Installing new drive in macbook

hello all,
i have a 2ghz macbook with a 60gb system drive that is pretty much at capacity. i've ordered a 120gb drive to replace it. only problem is that i don't know how to go about doing this switch. i mean, i know how to open up the laptop and physically install it, but how do i get all my stuff onto the new drive in the easiest way?
i'd like to somehow copy my whole exisiting drive onto the new drive (maybe via an external hard drive)...is there software/utility that does this for you?
thanks,
bklyn5446
2GHz MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.10)

I appreciate the comment & its spirit -- some folks become ... er, agitated is a good word ... when the value of their "rituals" are questioned.
I think the step was probably a good one with older, slower SCSI drives. AFAIK, RAW wasn't enabled by default on a lot of them, particularly ones set up for high bandwidth video work where occasional read errors were less important than maintaining the highest possible throughput.
But (also AFAIK) modern ATA drives are so speedy & so brainy that this isn't necessary, so unless the drive in question is an old ATA-33 or maybe an ATA-66 one, it probably does a much better job of on-the-fly bad block detection than the "write zeros" approach because it is testing the integrity of arbitrary, real-world data patterns instead of just all zeros.
At the risk of promoting even more time-consuming rituals, I think the 35 pass erase (& maybe the 7 pass one) write something other than all zeros on some passes -- "flipping the bits" several times is an erase more secure against advanced forensic data recovery techniques than repetitively writing the same data pattern repeatedly. But again, I don't think this is needed for any purpose other than a secure erase.

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What happens when you install the original HDD in the MBP? If it does not boot , the connecting cable may be faulty.
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My macbook does not recognize it.
If not recognized by Disk Utility, then it cannot be repaired or initialized in its current condition.
If a new drive does not mount, it needs GUID partition Map and to be partitioned into one MacOS X Extended (journaled) partition with Disk Utility.
If it does not boot, it needs to have an appropriate version of Mac OS X installed on it.

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hi, I have installed new ssd HD on macbook pro 2.2.
when attempting to reinstall OS, I only get flashing ?
have tried holding down C, nothing but flashing ?...
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slim1001 wrote:
hi, I have installed new ssd HD on macbook pro 2.2.
when attempting to reinstall OS, I only get flashing ?
have tried holding down C, nothing but flashing ?...
any ideas? thanks!
The MacBook Pro 2,2 is a 15" Core 2 Duo from Octomer 2006-June 2007
It only has a mere 1.5 Gbps SATA 1 connection which won't realize the performance of the SSD which is better suited to a SATA 3 connection at 6Gbps. So basically you put a Ferrari engine into a Yugo.
My advice is to return the SSD and get a 7,200 RPM hard drive, is backwards compatible with your older SATA 1 connections and also provide more storage space and speed you require for that machine which has a maximum RAM limit of 3GB (4GB has to be installed, 2 - 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM modules in two slots, see OtherWorld Computing or Crucial.com for Mac verified memory)
What occurs with that model is there is a lot of memory swapping to the drive due to the 32 bit processor and it's 3GB RAM limit, so your thinking a SSD would speed things up is correct, however your SATA 1 connection is the bottleneck.
So your resigned to using a 7,200 RPM hard drive which will give the same performance as the SSD in your case due to the slower SATA 1, it's the best you can do.
Also, older OS X operating systems 10.6 and earlier have trouble installing on with SSD's a it's a new storage device, there is supposedly some more hoops to go through to enable TRIM etc. as the installer doesn't know what it's looking at when it see's a SSD, but it does with a hard drive.
For that machine, even though OS X 10.8 can be eventually installed on it, it's not advised due to it's vintage age and slower CPU and graphics capability. 10.7 and 10.8 are bloated for newer mor powerful machines, thus it's only going to be a wasted effort and costly for a machine about to die shortly.
For the best OS on that machine (with current security updates) would be OS X Snow Leopard, which you can get the $20 or so OS X 10.6. white retail disk still from Apple online store.
Read:
OS X 10.4/10.5 need to upgrade, 10.6.8 ok still
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
For Snow Leopard Speed Freaks
Why is my computer slow?
IMMO a 7,200 hard drive and 10.6 updated to 10.6.8 is the best, most cost effective solution as something else is going to croak on the machine in the new few years.
10.8 will let you run iCloud etc., however the machine will be so slow and you will have to buy all new versions of software for a machine that's only going to expire shortly.
Run 10.6.8 on that machine for the next few years until the wheels fall off, Apple has got your back with security updates still until it drops to like below 10% OS X market share.
If you require to run iCloud etc., then buy a new machine for that, don't waste your effort going to 10.8 on the older machine, use it for backup purposes.

