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Clone Hdd To Ssd Macbook



With a little planning, upgrading to a fast solid state drive like the Crucial M550 SSD — or the newer BX200 — is doable for many handy MacBook Pro owners.

After you decide to get rid of your old and slow hard drive and replace it with a new and wicked-fast Solid State Drive (SSD), the question is how? You will have to open up the sleek case of your Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro and mess around with magic. Are you up to the task? What tools do you need?

Oct 13, 2020 Replacing your HDD with a solid state drive consists of three easy steps: 1. Connect your SanDisk SSD to your computer 2. Clone the data from your existing HDD to your new SanDisk SSD 3. Uninstall your HDD and replace it with your new SanDisk SSD. #macbookssd #hddtossd #macbookclone In this video im showing you how to clone your macbook pro from hdd to an ssd, make full copy and replace old hard drive.

Don’t stress. It’s not so hard. Here’s the all the key steps to make it easy:

1. Find an SSD Drive

You can spend hours or days agonizing over which SSD drive is slightly faster than another, but it’s best to choose the biggest Crucial or Samsung SSD you can afford and get on with your life. Seriously. Don’t overthink it. Personally, I believe the Crucial BX200 offers the best bang for your buck, but the MX200 is slightly faster and offers a few more gigabytes of storage on each drive — buy according to your budget.

The Crucial BX200 offers great speed and value for an SSD drive.

2. Get a Toolkit

You’re going to need a toolkit that has tiny screwdrivers to handle some very small screws, most notably Phillips (#00) and Torx T6. You can likely get away with a cheap kit, but the risk is hitting a stubborn screw and stripping out a cheap screwdriver, leaving your upgrade on pause until you can get another screwdriver. Check out the iFixit 26 Bit Driver Kit or the LB1 High Performance New Mini Universal Tools Kit for Apple MacBook Pro to cover most of your bases now and in the future.

3. Get a Drive Enclosure or Cable

While you can recreate your Mac with a brand new install by manually copying over files and recreating all your settings, the easiest way is to clone your entire existing hard drive onto your new SSD. Then you can remove the old hard drive and swap in the new SSD, which will let you get up and running super fast. Avoid the cheap and slow USB 2.0-based drive enclosures because your clone process could take 6-to-12 hours. A USB 3.0 drive enclosure or cable will cost a bit more, but the speed is worth it. Try the ORICO USB 3.0 2.5-inch External Hard Drive Enclosure Adapter Case or the Syba USB 3.0 to SATA Device Adapter Cable.

* Bonus: If you use the enclosure method, put your old hard drive inside it and use it as a backup drive or for extra portable storage.

4. Get Your Cloning Software

You can mess around with Apple’s Time Machine, but I personally prefer the simple, direct ease of Carbon Copy Cloner. Carbon Copy Cloner shines when you buy it outright and is excellent for backups, but you can create a fully bootable copy of your hard drive with the trial version.

5. Walk Through Online Guides Before You Crack the Case

It’s a very good idea to familiarize the process by watching an online video or step-by-step guide online. Surgeons practice and visualize, and you should, too. Check out iFixit’s line of Mac Repair guides by selecting the Mac model you want to upgrade. For a video, check out the guide by Matt Gonzalez below — it shows how to boot from a recovery USB stick as an alternative to cloning your drive:

6. Plan Your Time

The cloning process will likely take a couple of hours depending on how much data you have to move. Plus, whenever you crack any device case, you want to have the time to complete the job without interruption.

7. Proceed with Caution and Know Your Limits

Go slow. Place the tiny little screws in a bowl so they don’t roll off your desk and get lost in your carpet. Watch out for static electricity. After you watch the guides, if all this seems too risky or scary for your skills and personality, find a buddy who has done it before — or have your local computer store do it for you.

What’s Next?

