I am about to install a new SSD in my Late 2015 iMac and I plan to use Disk Utility and the Restore function to copy my old HDD to the new SSD. My question is will I also need to recreate the OS X Base System partition that is used for Recovery Mode?
Well, here's what I do. I put the new SSD into an external USB 3.0 enclosure. I connect the SSD to the computer with a USB cable. I open Disk Utility and partition and format the SSD. I then clone my old HDD to the SSD. I then check that I can boot the computer from the external SSD. If I can then comes the job of removing the HDD, installing the SSD in the computer, and put the HDD in the external enclosure. I then use Option booting to select and boot from the SSD. If all is well I open Startup Disk preferences and set the new SSD volume as the startup disk.
If you use Disk Utility for the cloning then it will automatically create a Recovery HD on the SSD. Other apps may be used to clone but only Disk Utility clones the Recovery HD automatically.
Well, here's what I do. I put the new SSD into an external USB 3.0 enclosure. I connect the SSD to the computer with a USB cable. I open Disk Utility and partition and format the SSD. I then clone my old HDD to the SSD. I then check that I can boot the computer from the external SSD. If I can then comes the job of removing the HDD, installing the SSD in the computer, and put the HDD in the external enclosure. I then use Option booting to select and boot from the SSD. If all is well I open Startup Disk preferences and set the new SSD volume as the startup disk.
If you use Disk Utility for the cloning then it will automatically create a Recovery HD on the SSD. Other apps may be used to clone but only Disk Utility clones the Recovery HD automatically.
No. That is a remnant from a previous installation. Ignore it. You only clone the volumes above the line, like "Macintosh HD" or whatever yours is named.
Clone El Capitan and Later using Disk Utility
Destination means the new SSD. Source means the old HDD.
The Recovery HD is actually an invisible partition on the startup drive. It's usually created when you do a clean installation of macOS.
The process you propose is exactly what I’m planning to do. Glad to hear that’s the recommended approach. In fact, as I type this message Disk Utility is restoring my HDD to the new SSD which is in a USB 3.0 enclosure.
So it sounds like the recovery partition is contained in the main boot partition? After I get the HDD removed and the SSD installed and designated as the main boot drive I’ll try Command-R and see what happens. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the info Kappy. After I remove the HDD along with (I’m assuming) the recovery partition how will I get a new recovery partition for future use with the new SSD?
Do I need to recreate OS X Base System?
