User profile for user: that was my alias
that was my alias Author
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Replacing my old HDD, but cloning it first. How to?

After more than 8 years of good service, it is time to put a new hard drive inside my old laptop. However, since I value all my data, and I want to keep using Mojave, I want to clone my old hard drive in its entirety to the new one, which I will then install myself (yes, I know how to).


I have the right (compatible) drive, and I have a SATA/USB converter. The only thing I am missing is the how part. Which program do I use to clone my internal (bootable) drive? Is there a program pre-installed that does that? Do I need to get one? Please help.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.14

Posted on May 16, 2021 1:50 AM

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User profile for user: Roger Wilmut1
Roger Wilmut1
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Posted on May 16, 2021 1:55 PM

I can't answer for Disk Utility but I've been cloning an AFPS drive (Catalina) with Carbon Copy Cloner v5 with no problems at all. I would suggest erasing the external disk and trying with CCC. If possible it looks as if you should format the external disk to AFPS as it appears that if you don't it will need to be converted during the cloing process and that seems to be what is going wrong.


This page: https://eclecticlight.co/2018/10/08/busting-7-myths-lies-about-mojave/


says: 'When you install Mojave onto an SSD, hard disk, or Fusion Drive, if that is still in Apple Extended (HFS+) format, the installer will try to convert that storage to use APFS. There is no option for it to do otherwise. This is now the third major release of APFS: the first was in Sierra, and the second in High Sierra. Although its performance on hard disks may not be stunningly fast, APFS is now the standard file system for macOS.'

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User profile for user: Roger Wilmut1
Roger Wilmut1
User level: Level 10
131,540 points

May 16, 2021 1:55 PM in response to that was my alias

I can't answer for Disk Utility but I've been cloning an AFPS drive (Catalina) with Carbon Copy Cloner v5 with no problems at all. I would suggest erasing the external disk and trying with CCC. If possible it looks as if you should format the external disk to AFPS as it appears that if you don't it will need to be converted during the cloing process and that seems to be what is going wrong.


This page: https://eclecticlight.co/2018/10/08/busting-7-myths-lies-about-mojave/


says: 'When you install Mojave onto an SSD, hard disk, or Fusion Drive, if that is still in Apple Extended (HFS+) format, the installer will try to convert that storage to use APFS. There is no option for it to do otherwise. This is now the third major release of APFS: the first was in Sierra, and the second in High Sierra. Although its performance on hard disks may not be stunningly fast, APFS is now the standard file system for macOS.'

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User profile for user: that was my alias
that was my alias Author
User level: Level 1
19 points

May 16, 2021 2:12 PM in response to Roger Wilmut1

The APFS thing just may be the crucial piece of the puzzle. I just checked my old drive, and it was AFPS all along. I was under the impression that Mac OS Journalized was the format for all Mac volumes, but it looks like this is more for external storage (non-bootable) drives and flash sticks. Preemptive thanks! If this helps me, I'll get back to you.

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User profile for user: Roger Wilmut1
Roger Wilmut1
User level: Level 10
131,540 points

May 16, 2021 2:56 PM in response to that was my alias

AFPS has been standard since Sierra but only when the Mac concerned has an SSD rather than a disk drive. In Catalina - I don't know about the earlier versions - it looks like one volume but actually there are two - the System, and everything else, with the System volume being non-writable to prevent unwanted tampering with it by the owner or by malware.


Probably Disk Utility could reformat the disk in AFPS but I don't know about that. Obviously if then external disk is already AFPS you don't have the conversion to go wrong.

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User profile for user: that was my alias
that was my alias Author
User level: Level 1
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May 17, 2021 4:29 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Alright, so Disk Utility partially failed me. Things were looking up, and JUST when the process was close to done, this happened. "Failed to invert".


I want to know: is my internal hard drive corrupted or broken? Is me BRAND NEW hard drive corrupted or broken? Is it Disk Utility's fault? For reference, Disk Utility claims, after First Aid, that the (currently external) drive is completely OK.

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User profile for user: that was my alias
that was my alias Author
User level: Level 1
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May 17, 2021 6:37 PM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Writing this from my NEW ("old") spinning old school hard drive!


Where Disk Utility failed TWICE, Carbon Copy Cloner failed...... nonece! Got this funny error though: oops, Mac OS is already on here! Guess during my prior attempts Mac OS was written on the drive, despite me having "cleared" it twice. Guess the old rule of spinning drives applies: what is "erased" is still on the drive, with permission to write over it.


Helpful people were helpful, but the owl gets the main reward.


P.S. For whatever reason, while everything is snappier and just faster, every time I torn on the laptop, the blank white screen lingers for a few seconds longer. Everything is connected correctly, I double-checked. Maybe this is the new norm? Maybe it's because I have so much on the drive? But I am willing to let this one remain a mystery.

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Replacing my old HDD, but cloning it first. How to?

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