Cloning a Mac Pro HD

Hey all, My father has a Mac Pro (running 10.8) and he just bought a new internal HD for it to be used as the main HD. How can I clone the existing HD over to it and then switch the system to the new HD?

Thanks

Download and purchase Carbon Copy Cloner from here.

Or if this is a Mac Pro and not a MacBook Pro, mount the new drive in Bay 2, format Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and use Migration Assistant in utilities to copy over.

Migration Assistant does not transfer everything. Only documents, apps, and users. Not everything.

As stated in the first reply, CCC is the best utility to use. SuperDuper is less expensive but it does not clone the Recovery partition which will be needed by your Father since he's running Mountain Lion.

chscag said:

As stated in the first reply, CCC is the best utility to use. SuperDuper is less expensive but it does not clone the Recovery partition which will be needed by your Father since he's running Mountain Lion.

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sorry to stomp on toes, but I fail to understand the value of Carbon Copy Cloner.

Perhaps it was my bad experience with early versions (which damaged drives)... But Iv'e done HUNDREDS of hard drive upgrades with nothing more than Disk Utility..

Simply install the new disc, then option-boot off any OS (including an OS install disk), pop up Disk Utility, then Parition & format the new drive, then "restore" the old drive to the new one... boom-you're done..

I usually though go the long route:
1. install a new virgin OS on the new drive
2. boot into it, create a temp user, go to desktop, then fully update all updates
3. reboot, go to Utility, open Migration Utility, then "migrate" the old drive over to the new one, and tell it to bring all additional docs & folders...

and yes, it brings everything over.

That's fine, you can use whatever method works best for you. However, I will continue to recommend CCC as it is also an excellent backup program that can be scheduled. I don't believe your method will clone the Recovery partition and is more complicated because of the extra steps and having to use the migration assistant which sometimes causes problems. CCC is fast and works well. Yes, it's no longer donation ware but well worth the cost in my opinion.

Also, I've been using CCC since 2008 (when it was donation ware) and have never run into a problem with it nor do I ever remember hearing that it damaged drives. Perhaps your personal anecdotal experience?

chscag said:

T I don't believe your method will clone the Recovery partition

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You're right. Disk Utility does not clone the Recovery partition. I keep hoping that will be fixed soon. I guess some people don't consider this a problem as long as you have access to the clone but it bothers me at some level.

Also, I've been using CCC since 2008 (when it was donation ware) and have never run into a problem with it nor do I ever remember hearing that it damaged drives.

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Same here. I do seem to remember some discussion on their forums about whether some of the "cloned" files had retained appropriate permissions, IIRC it affected the early versions and impacted some security settings more than actual file performance. For most people I think the issue amounted to esoteric minutia.

I use CCC as well. I clone my drive from time to time to use as a backup if I need it. I also backup online. I have had to restore my drive a few times due to the bone headed tinkering I'm always up to. The clone always installs and works very well. Very easy process. I use a hybrid fusion drive in my MacBookPro. Have wondered if I should clone the HD and format the driver and reinstall to keep the disk in good order? Not sure if this is needed or not.

gurokevin the use of Migration Assistant is after the operating system has been installed. Disk Utility will do this if you do not have Mountain lion on a USB thumb drive.