Installing new hard drive in older macbook pro

I have an aluminum Macbook Pro 17" with Intel Core Duo. This is the processor before they went totally to the Core 2 Duo.
At the time I bought it the largest hard drive I could get was what I have, which is their 120 Gb internal drive.
Is it possible to retrofit this older Macbook Pro with the newer 320 Gb drive? If so, how do you do it? Bring it to an Apple Store? Also, I use Time Machine. If I did do it can I just restore everything using Time Machine?
Thanks

If you are somewhat handy you can change the hard drive yourself. Instructions are available at [iFixit Site|http://www.ifixit.com>, and you can get appropriate hard drives at [Other World Computing|http://www.macsales.com>.
You can copy the contents of your existing drive to the new one by 3 ways that I'm aware of;
1) Disk Utility - Restore old disk to new disk
2) Super Duper - Hear good things, but have not personally used it
3) Carbon Copy Cloner - Have used it and it works fine.

Similar Messages

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.

Apple put a new hard drive into my MacBook Pro and updated the system to Maverick. They did not put iPhoto and iWeb on it but I did have it in Lion. Why and what am I supposed to do?

Apple put a new hard drive into my MacBook Pro and updated it from Lion to Maverick. They did not put iPhoto and iWeb on it but I did have it in Lion. They also didn't put Pages, Keynote or Numbers back on it until I argued with them. Of course, I didn't have my data backed up. My hard drive was destroyed when I tried to install the update of Mavericks myself. I should not have to buy iWeb and iPhoto when I already had them. Suggestions?

cwhargrave,
have you tried looking in the App Store, to see if you can redownload iWeb and iPhoto there gratis?
If you haven’t done so already, you should purchase an external hard drive to act as a Time Machine backup destination, so that you’ll have an option to rollback to a working environment if a new OS installation is troublesome.

Transferred backed-up data from external hard disk to new hard drive on my MacBook Pro which seemed to be successful. I now find that some (or maybe all) old emails have been resent. Can anyone tell me what has happened?

Transferred backed-up data from external hard disk to new hard drive on my MacBook Pro which seemed to be successful. I now find that some (or maybe all) old emails have been resent. Can anyone tell me what has happened?

Greetings,
I've never seen this issue, and I handle many iPads, of all versions. WiFi issues are generally local to the WiFi router - they are not all of the same quality, range, immunity to interference, etc. You have distance, building construction, and the biggie - interference.
At home, I use Apple routers, and have no issues with any of my WiFi enabled devices, computers, mobile devices, etc - even the lowly PeeCees. I have locations where I have Juniper Networks, as well as Aruba, and a few Netgears - all of them work as they should.
The cheaper routers, Linksys, D-Link, Seimens home units, and many other no name devices have caused issues of various kinds, and even connectivity.
I have no idea what Starbucks uses, but I always have a good connection, and I go there nearly every morning and get some work done, as well as play.
You could try changing channels, 2.4 to 5 Gigs, changing locations of the router. I have had to do all of these at one time or another over the many years that I have been a Network Engineer.
Good Luck - Cheers,
M.

Just installed new hard drive in mac book pro 15", when trying to boot OSX from original disk I still get a folder with a question mark in it. How can I reinstall the OS?

Can't seem to get my mac book to boot from the CD after installing new hard drive.
I keep holding down "c" while restarting the machine with the disk in but it just keeps ejecting the disk and giving me a folder with a question mark.

If your on 10.5 with a Intel Mac, I think Apple has jinxed the firmware so you can't boot from the 10.5 disk anymore.
So far several people, myself included, can't boot from a 10.5 OS X disk on a Intel Mac.
Your going to have to buy a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disk, it's wayyy better than 10.5 anyway, faster and most stable even better than Lion. Have to buy iLife though as it doesn't come on the 10.6.3 retail disks, only free with grey disks.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

What is the best order to upgrade to Lion after putting in a brand new hard drive in my MacBook Pro? Restore first? or install Lion First?

I have a 2008 macbook pro with brand new 500GB hard drive and 6GB new RAM. My old hard drive is backed up on external drive, via time machine. When the shop put in the new hard drive (there was nothing wrong with old one, it was just stuffed to the brim), they loaded snow leopard from a disk, but I haven't put anything from the old drive back on yet....I haven't even configured my mail and am just reading mail from ipad and phone these days.
Question: Should I install Lion before I restore all the old backed-up stuff, or is it important to have anything, ( like maybe preferences) already on the computer when I download Lion. I want to be selective when restoring from time machine, because my old hard drive had a lot of ancient software and junk on it that had migrated from every computer we've ever owned, and that is many, many.
So, I'm just stuck on the best way to proceed. Also, should I install the latest update for 10.6.8 before I download Lion? I see today that some new updates have become available; java, security, safari, and apple software installer.
Thanks
G.T.

