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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Upgrading a MacBook hard drive
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Canon R50
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
08/03/2010 07:46:31 AM · #1
Both of my daughters have MacBooks and both hard drives are full (or very near full). I have ordered a couple of larger replacement drives for them. Installing the hardware is not a problem, that's the easy part. Being a Windows/PC guy, I don't know...can I just plug the new drive in externally (I have access to one of those USB/SATA adapters) and copy the old one over to it, then install it? Will just copying the drive make it bootable? Or do I need a Mac equivalent to Ghost?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
Canon EOS R6
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 08/03/2010 07:53:27 AM · #2
The way I have done it is to install OS X onto those new drives from the install DVD, and run the built in Migration Assistant. I have done that in the past, and it works fantastically.

Alternatively, you could use Carbon Copy Cloner, which I have heard very good things about, just never used it myself.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 08/03/2010 11:16:04 AM · #3
Copying won't work, but Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper will. Migration Assistant is the "official" method, but requires more time and extra steps for no real advantage. Be sure to format the drive properly before cloning. Note that installing a drive in most MacBooks isn't exactly easy and you'll need Torx drivers (usually TX8 or TX9).
Canon R50
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
08/03/2010 11:23:41 AM · #4
Thanks. I'm going to download the Carbon Copy Cloner and try that.

Shannon, it's a regular MacBook, the hard drive is easy. I had to replace a display panel on one of them. That sucked really bad.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 08/03/2010 11:31:47 AM · #5
Originally posted by larryslights:
Shannon, it's a regular MacBook, the hard drive is easy.

Well that's good. To replace the hard drive in my old MacBook Pro, you had to take out 48 screws of various sizes. Not fun.
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