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Hello
I installed new hard drive to my MacBook Air 2008 and when I try to install lion/snow leopard/ mavericks it won't show up the disk. I can't find the hard drive.
I don't now what to do. I tried everything. I spoke with a guy in macsupport here in Sweden and he said I have to buy snow leopard and install it from the original dvd in order for computer to format. My computer is old like I said its from 2008. I've never update it or upgrade. This is first time. It laid in storage for three years so I decide it to use it again but hdd was damaged so I had to change it, and now all I get is flashing question folder and forbidden sign, you know the sign for auto traffic.
Is it true that the only way to restore or to find the new hdd or to boot the question mark and forbidden sign marks by installing osx from its original dvd or buy snow leopard?
After I spoke with the guy from Mac support, I got little suspicious so I spoke to another one and he told me all I need to do is format hdd with the help of a sata hdd cable with help of another macbook and then I was good to go.
What do u think?
Should I buy snow leopard or can I burn it from my sister computer?

I first would try Target Disk Mode to format and install an OSX on the new storage drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
You will need a OSX source that is compatible with the MBA. If you have the original, use that.
Ciao.

Upgrading Early 2008 MBP to dual drive format and new OS. Should I install new drives or OS first?

Hi there. I have a Early 2008 15" MBP (4,1). Model A1260. 2.6GHz with a (almost full) 320gb 7200rpm hdd. Instead of spending thousands on a new MBP, I've decided to give my old one a makeover for a few hundred. Here's my situation:
My optical drive is dead. I'm wanting to set up a dual drive situation by adding a 240gb SSD as well as a new 750gb 7200rpm HDD for storage. I have a new optical drive with USB adapter on the way for external use.
I'm also currently running Leopord and want to upgrade my OS X. I have the install disk from Apple.
So my questions are as follows:
1. This is my first venture into performing surgery of any kind on the computer and I'm not a professional. In a broad sense, is this too much for my 'older' computer to handle?
2. If I'm good to go this big, should I upgrade my OS first and then switch out the drives or vice versa?
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I also just wanted to openly ask for advice in general, based on my lack of experience. Is there something else I should know before diving in?
Thanks ahead of time for taking the time to help. I grately appreciate it! I'm really looking forward to this project!

Hi, what you plan to do will indeed revive your old Mac and make it ~~ fly ~~
Before you do anything else, Backup Backup Backup, at least to Time Machine and one cloned drive BEFORE you embark on any of the above.
kgroove1 wrote:
Hi there. I have a Early 2008 15" MBP (4,1). Model A1260. 2.6GHz with a (almost full) 320gb 7200rpm hdd. ..
So my questions are as follows:
1. This is my first venture into performing surgery of any kind on the computer and I'm not a professional. In a broad sense, is this too much for my 'older' computer to handle?
I have the same model (early 2008 Macbook Pro, A1260, 4,1) and currently run OS X Mavericks on my system with 2 x 1TB Seagate Hybrid hard drives in each bay. Now my computer SINGS.....¶¶•ªªº••¶¶¶
You say that your hard disk space is low and you will find that that is the biggest bottleneck for your system, so upgrading the hard disk space will make a huge diference. But you should also consider upgrading your RAM too. Some time ago I had upgraded my RAM from the factory installed 2 GB to the maximum 6GB allowed on this computer, and it has made a huge difference.
2. If I'm good to go this big, should I upgrade my OS first and then switch out the drives or vice versa?
This step depends on what kind of system you want to set-up. Do you want a clean install, with an out of the box kind of system so that you set up all applications and settings from scratch, or do you want to maintain your old settings and apps as they are, maintaining your users and settings.
The best way to do the latter is to get an external hard drive enclosure to hold the new drive, and after erasing it and formatting it, clone your old hard drive onto it, using Carbon Copy Cloner or Superduper. But for this you will need a SSD with at least the same amount of hard disk space as your current boot drive. After the cloning operation is done, you can swap the drive out from the main enclosure and remove the Optical drive to be replaced by an Optical Bay to hold the new large capacity storage hard disk.
3. This computer seems to run hot. I feel like it always has and always thought it was because of the 2.6Ghz processor. I'm looking at the WD Black Scorpio 750gb 7200rpm. Is this going to run a lot hotter than my current 300gb 7200rpm HDD? Is there a better option? I usually use it with a USB fan base.
In my opinion you do not need a 7200 RPM in your optical bay. A 5400 RPM drive will not be noticeably slower on your system, and the benefit of running this in terms of power usage and heat generation will outweigh the slower speed. Also, the Seagate Hybrid drives that I use have 8GB of Flash memory, to run frequently used apps much faster, and the speeds are excellent with lower heat generation.
To sum up, to lower your CPU temperatures, get more RAM, extra hard disk space for your boot drive and run a lower speed drive.
I also just wanted to openly ask for advice in general, based on my lack of experience. Is there something else I should know before diving in?
Since you are upgrading from Leopard to Mavericks, you will need to putchase a retail version of 10.6.3 (Snow Leopard) or above and install that before you can install Mavericks as a free upgrade. I would install that first, then upgrade to Mavericks on my old system, and only then clone the system afetr checking that it was working to my satisfaction.
BEFORE embarking on any of the above, Backup Backup Backup your current system, at least to Time Machine and one cloned drive.
I have done the 2 x 1TB upgrade just last week and for your reference below is a picture of my own set-up, with hardware links and links to iFixit instructions.
Comprehensive iFixit "How-to" instructiions can be found here:
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_15%22_Core_2_Duo_Models_A1226_and_A1260
For my hardware, see the links below to get some ideas:
Optical Bay Enclosure:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A2VNUK4/ref=noref/278-2586001-6565828?ie=U TF8&psc=1&s=computers
SSD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BQ8RGL6/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=computer s
My HDD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BHRWHNI/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i02?ie=UTF8 &psc=1
(The picture below is while I was testing the system before I replaced the original 750GB Toshiba with the Seagate 1TB)
Have fun

