New SSD

[toml10643]

Hi!

I have a Macbook Pro mid 2012 13inch and i am upgrading it bit by bit,

I have decided to invest in a SSD so have gone for the 120gb samsung 850 evo for my operating system apps ect and then have all my other music photos and stuff on an external 2tb HDD, but i have no idea how to go around the switch over? My current hard drive has around 350gb of space taken up on it so i cant image to my external and put it back on the SSD, any instruction help or even to just point me in the right direction would be amazing, i don't have the best knowledge to all this but i am a trainee IT technician and graphic designer so i am fairly familiar with all this technology

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-So, you have less than 350 GB left on the external 2 TB? Thus, you can't copy everything from the internal to it?
-Do you have any other external HDs?

You could buy an external enclosure for the original HD, install the SSD, boot to your current HD in the external enclosure. That would allow you to format the new SSD after it is installed in the MBP, install OS X on it, then do a migration from your original HD. You could then erase it and you would have a second external that you could use as a Time Machine backup HD from your SSD.

C

 

[the6202]

Well, since it's a mid-2012 MacBook Pro, would you not mind sacrificing the disc drive?
You can then have a 2-drive setup: put a hard drive (not SSD) or the original drive where the disc drive was-
Then, put the SSD where the original drive was.

There's guides all over the 'net for this!

Do not forget TRIM Enabler. This is required to keep the SSD "healthy" since OS X does not have built-in TRIM support for any drives other than SSD's that come with the computer.
https://www.cindori.org/software/trimenabler/

Read this as well if you're on Yosemite or are upgrading to it! (important!)
https://www.cindori.org/trim-enabler-and-yosemite/

 

[toml10643]

Hello and welcome.

-So, you have less than 350 GB left on the external 2 TB? Thus, you can't copy everything from the internal to it?
-Do you have any other external HDs?

You could buy an external enclosure for the original HD, install the SSD, boot to your current HD in the external enclosure. That would allow you to format the new SSD after it is installed in the MBP, install OS X on it, then do a migration from your original HD. You could then erase it and you would have a second external that you could use as a Time Machine backup HD from your SSD.

C

Hi,

I think i may have worded this poorly, i have in my mac a 500gb hard drive which has about 300gb used up, i then have just bought and external 2tb drive to store all my music photos and data on and i have also just bought a 120gb ssd to have all my system files on and applications, so would the best way be to put my current hdd in a external enclosure and then put my SSd in my mac? and then just copy files from my hdd to my external HDD and start the ssd a fresh? also how do i go about booting the mac from the hdd in the enclosure will it do that automatically?

thank you!

 

[toml10643]

also how to i set up the SSD because surely its just blank? so how do i get mac operating system on it? sorry if i sound dumb haha i dont deal with mac in my job haha

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK...understood.

So you want the following, correct?:
1. 120GB SSD in MBP with OS X and applications.
2. 500GB HD in external enclosure.
3. 2TB to store photos/music/etc.

That will work, but you will have no form of backup and if the 2 TB fails, you will lose all of your files.

If I were doing this with my Mac:
1. 120GB SSD in MBP - OS X and applications.
2. 500GB HD in external enclosure - photos/music/etc.
3. 2TB as a Time Machine backup.

Issues/Concerns:
1. 120GB SSD may not be large enough to hold OS X and all the applications you want to install. You want to keep a good 10-20% free so that the OS and apps can run properly.
2. You currently don't have a backup plan that I know of. It isn't a question of if, but when the HDs/SSD will fail. They all do at some point, so it is better to have multiple copies of your data.
3. It can be somewhat difficult to move your iTunes and iPhoto/Photos Libraries to an external HD to run, but it is possible. Also, if you have a lot of saved email on your Mac HD, it can be more involved to back it up and then restore it. Your contacts/calendars/Safari bookmarks/Keychain passwords/etc. will be backed up and easily restored if you have an iCloud account setup.
4. Which version of OS X are you running currently and do you have the install disc still?
5. Were your apps purchased through the App Store, or are they retail disc packages?
6. Unfortunately, I disagree with the6202's recommendation for using TRIM Enabler. That software can actually cause more problems than it is worth. I have a Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB in my 2007 MBP and it works beautifully without it. I get read/write speeds of over 120MB/s.

