Unable to clone hard drive from early 2008 macbook using disk utility, error 254

Attempting to upgrade my early 2008 Macbook hardrive, currently 160gb to a 250gb drive. Using Mac Disk Utility to restore from drive in computer to the 250 gb drive currently attached via usb. Receiving error, Could not validate source, error 254. I know this process works as I recently upgraded our MacbookPro to 1 TB. The 250gb drive I am attempting to clone to is from that computer. I have formated the 250gb drive, mac osx extended journaled, guid. Not sure how to proceed. Suggestions?

To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.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.

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I want to install a new hard drive on my 2008 MacBook but do not have the instillation discs that came with my computer. Can I use instillation discs from a 2009 or 2010 MacBook?

I want to install a new hard drive on my 2008 MacBook but do not have the instillation discs that came with my computer. Can I use instillation discs from a 2009 or 2010 MacBook? The hard drive I am planning to install is a WD Scorpio Black 500GB SATA 2.5'' internal hard drive.

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

I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air. I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but i

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iTunes- How to move the library to an EHD
After you move the library you need to open iTunes by first depressing the OPTION key then launching iTunes. You will be given a choice of which library to use. This can then be made a permanent change, if you wish, in the Advanced section of iTunes preferences.

Using my boot hard drive from an older Macbook pro into a new one?

Hi,
I put my hard drive from my older Macbook pro 15" 2.16 Ghz Core2 Duo computer (Mac 10.6.4) into my new Macbook pro 2.4 GHz (2010) as my boot drive. Since then I've upgraded to 10.6.6 and everything seems fine.
My concern is that since my OS was installed on a different computer, I might not have all the proper drivers for my new machine. Can this be the case? Does the OS install all drivers for all models all the time? Sometimes I wonder if my graphics card drivers are installed because it seems slower than I expect, but the graphics card shows up in System Profiler.
Thanks!
Jason

You can resolve that by installing the 10.6.6 Combo Updater instead of the smaller incremental updater.
+BTW, you should never use a version of OS X that's older than the version that shipped with the computer.+

HT3275 Since Installing a new hard drive on my 2008 macbook and reconnecting to to time capsule through time machine, I can only get backups since the install.

Since Installing a new hard drive on my 2008 macbook and reconnecting to to time capsule through time machine, I can only get backups since the install.
I receive a message saying identity of backup dis has changed and offers me the choice of either Don't back up or Use this disc.

Time Machine treats any new drive like a new computer. It starts a completely new Time Machine backup. So you now have two backups - a new one and all your old ones.
Visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with managing your Time Machine backups.

Restore image from smb/afs share using Disk Utility

Hi,
Im looking at using a quick way to "pick up" and restore a dmg (Disk Utility) created image from a network share using Disk Utility. Ive tried using HTTP but the image is 60+gb and takes ages to download to the client.
Is there any way I can tell the Disk Utility to restore from a network share. Ive tried the usual smb:// but it doesnt work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just as an addition. When I click on the "Image" button I do see my xserve server. Its the only shared/network connection I can see. Where can I dump up my dmg file onto this server so I can see it from Disk Utility?
Many thanks,

Clone hard drive from MacBook early 08 ~ MacBook Pro early 08

Does anyone know if I can do the following.
Clone the hard drive from a
Macbook White 2.4ghz early 08 to a
Macbook pro 2.5ghz early 08
Thanks

No, I wouldn't expect that to be successful. Even if the MBP boots OK to a clone of the MB's hard drive, the two computers' GPUs are totally different, and you wouldn't have the right driver for the MBP's GPU. There could be other driver issues as well; the computers have different BlueTooth hardware revisions and different FireWire capabilities, and the MB's drive doesn't contain support for the ones in the MBP. Instead of cloning the drive, use Migration Assistant to transfer your data to the MBP's hard drive.

Startup Problem, won't boot off hard drive from earlier Mac.

A while back I had an Intel mac and I loaded and installed all of my apps onto the hard drive. I then sold that Intel but kept the drive and continued to work on my G5 quad for a while.
I intended on installing the hard drive from the first Intel machine in the next one I got. Now I just got a 2X2.26 Quad Core which boots up fine with the disk it came with. When I try to boot up the machine on the previous Intel drive (it has 10.5.3 on it and it shows up in startup disk in sys prefs) all I get is the light gray screen but no apple logo. It just stays like that.
I have repaired the permissions with disk utility and it seems all is well. I would love to be able to just boot up with that disk as it's authorized and it would save me days of installing and authorizing software.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

Following this link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1159
Looks like you need 10.5.6 at least.

