I am trying to install an new hard drive into my 15-inch, late 2008 MacBook Pro

I put a new 750Gb Seagate drive in and booted with the Snow Leopard install disk. I held the "C" key down and the disk began to load. An icon of a folder with a question mark flashed. The install process stalled there and I could do no more. I checked the install disk by booting when the original hard drive was in, and it loaded fine.

There's another way you could do this, but it requires an external enclosure or dock to plug the new drive into.
You can get USB enclosures for not much money, maybe 15USD.
You connect the new drive via to the MacBook Pro using the enclosure/dock, and then use Disk Utility's restore function to clone your existing drive to the new drive.
Typically, I also repartition the new drive (rather than just format it), and make sure that it is GUID partition map (using the Options.. button), and Mac OS Extendend (Journaled), BEFORE I restore.
This has two advantages: you end up with a perfect clone of your original system, and you can test the drive before you install it.
You can boot from the drive while it is still in the external enclosure (USB or firewire, and on newer Macs ThunderBolt) and check it works.
It is also possible that your MacBook does not like the drive. This is a fairly rare occurance, but has happened to me on a few occasions. It can be things like power draw and SATA compatibility. You can see symptoms where the computer locks up. I have not seen this happen specifically on a MacBook Pro 2008 or with a 750GB Seagate drive.
If you don't want to go down the external enclosure route, I'd suggest holding down the option key to get to the early boot menu, and selecting the DVD from there. And wait. Booting from DVD can take a little while longer.

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MacBook Pro 2010: Flashing folder w/? on not responding to startup keys & I'm trying to install a new hard drive, can anyone help?

MacBook Pro 2010: Flashing folder w/? on not responding to startup keys & I'm trying to install a new hard drive, can anyone help?

Thanks. It started up com that disk but when I went to install it had an error message (didn't get to write out what it said). So I attempted to restore from time machine but it said there was no space, even though it's a new (replacement under warranty) HGST 1TB HD, so I did what I think was right and tried to partition the disk but it now says 'Partition faild...POSIX report...cannot allocate memory'. im not sure what to do, and I'm trying to remember how the previous hd was installed and formatted for use but that was over a year ago now. Should have erased the hd first or something?

Best way to install a new hard drive into a laptop?

what's the proper way to install a new hard drive into a laptop? i've heard that cloning can result in very slow boot up and shut down times, and that the proper method is install the new hard drive, install OSX, and restore data from time machine. comments? thanks very much

Cloning doesn't cause the resulting system to slow down in and of itself, but it does retain any previous problems, which can build up over time and result in poor performance. (The same can be said of installing new system versions on top of old versions.)
A clean OS X installation will give you a clean base to start from. Mass-restoring data and applications will undo some of that benefit, but by no means all.

I tried to install a new hard drive using Snow Leopard to back up with Time Machine. When I installed the new HD I installed Leopard (10.5) on it and tried to use time machine to restore the backup I had made using 10.6. Kernel panic screen occurred.

I backed up my system using 10.6 Snow Leopard's Time Machine to an external hard drive. I did this because I purchased a new internal hard drive to upgrade my 2007 White Macbook from 80GB to 320GB. When I installed the new hard drive, I installed 10.4 (Tiger) and then 10.5 (Leopard) and once Leopard was in I tried to use Time Machine to restore my backup from 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and received a kernal panic screen directly after the bootup.
The screen had code asking for 10.6, so does this mean that the computer is searching for Snow Leopard? If so, how can I do this? Will a bootable drive with Snow Leopard on it be able to solve the issue or will I somehow need to find a way to wipe out this new hard drive?
-Steve

Booting From Snow Leopard Installer Disc
1. Insert Snow Leopard Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
Drive Preparation and Installation
1. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
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. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
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 Security 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 can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. After formatting is complete quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.

I'm trying to install a new hard drive on my Touchsmart but the recovery disks won't boot.

The Touchsmart 300-1120 is only 1.5 years old and it's hard drive is already fried. I bought a new hard drive, ordered the recovery disks, and it still won't boot. I've changed the boot order to go from the CD drive first, but all it does is click and then give the same error message it gave when the fired hard drive was in. I checked the diagnostic, and it can see the new hard drive...it just won't boot.

Sometimes they do work - i've done it before. I have a late 2008 Macbook Uni and used the install dvd of my 2009 Macbook White and it worked.
Why not just clone your hard drive? It'll save you a lot of time doing a clone rather than doing a clean install.
Unless you're having issues with your old set up or your old hard drive is dead.
You can download Carbon Copy Cloner - install your new hard drive in a external usb enclosure (around $10) and clone fromt here then test it before you install it in your Macbook.
Once you've done the swap, you can install your old hard drive in the USB enclosure and use it as a backup drive.
Good luck

Trying to instal a new hard drive in my old macbook pro laptop but it wont recognize the disk to install osx

I want to give my old macbook pro away as a gift & bought a 250 GB SATA internal hard drive and installed it, then popped in the osx install disk. When I start it up it begins well, but when it gets to the point to install the software on the drive, the drive simply doesnt show up on the menu to be chosen to instal the software.
The cables are on right and should be working well, so I don't understand why this brand new, never used hard drive doesn't allow the software to mount. Thanks for the help!

jcbarker wrote:
It's a toshiba 250 gb. The place I bought it from said it was, but as I type this, I'm startting to think it's not. Could I simply take it out of the laptop, put it into an enclosure and format it using another mac?
Would that work or is there a better/ different way? Thanks again.
How about an exact model number, there are a lot of 250G Toshiba drives, but even if it is formatted for Windows it should not be necessary to remove it just to format it.
Can you see the drive in Disk Utility? (Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility)

I installed a new hard drive into my MacBook and now it grey screens, any ideas to fix it?

