Can I swap hard drives between 2007 and 2011 iMacs?

I have a 2007 iMac that I want to replace with a refurbished 2011 model. I had upgraded my 2007 iMac with a 1.5T hard drive and the 2011 model only comes with a 1T hard drive. And you can't do any upgrade at the Apple store on refurb units. SoI am just wanting to swap hard drives. The 2007 has 10.7 and it appears that the 2011 model has the same. (says elegible for 10.8 upgrade on Apple Store site.) I have replaced the hard drive myself, so I am familiar with the process.
Thanks.

The drives themselves are compatible, yes. However, the OS might not be. In any case, if you have a Time Machine backup (or some other backup) of the older iMac, it's best to wipe the drive and reinstall the OS once installed in the new Mac. Then you can just transfer your data, apps, and settings from the backup.
One important thing to note, though: the 2011 iMacs have temperature sensors built in on the hard drive, so if you use a drive other than one supplied by Apple specifically for that system, the fans will run at full speed all the time. Probably the easiest workaround: use something like smcFanControl to regulate the speed of the fans. Hope this helps!

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Can I swap hard drives between working and nonworking MacBooks?

I'm considering buying an Early '08 MacBook (2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo) w/ an apparently bad hard drive ("drive not recognized"). Obviously I want to test before I buy. In order to determine if the HD is the only issue w/ this MB, can I take the hard drive from my functioning MB (1st gen. Core Duo 2.0 GHz, 160 GHz HD, OS X 10.5.7) and simply install it in the non-working MB to see if it starts up? I have a spare 160 GB Fujitsu HD pulled from a 2nd gen. MB Core 2 Duo, but it's wiped clean. Advice?

AZherps:
It should work. If the drive is erased, you won't be able to boot from it, of course. But you could test it by booting from the install disk for the computer and formatting the drive in the "new" computer and see how it works.
cornelius

Swapping hard drive between MacBook and MacBook Pro ?

Hi
I'm about to receive a new MBP and would like to spend as little time as possible making the transition from my current MacBook (non-Pro). The MacBook is slightly old (mid-2006) but running the latest Leopard.
Would swapping the hard drives allow the MBP to boot properly?
Could it potentially cause any side effects?
How could I reduce or eliminate these?
I'm reluctant to use Time Machine restoration since I've already been traumatized once by the incompleteness of the TM backup, causing me to lose many hours to manual, tedious restoration.
Thanks for any info!

Hi Guychi;
As I said earlier, since the hardware is different I would not use the operating system from the old hardware on the new hardware.
Are you doing the work or have someone else do it?
If you are taking it in to have it do, I would suggest that you ask them to move the operating system for you.
If you are doing it yourself get an external enclosure and clone the operating system over then install the larger drive with the new operating system.
Allan

Swapping hard drives between PXI-8115 and PXI-8105 won't boot up

I have a test system running Windows XP on PXI-8105. I've upgraded the entire test system for another project and need to upgrade my existing systems; the upgrade runs on Windows 7 and PXI-8115. I have new hard drives with Windows 7 and the new test software which were loaded/configured/tested on a PXI-8115, but I need to retrofit the PXI-8105 with them. This doesn't work. Windows begins to boot but fails and tries over and over again. In an effort to take the PXI-8105 off-line to troubleshoot, I replaced it with one of the PXI-8115 and the old (WinXP) drive. This didn't boot up, either.
Here's a summary of my situation:
An old system has PXI-8105 running WinXP
A new system has PXI -8115 running Win7
A hard drive (with Win7) from the PXI-8115 won't boot on the PXI-8105
A hard drive (with WinXP) from the PXI-8105 won't boot on the PXI-8115
What is different between the two PXI controllers that keeps me from swapping hard drives?
Jim
You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are. ~ Alice
Solved!
Go to Solution.

A couple thoughts:
1. Windows 7 probably works fine on a PXI-8105. Although NI never officially supported or shipped that configuration, I suspect that the default Windows 7 installation contains enough of the driver support needed to boot up.
2. In general, Windows is not very tolerant of swapping hard drives between completely different systems, especially with Windows XP and prior. Consider whether just installing fresh and copying over what you need is faster than trying to do this, but if you must, I would suspect that Windows 7 would be more tolerant of the swap.
3. As a debugging step, try pressing 'F8' during the boot process to launch the Windows boot menu and try safe mode or some of the other options. More information here.
4. If all else fails, Google is your friend here as there's nothing particularly specific about this being an NI product that you need to know when attempting this operation. Any information you find online about swapping hard drives between PCs should be relevant to your situation. Searching for 'swap hard drive to new computer windows 7' gave some useful hits on the first page. Beyond that, you can also look into using the 'sysprep' utility to try and clean the system and prepare for swapping to a new PC.