This swap can be done, but it will be numerous steps and quite involved. It would really be best to be able to do this hands-on versus posts in the forum, but that's not feasible for us here.

Thoughts?

C

 

[honestone]

Cory makes quite a few excellent, pertinent remarks. One thing, though, is that the602 made the statement above about TRIM Enabler (I have "recommended" it in the past). If you are running Yosemite, you can't use TRIM Enabler anyway.

Also, as he so correctly mentions, a 120 gig SSD could be somewhat small. For my MacBook Air, I have a 250 gig SSD, and for my Mac Mini, a 256 gig SSD. I run the latest version of Yosemite (OS 10.10.3), and with that and all the applications I use, they take up about 80 to 90 gig. Besides those, I also maintain a couple of folders that contain 1) upgrades to some important software (including Yosemite), and 2) original versions and all upgrades to a number of other programs. What are the keys to the extra space, though, are 1) both machines run better with quite a lot of free space, and 2) I have extra room in case I download some rather large files (especially movies and TV series). I of course eventually move most of them to an external drive. But, the extra space is nice to have.

One other thing about backups: Time Machine is fine if you want to recover individual files/folders, but a bootable backup is better, so that if catastrophe strikes, you can be back in business quickly. SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner are the best choices for making such backups.

 

[toml10643]

can i get a smallish external enclosure for my HDD? cause it needs to be portable, could i not just use the 500gb drive as a backup? it seems silly to have a 2tb drive just for a time machine backup when i only have a max of 500+120gb storage? i could potentially buy another 1tb external for time machine but id rather get set up cause i need it done soonish

I dont think i have a disk for operating system, I'm running the latest os x Yosemite i believe and i have downloaded the install from the Appstore so i can make a bootable drive with it on is that right?

 

[honestone]

Yes, you can get a small external enclosure for your HDD. When I swapped out the 1 TB (slow), 5400 rpm Hitachi drive that was inside my Mac Mini for a Samsung 256 gig SSD, I purchased this enclosure:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0VN-0003-000H1

Installed the 1 TB inside it, and it works great! Note that it has a USB 3.0 interface. (When I bought it over a year ago, it was only $12 from newegg).

For the OS, yes, you would not have a disk. The OS itself would be on a file called "Install OS X Yosemite", while the upgrades would be other individual files. For that Install OS X Yosemite file, just make sure you have a copy of it in another location (it is typically inside your applications folder). The reason for that is that once you run that, the file itself goes away. And yes, if you run that file from your external disk to install on the SSD, the SSD will be bootable. Don't forget to apply the OS 10.10.3 Combo Update, so you will be up to date.

Finally, you should really consider making a backup/clone with SuperDuper!. You could have Disk Utility partition either drive, with the second partition for SuperDuper!only being about 130 gig. That way, you can use SuperDuper! to backup everything on the SSD.

 

[toml10643]

Where do I get the OS install from? I'm downloading Os Yosemite from the App Store and I think if you show package contents then the install is in there is that correct? Thanks guys for all your help don't feel anywhere near as lost now!

 

[honestone]

After downloading it, it will be in your applications folder on your current drive. As I said, the file is called "Install OS X Yosemite". If you plan on using the 500 gig HDD to get the SSD "ready", just make a copy of the file in another location on the 500 gig HDD. Once you get the SSD installed, and the HDD installed in the external case, when you boot your Mac with the 500 gig HDD connected, hold down the Option key. That should show the 500 gig HDD as a startup disk. Double click on that, and the machine will be "running" from that 500 gig HDD.

Once that is done, you need to do the following:

1. Run Disk Utility from the 500 gig HDD to Erase, Format, and Partition (1 partition is enough) the SSD. Make sure the format is Mac OS Extended Journaled. Give that 1 partition any name you want, as it will be where you will install the OS, and everything else you want.

2. Double click on the "Install OS X Yosemite" file on the 500 gig SSD, select that partition you just created on the SSD, and let it run.

