Brand new user, Time Machine question!

Hey all. Just picked up this beautiful 13" MBP yesterday at the local Apple store. It's been awesome so far, which is the reason for my problem! I'm very excited to get it all set up, get stuff installed, play around with it, etc. However, I've got a new 500GB 7200RPM HDD coming in the mail within the next three days or so, and the wait is killing me!

So, I was thinking about bravely (brashly?) charging forward into the unknown and learning the system. I've got a 1TB external HDD (not specifically designed for Macs) that I was thinking about using with Time Machine to facilitate this. My fuzzy plan was to backup my computer completely with the external, and then when the new HDD gets here, install it and recover my computer with the external. Is that feasible?

If it is, what about a bootcamp Windows 7 install? If I do that now and start getting it set up, will it swing right over to the new HDD when I use Time Machine, or how will that function? I've got Parallels 5 ready to use, what about that program?

Thanks so much for any help, and if you've got any other tips for a brand new switcher, just let me know!

If you back up your hard drive with time machine. You will be able to install osx on your new hard drive from your time machine backup.

A minor correction to the post above.

If you do a Time Machine backup, you will not be able to install OS X from the backup drive. Instead, you will have to reinstall OS X using the restore discs that came with your computer. After installing the new hard drive, hold down the C button upon startup to boot from your optical drive. From there, you should be able to use Disk Utility to format the new drive and reinstall OS X.

After the installation is complete, you will be asked during the initial setup process if you want to transfer your data from another Mac or a Time Machine backup. Select the appropriate option, and your data will be copied over to the new hard drive. I've done this myself on a MacBook a couple years ago and it worked great.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any questions.

Hmmm. When I did a time machine restore after changing the HD on my Mini all I did was insert my OS X disk and select restore from Time Machine back-up. Really very simple. It worked perfectly.