New hard drive help (first timer)

alright, i bought a new hard drive to install into my macbook pro, as i am running out of space on my current hard drive, i bought a new one from OWC and it came with this little "instant external" pack to make the hard drive into an external so i can prepare it for making it the main hard drive. my dilemma is that i dont have my snow leopard recovery disks anymore, i must of lost them when i moved, is there anyway to put snow leopard onto the external(but going to be the new main hard drive)?
if not, is there a way i can make new recovery disks?

I am assuming your new drive is a lot bigger than your old one. So why not simply clone your boot drive on to the the new drive mounted in an external enclosure?
You can use any backup utility capable of cloning a bootable backup. Carbon Copy Cloner and Super Duper are two such utilities. I believe even Disk Utility's Restore function can do it too.
Once you have the clone, remove it from the enclosure and stick it in your machine.

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Install new hard drive, restore from Time Machine, File Vault Problems

Hello all,
I spent way too much time on this seemingly simple task, so I thought I would share my experience with others so they can avoid some pitfalls when upgrading a hard drive in a system that uses File Vault 2 encryption. The basic goal here is to replace a drive in a system that has only one drive, and the OS is Mavericks, and then have the new drive encrypted as before.
The problem is that a Time Machine restore onto a new drive will leave that without a Recovery Partition, which is required for File Vault 2 and some other important things. So we need to build a recovery partition. There are possibly several ways to do this.
Here's what worked for me (this is compiled from many sources that I found and already closed the tabs in my browser so I can't list all my sources):
1) Make a full backup to an external hard drive using Time Machine.
2) Go into the App Store and download OS X Mavericks but dont install it (close the window when it pops up asking to continue the install). Do this even if you already have Mavericks. At this point, there will be a folder in your Applications folder called Install OS X Mavericks (or similar).
3) Insert a USB drive that is at least 8 GB and format it using Disk Utility, naming it the default "Untitled".
4) Open a terminal and type
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app --nointeraction
5) Wait for this to finish (took me about 30 min). Eject the USB drive and power down.
6) Remove the old hard drive and set it aside. Keep it for a few weeks until you know the new drive is working as expected.
7) Install the new hard drive and insert the USB drive. Hold the option key and press the power button. Choose to boot from the USB installer.
8) Use the disk utility to erase whatever partition shipped with the new drive, replacing it with a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) system. Verify that GUID is the partition type (in Advanced options).
9) Close the disk utility and install Mavericks. This can take a long time. My new drive is an SSD, and it sat at the "1 second remaining" part for about 20 min. Let it reboot (maybe it was 2 times?) and go through the setup until it finishes the install.
10) Boot into the freshly installed OS and open a terminal and type:
diskutil list
11) If there is a partition listed as Apple_Boot Recovery HD (mine was 650 MB), then you now have a recovery partition. If not, then go into the App store and download Mavericks, but don't use the USB this time, choose to do a regular install (or reinstall to be more correct).
12) Now there will be a recovery partition on the new drive and Time Machine will not overwrite it when restoring. Power down the system.
13) Plug in the Time Machine backup drive used in step 1. Press the option key and power on. Choose to boot from the recovery partiton (Mavericks).
14) Choose to restore from Time Machine backup. Wait until it finishes and log into the old familiar account.
15) Start a terminal and verify the recovery partition is still there (type diskutil list and see that the Apple_Boot Recovery HD is there). If it's missing, choose to download Mavericks from the App Store again and run the installation from this one.
16) Once there is a Mavericks recovery partition on the restored data you can simply turn on File Vault from the System Preferences Security section. It will require a reboot and then you login and wait for it to finish.
What a major pain to go through all of this for the sake of upgrading a hard drive. This should not be anywhere near as complicated. I hope this helps others avoid the very time consuming trial and error I went through in developing this procedure.

Talked with Apple last night. Everything we did to restore lost images failed to fix the issue. I did have the images still on my camera's SD card so I was not breaking out in a cold sweat.
All Time Machine backups showed the same issue. HOWEVER, I suddenly remembered I also had a SuperDuper backup and voila. The images were there.
Moral of the story: you can't ever be too rich or have too many backups (I also have an offsite backup).

Needs new hard drive- help required.

Hello all.
For reasons that don't really matter- my hard drive has become corrupt- I believe it is the recovery partition on the hard drive. The device won't restore to factory nor will it update. Sometimes I have to unplug it and plug it in just to get movies to play.
Basically- I need to rebuild a new hard drive with the Apple TV OS on it- and all 3 partitions, but I don't know:
1. Where to get the OS.
2. How to create that recovery partition successfully
I'm pretty sure if I could get a .dmg of the OS or whatever form it will come in that I can just load those files into the boot partition. The 3rd partition is just empty for storage, and trickiest of all (to me) is the apple recovery partition.
My Apple TV is a couple years old so it's out of warranty.
Thanks in advance.

