Switching out Hard Drives

Hello. I was wondering if I can take a hard drive out of a computer running windows XP and install it into a computer running Vista? The computer running vista's hard drive is shot. I believe the other hard drive is bigger and better. Please advice. Have a HP Pavilion All in One with Windows 8.1 that I use full time. This would only be a back up computer.

Typically the answer is no, it will not work, at least not the way you wish. BTW: If the XP computer is "running" why try moving the hard drive to another computer?
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"need to restart computer" after switching laptop hard drives. HELP!

i have a 13" macbook pro. I just got an older generation 15" macbook pro (refurbished from apple) because i need the pci port.
i switched the memory
i switched the hard drives
15" macbook pro (the one i just got) works like a charm
13" macbook pro keeps prompting me to restart the computer after the apple picture comes up. In other words, snow leopard won't even boot up
Any suggestions???

If you switched drives then your new computer now has an older version or an older build of OS X that cannot boot the new computer because it does not have the required hardware support extensions.
You have two options: 1. Switch the drives back; 2. Reinstall OS X on the new computer using the discs that came with it. This will not erase your files but it will install a fresh copy of OS X that works with your new computer. A reinstall will take about one hour plus or minus.

When the Apple Store tests a zeroed out hard drive, is their test as intensive as wd lifesaver etc. software's in napping out bad sectors etc.

When the Apple Store tests a zeroed out hard drive, is their test as intensive as wd lifesaver etc. software's in napping out bad sectors etc.
I do know one test at the Apple store is a three or four hour test that is very thorough for the whole Mac Pro computer, system by system test, I'm curious what kind of test they perform if you're testing the hard drive for bad sectors or whatever I'm a novice
I mean is it as effective or more effective than the software called wd lifesaver?
Does anyone have any idea what software they use or is their test only testing the systems of the computer and not just the hard drive?
I am moving from PC to Mac right now I have not even use my 2009 Mac Pro yet I was told to have the hard drives zeroed out and tested to start with a clean slate this is what I'm trying to do.
Thank you

The chip on the hard drive itself basically takes care of bad sectors. If an operation tries to write to such a sector, the drive will mark it bad and move onto the next one. That's why zeroing the drive effectively does the operation of mapping bad sectors - the whole drive is checked.
Their general hardware test does not do a full drive check, as far as I remember - the memory check can take a long time, though, since they're looking for random errors.
So for your Mac Pro, you should feel confident that doing a one-pass zero (don't do more than one pass, it's a waste of it me), will be enough initialization for the drive. And many drive experts don't even bother with that, relying on modern drive chips/firmware to do the job of checking for bad sectors on the fly.
Matt

System is freezing up on import. I have tried to reboot my computer three times, but that hasn't worked. I have tried clearing out hard drive space and that hasn't worked.

I have tried to reboot my computer three times, but that hasn't worked. I have tried clearing out hard drive space and that hasn't worked.

Mdgc wrote:
My imac will not authorize itune movie downloads to my ipad.
What exactly does this mean? Your iMac doesn't authorize anything. Are you getting an error message or what message are you getting with regard to authorizing? The iPad is not authorized? What?
No do not restore yet.

How do I swap out hard drives without losing all of my playlists?

I got a bigger hard drive to store all of my music, and can't do a mass switch. I could delete everything out of my itunes and then add all from the new, but then I would lose all of my playlists.

To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application SuperDuper. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B002JQNXZC/r ef=pd_cp_pc_0

Speed up early 2009 macbook5,2 by switching mechanical hard drive to SSD

I am running Mavericks on an early 2009 Macbook5,2 4gb RAM CPU@2ghz Intel core 2 duo. It is running at an unacceptably slow speed. Network performance is very hopeless too. I am wondering if switching mechanical hard disk to a SSD would revive this macbook enough to keep it for a few more years. Please advise if this approach has a chance to improve its performance adequately. If yes, what steps to follow to migrate software on my existing hard drive to SSD?

