Changing a macbook Harddisk

[j_m_s]

Hey guys,my 80gb harddisk has like. 2gb left and I can;t load much into it anymore.

Looking to upgrade to either a 320gb or 500gb hard disk. I've settled on seagate for the hard disk.

Next, what programs are there for me to consider for data transfer to my ext hdd before switching out my old hdisk for a new one?

And, can i put my old harddisk into a casing and use it as an external hard disk?

Awaiting some replies!

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[z_z]

Hi there

You can use time machine to backup your system and files into an ext hdd. Once you have installed your new hdd, re-install OS X and use time machine to restore your system and files.

Buy a cheap external casing and you can use your old hdd as an external drive.

 

[echoist]

Use CarbonCloner to "clone" your existing harddisk to the new one..
http://www.bombich.com/software/index.html

You just need to put your new HDisk into an external Firewire case, and "format" it using Disk Utility. This is the best time to partition the HDisk if you wish to, especially if you intend to get a a 320GB++. Then following the steps in CC, just do the cloning.. After the cloning is completed, try booting-up from the external "newly cloned HDisk". Try running your usual applications and make sure ALL is working fine before swapping the HDisks. Use the new HDisk for a few days before deleting and cleaning-out your "old HDisk" and making it into a permanent external storage HDisk.. Never know what might happen, though i've never experienced bad things with countless clonings with CC..

Hope that helps.. :mrgreen:

Just curious: there's already a 500GB 2.5" HDisk available in the market? Its 5400 or 7200 rpm? Must cost a bomb i guess..

 

[z_z]

A WD 5200 rpm 500 GB 2.5" drive cost abt S$170+ at the moment. May drop during IT fair lol.

 

[j_m_s]

Im looking at seagate. they have a 7200rpm 500gb one. But it might be a lil' over kill.

My macbook has to last me til say.. maybe around 5 more years i think..

Hmm, carbon cloner VS super duper 2.5 mac backup?

Echoist, why didn't i think of that! Now thats fool-proof! almost!

hmm. does that mean, any hddisk can fit into a firewire casing? of the right size that is. 2.5'

 

[ikilledkenny!]

tomorrow got IT fair, they selling 500gb external harddisks for only 100plus, im going to get one of those tomorrow

 

[echoist]

Im looking at seagate. they have a 7200rpm 500gb one. But it might be a lil' over kill.

Hmm, carbon cloner VS super duper 2.5 mac backup?

hmm. does that mean, any hddisk can fit into a firewire casing? of the right size that is. 2.5'

Not sure if this holds true, but its been mentioned in Mac forums regarding 7200 speed being only "marginally" faster than a 5400. And one more thing, it does use up more battery juice than a 5400 one.. And look out for higher cache buffer. I've seen the highest for notebook HDs being 16Mb (Hitachi brand).

Carbon Cloner and Super Duper are the 2 most widely used software for cloning (not sure of any others). I've used Super Duper a few times, but prefers Carbon Cloner for the easier interface..

Any HD will fit into any FW case as long as they're the correct size (2.5" or 3.5") and type (IDE or SATA).

Oh, one more thing.. I usually make sure i have a backup HD with ALL the applications i use in one of my partitions.. (i'm talking abt my PPC with 3 internal HDs hooked-up) Just in case the HD i'm using goes belly-up i don't have to reinstall everything all over again.. :mrgreen:

 

[j_m_s]

ahhh. okay. noted! I believe my MB's original hard disk is hitachi.

Thanks for all that info bro!

 

[echoist]

Hey, no worries.. Great to be of help and share..

 

[j_m_s]

couldn't find the seagate internal 2.5' drives yesterday, any shops at funan/sls to recommend?

Thanks
James

 

[j_m_s]

Picked up a 320gb hdisk today. anyway, what are the benefits of partitioning?

 

[junkiemanxl]

I'm on carbon cloner as well. works really well. restored my mac volume a couple of times flawlessly.

IMO, partitioning can be a good thing in case a particular volume fails or gets corrupted. That way, the other partition(s) will not be affected.

 

[soft]

If my MBP has Bootcamp+WinXP, will the CarbonCloner clone it to the new harddisk?

Always wanted to get a faster/bigger hd to do mobile recording.

 

[j_m_s]

i skipped partitioning in the end.

hmm. I'm not too sure on that.

I tried booting from the ext HDD. it works, but when i open say. Football manager 2008 with booting up from the hard disk , the screen goes dark. and then to get it bright again i have to decrease the darkness then increase(just increasing doesn't help)

when i boot from the ext hdd the screen does this too. is it something to do with high memory applications?

 

[junkiemanxl]

If my MBP has Bootcamp+WinXP, will the CarbonCloner clone it to the new harddisk?

Always wanted to get a faster/bigger hd to do mobile recording.

james,

i too have dual boot but carbon cloner only works with mac
i did manage to clone the windows partition but XP will not load up on a USB/external device hence i dont think restoring is possible on windows.

 

[junkiemanxl]

i skipped partitioning in the end.

hmm. I'm not too sure on that.

I tried booting from the ext HDD. it works, but when i open say. Football manager 2008 with booting up from the hard disk or with the hard disk connected, the screen goes dark. and then to get it bright again i have to decrease the darkness then increase(just increasing doesn't help)

when i boot from the ext hdd the screen does this too. is it something to do with high memory applications?

when booting from a ext device such as a USB, the OS tends to slow down a tad cause USB ports cant really take that much data flowing through at such high rates. Firewire on the other hand might be better if youre gonna boot from an ext device.

 

[j_m_s]

Im using a firewire casing for it. heh. Just wondering this is an issue or not. if not ill be swapping my drives over.