Upgrading from Tiger to Leopard (not Snow Leopard)+installing new internal hard drive

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Hey All,

I'm in a bit of a sticky situation regarding my aging MacBook Pro. The original hard drive is 160 GB, but I've used up about 150 GB now. I have bought both a new external and internal hard drive. I would like to transfer my exact disk image from my current internal hard drive to my external hard drive, then install my new internal hard drive and transfer it back. I'm currently running Tiger, so no Time Machine. I was told that if I upgraded to Leopard, Time Machine would allow me to do this, but if I upgraded to Snow Leopard, this sort of exact switch over is not allowed. I called Apple and they do not offer an upgrade from Tiger to Leopard without going all the way to Snow Leopard. Is it still possible for me to do this? Ideally I would like to first upgrade to Leopard (not Snow Leopard) then use Time Machine to create an exact disk image of my hard drive on to my external hard drive, then transfer it all back onto my new internal drive. Any sort of help/advice would be much appreciated.
 
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Hey All,

I'm in a bit of a sticky situation regarding my aging MacBook Pro. The original hard drive is 160 GB, but I've used up about 150 GB now. I have bought both a new external and internal hard drive. I would like to transfer my exact disk image from my current internal hard drive to my external hard drive, then install my new internal hard drive and transfer it back. I'm currently running Tiger, so no Time Machine. I was told that if I upgraded to Leopard, Time Machine would allow me to do this, but if I upgraded to Snow Leopard, this sort of exact switch over is not allowed. I called Apple and they do not offer an upgrade from Tiger to Leopard without going all the way to Snow Leopard. Is it still possible for me to do this? Ideally I would like to first upgrade to Leopard (not Snow Leopard) then use Time Machine to create an exact disk image of my hard drive on to my external hard drive, then transfer it all back onto my new internal drive. Any sort of help/advice would be much appreciated.

Time Machine will not create an exact image. It allows for faster installation of programs / settings, but it needs an OS to run off of on the new hard drive.

SuperDuper! will do this, as well as Carbon Copy Cloner - Download
 
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I was told by a Mac specialist (whose contact info I have now misplaced) that the version of Time Machine included with Leopard would allow me create an exact duplicate of my drive. I mean isn't that the point? If your hard drive fails you can boot from your external drive and it will be like nothing happened. Couldn't I potentially move that image back on to a clean internal hard drive?

Also, thanks for the links. I'm checking those out right now.
 
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Time Machine will not create an exact image. It allows for faster installation of programs / settings, but it needs an OS to run off of on the new hard drive.

Not the case. As far as I know you can use time machine from the OS X disc. And install your time machine backup from there. Not sure if you need the OS on the computer to do that. But the option is there. I would assume you don't need the OS on the hard drive first cause it is on the OS X install disc.

I was told by a Mac specialist (whose contact info I have now misplaced) that the version of Time Machine included with Leopard would allow me create an exact duplicate of my drive. I mean isn't that the point? If your hard drive fails you can boot from your external drive and it will be like nothing happened. Couldn't I potentially move that image back on to a clean internal hard drive?
Not exactly. Time Machine does make a duplicate of the drive. But it's not bootable in itself. It's just there so you can do one of 3 things.

1. Restore you entire system and apps direct from the OS X install disc
2. Do point 1 but after you have installed the OS.
3. Go back in time to get a specific Application or file from the past.
 
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Not the case. As far as I know you can use time machine from the OS X disc. And install your time machine backup from there. Not sure if you need the OS on the computer to do that. But the option is there. I would assume you don't need the OS on the hard drive first cause it is on the OS X install disc.

But if you dont have an OS on a new hard drive, what good is restoring files? It doesn't have an OS to restore them onto so you need an OS on the new hard drive. And just because your use the OS X install disk, and if you dont install the OS, it does no good.

An exact image is just that, an exact image. TM does not do this. If you have a new hard drive and no OS and try to reinstall from TM it won't do the OS because it's not bootable therefore not an exact image.
 

dtravis7


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Time machine makes an full image of the drive but it's not bootable by itself. You have to boot from say the Leopard or Snow Leopard DVD and then from the drop down menu select restore from Time Machine Backup. When it's done it will be exactly like the drive Time Machine made the image from. I have done it over 5 times now.

If you though want a totally bootable backup, use Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner.
 
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chas_m

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I was told by a Mac specialist (whose contact info I have now misplaced) that the version of Time Machine included with Leopard would allow me create an exact duplicate of my drive.

Let's be clear: the technician told you the truth -- if those were his EXACT words rather than just "what you heard," then he was imprecise but technically correct.

Time Machine copies EVERYTHING on your hard drive -- every single file -- but the phrase "exact duplicate" is a little imprecise and potentially misleading if you take it literally.

But yes, TM copies everything, including the OS, the applications, your documents, etc. Everything. It just does not store it in such a way as to be bootable, that's all. It's perfectly easy to restore from a TM backup (plus system DVD) and be "right back where you were," it just takes a little bit longer than restoring from a bootable backup would, that's all. The end result from either method is identical for all intents and purposes.
 

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