How to Clone Your Old Drive to New SSD in macOS for MacBook Pro, etc.

In this video, I'll show you how to clone your old hard drive to a new SSD after you upgrade your MacBook Pro. This will copy your old macOS, applications, and files to your new SSD drive.
What you need: 1 of the following:
Here's a USB to SATA Adapter:
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or
USB to SATA Enclosure:
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[@songsan807]

Thanks so much for this great video. Discover your channel about a week ago and watched many of your videos as I follow along upgrading a few of my older mac minis. I added a 1TB WD NVME to a 2014 Mac Mini. It kept getting stuck trying to use Time Machine of the backup to restore. Installing a fresh install of Monterey still take about 30 mins and then it stop. This morning I follow this video to just go through the cloning process and it took about 8 minutes and after changing the NVME as the startup disk everything is perfect. Save me so much time and hassle from your videos. Thanks.

[@FamilyGeekery]

Happy to help! Thanks for watching!

[@1dblazer]

Nice, simple, easy to follow instructions. Worked perfectly.

[@Mattfghdghd]

You know how many other website reviews i read that were so complicated with installing software (some paid) to clone drives and this is so simple! Great video and will use when i upgrade my laptop later.

[@KNOWLEDGELEARNED]

I wanna thanks you so much for this I just finished up on this one and it took me a whole year because I had a faulted ssd and got a newer one yesterday and it got completed the same way yours did and I’m so happy with it I’m glad I stayed in the game and quitters never win

[@FamilyGeekery]

Glad it worked out for you! Thanks for watching.

[@mrdhksan]

Thanks. Just wondering why we can ‘ignore’ the “Untitled - Data partition” on the original drive.

[@mando0414]

Thank you so much. I had done this using other software and never using Disk Utilities. It worked perfect. Cool little project for my son and I. Thanks again.

[@FROILANDRES]

Thanks for the video! Just to add that In the case your Original Storage is ENCRYPTED, you must first Mount and Unlock it by typing your Log-in password before Restoring.

[@jonathanranes5733]

I'm doing exactly what you said but then getting restore process has failed after

[@LOWRLEVL]

Same here

[@willcarter7079]

Go into terminal and clean disk. Format to apfs. Disc utility for some reason will not prepare a disc for the restore process. You have to prepare the disc by running terminal commands.

[@jonsanserino3485]

Well done - Now I can do this for my friend even though I am a PC guy. You show how easy it is.

[@stevesloan6775]

Regarding the restore progress-bar, could you possibly go to the top menu an choose window, bring to front. 😊

[@T80Delta]

Mid-2009 MB Pro here - click edit in top left corner in order to access the "restore" option...

[@davidngo1950]

Nice video,simple and easy to follow.Thank you so much

[@gerardosanchez3221]

Great instruction easy to follow. Thanks for sharing. Used this to update the hard drive and ram on my older 2012 Macbook Pro .

[@FamilyGeekery]

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!

[@dylansmith9156]

I’m upgrading my 2012 MacBook Air to a 2017 MacBook Pro very soon! This video was just what I need. I had all my info backed up on an external SSD and am looking forward to cloning it to the MacBook Pro.

[@siamak1]

Thank you. I know this an old video. This was exactly need it to do.

[@gregoirejouffroy2772]

Awesome. very clear and didactic, thanks !!!

[@FamilyGeekery]

Thank you for watching!

[@deadmanprodinc]

Nice refresher, thank you.

[@user-my8bz3rg6x]

I do all like you but always have error ossstatus 22

[@rajajmera7049]

Hi! After i go macOS utilities...and select Disk Utility, nothing happens...can't select continue...what to do?

[@PauloGalvao-hc2pu]

Hi Chris! Thanks for another GREAT video! Can't that "cloning" be done using Time Machine Backups? Thanks again!

[@FamilyGeekery]

Yes, Time Machine is great. But sometimes you just want an exact copy without using the Time Machine tool to back it up and restore it. Thanks for watching!

[@rbnjr]

If the old drive was in the machine and a new drive in your hand start clone process. not sure why you removed the old drive .

