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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Moving OS X System Software

RJN - Feb 24, 2008 - 10:14 pm

I have a Mac Pro with 4 hard bays. I recently installed a new 1TB hard drive in one of the empty drive bays. I would like to know the best way to move the System Software (10.5.2) from one hard drive to another. Can I just drag the contents from the start up drive on to the new drive or do I need to do a clean install of 10.5 on the new drive? The new drive has been formatted so it can be used as a boot drive.

Thank you,

rjn

earthsaver - Feb 25, 2008 - 12:04 am

You can't just drag it because there are many files you don't have natural permission to move, plus there are a many invisible files that are required for operation. The simplest method is to use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your hard disk to the new drive. You can be selective and not move your user folder, for example, if all you want is a clean OS that can be set up with a new user account. Bombich Software can provide a more elaborate explanation of its functionality and the possibilities of your use. Or, as you say, you can use your OS X Install DVD to install Leopard freshly on the second disk.

- Ben

RJN - Feb 27, 2008 - 9:00 pm

What I want is to move the contents of my current boot drive (500 GB) to the new larger drive and then boot from that disk. I'll eventually remove the 500GB drive to make room for another 1TB drive. So, it sounds like I should just use the Carbon Copy Center software to move the whole disk to the larger drive. That will keep everything the same as before and keep me from having to move everything to the correct folders if I did a clean install.

Thank you.

earthsaver - Feb 27, 2008 - 9:05 pm

Exactly.