Disk Utility to clone my HDD to SSD?

Hi and thanks for reading.
I have a MacBook Pro Early 2011 13'' and I am considering the chance to upgrade my HD to SSD.
I found a tutorial which is explaining how to clone it by using Disk Utility Only, without any third party software https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh4iHJyL7AU
My questions are:
1)Is this possible and reliable?
2)Will the Recovery Partition be cloned aswell in the process?
3)Any negative aspect wrt to Carbon Copy Cloner or similar software?
Tnxs.

Yes, it's possible and very reliable.
The Recovery HD partition is cloned automatically.
It's simpler to do than with CCC.
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the SSD drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
Put the SSD into an external enclosure so you can clone your HDD to it. When you finish test to be sure the computer will boot from the SSD:
Boot Using OPTION key:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
      "OPTION" key.
3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
4. Select the SSD icon from which you want to boot.
5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.
If all is well, then remove the SSD from the enclosure and install it in the computer.

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Using Disk Utility to clone one FW Drive to another FW Drive

can I use Disk Utility to clone one external firewire drive to another external firewire drive? How would I go about this? I am using a PowerBook G4, 1.67 Ghz, 17 in, 2 gig ram with Mac OS 10.3.9
I have both firewire drives connected to the PowerBook.

Yes, you can use Disk Utility for this purpose.
1) Open Disk Utility.
2) In the left hand column, click on one of your Volumes (if your disks are partitioned, this will be one of your named volumes).
3) In the right hand box, you will now see three buttons: First Aid, Erase, Restore. Click on Restore.
4) Drag the volume name of the partition that you want to copy to the "Source" box. Its name should appear in the box. Drag the volume name of the partition that you want to overwrite to the "Destination" box. Its name should appear.
5) Click "Restore" in the lower right corner. You might want to also check the box "Erase destination".
6) Wait patiently, if all goes well you should have a bootable clone. Be sure to test the clone for bootablity before relying on it. Also, do a "Get Info" in the Finder after cloning to make sure the "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" box is not checked, and then use Disk Utility to repair permissions on the volume.
Good Luck!

CCC or Disk Utility to clone a Mac HD of one new iMac to another, over ThunderBolt, we are getting I/O errors. Even though the clone fails, the destination system does boot and log in, however, the logins take a very very very long time.

When using CCC (Carbon Cophy Cloner) or Disk Utility to clone a Mac HD of one new iMac to another, over ThunderBolt, we are getting I/O errors. Even though the clone fails, the destination system does boot and log in, however, the logins take a very very very long time.
Thoughts.
Edit: Already ran Disk Utility. Also reinstalled a fresh OS on top of the cloned OS and it seemed to remedy the problem. Then, cloned to next machine in the row of the lab. Same problem.

OK, by that I assume that you used Disk Utility to repair the subject disk and it reported "The volume (name) appears to be OK" in green.
Also verify you followed the instructions here: http://help.bombich.com/kb/usage-scenarios/i-want-to-clone-my-entire-hard-drive- to-a-new-hard-drive-or-a-new-machine
If so, the Thunderbolt connection begins to look suspicious.
Reinstalling OS X subsequent to the "clone" operation may be an acceptable workaround but you should not have had the I/O errors you describe, nor should the login times (subsequent to the initial login, that is) be unacceptably long. It calls into question the integrity of all the information that was transferrred.
I'll try to attract the attention of a CCC expert who will likely provide more competent assistance. You can also try the Bombich support site: http://help.bombich.com

Can you use the "Restore" function in Disk Utility to clone MacBook Pro HDD and make a bootable copy?

I'm cloning my MacBook Pro's HDD to a SSD and didn't really want to install another app (SuperDuper, CCC), can I just use the Restore function in Disk Utility app to clone it and make a bootable copy on my SSD?
Thank you for the help!

Yes.
Clone Yosemite, Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Disk utility is hanging trying to erase ssd. Can I force quit?

I will keep this sorry Halloween tale short. And, not bore you with how I got to where I am, as we'd both need drinks if I did.
Needless to say, here I am watching Disk Utility making zero progress on erasing my SSD.
Progress bar os stuck 1/3rd of the way and the app has been running just over an hour.
SSD is OWC 6G Mercury Pro 240gb
Activity monitor shows activity in DU, but again, no progress as noted by static blue bar.
Drive got messed up during Yosemite install.
The SSD, once proudly a Guid Partition Format pre-Yosemite, had been converted into a Logical Volume Partition, without permission.
No, I did not enable file vault!
Now, getting corruption errors all over the place, I set out to reformat, and here is where I am, stuck.
Is 70 minutes without progress bar movement too little time?
How long could it be to erase?
I also must tell you that following instructions, I removed the corrupted sad and put it in a firewire 800 enclosure, while running my MBP with a 7200rpm Mountain Lion, pre-Yosemite clone.
Textbook cue of why you make clones!
Question: Is it safe to force quit DU?
Or should I sleep and see if anything happens by morning.
Thanks to one and all.
I know my Halloween is certainly scary enough…!

