frawarrior

Q: Clone HD on SSD (Imac mid 2011)

Hi, I have an iMac mid 2011 with 1 TB hard disk and I'm going to install a 1 TB SSD as a second drive. I think I will clone the HD on the SSD with Carbon Copy Cloner. My question is: Can I make the clone-operation after installing the SSD inside the iMac to speed up the process or I have to clone the HD before opening the iMac, with the SSD connected via USB? I have only 2.0 USB, I think is going to be very slow in this way... Thank you, Francesco

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 21, 2016 4:53 PM

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Q: Clone HD on SSD (Imac mid 2011)

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  • by Kappy,Solvedanswer

    Kappy Kappy Sep 22, 2016 9:52 PM in response to frawarrior
    Level 10 (271,198 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 22, 2016 9:52 PM in response to frawarrior

    Install the SSD internally if that is your plan. Boot the computer from the HDD, then use Disk Utility to partition and format the SSD as follows:

     

    Clone El Capitan to a New Disk

     

    1. Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command--R keys until the Apple logo and progress bar appear.
    2. When the Utility Menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
    3. When Disk Utility loads select the SSD (usually, the out-dented entry) from the side list.
    4. Click on the Partition tab in Disk Utility's main window. A panel will drop down.
    5. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
    6. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
    7. Click on the Apply button, then click on the Done button when it activates.
    8. Select the new SSD, then select Restore from the Disk Utility's Edit menu.
    9. From the dropdown menu select the volume you want to clone - your HDD.
    10. Click on the Apply button to start the process.

     

    This may take a long time depending on how much data are being transferred. Disk Utility will also automatically clone the Recovery HD from the HDD to the SSD.