Using external hard disk's data connector to clone mac

[Siddbass]

Hey! I have a very important question. I want to upgrade my 2012 non-retina macbook pro with a Samsung 850 evo pro or 850 evo 256 gb. I am currently running a stock mechanical hard drive. The problem is that I don't wanna spend an extra 10-20 dollars on a sata to USB connector.

I own a verbatim store n go ext. Hard drive and it uses a Seagate momentus 5400 2.5" hard drive with the same connector. Can I use it to clone my mechanical hard drive already in the Mac? Is it safe? Also can you guys give me tips on what to do and what not to do in this regard. I am ki d of a newbie.

And also what software should I use and should I go for Samsung 850 evo or 850 pro or if need be 840 evo? Will this set up cause any problems whatsoever and will I be able to update to el Capitan if I update.

And if say the ssd fails can I plug back the mechanical hdd and use it from there?

I know its a lot of info, but I would really appreciate the help. thanks!

[ALwin]

Yes you should be able to use your external HDD case as long as the connectors are of the same type as your new SSD.  There may be a slight issue with slow data transfer speeds over USB though.

 

Mac Disk Utility should be enough to clone your drive.

 

And yes as long as you don't format your old drive, if your Mac doesn't boot from the new SSD after you installed it internally you can switch back to the old drive.

 

http://www.newertech.com/tech_support/manuals/mac/clon_data.php

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there Siddbass and welcome to the community  

 

Cloning a HDD on a SSD involves risks of data corruption, data loss and the SSD being recognized as a HDD and thus being susceptible to defragmentation. I would try to back up as much data as I can and then to a fresh install on the SSD of everything just to be on the safe side that there won't be problems with drivers and compatibility. 

 

New drives usually come with software for cloning that is free to use with them and it's provided by the manufacturer so I'd look into that. Make sure you back up your data before proceeding with anything so you don't lose anything important (on a drive that won't take part in the cloning/installing process).

 

Captain_WD.

[Siddbass]

is this a problem in mac osx yosemite too? of all the tutorials i have seen i see mostly cloning of the hard drive. i had no idea there was a problem like this. thanks! any work around? 

[ALwin]

is this a problem in mac osx yosemite too? of all the tutorials i have seen i see mostly cloning of the hard drive. i had no idea there was a problem like this. thanks! any work around? 

 

Just do a fresh install of OSX on the SSD and use the old drive as an external drive to copy over files and applications.  OSX unlike Windows makes moving applications over to a new drive easy.

 

Also there are several online guides for replacing your HDD with a SSD on your Macbook. Don't be lazy, Google is your friend.  I've already given you a link to one guide.

 

The issues he described have nothing to do with the operating system.  It has more to do with the software used to clone a drive when you clone a HDD onto a SSD.

[Siddbass]

So I guess cloning is a no go. Well, that's okay. I will wait for osx el Capitan and go from there. I will probably do it next year just to be sure I don't void my warranty. Thanks guys!