Can I swap hard drives?

Hi.
I have a T400 with T9400 chipset. All (3) USB's have broken over the years and I recently purchased a used T400 on ebay with T9600 chipset to replace the older computer.
My question is can I simply swap hard drive from old computer to the new one and have everything work? The current computer is 64-bit Windows 7 and newer one is 32-bit...
Thanks for help!

>>> The current computer is 64-bit Windows 7 and newer one is 32-bit...
That statement is irrelevant. Either computer can run either Windows 7 version, no problem -- 4GB RAM addressability being the main limitation of the 32-bit version.
I would give it a try. Unless there are significant device differences (which I doubt), Windows 7 system loaded from the "old" HDD will work fine on the "new" ThinkPad.
In any event, I would rather use this opportunity to do a clean installation of Windows 7 64-bit, for which you have a COA key.

Swapping MBP hard drive between i7 and core 2 duo (10.7.2)

Hi there. I'm looking for opinions, I have an older 17" MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo, Mid 2009) and a newer 15" MacBook Pro (i7, early 2011) both of which are running Lion (10.7.2). The older laptop has a new 7200RPM drive and the new laptop has a standard 5400RPM drive. I'm desiring to swap the drives while leaving them intact with their existing OS installs. Does anyone anticipate that there will be issues booting the drives after the swap, specifically because of the difference in processors, memory, video, etc?
Thoughts? Opinions? No brainer? Not going to work? I just don't want to go through the hassle if someone out there has already tried it and ended up having to re-install from scratch.
Thanks for your help.
Bryan

Marrcus wrote:
Bryan,
a)
irrespective, Yes, the 7200 drive will make a noticeable difference, noticeablly faster.
At best it will be 30% faster, normally less than 15%, if the drive sizes are not the same it may not be faster at all.
b)
Unfortunately as I experienced, you cannot simply swap a core2duo running drive to an i7 machine. It will not work. Too may differenced for it to boot or be easily corrected. It is a real pain unfortunately, I spent a good amount of time trying different things.
Maybe, maybe not, I boot an i7 iMac with an external disc that came from a Core@ machine and it works fine, as it is such a simple thing to test I believe the OP should try.

Swapping storage drive between 13 and 15 inch retina macboks? (both late 2013 models)

Hey all, i have two macbook pro retinas, one 13" 1TB late 2013 and one 15" 500GB late 2013.
Question is can i swap the hard drives out between each other? purely on a hardware level here.
Would they be compatible with with the logic board seeing as they are both same models only different sized display?
I have a time machine backup of both drives and would plan on restoring each once swapped over.
Thanks in advance all!

You might check if something is available at OWC, but if not there is nothing that can be done. Those models do not use standard HDDs or SSDs.
You're always welcome to take it to the Apple Store and ask if they would be able to upgrade the smaller one, but typically Apple does not permit that.

Can I swap hard drive from my Macbook (10.5.8) into Macbook Pro (10.6)?

I have a white Macbook from 2007 (model A1181, 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo, OSX 10.5.8 installed) which I upgraded with a 500GB hard drive. I now have Macbook Pro (model A1278, 2.53GHz, 10.6 fresh install from disc, 250GB hdd).
I would like to swap the 500GB drive from the Macbook into the MBP so I can transfer over all my settings and apps. Will that upgrade work? If not, what's the best method to perform this upgrade so I can restore my system on the MBP? I use TimeMachine and SuperDuper to backup my Macbook if that matters. Thank for any input!

