[SOLVED] Looking to Clone/Replace HDD in 2008 Macbook

[Squeeky]

I have a late 2008 Aluminum Macbook with a 5400 RPM 160 Gb HDD running Mac OS X 10.9.3. I would like to replace the drive with a 240 Gb Crucial M500 SSD.
I've read in this thread that a non-Apple OEM SSD requires some specific software to run in a Macbook or any Apple computer. When I bought this SSD the description claims that the drive is okay for Mac OS X, but I'm wary due to what was said in that thread.

I was wondering if this link was an accurate step by step process for what I'm trying to do. I don't have an external enclosure for my old drive, but I do have an external drive that I can partition.
This brings up another concern. Will a Time Machine backup be sufficient for a full clone, or do I need to use another method to clone the old HDD onto an unassigned partition on the external drive, which I can then use as a source drive to clone to the SSD?

If all of the above is incorrect or will result in some sort of catastrophe, what could I do to transfer all my data onto my new SSD?

 

[Ijack]

Can you dedicate your external drive to this purpose? OS X needs to be installed on a drive partitioned with the GPT partitioning scheme, which will most likely mean wiping the drive first. The best sotware to use for the cloning is
probably SuperDuper. You then:

1. Use Disk Utilities to create a single partition on the external drive, using the GPT partitioning scheme.

2. Use SuperDuper to clone your hard disk to the external drive.

3. Install SSD.

4. Boot from external drive.

5. Repeat steps 1 and 2, this time working with the SSD and cloning the external drive to it.

6. Done.

At no stage does this process write to the original hard disk, so it should be 100% safe (as long as you get your source and destination drives right). I know that some SSDs need a firmware upgrade to work with a Mac but I should think that one you buy today should work out of the box. You might want to check your model of Mac on the Crucial web site just to be sure.

Time Machine is great for backups, but not so good for a cloning operation. Whilst you could use it it would be a slower and more involved process. SuperDuper is ideal for this purpose (and it's free!).

 

[Squeeky]

The external drive is a 1TB drive, with one 500 Gb partition listed as Time Machine Backups and the other 500 Gb being unlabeled. The drive is partitioned in the Mac OS Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled) format.
When I try to create a second partition, there is no GPT option, unless the other options simply carry a name other than GPT but is otherwise identical.

The other options besides the one listed above are:
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
MS-DOS (FAT)
ExFAT
Free Space

The SSD I bought is indeed listed as a compatible upgrade for my system according to Crucial's website.

Additionally, will I need to wipe the external drive completely to clone my old HDD and boot to it, or can I use the partition I'm trying to create?


EDIT: After reading a bit on this page under the header "Apple Support for GPT," it seems that my Macbook's internal HDD was already formatted in GPT, and when I look at it in Disk Utility, it's labeled as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Does this mean that that name is an Apple-applied nickname for GPT, and that I can format the second partition on the external drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and follow your instructions replacing GPT with that?

 

[Ijack]

The disk that you clone to also needs to be GPT formatted (so that you can create a bootable partition on it). This appears under the "Advanced" options when you partition the disk. With that proviso, you don't need to wipe the disk, just use blank space to create a new partition. If you select the external disk (the disk itself, not a partition on it) in Disk Utility then select "Get Info" from the right-click menu it will tell you how it is partitioned. You want:

Partition Map Scheme : GUID Partition Table

but I suspect that you will see

Partition Map Scheme : MBR Partition Table

If the latter you cannot create a bootable OS X partition on it.

Cloning in the way I described is the easiest way to copy your disk, but there are alternatives:

1. Buy a cheap external drive enclosure (cost $20-30). Then you could put your original hard disk in that, the SSD in the Mac, boot off the external drive and clone it to the SSD.

2. Create install media on a USB key (cost next to nothing), install the SSD, boot from the USB key and do a minimal install - http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/how-to-make-your-own-bootable-os-x-10-9-mavericks-usb-install-drive/ ; then restore everything from your Time Machine backup. In fact, if you are installing Mountain Lion or Mavericks (possibly Lion too) you can combine the install and TM restore. With a more modern Mac you can do an install from scratch without any media, just an Internet connection; unfortunately, your Mac doesn't support this.

3. Buy an additional external hard disk (about $50 for a 500GB one).

In any case you will end up with hardware that you can then use for other purposes. An external disk caddy is always useful as is a USB key if you don't already have a few spare ones. 1. is the easiest option if you can justify the expense. 2. is cheaper, but a little more work.

 

[Squeeky]

I thank you for your help. Due to (alleged) convenience and the potential future use, I think I'll pick up a cheap disk caddy. Thank you so much.