Replacement hard drive for late 2008 Macbook Pro

I need to replace my drive in a late 2008 Macbook Pro 15". I can access the battery and what looks like the hard drive from the underside, if this helps. Would this be a good replacement choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136279
Finding exact specs for the drive has been tricky, or maybe I just need to have the physical size verified. What I know/have found is:
5400rpm       (would a 7200rpm improve performance, or am I limited by hardware?)
SATA II        (does this matter tese days?)
2.5" drive   (needs verification)
open drive? (do I need this or not?)
Any other options or advice? I'd like to spend a small amount since this is an older computer and won't be around a whole lot longer anyway. Thanks in advance!

The link you posted above is for a WD drive,....dont get it.   WD drives (some) have SMS sensor coflicts with Mac, and the consumer grade western digital HD are the worst you can buy.
Same as used by Apple below, best option, cheapest price.
best likewise replacement 1TB 9.5mm Toshiba
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-1TB-MQ01ABD100-HDKBB96A1A01-2-5-5400RPM-Laptop-N otebook-9-5mm-HDD-/171120091488?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item27d78d 6 160
$68
Stockdizzle
I will need to clone the current drive before it fails; is there an article in this forum on that?
Easy, 3 clicks and sit back and let Superduper CLONE your HD.....about 40 mins average.
Superduper is free and most of the pros use it (or carbon copy cloner)
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
See instruction and get software there<     very very easy to do

How can I completely restore my mac when I haven't made a backup and my hard drive can't be repaired with Disk Utility?

If I use FireWire target disk mode to copy the entire hard drive to another external drive can I then erase the damaged hard drive, reinstall Lion with it's handy recovery function and copy everything back as it was?
I have an iMac (using Time Machine) which contains much of what is on the damaged MacBook Pro but the laptop has music and photos that only exist there... So can I restore the laptop from the iMac's Time Machine backups?
Just wanted some advice before I take the plunge...
Thanks,
Joe

joefromthehill wrote:
If I use FireWire target disk mode to copy the entire hard drive to another external drive can I then erase the damaged hard drive, reinstall Lion with it's handy recovery function and copy everything back as it was?
Maybe. But you'd be better off to make a "bootable clone," via CarbonCopyCloner, SuperDuper, or the Restore tab of Disk Utility. Then you can start up from the clone (hold the Option key while starting and select it from the display you'll get after a few moments), and make sure everything's there (at least as well as on your internal HD).
I'd then strongly recommend also making a second backup, on a separate HD, "just in case" something goes wrong with the first one before you get this fixed. That doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
But . . . are you sure you have to erase the HD? If it's directory damage, you may be able to fix it. See #6 in Using Disk Utility, start with the yellow box there.
I have an iMac (using Time Machine) which contains much of what is on the damaged MacBook Pro but the laptop has music and photos that only exist there... So can I restore the laptop from the iMac's Time Machine backups?
Yes, you can do that, by erasing the internal HD, installing OSX, then using Setup Assistant when it first starts up, to set it up just like the iMac. See Using Setup Assistant on Lion.
But try to fix the problem first; if that doesn't work, try the "clone" method. If it works, you won't lose the stuff on the MBP.
I guess I don't need to remind you, once this is sorted out, to make regular backups of the MBP, do I?

Erased Hard Drive and operating system accidentally via disk utility? Here's what to do

I thought I had messed up majorly today when I attempted to erase and re-install an operating system on my friends macbook pro. I used another computer and targeted his computer so his hard drive would show up on my desktop. I then used disk utility and completely erased his hard drive. "Ooops" i thought after trying to then install Lion from my computer's applications folder. Wouldn't work. All his computer would show was a folder with a ? mark!!!
I searched for a solution as to what to do in this situation and got a lot of conflicting complex suggestions. The one that made the most sense was to create a bootable external disk to reinstall the system. This didn't work for me, I was probably doing it wrong.
HERE'S WHAT DID WORK FOR ME:
(what you need)
1) decent wireless internet connection (know the network and password)
2) blank computer hard drive (no OS, no nothing)
3) power cable
thats it
Step 1.
Restart your computer and hold down "Command" and the "R" keys at the same time. do this for about 30 seconds or so and release
Step 2.
Your computer should, after a few seconds or so, show a spinning globe. Your computer will then start searching for an internet connection. Choose a network from the drop down menu and type in the password to the network.
Step 3.
Your computer will then connect with Apple.com's software site (I think this is called OSX Recovery or something [thus the holding down of the "R" for recovery key]) and find your computer's original operating system (not sure how far back this works, but it worked perfectly with Lion)
Step 4.
Download the OS
Step 5.
Upon download completion your computer may shut down. Just turn it back on and when its back up and running it will immediately start to install the OS it just downloaded.
Step 6.
Wait for this to complete and bam, you're back to having an operating system on your computer.
I hope this works for anyone with my problem.
Good luck!