Your Macbook has a SATA bus.
1. This is what I recommend. Some drives which are SATA 2/3 compliant do not support SATA 1. http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-SATA_6_0_gb-MZ-7PD512BW/dp/B0 09NB8WTI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405128604&sr=8-3&keywords=samsung+840+pro
I have used this in SATA 1 systems without any issues (the OCZ Vector is an example of problems with SATA 1).
2. Replacing the drive can be done using these steps - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Core+2+Duo+Hard+Drive+Replacement/514
3. I suggest you use an external drive and make a Time Machine Backup of your MB, before you make any changes. If you have a Time Capsule, it can help as well (otherwise see if you can find a USB/FW external drive for backup).
4. Once you have a good backup, replace the drive using steps in 2. Take the old drive from the MB and put it in an external SATA enclosure (preferably one that has both USB and Firewire), so it becomes your external boot disk. If you do not want a SATA enclosure, you can also consider a FW only enclosure.
5. You can now boot from the external disk. Restore the TM backup in step 3 to the internal SSD. You will have to format the internal SSD (because it is usually unformatted). FW connectivity will allow you to daisy-chain the TM backup and your external boot drive. The restore also makes your internal drive bootable. All your applications/settings/accounts/passwords will also be preserved this way. You are essentially restoring everything from the old drive to the new drive.
If you need help regarding TM, let me know.

Zero Out Hard Drive Question

I have been using my 27" iMac for various software testing. Now that my testing is complete I want to wipe the drive and start fresh. In Disk Utility there are many options to choose from when going to Erase > Security Options. Is there any benefit to Zeroing out the drive before re-installing Snow Leopard? Or can I just select the Don't Erase Data option and reinstall deleting the home folder when prompted. Does Zeroing out free any more space up?

Michael710 wrote:
I have been using my 27" iMac for various software testing. Now that my testing is complete I want to wipe the drive and start fresh. In Disk Utility there are many options to choose from when going to Erase > Security Options. Is there any benefit to Zeroing out the drive before re-installing Snow Leopard?
no, there is no benefit to this at all. zeroing out is only needed to prevent data recovery. it serves no other function. apparently, it doesn't even map out bad blocks on the hard drive.
Or can I just select the Don't Erase Data option and reinstall deleting the home folder when prompted.
"don't erase data"?? there is no such option in disk utility. just erase the drive using the erase tab. this will erase everything on your hard drive. or better yet, reformat the drive using the partition tab. then quit disk utility and proceed with the install.
Message was edited by: V.K.

Can I switch external hard drives and still access old Time Machine backups?

I have a Mac Book Pro linked to 2 1TB external hard drives, one used as my Time Machine Back up, the other used as a manual ad hoc back up and to store even older files.
The TM back up drive is now full. If I just unplug it/switch it off and plug in and set up a new 2TB hard drive as my TM back up, will I still be able to access the back ups on the original TM drive if necessary, through TM?
Wil it be a start over situation with the new drive, performing a complete back up to begin with?
Or would you advise me to transfer the old back folder to the new drive, given that it will be larger?

Hi den.thed,
Thank you for this - I think the easy option by far appears to be to leave existing backups on disk 1, and plug in disk 2 and start over.

Switching external hard drive between pc and mac

I'm planning on buying about a 160-200g external hard drive. I have a pc with windows xp that I use, and I also have an iBook G4. It's becoming an annoyance moving files that I want on both computers, not to mention I am running out of hard drive space on my iBook. So I figured the best solution was an external drive...however I've been reading some posts and it seems as though you can only format them for a mac or a pc, not both. Can I use an external drive on both my computers with out having to partition the drive? Any other info on this would be appreciated. Also, if I can use it on both, can I hook them up simultaneously? Thanks!

yeah the auotplay search on the windows machine on a
large external can take ages but it only did this the
first time with me, but it still does take a lot
longer for it to recognise the drive.
just hit "cancel" button when autoplay starts up - once autoplay starts mean windows has recognized it anyways - it just is doing that to see if it should start up like windows media player or whatever :-P

How much does it cost to change out hard drives

I bought a hard drive to replace my current hard drive in my MacBook Pro laptop. I need to know how much Apple will charge me to change it out. I already have all my important stuff backed up on my external hard drive

You can easily replace the drive yourself - see the videos at http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/. All you need is a simple toolkit such as this.
I don't eve know that an Apple Store would exchange the drive for you - they're using in the business of selling the drives themselves. You may find a local general computer shop in your area that will replace the drive if your not comfortable doing it as a DIY project.
Good luck,
Clinton