[@MartaPerez-Evans]

How do I retrieve data from my iMac (2017) Fusion Drive? The Imac does not boot and I have no back up.

[@danielr.schafer9504]

Is it possible to clone from another computer… I have two Imac both are 2011 #1 has 8g ram 500 gb HD I5, #2 has 16 gb ram and an I7 SSD. Can I use target mode for cloning Imac #2? Thank for your imput!

[@MajedTaib]

You just gained a new sub!! Love your contents

[@FamilyGeekery]

Thank you for the kind words! And thanks for watching.

[@YouWillBe322]

I need to know something; I have my old HDD from my Powerbook G3 Pismo that I somehow converted into an MBR partition map drive. To convert it back I want to clone or create an image so I can put it back onto a drive that has Apple Partition Map. But I don't know if it is even feasible at all.

[@MrDjpimenta1]

Very nice ! Congrats from Brasil !

[@FamilyGeekery]

Thanks! And I used to work with a guy from Brazil. Such a fascinating language you all have. Thanks for watching!

[@mrmaxgain]

How do you deal with Boot Camp? I have a dual partition drive with Mac OS and a Windows 7 Ultimate.

[@alexseleznioff3183]

My iMac has a 1TB HDD and i have 2 partitions .. 1 with MacOS High Sierra 500GB and 1 with WIndows 10 Pro... how can i clone this disk to SSD 1TB ... please inform me Thanks .

[@glend3139]

I have an old Fusion Drive. I think you can’t clone that? Could you clone the HD when still installed in the Mac to the SSD and then install to replace the old HD?

[@mrstf]

Yes !

[@wildcatDIY]

Loving your videos! I have a 2021 MBP, but also an older 2012 MBP that has seen better days. I already bumped the RAM to 16 GB, and have a 1TB SSD on order. My optical drive has since died. Have you ever replaced one? Or have you ever added a secondary hard drive (either HDD or SSD) in the space where the optical drive goes? Thanks for the detailed and easy-to-follow videos! I subscribed :D

[@FamilyGeekery]

I have a video where I used a “drive doubler” to replace the optical. It worked well, but I actually took it out to use in a different laptop. But look at my 3 part upgrade video (should be a 13” 2012 I think)

[@wildcatDIY]

@@FamilyGeekery Ok, awesome, will do - thanks!

[@WhatSkarletSees]

Did anyone else's Mac ask for the internet access after booting recovery mode? Is this normal?

[@johnmiic]

Do you have a video to do this on an older Mac - Titanium?

[@anthonydipizzio1623]

Awesome video!! I have a mid 2012 that keeps turning off when profile is loading or barely gets to desktop. Wondering if it’s worth buying an ssd and trying this clone approach. I have the other ssd form, longer, more narrow and thinner. So I’d also have to buy an adapter that works with it right? Or is same as your adapter? Thanks! Learned a lot from this vid

[@chaos1291975]

will this work for a older imac with cantina on it.

[@xenosonic]

This is not work for me at all. I have Macbook pro Mid 2012. Firstly the disk utility looks totally different. No matter what I do, when restoring, I keep getting error 254, cannot validate source

[@silveralsr]

Nice video. I got a question my MBP has a SSD with a second partition for Boot camp, if I use the same method will it do the 2nd partition as well? I want to upgrade to a bigger SSD.

[@yeahlos]

Hello and thank you for the video! When I try erasing the new SSD drive to format, APFS is not an option. The options I have for the format section are: OS X Extended (Journaled) OS X Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) MS-DOS (FAT) ExFAT In this case, which format and scheme should I choose? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[@brucehambrick1937]

Awesome. It worked Awesome. Thanks 😎👍🏿

[@laptopduonggia]

thanks for your sharing .

[@bradasstv]

I know this video is a year old and I appreciate your easy instructions, but i have a question. Is it possible to use this to clone a druve that has bootcamp partition with windows too? Ihave a windows partition on my old drive that I would also oike cloned onto my new drive, but obviously larger since Im going drom 128gb total to 1 tb on the new drive. I used to build computers, but its been over 15 years and I am hoping this isnt very hard for my old brain lol

[@SevkiErgun]

Also when trying to Restore from external it says Restore process has failed. "The volume on device "/dev/disk2" is not wof type Apple_HFS or Apple_UFS. Could not validate source - Device not configured. The SATA USB cord had two blue light on it.. Is the problem the SATA USB cable device..?