1. Where to get the OS.
You can get the Apple TV OS! Just use a network sniffer while the Apple TV download the update and you'll find the address of the Apple server to go to download the OS on your mac. It appears that Apple only provides the 2 most recent versions of the Apple TV OS (As of today 3.01 and 2.4). Alternatively, you can google to find the address of the Apple Server. This info has been on the net forever and I just make sure to download a copy of the Apple TV OS each time a new version is released.
2. How to create that recovery partition successfully
I haven't yet use it to upgrade my Apple TV drive (waiting to be out of warranty) but the instructions available on the net to upgrade the drive should help on how to use the OS images instead of cloning a previous Apple TV drive.
I'd greatly appreciate if you could share your experience on how you got it done. This will also be very useful to go back to previous version of the OS higher than the version in the recovery partition.

Install new hard drive HELP !!!

Hello, I just install a new 500gb hard drive into my uni mb replacing my 160gb. I have nothing really important to save from my previous hard drive. I am starting from scratch. After installing the new hard drive and inserting the disc 1 and press 'c'. Follow the screen instruction but only get to step 3 where screen ask ' SELECT A DESTINATION'. I have waited for 30 mins and all i see was the same screen. I am unable to click on options and continue cos they were greyed out. The only button that is nor grey is the 'go back'.
I am eagerly trying to get this new hard drive installed. What should i do next. Have tried the restart and all i am able to continue is until the Select a destination page.
Hope to get a good advice from here and .......
Thanking you in advance for all help and assistance.

Finally get the new hard drive installed from sratched. Once again many thanks to ypw. Once i clear the 'select a destination' step, the rest comes easy even for a novice like me.
Just for those who are curious to know the model of the hard drive that I installed. It is Hitachi 5K500 B-500. Choose this over the more popular WD Scorpion blue that most people are using.

Installing a new hard drive and using Time Machine to Restore system

I just upgraded a Macbook (2006) hard drive and had problems importing the Time Machine backup. The problem was that the initial install discs were for Tiger, which did not support Time Machine. After numerous attempts at a work-around I solved this problem the following way:
I connected the 2006 Macbook (with new hard drive) to a newer Macbook (with Firewire port) - one with install discs for Leopard (which supports Time Machine).
I launched the newer Macbook with the install disc (#1)
I connected the two Macbook via firewire cable.
I launched the 2006 (new hard drive) Macbook in the Target Disc mode.
I connected the USB external hard drive containing the Tme Machine data to a USB port in the newer Macbook.
Next I went to the Utilities Menu on the Macbook (operating from the Install Disc) and selected Time Machine. I followed the prompts to match the source and destination. The process worked fine.
The above assumes that a new hard drive is properly formatted using Disc Utility per Apple's guidance prior to the Time Machine restoration described above.
Cheers.
Bill

Bill,
No, the glass is half full!! In this case, we (collectively) have three things to brighten our day:
1) That I was mistaken, and that your usage is completely legitimate. I definitely prefer this to what was inherent in my erroneous assumption, and I do not mind being wrong (not in the slightest).
2) That we can be clever enough to overcome obstacles, then go out of our way to share our newfound knowledge with others. More specifically, that you have done so.
3) That we are willing to police ourselves, if and when one of us might go astray. Even if I was wrong in this case, isn't it nice to know I am willing scold someone for being less than honorable?
Perhaps my greatest mistake was the assumption that, if you had the proper disks at one time, you would still have them, or would have said so in your initial post. My apologies. Technically speaking, the media for a given OS should always be somewhere in your possession when running that OS. In practice, however, I strongly believe that some "wiggle room" exists, guided by common sense. In this case, I believe that the fact that you purchased said media gives you a pass, regardless of whether or not you know off the top of your head where it is.
There. Are you still saddened?
Scott

No device list...new hard drive HELP

hard drive crashed...new hard drive now itunes doesnt recognize shuffle...computer does though? Can someone help me? i get a message saying the device is synched to another library, but there is no device list just library store and playlists so i cant get to the shuffle to dhange the settings to manually synch....help please.

Click OK to erase and hit return on your keyboard. That will wipe out the contents of the shuffle and let you reload it from the library...

Cannot sync my iphone to imac after new hard drive install and time machine restore. Does not see device

Had a new hard drive installed
IMAC does not see iphone therefore cannot sync

Did you already try these suggetions?
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X

NOT POSSIBLE TO START UP PAST GREY SCREEN, WOULD A NEW HARD DRIVE HELP

I have attempted all the different ways to startup past the grey screen but with no success, would a new hard drive rectify this problem?

What model MacBook do you have? What operating system is installed on it? Specifically, what things have you tried so far?
While installing a new hard drive would very likely fix this, it is probably overkill. It may be that all you need to do is reinstall the operating system.
Do you have an install DVD that came with the computer?
Best of luck.