Hi Mac Community,
I have a late 2009 aluminum MacBook that was having some troubles recently with the hard drive where it would start to spin up and then click back. My computer slowed WAY down, and I was having boot problems, after doing some reading online I figured it was about to go. So I backed up everything and shortly thereafter the drive went and I couldn't boot in any mode and all the drivechecks using diskwarrior came back as corrupted: unrepairable.
So, no biggie. I upgraded the drive to a Seagate 750GB Momentus XT Hybrid Hard Drive. The install of that went fine and I installed OSX, reloaded everything from time machine, and had my computer back. Until, I performed an OSX software update.
Upon restart, nothing happened. And I mean nothing. With the old harddrive I'd get the apple and it would try and boot in recovery mode. With the new harddrive, I get the boot noise and then a grey screen, I am not able to boot into any mode, or do anything at all. Just a grey screen. So, my question for the apple community, would be, where should I go from here? I am pretty sure that the harddrive was compatible with my machine as I had seen it recommended on these forums. My only thought is to buy a usb to sata cable and remove the new drive and test in using another computer, just to see if the drive is functioning.
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in Advance. Oh, and in case your wondering why I just dont take in into a Mac store for a fix, I live in a small alaskan town and there is nothing like that around, so, I am the only repair man in town.

jrmetzger,
iOS runs on iPads and iPhones; OS X runs on Macs.
Given your situation, I’d highly recommended that you purchase a SATA-to-USB adapter, so that you can test both your old disk and your new disk externally, since it might be that the problem is due to a faulty internal SATA cable rather than due to faulty disks.

I installed a new hard drive into my macbook pro and when i transferred over iPhoto, now my iPhoto won't open

i keep getting this error:
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /Library/Frameworks/iLifeFaceRecognition.framework/Versions/A/iLifeFaceRecognit ion
Referenced from: /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Reason: image not found

To re-install iPhoto
1. Put the iPhoto.app in the trash (Drag it from your Applications Folder to the trash)
2a: On 10.5: Go to HD/Library/Receipts and remove any pkg file there with iPhoto in the name.
2b: On 10.6: Those receipts may be found as follows: In the Finder use the Go menu and select Go To Folder. In the resulting window type
/var/db/receipts/
2c: on 10.7 they're at
/private/var/db/receipts
A Finder Window will open at that location and you can remove the iPhoto pkg files.
3. Re-install.
If you purchased an iLife Disk, then iPhoto is on it.
If iPhoto was installed on your Mac when you go it then it’s on the System Restore disks that came with your Mac. Insert the first one and opt to ‘Install Bundled Applications Only.
If you purchased it on the App Store or have a Recent Mac you can find it in your Purchases List.

Problems installing OS I have an iMac 21.5 (Mid-2010) and in trying to load a new hard drive, after choosing the installation disk the apple logo comes up and then stops and the keyboard and mouse goes dead. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Problems installing OS
I have an iMac 21.5 (mid-2010) and I'm trying to install a new hard drive. When I choose the installation disk the Apple logo comes up and it stops there. Then the mouse and keyboard goes dead. I'm trying to install 10.6. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Since you have a new hard drive, there is nothing on it, so you need to boot from an external source (and probably format the hard drive before installing an OS). Are you booting from the 10.6 install disk? Better yet - do you have a bootable backup clone or at least a Time Machine backup?

Problem installing a new hard drive

you need to restart your computer...hold down the power button for several seconds or press the restart button....please help i'm trying to install a new hard drive my first hard drive crash....please HELP meeeeee (sad face)

Sounds like you are getting kernel panics--usually hardware-related. You must not have something hooked up right or you have an incompatible HD.
17" 2.2GHz i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro  8G RAM  750G HD + OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Boot HD 

I see that i have a problem after installing my new hard drive on my macbook pro mid 2009 version. I put a new hard drive, with all of my information from my old drive installed on it, into the computer. but now have the blinking question mark folder

i see that i have a problem after installing my new hard drive on my macbook pro mid 2009 version. I put a new hard drive, with all of my information from my old drive installed on it, into the computer. but now have the blinking question mark folder. I see that it means that it isn't reading the new hard drive.
did i miss a step between transferring all of my information from my old hard drive to the new hard drive and installing the new hard drive into the computer. I believe that i installed properly. it was quite easy.
thanks for your help

It means there is no bootable system on the drive. If you still have access to the old drive, then I suggest you boot from it then clone it to the new internal drive. Use OPTION boot to boot from the Recovery HD on the old drive:
Boot to the Recovery HD:
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.
Source means the external old drive. Destination means the new internal drive.