[@davidanderson2305]

My new drive did not grey out when I started the restore.

[@MegaPhetogo]

Thanks for the video. Will the same apply if one clones from intel (2019) to the M1 chip?

[@dubba1966]

I couldn't even format my new ssd drive just kept getting error messages

[@CarlosRuiz-nx3vm]

Interesting video, thanks.

[@FamilyGeekery]

Thanks for watching!

[@taylord2hunt]

What would happen if you selected Reinstall macOS? I plan to use my old HD as an External. Will “Reinstall macOS” make it like it was a new MacBook Pro?

[@czetanm]

How reliable is this method? Can we do this on the old HDD where the MacOS is installed? I want to swap it with a SSD? I am a musician with a lot of programs & plugins and other important data on the HDD partition where the MacOS is installed. Do not want to risk any of the data to get in to issues later while running the programs. Since i am regularly running into less space & speed issues with my 2012 MBP pro i would want to swap out the old HDD. Unfortunately this 2012 MBP pro is the best out there do not want to buy the new laptops. I feel they are not sturdy enough for my rough use as a performing artist.

[@FamilyGeekery]

Yes, you can do it in the reverse order, where you clone your existing hdd to the new SSD before you change your hardware. Then you could use the “hold down option” boot method to boot to the new ssd (while it’s still external) to test everything out before swapping the drives. So just use a boot drive to boot to macOS recovery - use disk utility to clone from HDD to SSD - then reboot (holding option) to test. Good luck, and thanks for watching!

[@monicaselina9580]

If my old HHD is unrepairable can I still clone to the new one and recover files or will it mess up the new one as well?

[@guidelineuk4876]

Hi what do I do if I've already formatted it with time machine can I just go ahead and install it into my Mac mini And then select the drive in safe recovery mode. ?

[@alexythimia23]

This is what I want to know too

[@AncestryOfficial]

Would This work from an imac Hard drive to a macbook pro? I tried just swaping it but the "laptop" features of the macbook pro like the light keyboard were gone

[@FamilyGeekery]

I'm sure there are certain drivers and settings that would differ between a laptop and an imac. I would probably just backup all your data (or use time machine) and restore that way.

[@Soreckless1]

What happens if im seeing internet recovery mode vs the standard recovery mode

[@WaffleStar28]

Hey there! can i inverse the method? I got an m.2 mkey to usb adapter. So i was wondering if i just can plug my NEW ssd to usb go Recovery mode and mirror copy my Internal SSD to my USB SSD and then change them?

[@user-cn6ql9yz9y]

good one

[@1haggler]

If my CMD key worked I'd be able to enter disk utility on boot 😆 Trying reverse approach; new SSD formatting through disk utility after booted up. Formatted new SSD worked chose Mac OS Extended (journaled)on format choice, but looks like I still have to restart to access the recovery system, in order to use restore source. Anybody else doing this clone method w/out a functioning CMD key?

[@punishrs]

I recently made an installer usb drive its 64gb. It has 4 partition on it with 4 different macOS. It took me a while to make it, I’m new to the macOS environment. I wanted to make a backup of my usb to store away Incase of corruption that may happen down the road. How would I copy the whole usb to another usb of the same size? Thank you. I have Mac mini 2014.

[@dannybe1186]

Great video Have my SSD & Ram arriving today. Been looking for info regarding my old HDD and how I transfer. Just out of interest do you have a video where you just select the files rather than full clone.

[@FamilyGeekery]

No, no video. I’ve explained it loosely a few times as an option. But if you use one of the usb-sata adapters on your old drive, you can just explore it and grab whatever files you need. Thanks for watching!

[@Roger-bh9hm]

Does this work cloning a i7 mac to a m3?