No, once you put the older MacBook drive in, if it even fits, you can't transfer to the new one because it's not physically in the MacBookPro anymore.
And the MacBookPro may not be able to read a 10.5 boot disk if it shipped with 10.6.
They are not backwards compatible when trying to boot from an older machines drive that probably doesn't have the correct drivers to run on a MacPro.
First,
Try using Disk Utility to do a Disk Repair, as shown in this link, while booted up on your install disk in case you have some directory corruption.
Let us know what errors Disk Utility reports and if DU was able to repair them. Disk Utility's Disk Repair is not perfect and may not find or repair all directory issues. A stronger utility may be required to finish the job. Better, run DiskWarrior if you have it.
After that Repair Permissions.
No need to report Permissions errors....we all get them.
Then use Target Disk Mode and Migration Assistant to move settings and data.
Make sure all your apps. are 10.6 compatible. I would trash any plug ins also.
I followed this routine and had no troubles.
DALE

MacBook Pro: Swapping Hard Drives Between Two Identical Macs?

I have two Macbook Pro notebooks. They are both the June 11th 2012 models both with cd/dvd drives. They both have Mavericks installed on both.
I want to give my 15 inch to my son who has the 13 inch. They 13 will be mine and the 15 his.
Can i just swap his 750HD from the 13 and put it into the 15? Can i also remove my 250 Samsung pro SSD from my 15 and put it in his 13?
What are some ways i can go about this that are easy?
Thanks in advance,
PS: Like i said they both run mavericks and they are the same generation MBP from June 2012 release from Apple. Except one is a 2.5 i5 13 inch and the other is a 15 inch 2.3 Quad i7.
We pretty much just want to trade laptops and swap the hard drives easy.
Thanks again.

nn007400,
are each of your laptops associated with your respective Apple IDs? If so, then that might be a fly in the ointment when it comes to updating apps purchased through the Mac App Store, if the tie-in involves your MacBook Pros’ serial numbers as well as your Apple IDs. (I don’t know whether that’s the case or not.)
The disks can certainly be exchanged physically between the two portables — you could try it for a while, and if you encounter a problem, you can exchange them back and consider alternative (but unfortunately less convenient) approaches.

Swapping hard drives between two different HP mini towers DC7600 TO DC7900

I would like to know if it will be possible to take out and re-install the Hard drive from my HP DC7600 tower running XP Pro over to my HP DC 7900 tower and remove the hard drive running windows 7 with out having to reinstall my Win XP OS . Is it possible ? What problems may i encounter ?? Are the Motherboard drivers similar so as not to have replace them ? i am hoping that this can be a plug and play operation - thanks GGW

Hello @grant1951,
I understand that you are looking to swap the hard drive from a HP Compaq dc7600 Convertible Minitower PC to a HP Compaq dc7900 Business PC. As both of these computer as commercial units, I would suggest posting it in the commercial forums, since these are commercial products. You can do this at Business PCs - Compaq, Elite, Pro.
I hope this helps. Thank you for posting on the HP Forums. Have a great day!
Please click the "Thumbs Up" on the bottom right of this post to say thank you if you appreciate the support I provide!
Also be sure to mark my post as “Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others who face the same challenge find the same solution.
Dunidar
I work on behalf of HP
Find out a bit more about me by checking out my profile!
"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." ~ Donald Porter

Swap Hard Drives Between Mac Pro's

I have a MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 15" (Unibody - Late 2008) that has been upgraded from the standard 320 GB SATA hard drive, to a Seagate 750 GB SATA 16 MB cache 7200 rpm hard drive.
I have recently upgraded to a MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 15" (SD - Mid 2009) that has the standard 320 GB SATA hard drive.
Both are running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8.
I will be selling my older (2.53GHz) Mac Pro but would like to keep my larger hard drive.
Question
Can I simply swap the hard drive out of my older (2.53GHz) Mac Pro and install it into the newer (2.66GHz) Mac Pro, without having to reinstall the Mac OS X software?
I no longer have any of my OS X install disks.
Will the 750 GB hard drive still perform the same in the newer Mac Pro, given that they are running the same OS?
Thanks in advance!

From what I understand the USB/PCIe interfaces are (somewhat) device specific. But it depends on the particular vendor in question.
According to barefeats.com, regarding USB devices:
"...Our only concern was that it {the CalDigit adapter} only worked with CalDigit USB 3.0 enclosures like the AV Drive. They since updated the driver to "unlock it." In fact, all the USB 3.0 results posted above for non-Cadigit enclosures were done with the CalDigit PCIe USB 3.0 host adapter...."
So, for example, the Lacie PCIe adapters are "specific". Only works with their stuff. Originally the CalDigit PCIe adapter was the same: limited to use with their devices only. But they've altered that so that it is more generic. In fact, it was used to test the other USB 3.0 devices in the barefeats tests.
So the CalDigit card, at least, is a more flexible choice.