3. Once that's done, restart your Mac. You'll go through all the set up stuff like with any new OS installation.

4. Download the OS 10.10.3 Combo Updater and the OS 10.10.3 Supplemental Updater. You can get each of those from here:

OS 10.10.3 Combo Updater: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1804?locale=en_US

OS 10.10.3 Supplemental Updater: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1807?locale=en_US

4. Apply the Combo updater first, then the Supplemental updater (all you need to do is double clock each file to install it on your SSD).

That will get your machine up to date from an OS perspective. A later version of Safari came out in late April. You can get that from here:

https://www.apple.com/support/mac-apps/safari/

Finally, copy that "extra" Install OS X Yosemite file from your 500 gig HDD to your SSD. And, again, make an extra copy of that file on the SSD.

 

[toml10643]

Thank you im just waiting on a torx screwdriver kit to arrive an I will be underway!

Does anyone know how to copy applications to my external 2TB drive? because i can just move them over but im sure that doesnt carry over all the data that is stored for that app in the mac?

Thanks

 

[honestone]

I just went through something very, very similar to what you will eventually need to do. So, here is my suggestion.

First, create a partition on your external drive about 10% more than the size of all your "stuff" on the main partition (I assume you have only one) of your current, internal drive.

Second, you can download and install the excellent backup/cloning program SuperDuper!. You can get it from here, and use the "free/demo" version:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/13803/superduper

Third, use SuperDuper! to make a bootable back up/clone of all your "stuff" from your internal drive to the partition you just created on the external drive.

Now, you stated "copy applications" (and of course any associated date filers). After you do that, what do you plan on doing with those applications? Are you doing to run them, and if so, from where? As Cory so correctly stated above, a 120 gig SSD might not be big enough to have Yosemite on it, along with your applications.. As I described above, for each of my 250 to 256 gig SSDs, for Yosemite and the applications I use, they take up about 80 to 90 gig. I also have some "extraneous" files/folders on each SSD which I could move to one of my external drives (actually, I have a copy of each such files/folders on both of my external drives).

In any event, reboot your machine, but from the SuperDuper! backup/clone you did above. Go through the steps I described in my post right above your recent one.

Next is where you would possibly need to make a decision. If you want to run applications installed on the SSD (assuming there is enough room, but having at least 10% free space left, as Cory stated), you could use Apple's Migration Assistant to "migrate (copy/install)" the applications and associated data files from that SuperDuper! backup. But, I am unsure how much you can "pick and choose" with Migration Assistant. The other day I needed to Erase, format, and partition the 20 gig SSD inside my Mac Book Air, and after installing Yosemite, I used Migration Assistant to migrate/copy all the applications and data files/folders from my most recent Mac Mini backup. Doing all of it was not an issue for me, as I knew I had more than enough "extra"space on the SSD. In fact, after doing that, and installing the OS 10.10.3 upgrades, installing the new version of Safari, and using Tech Tool Pro to create the eDrive partition on the SSD, I still have over 130 gig free.

 

[toml10643]

Basically what I want is Yosemite on my ssd so just boot files and that on there and then Have all personal files on my external hdd including applications but If you copy just the applications with drag and drop then they're all small files which means they must be hidden in like system files or something I don't have many applications that I'm worried about loosing as most are free or downloadable from steam and such, the only one I am worried about is serato which I paid £90 for and Is a one off download code and not sure if I can download again when I put my ssd in


Thanks

 

[Cory Cooper]

Unfortunately, most applications require that they be installed on the OS drive and won't work properly or even launch. Apple apps can't be updated unless they are in their default locations and Spotlight indexing is turned on. Microsoft Office will not work properly if the apps are moved out of the Microsoft Office folder. Adobe apps are the same way. It has to do with their support folders/files.

As far as Serato DJ, just make sure you deactivate the license before you start this process. Once you are done and have re-installed it, simply activate it again. Definitely get in touch with Serato Support to confirm so that you don't lose the licensing.

C

 

[honestone]

If you use SuperDuper! to make a bootable backup/clone of your system, then you can run the applications from that. But, that requires starting up your Mac from that bootable SuperDuper! backup.

I'm still confused by what applications you want where, how you want to run them, etc.