New Hard drive won't boot!

You did not partition or format the drive correctly:

Drive Partition and Format

1. If you are preparing an external or a non-startup drive, then open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.

2. After DU loads select your 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.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Now you can install OS X.

To complement Prof. Kappy's excellent instructions, you can verify that the drive has the proper partitioning and format by examining the device and the volume with Disk Utility. GUID partition scheme and OS Extended format (formerly known as HFS+):

Shift the slider to 1.

Where is the new drive? I thought it was in an enclosure. What happens when you try to boot from the new drive?

Well, my usual procedure looks like this. You might review it for guidance or restart your whole procedure in order to follow this one. But you've already done a goodly part of it. I'm assuming you can boot from the old drive. If the new drive is partitioned GUID and formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled, then all you need do is use Disk Utility to restore the old drive to the new one. However, if you are running Mountain Lion it will not allow you to Restore a startup volume using Disk Utility. So instead you would use Carbon Copy Cloner 3.5.2 to clone the old drive to the new one. I hope this is helpful.

How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop

Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions

Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive. Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure. You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.

Step Three: Boot from the external drive. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears. Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.

Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation

1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.

2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is the entry with the

mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of

the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive

is failing or has failed and will need replacing. Otherwise, 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. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended

(Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to

GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and

wait until the process has completed.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the

drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main

window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the

Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to

return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several

hours depending upon the drive size.

Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive

1. Open Disk Utility from 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. Check the box labeled Erase destination.

5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the

Destination entry field.

6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the

Source entry field.

7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

Destination means the new internal drive. Source means the old external drive.

Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume. Click on the Restart button. You should boot from the new drive. Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

Kappy,

I just used CCC, but am only running Lion. Does that make a difference? I can boot to both hard drives if selecting the appropriate drive by holding down the option key on a restart. However, as soon as I swap the drive loations and try to boot from the CCC cloned drive, I cannot boot.

There must be somethign I'm obviously missing here. Also, I hear no chime after a reboot. SHould I reset the NVRAM? Please enlighten me......

You dont have to partition ANYTHING when using superduper and cloning a smaller drive to a larger one externally. Never had to do it out of countless time.

Too bad you dont have a hard drive dock, much better than an enclosure.

the HGST has to be formatted for MAC OSX extended journaled.

You SHOULD NOT INSTALL the new HD until you test it by booting from the new HD while hooked into the USB by going into SYS PREFERNCES and choosing the boot HD.

I can clone just fine, but I do have to create the partition first, otherwise SuperDuper doesn't know where to copy to. In any case, after I boot from the new drive, I have set it as the boot drive in Sytem Preferences. Then I shut down, put the new drive in the MBP and power on and I get nada, can't boot.

Then I took it out again, hooked it up externally via USB and voila, I can boot to it.