Migrating Information in Target Disk Mode Wiped out hard drive

I just helped a friend install Leopard on her new MacBook (it came with a drop in disk of Leopard). After the install, I started her previous 3-year old MacBook in target disk mode to migrate over old system settings. During the migration, the new MacBook froze up and forced me to do a hard restart. After restarting the computer, it would no longer recognize the old MacBook that was still in Target Disk Mode.
After awhile I finally decided to pull the hard drive out of the old MacBook and hook it up to my WiebeTech DriveDock. I now get a disk insertion error telling me that the drive is not readable. I have tried DriveGenius, but I cannot rebuild or repair the drive because it doesn't even pop up.
Has anyone heard of the migration assistance wiping out the drive you were attempting to migrate from? And also, does anyone know of a way to fix this?

She backed up with Retrospect a couple weeks ago, so not much would be lost if I wasn't able to resurrect this drive. The feeling of accomplishment from tackling this problem is the only truly important thing that would be lost.

Re-installing FCP & Wiping Out Hard Drive, Worried about Losing Project

Ok so computer needs a factory re-install, need to clean it out and re-install FCP and everything. I have projects I've been working on in Final Cut Pro and I'm worried even though I save all the raw footage, rendered files, and project files on external hard drive, that when I go to put it back on my computer it's going to get all screwed up and mixed up, is there any easy way to do this? Or should I just finish my projects first and then re-install everything on my computer?

If you do decide to re-install and have never used Media Manager. Here is an excellent video on how the use Media Manager from PixelCrop/MacBreak:
http://pixelcorps.cachefly.net/mbks025_540ph264.mov

Swapped out hard drive now what ...

Hey everyone I took my 20gb out of my PB G3 Lombard and put it into my iBook 500 and it worked for a while then got VERY hot , way hotter than the old drive in it which was the original 10 GB . It then started to lock up after about a couple of weeks of use . It got worst and I tried to reinstall the OS and it got to almost the end and stopped , you could tap the left palmrest ( were the hard drive is ) and it would go for a sec or two and then stop , tap again then then would stop again until finally it wouldn't budge . I took the original and put it back in and put the 20GB and put it back in my Lombard, tapped it and it started and finished the install and has been running cool and fine ever since . Please, I want to replace the hard drive but not have this happen again . The 20 was a PATA Travelstar . Any guess as to what went wrong ?

I should add that I really like people keeping older hardware performing useful tasks. Heck I still boot up my 1986 MacPlus every so often and use a mid 90's mac as an email server much of the time. But I don't think this drive is worth spending time on. Too small and showing very serious signs of wear and tear. It is simply not worth the trouble or the risk. I can pretty much guarantee it will let you down within the next few months if you use it in any important role.
Cheers
Rod

Finding out hard drive load cycle count

How can you find out the load cycle count of your hard drive? Is there a program that you must download?

For reference, Hitachi's note on the subject
http://tinyurl.com/mcx6t
(above takes you to, for those where the long URL displays properly http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/9076679E3EE4003E86256FAB0058 25FB/$file/LoadUnloadwhite_paperFINAL.pdf)
One thing I did not know, but got from that article:
"Parking the heads on the ramp, or “unloading” the heads,
became the foundation of advanced power management
modes including Active Idle, Performance Idle and Low
Power Idle, implemented under Enhanced Adaptive Battery
Life Extender™ (Enhanced ABLE). Usage of Enhanced
ABLE can provide as much as a 20 percent reduction in
power consumption at the drive level."
So, disabling HD sleep should reduce load cycles, I'd guess, at the expense of draining the battery quicker.

How to find out hard drive disc space?

I would like to find out how much space is left on my hard drive. I know it's probably really easy to find out, and I probably should know how, but I in a pinch with this one.
Thanks

Hi... Urh... there are actually TWO other more easy and accessible ways:
1. Click on your main drive icon on the Desktop, and use keys 'Command' + 'I' to Get Info and a window pops up, telling you more than you need to know, besides disk space usage.
If you have a Mighty Mouse, you can also Right Click on the icon and get the same window pop-up.
2. On the Desktop, go to Top Menu Bar > View > Show View Options (or Command + J) and a window pops up.
Check (tick) the SECOND box - Show item info. Presto, now check your Desktop, all your hard drives icons, iPods, removables etc have an extra line below telling you how much space is used, and how much is Free.
Cheers

Switching out Hard Drives

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