[@fachrydannyarifin3977]

my current new SSD Internal running Catalina OS, meanwhile my old HDD run OS High Sierra. What if i restored the files, would the current Internal SSD run the old version of OS?

[@taegibs7798]

I'm going from a 2015 air to a 2017 pro will this work ?

[@FamilyGeekery]

Probably the best thing to do in your case is use Time Machine.

[@chrischristoforou7245]

Thanks for your Video ,very nice and easy to follow and understand how to do the job . Can you please let me know if Samsung 870 EVO 1TB saga III SSD is gone to work on the same mac pro you have ? and what is the maximum memory i can go with ? DDR3 or DDR4 Thanks

[@FamilyGeekery]

Yes, pretty much any 2.5” sata ssd would work. And ddr3 vs ddr4 depends on your model. Most upgradeable macs from 2009-2012 would use ddr3, but there are different speeds also.

[@anticluka_]

i can’t change the volume, that is problem for me, can anyone help me

[@SevkiErgun]

When formating the new ssd, I don't have the APFS you show on your video. Instead I have Mac OS Extended (Journaled), (Journaled, Encrypted), (Case-sensitive, Journaled), (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted), ExFAT, and MS-DOS (FAT) Which one should I choose? THANK YOU.

[@yeahlos]

I’m having the same issue. Did you find a solution? Thanks!

[@SevkiErgun]

@@yeahlos No. Apple phone support might be a good option (free)

[@SevkiErgun]

@@yeahlos I tried every option that was available. None of them worked. Therefore I think it’s the connecting cable…

[@360visualsolutions6]

Does this method work if the HD removed is a spinning one or is it just for a solid state (that's been removed) to new solid states? I have a mid-2012 and it's the original hard drive I want to replace with a 2TB solid-state drive. Thanks!

[@chidiuche754]

How did you go about it?

[@bobejonesjr]

Hi....I like your simply to follow video and just subscribed to your channel. I'm upgrading my Mid 2014 MacBook Pro's 256 SSD to a 1T SSD. I had TRIM installed on the old SSD so do you recommend TRIM be installed on the new drive and if so, what method do you recommend. Thanks!

[@FamilyGeekery]

Watch this video, it should answer those questions (yes you should enable) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmPMqaKkdpalnac

[@dipzb261]

I don’t even have the restore icon lol I am trying to clone my hd and put the clone in another Mac but I don’t have the restore icon

[@PauloGalvao-hc2pu]

I got the folder with a question mark

[@raheemlegend]

I tried but my Mac os Catalina requires a new user n password to setup

[@moefeaux1442]

Does this work if going from the original 500GB HHD to a 256GB SSD or does it only work if the new drive is the same or larger size?

[@eddiem4868]

It would be best to match the 500gb incase your data usage is over 256gb

[@dansowerby2116]

What if I already have a new SSD [1TB PCIe] in my Mac, a 2014 MacBook air, but I spilled Coca Cola into the mac and now it's potentially cactus. Assuming that the SSD is okay, because the residue from the soda was mainly in the power input section, can I just grab the SSD out and put it in a 'new' old old mac? [donor body of the same-ish or same model]

[@RelavantBeats]

My 2012 MacBook Pro that I used for music production wouldn’t turn on. I got a 2019 MacBook Pro now, but don’t want to have to reinstall a decade plus worth of sound libraries. Would this cloning method mean i can just clone my old hard drive to the new MacBook and avoid the reinstallation process?

[@FamilyGeekery]

If the two computers are running the same macOS I think you’d be ok. I don’t have any experience in restoring one computers backup to another (with a big age difference). Good news is, you won’t lose anything from your old computer in the process. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@RelavantBeats]

@@FamilyGeekerywhat if the new max has a newer os? Would it still work?

[@FamilyGeekery]

I honestly don’t know. It’s obviously better than if the target had an older OS, but I’ve never tried. Looks like I’ll have to set up some tests and make some more videos, lol.

[@raphvillorante9653]

How long does it take the cloning process, approximately. Thanks!

[@raphvillorante9653]

Its been 2hrs now since the clone starts. How to stop this clone process? I would like to try again.