You will need to do the following:
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 newly installed 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.
This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

How to Clone Hard Drive from Macbook Pro to Macbook Pro with Retina

Hey everyone! I had a question about cloning my laptop's hard drive. I was considering buying a MBP with Retina, but was wondering how I would accomplish copying over my current hard drive to the retina, as I know you can't take out the retina's hard drive, and it is flash. Any suggestions?

Connect the two with a Firewire cable if they both have Firewire ports (or use Thunderbolt if the both have Thunderbolt ports.) Boot the new computer into Target Disk Mode and the old computer normally. The new computer's disk drive should appear on the Desktop of the old computer.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
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.
Destination means the new computer's drive Source means the old computer's drive.
Be sure the old computer is running a version of Mountain Lion that is later than the version installed on the new computer. After cloning you will probably need to run the new 10.8.2 updater for the new computer. OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 Update for 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display, 21.5" iMac (Late 2012), Mac mini (Late 2012).

Adding a second hard drive to late 2008 Macbook Pro

I have a 15"unibody Macbook Pro from Late 2008. It works great, but I only have 320 GB of storage. I would like to add an additional hard drive to store all my files on. Is this possible or do I just need to replace the current drive with a larger one?
Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can put a second hard disk where you have got the SuperDrive, but in that case, you will have to use an external optical drive.
You just need a peripheral to put the hard disk and a 2'5" SATA hard disk, that can be a SSD if you want. You have the steps and parts to do that on iFixit > http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Late+2008+and +Early+2009+Dual+Hard+Drive/8526/1

Replacement optical drive for early 2008 MacBook

I own an early 2008 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 13" MacBook that appears to have developed a fault with the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E optical drive.
Unfortunately I am unable to get the optical drive replaced by Apple, as it seems they don't keep the parts for any machine over five years old. So I plan to replace the faulty unit myself. Can anyone recommend a replacement? The UJ-857E model doesn't appear to be available anywhere other than in the United states and then only as a refurbished unit and listed as an 857C which I assume to be from an earlier model.
I was wondering if there might be a more recent equivalent available that I might use instead. There seem to be several UJ-898 models for late 2008 MacBooks available, but I have no idea how much of a change Apple made to the internal configuration from early to late 2008.
Does anyone have any experience of replacing or upgrading their optical drive that they would be willing to share? I plan to follow the IFixit tutorials for the procedure. I just need to know what unit to buy as a replacement.

I would stick to what OWC (macsales) offers.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/superdrive/MacBook_13

I have to replace my hard drive in my 2008 macbook. HOW DO I BUY A NEW HARD DRIVE???

The apple genius said I can easily buy one online and a 10 year old could put it in. However, all of the hard drives I'm seeing mention PC rather than Mac.

SATA drives are the same for Mac, PC or PlayStation. It's the way that they're formatted that make the difference.
For a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here's instructions on replacing the hard drive http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case and clone your old drive to the new one. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one.
With the new drive plugged in, open Disk Utility. It's in the Utililities folder in your Applications folder. You should see the new drive in the left hand column along with your other drives. Click on the new drive and select the Erase tab. Set the format value to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Erase button. After that has finished select the Partition tab. Type in a Name for your hard drive and select how many partitions you want from the Volume Scheme. The usual setting is one partition. Click on the Options button after you've selected a partition to make sure it's set for GUID. Then click the Apply button and after the partitioning is done quit Disk Utility. Your new drive should now appear on your desktop. Then clone your old drive to the new one.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-5-SATA-HDD-HARD-DRIVE-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-BOX-/120 636286623?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item1c167ba69f

Unable to clone hard drive from early 2008 macbook using disk utility, error 254

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