Gaye Thomas wrote:
But I just read your next post, and it sounds like you think I should do the back-up first, or am I missing something. I think you are now recommending that:
1. First I should install Snow Leopard,
2. do the combo update of 10.6.8
3. THEN USE BACKUP to restore what I want to carry over to new drive.
4. Then upgrade to Lion.
I would restore SL and do the Combo 10.6.8 update. Then use your backup to load back in what you want. Then do the upgrade to Lion.
So what made you change your mind?
And, just to say again, the hard drive is completely new. The shop installed 10.6.8 from the installation CD, and I haven't even configured email. I'm only using safari. I just now downloaded 4 updates that software updater recommended. It now tells me it is up to date. Is there any reason to do a 10.6.8 combo updater?
Are you recommending to do the back up BEFORE I install Lion, so that there are some preferences and information about old passwords and certain information that Lion will want to know about? Will it make my life easier to back up BEFORE I install Lion?
What changed my mind was your second post. You don't want to carry over everything to the new drive and the install of Lion. You only want selective things and of course your personal files.
For that I "feel" it best to install SL, Update SL to the most current version, Then selectively restore the parts you want and then install Lion on top of that newest install of SL with the selectively restored parts on the new Hard drive.
That should give you as clean an upgrade as you can get.
Of course you could go a completely different route. Make the Lion install USB, Save all your program Install files you want to be installed in Lion along with your personal files. Then Wipe the drive and install Lion clean. Then RE-Install your programs and copy over your personal files.
That is what I would do as I do not like upgrading to a new OS over the top of an older one. I have never found that to be as clean and it always seems to carry over stuff from the older OS to the new one. But that is me.

Why am I not able to install snow leopard on a new hard drive for my macbook pro, which at one point was upgraded to Lion?

I've just had my hard drive go caput and after purchasing a new one was inclined to install snow leopard but received an error message when attempting to do so.
I did not create a back up or restore file before I decided to upgrade from snow leopard.
I'm wondering why am I not able to simply install snow leopard on a brand new hard drive. What would clue it into me having had ran lion before and why can't I simply delete that kernel or said file. It makes completely no sense to me. I come from a pc world where if I choose to format a hard drive, I can do a clean install of whatever OS I choose. After all I only paid for my laptop as should be able to do with it what I wish.
Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated

1. Was Lion on the machine and trying to downgrade?
2. If so this might be an issue. Newer machines are done for current OSX.
3. If you have Lion on your machine try to install Snow Leopard on another partition or portable HD
4. After you format and install SL on the other partition or drive Try to boot from this machine retarting and holding the Option key at boot up.
5. See if that work.
This is a trial and error way but Mountain Lion is right around the corner and Snow Leopard is 2+ yrs old.
Brian

What is the best pre-installed external hard drive for my macbook pro?

I need advise on what kind of pre-enstalled external hard drive which supports both usb and firewire to get for my new macbook pro? I would like to stay in the $100. range but am willing to go higher .

giftshopgurl wrote:
pre-enstalled external hard drive
Pre-installed with what?
Your best bet is to always format a new hard drive, so there are no surprises.
If you buy an external HD specifying ready for Mac ( or some such) it will cost you more for nothing.

New hard drive problems in Macbook Pro

So, I recently bought a new hard drive for my early 2011 Macbook pro. I bought a 1Tb hgst internal hard drive. I installed the hard drive and everything and I bought a mountain lion os disk from apple to install. Unfortunately, when I start up my mac it goes to the apple logo and makes a repetitive 3-beep sound. I tried holding down option and installing from the disk but it still does the three beep sound and wont start up. If anyone can help, it'd be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Reinstalling OS X on those models is done via Internet Recovery:
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing drive
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.
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
     Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
                 if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
Or to do an Erase and Install:
Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
To reinstall Lion you do this:
Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your external 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. 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. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
            if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

TS2518 I recently had to get a new hard drive on my MacBook Pro because of a crash. I was able to restore to my latest backup, but now when I need to upload to an application like DropBox, iMovie, and such, it won't acknowledge Aperture. I have Lion OS.

I recently had my hard drive crash on my MacBook Pro (OS Lion 10.7.5). I was able to restore my new hard drive from my latest backup, but since then have been unable to access Aperture Library from another application. When I 'request' an upload --- like to Drop Box, iMovie, or anything --- and it drops down the window for you to choose which library you want to choose from, Aperture is not acknowledged. It will show my iPhoto Library and Photo Booth.
I can export from Aperture to Facebook and Flicker, but not from the other direction. Any ideas on how to resolve this issue?
Thanks,
Brenda

Brenda,
Do you mean, the Media Browser is not showing the Aperture Library? What version of Aperture 3 do you have, and where is your Aperture library stored, on your system drive or an external drive?
For the Aperture Library to be visible in the Media Browser you need to have enabled the generation of previews in the Aperture "Previews" preferences. Do you have the option enabled "Share Previews with iLife and iWorks"? And have you the generation of previews enabled?
One other reason for Aperture not showing in the Media Browser could be a corrupted Aperture library. I suggest you try the "Aperture Library First Aid Tools" and repair your Aperture Library. Start with reapairing permissions, then try the other options, if necessary. See:
Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library: Aperture 3 User Manual
Another reason may be a corrupted preferences file; remove your Aperture preferences from your User Library, see Aperture 3: Troubleshooting Basics, the paragraph on removing preferences.
Regards
Léonie

Installed a new hard drive in my Macbook Pro Mid 2009. Now why is my CPU getting so hot?