I sent my 17inch mac pro to apple to install a new hard drive and my mountain lion was not on it when i got it back, using the same apple id i tried to re download it but it says i have to pay

i sent my 17inch mac pro to apple to install a new hard drive and my mountain lion was not on it when i got it back, using the same apple id i tried to re download it but it says i have to pay

never mind i got it by going into my account and veiwing hidden items and there it was

Hi I installed a new hard drive in my Mac mini osx lion an when I turn it on I get a flashing file with a question mark. I tried holding command and R keys when turning it on but the recovery fails to work. Does any one know how I can get it to recover?

Hi I installed a new hard drive in my Mac mini osx lion an when I turn it on I get a flashing file with a question mark. I tried holding command and R keys when turning it on but the recovery fails to work. I can hold the option key at start up and choose my network, then Internet recovery shows up with an arrow pointing up. When I click on the arrow Internet recovery fails and all I get is a globe with a triangle on it with an exclamation mark on it, and under that it says
apple.com/support
-6002F
Does any one know how I can fix this without a recovery disc? Thanks

I just want to add to this, in case someone else searches for this error on Apple Support (google doesnt cover apple support.. how clever is that?)
I had the same error. And i had a Computer that had worked, with a SSD drive and 16GB upgrade done by the owner himself.
I tried swapping with a Mechinal Harddrive, no luck.
Kept the Mechanical drive in, and tried with some other Ram, it worked..
So for me this error and after reading the other responses can be boiled down to a Harddrive problem or Ram issue.
It was Ram for me..

I installed a new hard drive and trying to reinstall FCP2 and on the install disc i get the following message - "You can't open the application FC Studio.mpkg because power PC applications are no longer supported"

I installed a new hard drive and trying to reinstall FCP2 and on the install disc i get the following message - "You can't open the application FC Studio.mpkg because power PC applications are no longer supported"

Because you are running lion.. FCS 6 is a Power PC app and Lion doesn't support Power PC anymore.. So you can't install it.. Three options..
1. Revert back to Snow Leopard.
2. Purchase FCP X...
if you can't stand FCP X
3. Call apple directly, 1800-MYAPPLE and ask to purachse FCS 3 for $999... (its FCP 7)
I just got FCS 3 today through apple phone sales..

I had to install a new hard drive because my old hard drives boot files became corrupted, and i want to get all of my music files off the old hard drive and regain all my play counts/ratings/playlists

Greetings everyone
as the title says, ive had to install a new hard drive and i want to transfer my old itunes library onto the new drive, maintaining all playlists/play counts/ratings etc, album artwork if possible. The old hard drive is installed as a slave drive and is completely acessible, but due to the boot files being corrupted i cannot use it as the main drive and therefore operate my old itunes. Also, my ipod no longer contains my music library as itunes synced without my permission and wiped it.
The only thing i have tried is copying all of my old music files from the old drive by selecting 'add folder to library' and then the old drive, then replacing the new itunes library.itl file with the one from my old itunes. This restores all my playlists and playcounts but when i try to play any of the songs it says that the files could not be found, and i dont fancy locating 8500 music files individually!
Thankyou for taking the time to read my post, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ah, my reply was based on the assumption that you had a default installation of iTunes.
i.e you had all your music in the iTunes media folder inside your iTunes folder.
If your iTunes folder is so small compared to the amount of music you have, you must have a different arrangement.
This complicates you situation considerably.
iTunes can cope with moving around as long as all the music is in the iTunes media folder, not not if it isn't.
Your first step should be to get iTunes working on the old drive. This will involve editing the xml library file so that the drive letter is correct and then rebuilding the library from the xml file.
Then you will need to consolidate your library which moves everything into the iTunes media fodler. After that you will be able to use my first suggestion.
Step 1
Find the iTunes folder on the old drive and copy the two library files somewhere else so you can find them again. That's iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Library.xml.
Now open the copy of iTunes Library.xml with WordPad.
Look for lines starting:
Location
These contain the paths to tracks.
You will need to use a find/replace to change the drive letter so that it is correct.
Make sure that you include enough in the "find" so that you only change the right thing.
Maybe /c:/ and replace with /d:/ or whatever.
After that, tell iTunes to use the library on the old drive with a shift key start.
Hold down the shift key and start iTunes, keep holding the shift key until you are prompted to choose a library. Navigate to the iTunes folder on the old drive and choose iTunes Library.itl.
Then use the method in the following article to rebuild your library;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
Unfortunately the date added will be today for all tracks.
If iTunes works correctly after this, consolidate your library
File>>Library>>Organize>>consolidate
This copies all tracks into to iTunes media folder and could create a problem if you do not have disk space so don't do it if you are unsure about free disk space.
Check that iTunes works OK and then use the first method.
Message was edited by: polydorus

I am trying to install an new hard drive into my 15-inch, late 2008 MacBook Pro

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