How to restore my old hard drive into a new hard drive using my time machin

My HD in my Mac Book died. Thank to the apple care Apple change it to me.
Now I have a new HD with nothing on it.
How do I use the backup in the Time Machine to restore my old hard drive?
As far as what I knew I am supposed to have all my old data, applications, and more by doing something with Time Machine.
Thanks

hi,
i have been through this. First if apple techs replaced the drive you do have something on the drive. your internal drive can boot the machine although your user settings, network settings and third-party software applications are net set up.
here's what you do.. connect the time macine drive and turn it on. now boot your macbook. watch the 'welcome movie' and don't panic. you will recieve setup instructions from the macbook. you will of course designate the system language to be english. Now an option screen will appear. there are options for setting up the new computer include using a firewire cable and transfering stuff from another macbook. ignore that option. you will see an option to restore settings from a time machine drive. bingo! choose that.
get the transfer started and go away. usb restoration of big internal harddrives by time machine is **** slow. (it should be slow for alot of technical reasons. don't blame apple.)
make sure you have the macbook plugged into an electrical outlet, not running off battery because this can be an overnight process.
so now you're good to go

New hard drive, restored with time capsule -- safari won't open

Just successfuly replaced my crashed 500gb hard drive with a 2TB drive. Used time capsule to restore the system (what a godsend), but now programs on the computer arent working. I tunes opens, then crashes, the app store just bounces down in the application bar for a while then stops, safari opens 80% of a page and then the window crashes and goes away. I get a feeling it has something to do with my recent repairs, but what? Any help would be appreciated. this is very frustrating.
Original system is a white intel iMac 500GB 20 inch screen EMC# 2018.

ok, sorry for being new at this, but I just tried "repair disk" and have an almost infinite array of permissions errors....so many that it crashes when doing the repair. Is this a problem with the drive itself, or the fact that i restored an entire system onto a new drive? Either way, is it fixable?

How do I restore a new hard drive from a time capsule backup?

Going tomorrow to pickup my iMac at the Apple store after a 1TB hard disk replacement. Time capsule backed up about 1 hr before the disk failure. What are the steps for doing this restoration properly? I'm very nervous about this process & I don't wanna start this process the wrong way. I have read horror stories in different threads about going at this the wrong way. Thanks in advance for any help

Since you will have a "new" iMac, If it were me, I would start right here....with info from top guru Pondini.
Time Machine -- Frequently Asked Questions
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
See # 19
Apple has some good info on restoration as well in Time Machine 101
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

AGP new hard drive help

I want to install a lager HD and I know that the ATA66 has a max of 128GB on the sawtooth. Now I remembered seeing a firewire (FW) port on the motherboard and I was wondering if anyone knows if I can use that connection as the internal HD. If I am right i think I can go as high as 200GB using FW.
Any input would be appreciated

Look at these links.
What Macs natively support large IDE drives? (over 128GB formatted)
http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/action.lasso?-database=faq.fp3&-layout=FaqList&-re sponse=answer.faq.lasso&-recordID=34188&-search
How Big a Hard Drive Can I Put in My iMac, eMac, or Power Mac?
http://lowendmac.com/macdan/05/1024.html
Using 128 GB or Larger ATA Hard Drives
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86178
The Power Mac Storage FAQ
http://www.omgili.com/preview/aHR0cDovL2ZvcnVtcy5tYWNubi5jb20vc2hvd3RocmVhZC5waH A/dD0yNDYzOTE=
 Cheers, Tom
PS - SpeedTools ATA Hi-Cap Support Driver: Allows the use of extended capacity ATA drives (drives greater than 128 Gigabytes in size) on older (Pre Mirrored Door) G4 and G3 Macintoshes running MacOS X versions 10.2 and later. Cost $24.95
http://www.speedtools.com/ATA6.shtml

New Hard Drive Help

Hey,
My Hp g56 notebook's hdd is getting close to having an imminent failure.. Which is my fault.. I dropped it.. again. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit I am kinda clumpy. This is the second time I've had to replace the hdd due to impact trama to the laptop. I carry is everywhere for work.
This weekend I'll be buying a new one and want to know if there are any recommended HDD or SSD out there that are less pronned to damage when dropped. Preferable ones below the price of 150 dollars.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
Since HDD's use mechanical parts they are more easy to "die" than SSD's. Some computers have some sorts of shock protection, they use sensors to reduce the impact (such as military rated machines) but they are more expensive than our normal laptops.
For $150, you can buy a SSD for around 120Gb to 200Gb.
Regards.
BH
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New hard drive affects boot time?

Greetings,
I just installed a 320gb 5400 Western Digital into my Macbook to replace the 120gb 5400. Now it takes 55 seconds to boot my Macbook, when before it took about half that time. Any reason that's happening? Anyone else experience this as well? Any solutions? I am not seeing any loss in performance once it's booted.
Thanks so much!
David

My 320 takes about 50 seconds from initial button push to usable system. One thing to consider is that the OS checks the drive on startup. You now have a drive that is probably at least twice as big as your old one. In my case 4 times as big. I had an 80 GB. To me it seems pretty fast considering the size of the drive. I tested the overall performance of the two drives and the 320 GB drive is much better than the original 80 GB drive. My WD drive was 54 and the 80 GB drive 36. I used XBench to test it.

I have Photoshop CS5, and I am re-installing it on a new hard drive. Every time I try to install the updates, it says download failed, and won't install any updates.

I have tried installing one update at a time, several together, and all at once. I have tried yesterday and today.
What can I do to get the updates to download correctly and install?

This is what I am seeing when I try to install an update:
"There was an error downloading this update. Please quit and try again later"

New hard drive help (first timer)

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