Quick HDD Swap Question...?

I'm just about to swap my hard drive over in my macbook pro. I have done this before, but I cloned the original drive with SuperDuper! and just changed them over. This time I'm looking to put the new drive in and basically just start from scratch.

Is it as simple as just swapping the drives over and powering up? (im guessing no)

Or do I have to format the new drive to MAC OS Extended using disk utility, then swap them over?

apologies for whats potentially a dumbass question

Just swap the drives, then boot from your install disc (see below). You should be prompted at some point to format the drive. Use Mac OS Extended (journaled).

Tech Talk Point » Booting Your Apple Mac From CD, DVD, iPod or External Device

figured i'd need a boot disc. i'll have to download lion again then make one on a flash drive.

is it worth formatting the new drive at all?

DoomRider said:

figured i'd need a boot disc. i'll have to download lion again then make one on a flash drive.

is it worth formatting the new drive at all?

Click to expand...

You'll have to format it if it isn't formatted properly already, and most drives don't come formatted for Macs out of the box.

done.

I was also just wondering if its possible to create a boot disc without having to download lion all over again. Just that i have a really shoddy internet connection and it'll take about 9 hours

DoomRider said:

done.

I was also just wondering if its possible to create a boot disc without having to download lion all over again. Just that i have a really shoddy internet connection and it'll take about 9 hours

Click to expand...

just a tip, when you download lion you can drop by apple store and request a download, will not take 9 hours, it is US store I am talking about.

DoomRider said:

I was also just wondering if its possible to create a boot disc without having to download lion all over again. Just that i have a really shoddy internet connection and it'll take about 9 hours

Click to expand...

Not without an installer. When you re-download it, take steps to make a copy of it inside a read-only DMG file (FreeDMG is one app that can make these). I actually have a USB thumb drive that has a dedicated partition for installing Lion if ever needed in a pinch.

Make a Bootable Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Installer from a USB Flash Drive

righty o.

well ill let lion download... again (grrr) and then ill have a stab at it.
Thanks for all the help man, really appreciate it.