Well, thanks for the looks…
I'm calling it a night.
The DU progress bar still hasn't moved, (visually), in 4 hours since first post.
However, in Activity Monitor, DU still shows both read, and write, disk activity. Pitifully slow. But steady
I'll check in here again in the morning before, "pulling the plug."
Best,
Rich

Using Disk Utility to Clone/Duplicate entire hard drive.

I have read many post that touch on this question but none have cleared up my questions, and many have just lead to more questions on my part.
I want to use the included Disk Utility program to copy my entire hard drive to another.
Because I only plan on backing up the entire drive once or twice a year, I do not feel I need Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper. Also I would like to understand how to accomplish this with the application I already have.
Having read all the help pages and posts I can find, I understand the general concept of using the "Restore" function in DU, but have these questions still:
1. My current HD is a 250GB partitioned with one volume "Macintosh HD" I am going to install another 250GB hard drive into bay 2. Do I need to partition this drive first?
2. Do I need to format this drive?
3. Do I need to erase this drive?
4. Do I need to use the security feature to "Zero" this drive?
5. It seems to me that if I am doing a bit for bit clone the partitioning and format from the source drive would just come over in the copy...no?
6. As the source for the "Restore" do I want to select the parent 250GB disk drive, or should I select the "Macintosh HD" volume?
7. As the destination for the "Restore" (if I had to partition and format) do I want the new 250GB drive or the "Backup" volume?
8. If I have to partition and format the new drive first, I understand that I want the GUID partition table and the MAC OS Extended (journaled), can someone explain what the heck that means?

I apologize for missing that part of the intro.
For a new drive here's the modified procedure I suggest:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Grey folder with question mark and Disk Utility can't find HDD.

I have a 2010 MacBook Pro and for some reason the OS X does not boot up. Therefore I see the grey folder flashing. I tried booting into Recovery from holding options button but there are no available startup disks. So I installed Apple recovery on my USB and I boot up with that. I opened disk utility but it does not seem to find the hard disk. I also tried reinstalling Mac OS X and it gives me an error. Is there another bootable software except for Disk Utility that can check the HDD and see if there are any errors or is the HDD just dead?

Try the steps in this support article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Have you tried installing the original Snow Leopard installation disk and access Disk Utility from the Utilities menu?
Ciao.

Disk utility can't find HDD

Hello,
I was playing music on my macbook 13" early 2011 and all of a sudden it stopped playing. After I logged in to my account on my mac the screen froze so I decided to do a reboot. After I tried to restart all I got as a folder with a question mark in it. I did my research and did many attempts on fixing it but disk utility just couln't find my macintosh HD. After reading lots about this problem on the web I installed a new (empty) HDD but still disk utitlity wasn't able to find it so I could not install OSX.
Can anybody help me, is it the HDD or something else and how can I solve this problem?
Thanks in advance!
Victor Verdonschot

Hello,
I put the original HDD in an external case. Tried to boot from there and as it seems it works fine. But it still can't find the internal HDD.
Any help?
Thanks in advance.
Victor Verdonschot

Disk Utility in conjuction with HDD replacement

Hello guys!
Here is the issue. I am going to replace HDD in my iBook. Now i am creating an image of the "Macintosh HD" folder (in disk utility i selected create the image from folder). Why i am pointing exactly this? Cause when i selected to create an image from the hard drive (partition) it says that device is busy and not able to make an image (which is strange as for me). Mind that i am doing this procedure from the Installation DVD of Leopard.
Question: is the image created will contain all the hidden system files or it will be an image of user visible files? If i am doing something wrong, give me and idea what to do.
Thanks in advance!
Looking forward to hear some ideas,
Ivan

Well, i made a risk not to back up the information from my original HDD. I replaced it and thanks god, as you see i am typing the message from my laptop with new HDD
Good luck to all,
Ivan

OS X Yosemite will not shut down, Disk Utility will not repair HDD

When I try to shut down OS X Yosemite on my MacBook Air, the screen goes black almost immediately with the mouse pointer remaining visible (and moveable). However, it appears that irrespective of how long I give my Mac to shut down, it never does.
When I run Disk Utility it tells me that my HDD needs to be repaired, and that I need to reboot while holding Cmd + R before running Disk Utility. When I do this, Disk Utility tells me that there is nothing wrong with the HDD.
What's the best way to go about resolving this issue?

When I try to shut down OS X Yosemite on my MacBook Air, the screen goes black almost immediately with the mouse pointer remaining visible (and moveable). However, it appears that irrespective of how long I give my Mac to shut down, it never does.
When I run Disk Utility it tells me that my HDD needs to be repaired, and that I need to reboot while holding Cmd + R before running Disk Utility. When I do this, Disk Utility tells me that there is nothing wrong with the HDD.
What's the best way to go about resolving this issue?

