Macbook Upgrade and Update

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Good evening everyone, I'm looking to upgrade and update my current stock MacBook (160 GB SATA Disk - Late 2008, Aluminum model 13") running 10.9.5 with a new WD 500 GB HDD and 4 GB of RAM and OS X Yosemite. I'd like to have a clean, fresh start when it comes to this upgrade - in other words - I do not wish to replace the hard drive and then copy my back-up data onto it. I'd like to clean-install Yosemite on my laptop if possible. For fail-safe purposes I do wish to create a back-up of my current disk onto an external hard drive, just in case something goes wrong.

I was wondering what the best course of action would be if I wanted to change out the current HDD, replace the RAM, and clean-install Yosemite all in one swoop.

The way I'm thinking is,

1. Backup current data onto an external hard drive - currently own a 500 GB external hard drive that I suppose I must format so that it is Mac compatible (Time Machine may be able to perform this format - have not created a Time Machine back-up prior to this step in my plan)

2. Create a bootable version of OS X Yosemite by using a USB - there are two options available, DiskMaker X or Terminal, I may use the Terminal "createinstallmedia" option here (?)

3. Factory reset MacBook by wiping everything on my current disk - not sure if I should do this step or just skip to (4.) replacing the drive with my new HDD, is there an advantage to wiping everything from my current disk? Will I be able to use the disk in any way after wiping it if I perform this step?

4. Replace the old drive with the new WD Blue 500 GB - as I understood it, I will be able to format the new drive after placing it into the MacBook

5. With the USB plugged in, boot up OS X Yosemite and install - will I be able to use the MacBook afterwards without the USB plugged in? I believe the USB bootable install will download OS X Yosemite onto my drive so that it is now usable without the USB drive

6. Transfer select data using back-up on my external hard drive - will I be able to transfer 'select' items from this back-up or will I need to have these items saved separately from the Time Machine back-up?

I'd like your insight on these questions of mine, if you have any advice please reply.

Thank you for your time.
 
M

MacInWin

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Welcome to the forum. Your plan has a fatal flaw, I think, in that Yosemite is no longer available for download from Apple. Only El Capitan.

You can use TM for the backup or make a clone with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper!. Not a whole lot of difference, if the TM drive is directly attached to the MacBook, except that a full clone from CCC or SD! will be bootable and TM will not. A bootable backup is a nice insurance policy for anything that goes wrong.

Step 3 will leave you with an unbootable drive and no way to recover, so skip that step. Download the EL Cap installer, abort the install process and create the bootable USB stick or drive, then put in the new drive, boot from the USB stick and partition/format and install El Cap to the new drive.

When it boots the first time it will offer the option to migrate your data. Point to the backup drive and let it do its thing. When it's done, you'll be able to log in to the new machine with the exact same account as on the old.

If you only want "select" items, ignore that last step and tell it NOT to migrate, then create an account on the new system and go get the selected items and copy them to where you want them. This approach will probably require you to reinstall and reconfigure all the applications you had added to your system.

Remember, backup, backup, backup, before you start.

And if I were you I would wait a bit for more folks to chime in. They will have better ideas than mine, I'm sure.
 

chscag

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The only thing I would add to Jake's advice is while you're in the process of upgrading, add another 4 GB of memory to the machine. Your MacBook can take 8 GB total (2 x 4 GB modules).
 
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chas_m

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I have to start by saying that what you really should do is buy something newer. I'm glad you are happy with your 2008 machine, but the reason I suggest getting a new(er) machine altogether is because ... well, starting with the fact that its now nearly eight years old, and unlikely to be supported by OS updates starting next year ... you're missing on that machine some *very key* technologies that are core to the current OS X and iOS experience, including but not limited to 802.11ac, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, Bluetooth 4.0, and the current generation of *much* more capable graphics chipsets or cards that are used both for traditional graphics purposes but also for offloading CPU tasks. Over the next year or so and going forward, you are going to start running into software that just won't run on that machine because the graphics (about which you can do nothing) aren't up to the specs developers are developing for (the baseline for that is more like five years back, tops).

Okay, having said that, if you're still going to go forward with this, just to make it the best 2008 MacBook it can be, fine. To answer your questions:

1. Time Machine can format that drive for you. What on earth were you thinking not having a backup before now? I'm glad you made this step one, because it should have been done ages ago.

2. Unless you previously got Yosemite and didn't use it for some reason, you no longer have any access to it; only El Capitan is available. Your machine already running Mavericks, it can run El Cap, so this isn't really an issue. I'd suggest the DiskMaker X route, soooooo much easier. Just remember, DO NOT interfere with the process even when it looks like it might be done or appears to be doing nothing -- it is doing stuff and interrupting it would be a bad idea. It will let you know when it is actually done.

3. This step isn't actually necessary, but you can do it if you want to. I suggest a format involving a single-pass "zeroing out" of the drive for security purposes, or you can just keep the existing drive as-is and put it in an external case if you want, whatever. You can use the old drive as a spare limited backup of key stuff, or an external media drive, or ... well any purpose you can think of that could use a bit, but not a huge amount, of space. If you had USB 3.0 or TB there would be lots of other uses for that drive (Photoshop or pro audio scratch disk, for example), but USB 2.0 is too slow for any of that.

4. If you already have the WD Blue, you could use that external case I mentioned to put *it* in first for easy formatting and El Cap install. I would personally suggest, if the budget allows, using a 500GB SSD instead -- I've seen some very good prices on them, and particularly for old machines the speed increase is thrilling.

5. Presuming you are installing El Capitan FROM the DiskMaker-created USB drive TO the hard drive or SSD you put into the machine, then you won't need the USB drive after that's done -- and forget about booting from a USB thumb drive or external USB drive using USB 2.0! Sooooo slow and painful!

