Just swap hard drive to new Macbook Pro?

Matsaki

Matsaki

Registered
Hi,
I have a early 2008 Macbook Pro, and just ordered a brand new mid 2012 Macbook Pro 2.3GHz. When I have changed computers before I made it easy for me and just took the hard drive from the old computer and installed it in the new.

As I have a good SSD disk in my old MBP I want to use it in the new one coming. I'm sure that should not be a problem. But asking a Apple support on the other hand. I don't think they would recommend it. Maybe just because that's not according to the manual.

Do you guys have any comments on my plan?

Many thanks!
 
I first would boot the new MBP first and updated. Then use Migration Assistant (/Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant and import only your User Accounts, pictures/music ONLY. Then clone that updated drive to the SSD then install the SSD. This way you can keep the iLife Applications that come with the new Mac.

Now that I think about it the new MBP doesn't use the standard SSD drives. Maybe the OWC Aura Pro might be the only upgrade you could do it, if you dare.
 
Satcomer said:
I first would boot the new MBP first and updated. Then use Migration Assistant (/Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant and import only your User Accounts, pictures/music ONLY. Then clone that updated drive to the SSD then install the SSD. This way you can keep the iLife Applications that come with the new Mac.

Now that I think about it the new MBP doesn't use the standard SSD drives. Maybe the OWC Aura Pro might be the only upgrade you could do it, if you dare.
Click to expand...

I know this is the standard procedure. But you don't answer my question. Why should I not just not swap the disks? (I have iLife already) Why I just want to swap disks is because of all the settings and licenses etc. stored in the root, so I don't have to do this things all over again.
 
The SATA bus in your 2012 is significantly faster than the 2008. (6.0 Gbps compared to 1.5 Gbps)
If your SSD is an older 1.5 Gbps, then you would be giving up on a lot of performance on your new MBPro.

But, nothing really prevents you from trying what you want to do.

Just make sure you have a current clone of your old SSD before you begin, so you can do a full restore to that SSD if things go wrong.
I'm not saying you WILL have a problem, but be prepared for that. I have a hard drive that is fully up-to-date Mountain Lion, set up from a similar generation as yours (a 2008 iMac), and the hard drive wouldn't boot a new MacBook Pro until I reinstalled MLion on that same external hard drive while connected to the NEW MacBook Pro. That was not a swap, but I did another similar swap a couple of weeks ago, and the new Mac worked perfectly the first time. SO - your results may vary - have a good backup before you begin!
 
Thanks for the info :) I have a new M4 256Gb, 6.0Gbps and I have latest Mountain Lion on my old Mac. So crossing fingers here should be no problem.
 
Got my new baby today :)

First I made a clone from old MBP to my WD 500Gb Black Scorpio 7200rpm drive and installed. Also installed 2x8Gb Crucial RAM. Worked fine.

Next step was to swap my M4 SSD disk. All worked fine again and no problems. But I must say that the "old" mechanic hard drives coming as standard with new Macs is a throttle. The SSD drive made a huge difference. Now the machine is FAST :)

Not starting a new thread, I will ask here first:
As I will keep my old MBP for backup. I wonder if I should detach the battery, or how to keep it from not loosing capacity. Or shall I just leave it and all will be ok anyway?
 
Long-Term Storage
If you don’t plan on using your notebook for more than six months, Apple recommends that you store the battery with a 50% charge. If you store a battery when it’s fully discharged, it could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding any charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may experience some loss of battery capacity, meaning it will have a shorter life. Be sure to store your notebook and battery at the proper temperature. (See “Notebook Temperate Zone.”)

Link from Apple to full article.
 
Matsaki said:
Thanks for the info :) I have a new M4 256Gb, 6.0Gbps and I have latest Mountain Lion on my old Mac. So crossing fingers here should be no problem.
Click to expand...

Cool! One suggestions is keep the old hard drive and get one of those USB2or 3/Firewire External you can stick that dive into. Then get some router that has an intelligent USB2 port on it. Then transfer all you music/video to that disk (wirelessly) so you can stream your music/videos/pictures and save space on that SSD.

External sample of what I am talking about:
1. Voyager

2. Airport Extreme

It doesn't have to be an Apple router ( it would make an apple user's life so much easier) but just a router with uSB port to connect and share as a network drive. Just think about because, at least for me (using N wireless in the proper 5GHz range) doing it this way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top