How to boot up from new harddrive install

Question

I'm about to replace my harddrive before it crashes. My question is, can I copy my existing HD data onto the new harddrive before installing it? I have a firewire case I can use for this process. I have a freeware copy of Superduper I can use.
I have replaced my HD once before, but it was after my drive crashed so I had to do a new install of OS X and then replace all apps one-by-one. I'm hoping to avoid this by replacing the drive early this time, and it would be great if a cloned copy of my contents put onto the new drive before install could allow me to boot up and operate normally. Thanks!

Answer 1

Sure. Put the new drive in the FW enclosure and prep the drive:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select the new hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. 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.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 for each volume created if more than one.
Next, clone your old system to the new drive:
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the external drive's volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the the external drive's volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
8. Select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked. Verify the settings for Ownership and Permissions as follows: Owner=system with read/write; Group=admin with read/write; Other with read-only. If they are not correct then reset them.
Upon completion of cloning open the Startup Disk preference, select the icon for the external drive, then click on the Restart button. If all goes well your computer should start up from the external drive. Now shut down and swap drives.