Problems With Macbook Pro HD Change

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Problems With Macbook Pro HD Change

Hey guys,

I have a late 2010 Macbook Pro Unibody i5 and I have recently tried a fresh install with my snow leopard disc, however when I boot from disc, I just get the grey screen and cant run the installers. From researching the net its alledgedly to do with my hardware being newer then the software on the disc.

My main concern here is that I want to change my HD to an SSD and will obviously need a fresh install. If i change the HD, will I be able to install OSX from this disc or will I need a different software package?

I dont have the original disc's anymore, I have recently moved home from Uni and cant find the box or the discs. I have tried to contact apple to get replacements but Im having no luck!

Any feedback is really appreciated!

Thank you,

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on May 22, 2012 1:11 AM

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Answer 1

May 22, 2012 2:26 AM in response to StarNine

Star,

Do you have a Time Machine back-up? When I bought my SSD, I started up with a Lion Installer on a USB flash drive, re-inited the SSD, and installed everything from my Time Machine back-up, all with no problems. If you don't have a TM back-up, I suggest getting an inexpensive drive that will be about twice as large as your SSD and backing up. Then I would invest in Lion, downloaded from the App Store and making a USB boot drive. Boot from the USB drive, restore your backup to the new SSD, ad you'll be in business. Depending on the size of your current drive and the SSD, you should be able to get a backup disk fairly cheap and a 8GB USB drive ($8 or under) and get the Lion upgrade for $30. You can then use Lion DiskMaker to create the boot drive.

Hope this helps,

Clinton

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Answer 2

StarNine Author

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May 22, 2012 4:41 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Hi Clinton,

I dont have a time machine back up but to I have backed up all of my work onto an external. The only concern is when I install the new SSD, There will be no files to back up from.

So basically if I download Lion on the app store, I can burn to disc or USB and run the installer on the fresh HD?

Thank you for the assistance!

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Answer 3

May 22, 2012 9:13 PM in response to StarNine

I'd really use Time Machine to make a back-up to your external drive - that way, EVERYTHING will transfer to your new SSD - no reinstalling apps, fonts, etc. And, yep, you can boot from a USB flash drive or DVD (although the flash drive is much, much faster), format the SSD and restore the contents of your TM back-up. It's really so easy!

Good luck,

Clinton

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