Revel in the speed and snappiness of your newly revitalized MacBook or MacBook Pro! Oh, one more thing: If you’ve got 4GB of memory, consider upgrading to 8GB while you’ve got your case open: Here’s how to upgrade your memory. The combination of at least 8GB with an SSD is fantastic and will give you plenty of oomph to get you through another year or two, especially as you upgrade Mac OS X as Apple releases new versions. (If you have to choose one upgrade, though, go with the SSD.)

Get the Gear:

  • SSD — Crucial BX200, MX200, or Samsung 850 Evo
  • Enclosure — ORICO USB 3.0 2.5-inch External Hard Drive Enclosure Adapter Case
  • Software — Carbon Copy Cloner
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In this article I will show you, how to install a SSD into the Apple MacBook Pro. All the essentials of material and tool that is required for the installation are linked in the article.

For the installation of the SSD we have to unscrew the MacBooks, therefore it makes sense to upgrade the main memory (RAM) right now. In a a previous article I have already put together suitable memory recommendations: Apple MacBook Pro: RAM upgrade (HowTo)

Difficulty level:

  1. Data migration
  2. Installation

Frequently asked questions

What are the advantages of a SSD?

  • short start times for operating system and apps
  • comfortable and faster work under Mac OS X
  • SSD work completely silent
  • SSD has no mechanical parts, thus insensitive to hits and external influences

Easeus Todo

To what should I pay attention with a SSD?

When choosing the SSD, care should be taken that the memory size of the new SSD is not too low. It is advisable to choose an SSD with at least 120 GB or better even 240GB. With regard to the height both SSDs with 7 and 9.5 mm can be installed. All SSDs recommended below meet these requirements.

What are the differences between Samsung EVO/Pro series?

The main difference is the flash memory which is used in the SSD. The new Evo series is designed for the home user and relies on TLC flash memory. This one is reasonable to produce but on the other hand a bit slower. Therefore Samsung could recover this performance disadvantage in the EVO series with a so-called turbo-Write buffer and achieve a similar performance to the Samsung Pro.

I have a detailed explanation of the differences (incl. Soundmate for soundcloud 3 0 5. Advantages and disadvantages) in a separate article: SSD Comparison: Differences between Samsung 860/850 Pro and EVO series

Clone mac hdd to ssd

Can I install an SSD with SATA 3 in a MacBook Pro with SATA2?

Yes, SATA3 is fully backward compatible. Therefore SSDs with SATA 3 can be easily operated on SATA2.

Which MacBook Pro models can be upgraded with a SSD?

Apple-ModellDisplay SizeDesignationUpgradable
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012)15 inch
13 inch
MacBookPro9,2
MacBookPro9,1
MacBook Pro (Early + Mid 2011)17 inch
15 inch
13 inch
MacBookPro8,3
MacBookPro8,2
MacBookPro8,1
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010)17 inch
15 inch
13 inch
MacBookPro6,1
MacBookPro6,2
MacBookPro7,1
MacBook Pro (Early + Mid 2009)17 inch
15 inch
15 inch
13 inch
MacBookPro5,2
MacBookPro5,3
MacBookPro5,4
MacBookPro5,5
MacBook Pro (Early + Mid 2008)17 inch
17 inch
15 inch
13 inch
MacBookPro5,1
MacBookPro4,1

Suitable SSDs for Apple MacBook Pro

[Last update: 15.04.2018]

Notation
On the market there are a variety of solid-state drives (SSD), but they differ seriously in speed and durability. For this reason I have compiled only high quality and fast SSDs that I could test in MacBook personally in my professional life and as a result I can recommend in good conscience.

MacBook Pro Non-Retina (2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012)

  • Samsung 860 Pro Series, 2,5 Zoll, SATA IIITip
    (Available sizes: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB)
  • Samsung 860 EVO, 2,5 Zoll, Sata IIITip
    (Available sizes: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB)
  • Samsung 850 Pro, 2,5 Zoll, SATA III
    (Verfügbare Größen: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB)
  • Samsung 850 EVO, 2,5 Zoll, SATA III
    (Available sizes: 120GB / 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB)
  • Crucial MX500, 2,5 Zoll, SATA III
    (Available sizes: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB)

My recommendations were helpful?
Then just say 'thank you' with a coffee!

