Moving to SSD HDD setup in MacBook pro

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Was hoping to get some advice on my pendIng upgrade to a new HD and SSD in my mid-2010 13" MacBook Pro. I'm very confident in my installation abilities but I'm a novice when it comes to moving software and programs.

Here's the set-up ill be working with:
Mid-2010 13" MacBook pro (1.7)
New 750gb 7200 rpm HDD in original bay
New 128gb SSD in old optical drive bay

What I want to do is run OS X (lion for now) and applications off of the SSD while keeping 'data hogs' on the 750gb. I've read probably 10 different ways to do this from cloning HDD to SSD while keeping the user folder on the HDD, or clean install of lion on the SSD then using migration assistant to pull the apps over.

I want to make sure I'm moving the right stuff over to the SSD so that I can take full advantage of it. I also dont want excess crap on the 750 especially since I'll have a bootable copy on my old drive.

What should I put on the SSD? How should I get it there? If I do a clean install of lion on the SSD do I just migrate the applications using the migration assistant from my original HDD and then migrate whatever's left onto the new HDD?

So many questions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The drives and enclosures are showing up tomorrow and I'm looking forward to getting them up and running.

Thanks
 
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Hi, I just wanted to re-iterate Ghenz's question as I am in the same boat, and I see no-one was able to help on his initial question.

If anyone out there has done the "SSD in the optical drive's spot" transition and knows the best way to move programs etc efficiently without any bloat going onto the SSD, please let us know.

Thankyou.
 
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15" 2014 MacBook Pro, i7 2.5Ghz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD; iPad 3, iPhone 6
I would use Time Machine. Create a new backup, excluding the folders you don't want on the SSD (usually things like the iTunes folder or iPhoto folder, videos etc). Then, manually copy those items to the backup drive in a different directory (i.e., not as part of the time machine backup.

Next you need to create a bootable recover partition on an USB drive, as it won't exist on your brand new SSD. This is a little more involved, so follow these instructions:

Make a Bootable USB Drive OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Recovery Partition

When you have done this, TEST that it works before taking out your old HD and installing the new SSD. Assuming that it does, install the SSD, use 'recover from time machine' and reinstall your Lion OS and then copy your fat files from the backup drive to where you want them, and link the applications to the external drive.
 
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Thankyou!

Hi Zoolook,

Sounds like a good plan to me, thankyou for sharing your advice - I'll use this plan when the parts turn up next week.

Cheers.
 

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