I started using it, just to be sure everything is still around somewhere.
 
OP
WasabiTaylor
Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
251
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 20", 250gb, 512mb, Airport/Bluetooth, wireless kb+mouse
Okay so my new hard drives came today and I've decided to go with CCC. I'm a little confused about one thing though. I didn't buy an external enclosure for my new hard drive, nor do I want to if I can avoid. I'm willing to put in double the time, not a problem for me.

My understanding is that I will plug in my external HD and use CCC to clone my existing internal HD onto that. Then I'll install the new, blank internal HD. Where do I go from here? Do I turn on the computer and then put in my snow leopard disk or something? Then use the migrate assitant to bring the clone on the external HD onto the internal one? I can't seem to find a clear answer on this on CCC's FAQ site. Thanks for the help!

Best,
Taylor
 
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
5,473
Reaction score
201
Points
63
Location
Down Under :D
Your Mac's Specs
Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
After you have your new drive in, you can then boot from your external HD (holding option when you hear the chime) and select the external drive, open CCC in applications, and clone back to your new internal drive using the external drive as your source and the new internal drive as your target.

Try the above before going to the following step!

I'm not sure if you can just clone to a new internal drive as I don't think it will be visible, so you may need to boot off the SL disk (holding C down when you hear the chime) and just format the new drive before you do as macintosh os extended (journalled).
If you do need to do this step, you select language after you boot off the SL disc then go to utilities in the menu bar>disk utility, select the new drive and format it.
 
OP
WasabiTaylor
Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
251
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 20", 250gb, 512mb, Airport/Bluetooth, wireless kb+mouse
Great! Thank you, I will try that ASAP.

Using this method, will my Time Machine backup resume as normal? I hoping so, given that this method involves a "clone. "
 
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
5,473
Reaction score
201
Points
63
Location
Down Under :D
Your Mac's Specs
Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Yep, the clone is exactly the way your system was when you cloned it....
So, ie. if you back up with time machine after you've cloned back to the new drive, it will be the next latest backup in your list just like the others.
 
OP
WasabiTaylor
Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
251
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 20", 250gb, 512mb, Airport/Bluetooth, wireless kb+mouse
One last question, and again, I appreciate all the help.

Once I boot from the external HD clone, should I use disk utility to format my new internal HD in any particular way before continuing with putting the clone back onto the internal? I'm assuming I should format it with one partition as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). Is that correct?
 
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
5,473
Reaction score
201
Points
63
Location
Down Under :D
Your Mac's Specs
Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Yep, a new drive will usually be formatted for PC's
So, just click on the new drive in the left>click erase tab at the top>format mac os extended (journaled)>and name the drive>click erase.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top