Data migration

Before the existing disk is exchanged for a SSD, all data and settings must be saved. There are different approaches. Mein nagin nagin dance nachna mp3 song free download.

Option 1: Clone hard drive to SSD

  1. Before making any modifications create a backup via Time Machine, in case of emergency there is a backup
  2. Connect the SSD via USB to the MacBook Pro (e.g. using SATA to USB3.0 Adapter)
  3. The new SSD must first be formatted using Disk Utility (as “Mac OS Extended Journaled“)
  4. Then subsequently create a fully bootable 1:1 copy of your hard drive to the SSD with SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner. (This process may take several hours).

Option 2: OS X reinstall and restore the backup

  1. Before making any modifications create a backup via Time Machine for later restore.
  2. Create a bootable OS X recovery stick (instruction)
  3. Now the new SSD have to be installed in the MacBook Pro (introduction see installation)
  4. After the SSD is installed into the MacBook, insert the USB flash drive. Then turn on your MacBook while holding down the ALT key.
  5. You will be asked which medium should be used for booting. Select the USB stick.
  6. Before reinstalling the SSD, it first must be formatted (as “Mac OS Journaled Extendet”) via the Disk Utility. After that OS X can be installed on the new SSD. In order to this just follow the instructions on the screen.
  7. Finally, the data and settings from the Time Machine backup will be restored now.

Installation

In principle, everyone who doesn’t have two left feet can do the installation. The important thing is to allow oneself plenty of time for the installation and proceed with caution. There are two ways to install a SSD in the MacBook Pro:

Option 1: Install SSD as a second drive

Everybody who needs a lot of memory or uses the DVD drive rarely, can install a second hard drive / SSD to the place of the Super Drive. For this purpose, a special frame (conversion kit) is required in which the hard disk will be installed. Then the removed SuperDrive comes in an portable USB enclosure, which is included in the conversion kit.

I made very positive experience with the following four conversion kits:

  • OWC Data Doubler Optical Bay Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Solution (~ $20)
  • Hard Drive Caddy Tray for Apple MacBook Pro 13/15/17 inch (~ $8)

Option 2: Replace hard drive with SSD

The replacement of the existing hard drive with a SSD is the easiest way. This reconstruction is completed quickly with little effort (about 10 minutes). For this purpose, no special accessories or conversion kits are required, only a proper SSD and the appropriate screwdrivers.

After the SSD is built into the MacBook, it makes sense to use the removed hard drive as an portable hard drive. A good portable enclosure with a fast USB3.0 interface is, for example ORICO portable USB3.0 enclosure

Tools

Cloning Hdd To Ssd Mac

If you decide on the installation variant 1, the conversion kits I mentioned have already all tools needed for. At the Flancrest kit there is even a SATA-USB adapter enclosed to clone the hard drive without a separate 2.5 “USB hard drive. Otherwise, the mini screwdriver set from Hama is recommended that contains the required PH00 and Torx6 screwdrivers.

Safety recommendation

Basically, it is recommended when working within range of electronic components, to wear an antistatic wrist strap. It protects against electrostatic charging, thus preventing possible damage to electrical components in the Macbook. The bracelet is slipped over the arm and has a cable with alligator clip which is simply clamped to the radiator. Corresponding bracelets are already available for a few dollars (e.g. Rosewill Anti Static Wrist Strap).

Preparation

Basically a Time Machine backup should be created. If this is completed, the MacBook Pro can be shut down. Afterwards unplug the power cord and other cables and place them upside down on a soft surface.

Instruction

The following Youtube video explains the installation procedure in great detail:

Starting up / completion

After installation, the MacBook can now be started for the first time from the SSD Pro. Please do not be alarmed if the boot should not be noticeably faster after a new installation. Because Spotlight must rebuild the index from scratch, which can take some time.

Should there still be any problems (e.g. durable high-revving fan), in addition the SMC (introduction) and NVRAM / PRAM (introduction) should be reset.

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