Q: Time Machine:

You have not mentioned the status of the new SSD.  Have you formatted it and installed an OSX?

At any rate, look at this web site and it should provide you with answers to your Time Machine questions.  You will note that there are several options of transferring TM data.

http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

Ciao.

Note that Pondini’s Web site doesn’t specifically mention OS X 10.11 but that doesn’t matter. Using Setup Assistant (which is the same as Migration Assistant except it is run the first time you launch a new computer or upgrade to a new OS) to migrate data hasn’t changed significantly since his last update. (Unfortunately Pondini passed away and so far no one has attempted to fill his very large shoes.)

I’ll add a few things that Pondini didn’t directly address or might be hard to find on the site. Using Setup Assistant over WiFi is a very bad idea. WiFi is too slow. I’ve run into stall issues even when I've connect my computer directly to a TimeCapsule with an Ethernet cable. For this reason I now strongly suggest using an external drive for migration purposes. Second, if your TimeMachine external drive is connected to your computer when you install a new operating system it will have a recovery partition installed on it assuming there was enough room. This makes installing a new drive and migrating every so much easier since you don’t need to rely on Internet Recovery to partition the drive and/or download the OS. (Note computers that shipped prior to the release of Lion cannot Internet boot so they require a System Install DVD if there’s no recovery partition on the TimeMachine drive.) If you aren’t sure about your backup drive restart your computer holding the option key and you’ll see all the bootable partitions. If one is your TM drive you are good to go.

And I see I haven’t directly answered one of your questions: yes, TimeMachine can restore the contents of the entire drive, OS, applications, and data.

Finally, the most  convenient way to upgrade to a new drive is to use an external enclosure and clone the old drive contents to the new - assuming the new drive is at least as large as the old one. This isn’t always true when people replace a mechanical drive with an SSD. I like this method because it lets me ensure that the SSD is good before I take the computer apart and install it. And having the external enclosure, I can now use the drive I removed for another purpose - like another backup. You can never have enough backups.

Thanks very much for responding!

Sorry, I should have been more clear.  My questions begins with the installation of the new SSD only.  No OS, Nothing.  Also, I have been using Time Machine to backup my computer on an external drive.  Finally, the size of the new SSD is much larger than my HD and/or saved files.

Basically, I am trying to identify if my next step only requires me to connect the external drive and somehow run Time Machine to accomplish everything, including loading the OS, Applications, and files.  But where would Time Machine reside to even launch the Time Machine "Restore" app?

Thanks very much for responding!

Sorry, I should have been more clear.  My questions begins with the installation of the new SSD only.  No OS, Nothing.  Also, I have been using Time Machine to backup my computer on an external drive.  Finally, the size of the new SSD is much larger than my HD and/or saved files.

Basically, I am trying to identify if my next step only requires me to connect the external drive and somehow run Time Machine to accomplish everything, including loading the OS, Applications, and files.  But where would Time Machine reside to even launch the Time Machine "Restore" app?

Plug the TM drive into the computer and restart holding the command R key. 1 of 3 things will happen. 1) the TM drive has a restore partition on it and you’ll be able to select Disk Utilities and format the SSD. 2) your computer is new enough to boot in Internet recovery mode and you’ll also be able to format the SSD. 3) you have an older computer and it cannot boot into Internet Recovery so you’ll need to start with your System Install Disk and use Disk Utility to format the SSD.

In any of those 3 cases, after formatting the SSD you’ll be able to restore your entire computer hard drive’s content to the SSD - OS, applications, and data.

Turreypond wrote:

 

Thank you, dwb, sincerely appreciated!  Specifically, I have an "Early 2011" MacBook Pro, with a 500gb SATA HD and currently running OS X 10.11.1.  I have an external; WD "My Passport for Mac" external HD that I regularly synch to Time Machine.  I just purchased a Samsung 500gb SSD 850 EVO drive from Amazon (only $134!).  I've never replaced a drive before.. so I must make sure I do this correctly (my business is run from it!).  So, the steps (and next questions are):

1)     Run Tme Machine and backup files;

2)     Physically replace old HD with new SSD;

3)     QUESTION: So, after the new SSD is installed, I must FIRST format the new SSD before running the "Restore" option from the WD backup drive.  Is that correct?

That’s correct

4)     QUESTION: Given your #1 option above, how do I know if the "TM drive has a restore partition on it and you’ll be able to select Disk Utilities and format the SSD"?

Before you do anything, connect the TimeMachine drive and restart your computer holding Option R. This will give you a screen showing all your bootable drives. If your TM drive has the recovery partition it will appear in the window.

5)     QUESTION: If the TM drive does have a restore partition on it, with the "My Passport for Mac" external HD plugged into my MacBook Pro, I restart holding the command R keys, select Disk Utilities, and format the SSD?

Correct

6)     QUESTION: If the TM drive does not have a restore partition on it, where do I get a "System Install Disk" (in order to run the Disk Utility and format the SSD)?

According to this Apple support document your computer can boot into Internet Recovery and I remember that update was pushed out quite some time ago so your computer should already have that update. To test, reboot holding Control Command R to see if it boots - it takes a while so don’t expect it to boot in a couple seconds. I linked to the support document above so if you didn’t get the firmware update that page will take you to where you can download and install it.

dwb wrote:

 

To test, reboot holding Control Command R to see if it boots - it takes a while so don’t expect it to boot in a couple seconds.

Correction:  It should be OPTION + COMMAND + R keys for Internet recovery.

Ciao.

Darn it! I always mess that one up!!! I need to make a text substitution macro for the recovery partition keypresses

Thanks for the correction!

For every mistake you make, I make 10. 

Ciao.