Unable to install new driver for Quadro 4000

Hello
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Try downloading the update again. Perhaps the one you have got corrupted during the download process.
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What happens when you reinstall the old original memory? Does the computer boot then?
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Do I need to do anything after installing new drive before I can use it?

I just got two 750GB WD Caviars and have installed them on my MP. One of them I'm going to use as a backup and remove when not using. My point for posting though is that I got some sort of error message once I powered the computer back up after installation. Do I need to format these drives or something like that? On my stock HDD on my Mac Pro, in disk utilities the 'partition scheme' says "GUID Partition Table" and for the two new drives they say "Unformatted". Also there was a fairly loud pulsating buzz after installing the new drives. It lasted most of the day and then suddenly stopped. Could the strange buzzing have something to do with the formatting issue?

Also, you can simply open Disk Utility - select the drive you want to format from the list of drives (icons with names) on the left. Click on the "erase" button at the top of the Disk Utility window and that will take you to the "dialogue" for erasing the selected drive - erasing is equivalent of formatting for purposes of this discussion.
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Cameron,
You guessed correctly - before you can restore from backup, you must format the drive. Select the drive in Disk Utility, click on the "Erase" tab and format the drive as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" and give it a name ("Macintosh HD" is Apple's default name for internal drives) and then click erase. Your drive will be formatted in a minute or so and you can proceed with Time Machine restoration.
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Clinton

MacPro4,1 Front fan noise-since installing new drive

Since installing a new drive in bay 4, my front fan (PCIe) is very noisy.
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You transferred the thermal sensor from the old hard drive to the new hard drive and reconnected it to the logic-board???
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http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25230/istat-menus
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Installing new drive for OSX-How do I format and remove existing drive

I'm going to replace the 320G drive that came in my Mac Pro with a 500G. I want to format and remove the 320G, then put OSX on the 500G. How would I go about this.

Hi,
Shut down computer, add the 500GB drive into one of the open hard drive slots, reboot, there might be a window that pops up indicating if you want to "intialize" the new drive. Click Intialize (If nothing comes up launch disk utility located in applications--> utilities--> disk utility).
In the disk utility window, locate the new drive on the left side column. Click on the drive, and in the middle portion of the window there will be 5 tabs: First Aid, Erase, Partition, RAID, Restore. Click Partition.
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Perhaps the new drive is cabled incorrectly or perhaps a cable got knocked loose. Your PC should at least bring up the setup screen at which point you can enter the bios and see if your HD is recognized.
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A little more info would help.
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"How do I get or import my taxes from previous years."
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I am still confused on your specific problem.

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Hi,
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Installing new drive in macbook

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