Cloning drives and using the cloned one as startup disk.

Question

Hi, i just bought a Maxtor 300 SATA internal HD, i want to install it as my startup drive on my Powermac G5 Dual 1.8 Ghz OSX 10.4.7, but keep the drive that came shipped with the computer as an extra drive (not as a backup).
I know how to phisically install the drive, but i don't know how to clone it, can anyone please walk me through the process:
How to do it?
Can i install the 300 gig drive on my machine along with the 80 gig HD that came with it, then run Superduper 2.0 and clone it?
How do I make the 300 gig HD my startup drive after that?
How do i erase the old 80 gig HD afterwards.
Finally, i have some minor knowledge about computers, i can install the drive, ram, etc. do you guys think i should take the machine to an expert for him to do the cloning or is it easy enough and i can do it myself.
Thanx

Answer 1

1: When you format the new drive, do a Erase w/Zero option. This will map off any bad sectors from the drive being mishandled. (it will take a bit, don't sleep machine/monitor) You only need to do this once for a drive (unless your machine has been compromised somehow), a regular "Erase" will do afterwards. You can't do this after a drive has data without completely erasing it.
2: Repair Permissions in Disk Utility before a clone.
3: Don't run or do anything else during a cloning process.
4: Carbon Copy Cloner: (donationware!) set the "Make bootable" in prefs and clone the whole drive (don't exclude anything until you learn more about cloning).
5: Clone the boot drive to the other. (no sleep) Depending on the size of the drive and the interface your using will determine how long it will take. SATA is fastest, followed by Firewire 800 then 400 (then USB2/1 not advised)
6: After the cloning process is finished, repair permissions on the boot drive and the clone.
7: Now you can leave your original drive the Startup Drive or set it to the Clone. You leave the Startup set to the original and then can hold "option" to boot off the clone if you wish, just takes longer.
8: Do boot off the clone and check it carefully, you might be needing it someday. Some copy protected software may need reactivation.
9: As a extra step, search Apple main page for OnyX and run the "Automation" followed by a reboot. It will set the system prebinding, clean out caches and other things, setting your machine back to a original state and giving a slight performance boost.
10: Check CCC forums for "Before you Clone" for any other tips.
11: I do advise having two boot clones, just in case you hook up a clone to a infected/compromised system trying to figure out what's the problem.
If this occurs, physically disconnect from a network, c boot off the installer disk and Disk Utility Erase w/Zero the infected drive(s). Then reverse clone to the other drives and disconnect before hooking back up to a network.