LIZ BUCHER
Level 1 (14 points)
Notebooks

Q: Transferring files from old HD to new SSD

I will be replacing my failing HD with an SSD.  Once I have the SSD installed will I be able to connect the HD and transfer my files from there?

 

I will be installing Mavericks on the SSD before I install it.

 

Does that sound like a good plan?

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

Mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Mavericks

10.9.5 

OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Nov 9, 2015 1:17 PM

by Duane,Solvedanswer
Duane Duane
Level 10 (124,018 points)
A:

No the external drive used for Time Machine would be a different drive.

Posted on Nov 9, 2015 8:23 PM

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LIZ BUCHER

Q: Transferring files from old HD to new SSD

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  • by Allan Eckert,Helpful

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Nov 9, 2015 3:55 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 9 (54,085 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 3:55 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Read Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

  • by LIZ BUCHER,

    LIZ BUCHER LIZ BUCHER Nov 9, 2015 1:57 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Notebooks
    Nov 9, 2015 1:57 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Thanks so much for your quick reply. 

     

    Ugh, now I'm confused again.

     

    So I back up my current HD with the Time Machine before I take it out?   

     

    Of all things to do with computers, back ups have been the hardest for me to understand.  If you don't mind, please make it as simple as possible.  This is an area that I don't even know how to ask the question    


     

  • by Csound1,Helpful

    Csound1 Csound1 Nov 9, 2015 3:55 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 9 (51,412 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 3:55 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Connect an external drive, turn Time Machine on, select the external. Go to the movies, or out with a friend. It'll be done in a while.

  • by LIZ BUCHER,

    LIZ BUCHER LIZ BUCHER Nov 9, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Notebooks
    Nov 9, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Csound1

    So you're referring to the HD that I take out of my Macbook after I install the new one? 

  • by Duane,Solvedanswer

    Duane Duane Nov 9, 2015 8:23 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Nov 9, 2015 8:23 PM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    No the external drive used for Time Machine would be a different drive.

  • by LIZ BUCHER,

    LIZ BUCHER LIZ BUCHER Nov 10, 2015 5:00 AM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Notebooks
    Nov 10, 2015 5:00 AM in response to Duane

    Okaaay.  So how about if I connect the new SSD and use Time Machine?  Now that would be a miracle cuz going to the movies with a friend sure sounds like fun    

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Nov 10, 2015 5:11 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 9 (51,412 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 10, 2015 5:11 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Do you have a Time Machine backup already, if not follow the instructions I gave earlier, once you have a backup you're safe from error. Error is possible.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Nov 10, 2015 6:24 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 6:24 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Well then your SSD would end up containing a Time Machine backup. That is not bootable. So when you put it inside your MacBook Pro you would need to erase it and install an OS on the drive.

     

    You could use Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! to create a bootable clone on the SDD. You would connect the SSD externally to the MacBook Pro and then use one of those programs to make the clone. To do this you need an adapter to connect the raw SSD to the USB port on the MacBook Pro.

  • by LIZ BUCHER,

    LIZ BUCHER LIZ BUCHER Nov 10, 2015 7:40 AM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Notebooks
    Nov 10, 2015 7:40 AM in response to Duane

    Aw, nuts.  I do have the cable, figured that out last week after reading ad nauseum online.  It's those "little" things that people don't mention so I really appreciate that you did. 

     

    I'll give this a try.  Thanks so much.

     

    On another note:  SMART Utility showed my HD is failing.  However today I ran EtreCheck and it did not show a problem with the HD.  Which should I believe?  I'm only doing this because I've been having crashes for a few months and they are getting more frequent.  I increased memory from 4 to 8GB, made no difference.  I'll post this in a separate thread on your suggestion.  Thanks again.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Nov 10, 2015 7:50 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 7:50 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    I would backup and replace the drive as soon as possible.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Nov 10, 2015 7:56 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 9 (51,412 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 10, 2015 7:56 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Backup your drive now, when the failure happens recovering your data will be very difficult.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Nov 10, 2015 8:09 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 7 (29,380 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 8:09 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    LIZ BUCHER wrote:

     

    On another note:  SMART Utility showed my HD is failing.  However today I ran EtreCheck and it did not show a problem with the HD.  Which should I believe?  I'm only doing this because I've been having crashes for a few months and they are getting more frequent.  I increased memory from 4 to 8GB, made no difference.  I'll post this in a separate thread on your suggestion.  Thanks again.

    Hello LIZ,

    EtreCheck, like any similar tool, only reports failures if it encounters an some specific indicator of failure. Those indicators are based on other software and sensors and they may come and go. If any tool proclaims your hard drive to have physically failed, then you should believe it. Even if you run it again and you don't see the failure, you should still replace the drive. The old mechanical hard drives in notebook computers tend to fail after 2-3 years. If this is your original hard drive, you are well past that. Before I switched to SSD drives, I used to replace my drives every 2 years whether they needed it or not. SSDs are supposed to last from 7-20 years. Generally, if you aren't happy with the performance of your computer, it is 5 years old, and has the original, mechanical hard drive, I will pretty much always recommend upgrading to an SSD. The backup, update, restore process will help to clean things up and the SSD experience will be a dramatic and noticeable improvement. An SSD itself is 100 times faster than a mechanical hard drive and will make your machine about 4 times faster overall.

     

    However, I looked at your other posts and I'm very suspicious of the SMART utility you downloaded. I strongly suspect all you really downloaded was adware. While I'm sure an SSD will make your machine run super fast, I think you probably have other issues to fix before taking a hardware upgrade and restore. I suggest starting a new thread, describing the problems you have an in as much detail as possible, and include an EtreCheck report with default settings. EtreCheck includes the results of the operating system's own SMART status. If it was failing, I would expect EtreCheck to report that too. Considering the fact that your SMART utility is a 3rd party tool downloaded from a known adware site, I don't necessarily believe it. Don't get me wrong, an SSD will definitely improve things. But I sincerely think you have other problems to be looked at first.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Nov 10, 2015 8:34 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER
    Level 9 (51,412 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 10, 2015 8:34 AM in response to LIZ BUCHER

    Although I don't disagree with Etresofts post I will stress that time is passing, and if your drive is failing it is time that you can't afford to waste.

     

    Backup your drive, do it now, do the other things later. Make a clone or use Time Machine but do it now.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Nov 10, 2015 8:47 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 7 (29,380 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 8:47 AM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    Although I don't disagree with Etresofts post I will stress that time is passing, and if your drive is failing it is time that you can't afford to waste.

     

    Backup your drive, do it now, do the other things later. Make a clone or use Time Machine but do it now.

    I am in complete agreement. Thanks for catching that for me.

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