Looking to update/UPGRADE MY LATE 2011 MACBOOK PRO

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As it states above I need to update and fix my late 2011 Macbook Pro my battery is dying along with my hard drive. I figure while I have it opened up I may as well upgrade the RAM as well to 8 gig. So when I go to replace my hard rive i want to swap it out for a 250 or a 500 gig SSD, will I need any extra brackets or will the new hard drive just mount where the old on used to? If I just back up my system with time machine will I be able to just move it over to the new hard drive or will I have to load new software and then add all of my music and photos later? I have done this several times before with Windows but never with a Mac. Finally any suggestions on what brand of hard drive and RAM to go with and where to get a good price on the battery RAM and hard drive?

Thanks
 

pigoo3

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I'm the same/similar boat as you. I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro...need to replace the battery (it's swelling)...needed to replace the HD (it was really getting slow...did the repalcement 2 weeks ago)...have had 16gig of RAM in it for a long time.

- You don't need a special bracket to install the SSD. It fits right where the internal HD is now. But...they do sell a kit where if you didn't need the optical drive...you can remove the optical drive & replace it with a 2nd HD or SSD...and it does come with a special bracket.

- As far as where to get stuff...Amazon is a pretty good place to go (lots of selection & low price). Could also go to Macsales.com. This is a Apple/Mac focused place. Good prices, great customer service, sometimes has things you can't get at other places. RAM from Amazon, Macsales, or Crucial.

- As far as the transfer. Make a clone with Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC). Then copy the clone onto the new drive. I just did this...only issue I ran into is for some installed apps I had to re-enter the serial number & re-enter some userid's & passwords for some websites.

HTH,

- Nick
 
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+1 for Nick's suggestions. Cloning with SuperDuper or CCC - I use CCC- is the way to go. If you have had to upgrade a Windows install to a larger drive you are in for a real treat with Macs. Moving to a new drive is sooooooo much easier. The cloning works really well and once it is done your mac will boot right up on the new drive. My last upgrade to a larger SSD did not even require me to input my office serial numbers and all my websites had my user ids - although this will not always happen.

Lisa
 

chscag

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My last upgrade to a larger SSD did not even require me to input my office serial numbers and all my websites had my user ids - although this will not always happen.

The only app that complained when I migrated from our 2013 iMac to the 2017 model was MS Office. It wanted to be re-activated. Changing out the hard drive in a Mac usually does not set off the activation wizard for Office but swapping machines sure does. :)
 

pigoo3

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Office (Office 2011) definitely wants me to re-enter the serial number. I need to find it somewhere...been 2 weeks...still haven't done it. Lol

Some websites wanted me in re-enter login info as well. But after the 1st time...all good.:)

- Nick
 
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So I ordered and had some new ram delivered today, and I got it installed I went from 4 to 8 gig
 
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pigoo3

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Congrats. Thanks for the update.:)

- Nick
 
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Hi, I too have a MBP Late 2011, 8MB RAM and though the HD is only 55% full am getting beachballs and slowness, so I thought of putting in a SSD. I use SuperDuper and have it on an xHDD, but am not familiar w/ how one would “copy the clone onto the new drive” - could you possibly share some knowledge? Thx.
 

Rod


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I second the idea of using CCC to clone then reverse clone to your new hard drive. You don't even need to buy it just the 30 day free trial will create a bootable clone. Just boot your machine from the clone and copy the clone back to the new drive. I did this a year ago with my wife's 2011 MBP, installed a 500Gb SSD and upgraded RAM. It was like a new machine after that.


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Have you tried to startup your MBP from the clone, to confirm it works? If so, you can replace the drive, then startup from the clone. Use Disk Utility to erase and format the new SSD. Then start the clone back to the internal drive.


Bob -

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