Disk Utility not seeing new hdd; how do I fix this?

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If you toggle Airplane mode On/Off, does it resolve?

Disk utility to clone a drive (restore)

I'm having issues with my external passport (WD) drive where snow leopard is installed. It is only working intermittently, but if I wiggle the USB connection at the macbook's USB port, sometimes it comes back on. With that said, I'm not sure if it's the drive, the cable or the mac's ports going bad. So, I did a really good Time Machine backup, and am now cloning that drive to another drive. It's taking forever, though. I'm going on 4 hours at this point, and disk utility says there are 56 minutes remaining. However, the lights on the passport drive are no longer scrolling from side to side; there is just a single light indicating standby mode. However, I can open the drive and it's contents easily from desktop or finder. Should I be concerned that in disk utility, the "source" window is now blank and the "destination" window is now greyed out? The destination drive appears to be working, but no longer appears on desktop. Is this normal? I don't remember noticing this when I have cloned drives in the past. Thoughts, anyone?
Thanks!
Kat

Kathleen Theisen wrote:
I'm having issues with my external passport (WD) drive where snow leopard is installed. It is only working intermittently, but if I wiggle the USB connection at the macbook's USB port, sometimes it comes back on. With that said, I'm not sure if it's the drive, the cable or the mac's ports going bad. So, I did a really good Time Machine backup, and am now cloning that drive to another drive. It's taking forever, though. I'm going on 4 hours at this point, and disk utility says there are 56 minutes remaining. However, the lights on the passport drive are no longer scrolling from side to side; there is just a single light indicating standby mode. However, I can open the drive and it's contents easily from desktop or finder. Should I be concerned that in disk utility, the "source" window is now blank and the "destination" window is now greyed out? The destination drive appears to be working, but no longer appears on desktop. Is this normal?
yes, this is normal when DU does a block level copy. it will unmount both the source and the target drive so you won't be able to do anything with them while cloning is going on. has the time remaining gone down since you posted?
I don't remember noticing this when I have cloned drives in the past. Thoughts, anyone?
Thanks!
Kat

Disk Utility does not allow HDD to be erased

I am attempting to erase my Hard Drive so I can start from scratch and the disk utility tool does not allow me to erase. The hard drive is grayed out. I want to reimage my computer, but I cannot use the CD that came with it because it came with Snow Leopard, and I am running on Lion.
Please help, I need this. Thanks

heatheranne wrote:
I am having the exact same issue...
Any word?
You can not erase a drive you are booting the computer from. That would erase the operating system you are currently using.
You have to boot the computer from a inistall DVD or if you are using Lion from the Recovery HD partition. Or if you made or bought a Lion install USB thumb drive boot from that.
Then erase the drive and reinstall.

Unable to find HDD after erase with disk utility

Background id I had installed the Lion OS but then got into trouble with the "flashing question mark " at start up.
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This time, it appeared the "Cmd R" did not work. So I browsed until I found out it is possible in the reinstallation, the recovery option was removed.
Ok, so then one of the discussion threads suggested to use the installer disc to boot up, use the disk utility to erase the HDD and install in my case Snow Leopard, and thereafter install the Lion OS.
I am stuck after clicking "erase". First there was an error message - "file system formatter failed' then I no longer can see the HDD in the disk utility.
How can complete the HDD erase function so I can proceed to install the OS?

A check in the system profiler - "There was an error while scanning for Serial ATA devices"
Looks like my iMac's HDD is kaput...Or is there a way to fix this?

Error message while trying to clone harddrive using Disk Utility

I've been trying to clone my MacBook Pro's harddrive in advance of installing Leopard. I've been trying to clone to a LaCie Ethernet Disk mini. It's connected to my computer with a USB cable. It does about 1/3 of the disk, then I get the following error message:
An error (2) occurred while copying. (No such file or directory)
At this point the disk cloning stops.
An advice would help, thanks.

kory wrote:
I'm trying to use Disk Utility to clone it. I have verified and repaired both the MacBook Pro HD and the external HD with Disk Utility.
*Hi Kory, Welcome (Back)* to Apple's Users Help Users Forums.
In addition to Utilities Restore, these are popular Cloners.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Purchase at $27.95 will allow smart backups that look at the bu files and only move over new ones. It's quick at ~7 mins to change ~1 gig out of 20.
Be sure to test that the clone boots and apps behave properly.
Here are other popular cloners.
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
http://www.prosoftengineering.com/products/drivegeniusinfo.php?PHPSESSID=909c070fb2e13b35097fa9cc1340bfc0
Good Luck, JP
Message was edited by: Jpfresno "In addition to ..."

Disk Utility to clone my HDD to SSD?

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