Swapping hard drives in 2007 MacBooks

I have a mid 2007 macbook that has quit working. The problem appears to be in the power supply and won't turn on. I also have a late 2007 macbook. Both are running the same OS. I want to take the hard drive out of the non working macbook and install it in the working macbook, backup the information from the hard drive on the non working Mac through time machine, and reverse the drives back and load the information from the non working mac hard drive on to the working mac hard drive. Is this possible?

Thanks for the help. We (my son and I) tried swapping the drives just to see what would happen. It worked. We had nothing to lose since we were going to erase the working computer and give it to my wife (owner of the dead computer). I bought the new macbook pro for my birthday and gave my working 2007 macbook to my wife. The drives swapped out easily and the mac booted it right up, no problems. We performed a time machine backup on it, and it recognized that the old time machine was performed on a different computer and therefore made a new backup. After the time machine backup, we switched drives and reformatted the disk in my working mac to give it a fresh start. We restored the time machine and it runs just like my wife's old, dead, computer. I did order the external hard drive enclosure for my son. Thanks again.

Swapping Hard Drive (between generations)

I have a MBPro Duo 2.16 (mid 2007) with an upgraded 7200/320 HD installed 6 months ago.
Am hoping to purchase the smaller 13" MBP (latest version), swapping my drives (fond of my actual set up), and installing the new clean drive in my actual 15", to sell.
No need to worry about re-copying, erasing, or setting up.
Am I being naive or is this feasible?
Definitely an important factor in my final decision.
Thank you
Ralph
Message was edited by: chidiar
Message was edited by: chidiar

Unfortunately, you'll need the right system/drivers to run each machine.
Here's what I did: migrated the info onto the new computer; cloned to the old drive (through an enclosure); put the old drive into the new machine; put the new drive into the old machine; reinstalled the OS onto the old machine.
If you don't have enough space on the new drive to migrate everything, you can still do it w/ a backup: install the old drive into the new machine; reinstall the OS; migrate from backup; put the new disk into the old machine; reinstall the OS onto the old machine.

Swapping hard drives between 2 macbooks?

Hi all,
I have a question. I have a 1st gen macbook (white body) that I got nearly 3 years ago, it's running tiger. A friend has a newer mac (bought last summer) which is running leopard.
Can I swap the hdds in these two machines without having to do crazy stuff? As in if I put the newer hdd into my older machine, will my machine be running leopard, etc? What do I need to do to swap them?
Sorry if it's a silly question, I'm not finding a lot of info on it.
Thanks,
Zo.

I have the same question. I have Leopard on both however. I have two Macbooks, one black, and one white. The black one has better specs; 2.2 GHz core 2 duo with 2 GB RAM, etc while the white one has a 1.83 GHz core duo (NOT 2) with 1 gb ram. The white one I believe belonged to some sort of an advertisement designer or something because there are massive amounts of nice programs like adobe CS3 and office 2008, and not only that, but the hard drive is 250 GB as opposed to mine which is 160 GB. The graphics drivers are both intel, although one is GMA 950 while the other is GMA x3100. Can I still swap the drives and not have to restore?

Using iPod as a hard drive between Mac and PC

I'd like to use my Mac-formatted iPod to back up some personal files om my work PC laptop, and then transfer them to my Mac at home. I need to repeat this process every month or so.
I've enabled my iPod for disk use, but the PC wants to reformat in order to allow me to use it as a hard drive on the PC. However, all of my iTunes and photos and videos are on my Mac at home, and I'd like to keep the iPod Mac-formatted.
There appears to be some 3rd-party software trials out there, but I'm reluctant to download anything that is potentially sketchy.
Advice will be greatly appreciated.
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.5) Also a PC user (at work)

Probably the easiest way to use an iPod on both Mac and Windows computers is to format the iPod (using iPod Updater) using the PC. This will force your iPod to use the Windows file system (FAT32) which both the Mac and PC can read from and write to without the help of additional software. Of course then all your software updates for the iPod will have to be done on Windows.
If you need to use a Mac (HFS+) formatted iPod on a Windows PC, you'll need to install some 3rd party software such as XPlay 2.0 (which you can get from MediaFour Software). This will enable your Windows PC to read a Mac-formatted iPod.

Can I swap hard drives between 2007 and 2011 iMacs?

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