6. A clone drive (made using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner) would be better for highly selective data restoration than a Time Machine backup, but that's not to say you can't do it.
 
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You can use TM for the backup or make a clone with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper!. Not a whole lot of difference, if the TM drive is directly attached to the MacBook, except that a full clone from CCC or SD! will be bootable and TM will not. A bootable backup is a nice insurance policy for anything that goes wrong.

Will I be able to use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the clone onto the external hard drive that I'm planning to use for Time Machine back-ups? In other words, will my external hard drive need to be a *dedicated* hard drive solely for Time Machine or will I be able to leave my clone in there too?

Thank you for responding!
 
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chas_m

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You CAN keep the Time Machine backups on a separate partition from a clone, but this is putting ALL your backup eggs in one basket ... so there's the wisdom (or lack thereof) of that approach.
 
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The only thing I would add to Jake's advice is while you're in the process of upgrading, add another 4 GB of memory to the machine. Your MacBook can take 8 GB total (2 x 4 GB modules).

I would totally be down to add this extra memory, but I am a bit of a broke post-grad college student at the moment so that may have to wait a little longer - thank you for letting me know about this!

I collected everything (WD 500 GB, 2x2 GB RAM, 500 GB external drive) to get started except for my toolkit (contains #00 Phillips screwdriver and Torx T6 screwdriver) that I will need.
 
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Okay, having said that, if you're still going to go forward with this, just to make it the best 2008 MacBook it can be, fine. To answer your questions:

1. Time Machine can format that drive for you. What on earth were you thinking not having a backup before now? I'm glad you made this step one, because it should have been done ages ago.

2. Unless you previously got Yosemite and didn't use it for some reason, you no longer have any access to it; only El Capitan is available. Your machine already running Mavericks, it can run El Cap, so this isn't really an issue. I'd suggest the DiskMaker X route, soooooo much easier. Just remember, DO NOT interfere with the process even when it looks like it might be done or appears to be doing nothing -- it is doing stuff and interrupting it would be a bad idea. It will let you know when it is actually done.

I know, I know, I have definitely been quite the risk maker when it comes to that back-up situation. I promise I'll back-up my data now, it's been 8 years, haha.

So from what I've learned:

1. Replace drive without wiping old drive

2. Insert USB - start-up and load the OS X El Capitan install on my laptop - no more USB needed (as I understand)

3. Will I be able to use my current Apple ID for the user settings?

Thank you for your time!

EDIT: I will use the hard drive disk enclosure to connect my new WD 500 GB to my computer and perform the installation of OS X El Capitan, and I assume that I will do this just as I would if it were the bootable USB drive?
 
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3. This step isn't actually necessary, but you can do it if you want to. I suggest a format involving a single-pass "zeroing out" of the drive for security purposes, or you can just keep the existing drive as-is and put it in an external case if you want, whatever. You can use the old drive as a spare limited backup of key stuff, or an external media drive, or ... well any purpose you can think of that could use a bit, but not a huge amount, of space. If you had USB 3.0 or TB there would be lots of other uses for that drive (Photoshop or pro audio scratch disk, for example), but USB 2.0 is too slow for any of that.

4. If you already have the WD Blue, you could use that external case I mentioned to put *it* in first for easy formatting and El Cap install. I would personally suggest, if the budget allows, using a 500GB SSD instead -- I've seen some very good prices on them, and particularly for old machines the speed increase is thrilling.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-2-5-serial-ata-hard-drive-enclosure/5820005.p?id=1219165149787&skuId=5820005

Would this be the type of case that you are referring to in your reply?

Will I be able to place this case on the new drive and use it, like you say, as an easier method to install OS X El Capitan onto it? I assume I'll need to format the drive first, then make sure to install OS X El Capitan to the drive as I would have done if I had used a USB drive. Then, I would place the drive into my laptop and boot it up this way? That does sound like a better alternative than going out to purchase a USB drive solely for the OS X install.

Thank you for the detailed reply.
 
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chas_m

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Would this be the type of case that you are referring to in your reply?

Something like that, yes. I'm using this: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8491

(for those of us who don't plan to put a given drive into a semi-permanent housing)

Will I be able to place this case on the new drive and use it, like you say, as an easier method to install OS X El Capitan onto it?

Yes. The idea here is that you attach the new drive using the enclosure, format it from your existing Disk Utility program, download and install from the El Capitan installer so it has a completely clean system on it.

Then you swap the drives -- put the new one in the MacBook, take the old one and put it in the case. Boot up from the new drive, and it will take you through Setup Assistant to create your account and such. Once that's done, you can attach the old drive by USB and copy into your new Home Folder the documents/media/stuff you want from your old one.

Generally I'd suggest redownloading and re-registering your apps rather than dragging them over from the old drive. That rarely works right because of preference files and stuff -- that sort of thing is really what Time Machine is good at.
 
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Something like that, yes. I'm using this: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8491

(for those of us who don't plan to put a given drive into a semi-permanent housing)



Yes. The idea here is that you attach the new drive using the enclosure, format it from your existing Disk Utility program, download and install from the El Capitan installer so it has a completely clean system on it.

Then you swap the drives -- put the new one in the MacBook, take the old one and put it in the case. Boot up from the new drive, and it will take you through Setup Assistant to create your account and such. Once that's done, you can attach the old drive by USB and copy into your new Home Folder the documents/media/stuff you want from your old one.

Generally I'd suggest redownloading and re-registering your apps rather than dragging them over from the old drive. That rarely works right because of preference files and stuff -- that sort of thing is really what Time Machine is good at.

That method seems like it could work, I may attempt to do it this way.

I'll certainly re-download the applications that I need, no need to add any extra hassle since I am perfectly fine with tinkering with the settings again.
 

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