So I've wanted more space on my computer for sometime now and I figured a 1TB drive would be a nice upgrade from the 320GB that came with my computer. Now the trouble is my CPU is running at high rate, 70 to 90%. Everything is over heating, even when no programs are running. It got to the point where I had to put the old drive back in. The hard drive that my computer came with is a Toshiba MK3265GSXF 320GB SATA/300 5400RPM 8MB 2.5" Hard Drive. The one I want to put into my computer is; Western Digital Blue 1 TB Mobile Hard Drive: 2.5 Inch, 5400 RPM, SATA II, 8 MB Cache - WD10JPVT. So as far as I can tell the only really big difference between the two is the storage.
Does anybody have any idea why it would over heat like this? Please 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.

Flashing Question mark: New hard drive not working Macbook Pro late 2008

After following several peoples advice on this forum I decided to upgrade my Macbook Pro late 2008 with a Seagate (1TB) Solid State Hybrid Drive 2.5 inch.
Heres the device.
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
After creating a mountable boot on a External hard drive with Mavericks install I removed the current hard drive and replaced with the new seagate drive. However it didn't seem to recognize the external hard drive (it is quite old but works perfectly) and went to a flashing grey question mark screen and wouldnt do anything else. Ive tried holding down command-r and option-r but I get nothing. Its just the same flashing question mark. I have done this several times and the same result.
I put the old drive back in and it works fine.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer?
Appreciate your help
Gary

Sorry I think you may be confused.
I am trying to install the new Seagate hard drive to my mac (not as an external hard drive).
I replace the macbook pro hard drive with the seagate drive:
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
I then started up the machine with a usb external hard drive with a boot copy of mavericks on it. However, it just displayed a flashing question mark and wouldnt start booting the osx.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer? Im guessing it must be hard drive. Would it be better to use a USB pen drive as the external hard drive is quite old?
Does anyone know what the problem could be as the hard drive is brand new.
Appreciate your help
Thanks, Gary

Why does installation cd not work for new hard drive for 2009 MacBook pro?

my hard drive died in my 2009 MacBook pro so I bought a 1tb ssd drive and had the store physically install the drive only. I arrived home and stuck in the original installation disc and pressed and held the c key after the chime. Nothing happened. after a minute or so the screen turned black and rebooted up again with the chime. It would continue to reboot whether I pressed the c key or not. when i pressed the d key it would say:
"Apple hardware test does not support this machine"
why why isn't this working like it is supposed to?
thsnks

Ryan,
Have you tried using the Startup Manager (holding down the option key) whilst booting? If everything works as it should, you should be given the option to choose the DVD to boot. Holding down the 'D' key should load the Apple Hardware Test.
Good luck,
Clinton
MacBook Pro (15” Late 2011), OS X 10.??, 16GB Crucial RAM, 960GB M500 Crucial SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

I need to buy a new hard drive for my MacBook Pro. What should I buy?

Should I buy a 2TB SATA Hard Disk Drive Kit for Mac Pro? Or is this just a kit and not the drive?

Or is this just a kit and not the drive?
I'm not sure what you mean by that, but the nature of your question implies that you should shop for one from a company well known to support Macs, can help you decide what you need, how to install it, and provide free technical support should you require it. OWC / MacSales can do all that and their prices are as good as any you are likely to find from anyone else.

New Hard Drive for my Macbook Pro

Hi guys,
I will change my Hard Drive soon and thinking of the whole process triggered some questions in me . (my HD is fine but full, 120Gb)
I went through the forum and already I got some precious informations such as how to remove and replace the HD or how to backup my existing HD. Thanks.
1. Could you confirm that I can recover all my datas from a time-machine procedure (I just bought a Lacie 1T for this very purpose) or would you say it is better to clone it as it is said in many of previous posts. ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12189483&#12189483 )
2. I just realise that I don't seem to have Time Machine (oops) as my mac runs on Tiger. Can I download it for free from somewhere?
3. I am unsure what to buy but find this one: Toshiba 750Go SATA 2,5" 5400tr/min 8Mo interne (9,5mm) MK7559GSXP for about £100. Do you have any recommendations?
4. I would like to know if cloning my hard drive (or using time machine) onto my external Lacie will save all my settings such as "my albums" in iphotos or "my bookmarks" in Firefox or Safari?
Many thanks
Boris

By the way, what if I'd like to upgrade to SnowLeopard after changing my HD, will my albums on iphoto be saved and restore to the "new" iphoto SnowLeopard?
Cheers.

Installing new hard drive in older macbook pro

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