[@gustavobb17]

If I do this, I have programs that I’ve paid licensing for..will my programs run as if everything was the same before upgrading?

[@FamilyGeekery]

Yes, the cloning process should make everything seem exactly how it was. And you’ll still have your old drive just in case something doesn’t work right. Good luck! And thanks for watching!

[@panchoskywalker]

I have a 2009 mb pro with all the upgrades (SSD, RAM) but it is starting to get slow so I was thinking getting a second hand mb pro 2017 without touchbar but I wonder if it is possible to this thing you show on this video so I don't have to chase down all the softwares again. So my question would be: Can I clone an SSD into a 2017 ssd? Also I am running EL Capitan, would that be a problem?

[@nucreation9833]

can you share a link to a SATA to USB adapter on amazon for a macbook 2009 that has 2.0 USB?

[@FamilyGeekery]

This kit has one. But I imaging most usb 3.0 versions would be backwards compatible (just slower, of course). amzn.to/3ZyllUu

[@klvnco]

can this be done using windows to clone mac to another ssd?

[@enobongthomas1138]

I just cloned my old drive to a new one and inserted it back and it is working. But I see another disck tittled 'Update'. Please what should do, or should I ignore it because the new drive is working fine?

I have a question: My Mac has a 500gb HDD with only around 90gb used. Can I clone it to a 256gb SSD, since the data occupies only 90gb? Thanks

[@danstrayer111]

can you put the old HD in Target mode and copy what you want ?

[@FamilyGeekery]

Target mode usually refers to the hard drive being installed in a separate computer. You could do that, but I find the cheap sata to usb adapters work great.

[@danstrayer111]

@@FamilyGeekery thanks for the reply...I have this very issue coming in about 2 days

[@OpiKadafi]

does the app also gon clone to new ssd?

[@lavinchi6709]

Thank you so much✨👏👑

[@FamilyGeekery]

You are so welcome

[@samuel_ford04]

please will the files on your old HDD be removed after the clone?

[@FamilyGeekery]

Cloning will not clear the old hard drive. You can do that manually afterwards. Thanks for watching!

[@platinumbenzman]

It didnt work for me

[@daveyboy8907]

I used a external cloning machine from Amazon to clone mine and my MacBook 2012 min recognizes it as a 1 terrabyte ssd but it still says my start up disc is full.. I had a 500g hhd and now a 1 terrabyte ssd but it won't let me access it..Thanks I'm stuck

[@FamilyGeekery]

Sometimes the cloning machine will just copy the partition but not expand the size to the new drive’s full capacity.

[@swagchief98]

I just got a 2014 Mac mini and wanted to swap out the HDD for an SSD I had lying around. I skipped the erase disk step because the restore utility said it was going to erase the disk so I was like "ok that's fine". After taking the whole thing apart (why is the drive the deepest component in this system?) and put the SSD in. Let's just say I was laughing and annoyed when the windows 10 recovery screen showed up 😂🤬

[@abdulkhaliquekhan7890]

Is it really necessary to copy the data in to ssd

[@FamilyGeekery]

You don't need to. You can just install a fresh OS. This is just for people who don't want to backup their data and re-download any apps, etc.

[@dannylopez7411]

So if it’s backed up on Time Machine, you should be ok once you install new SSD?

[@rivciks5045]

Hmm. I can't boot. You didn't explain how to copy the EFI partition as well. In order to boot you also need to have an EFI partition. Edit: You need manually copy all your EFI files into your new hard drive's EFI partition. That's it! Works!

[@3trakman3]

Can this be done when upgrading the Mac OS as well?? For instance....I have an iMac coming with Big Sur installed...and I wanna clone my old MacBook Pro SSD to the new iMac SSD but my MacBook Pro is running Monterey. Is this possible?? Trying to avoid reinstalling all of my music programs and vsts........I usually just reinstall everything.

[@FamilyGeekery]

Maybe making a Time Machine backup would work? I’ve never tried from a MacBook to an iMac, but it’s worth a shot. When you first setup your iMac, it should give you an option of restoring from a Time Machine backup.

[@RebellionBloodshed]

Eres un bacan chichico

[@FamilyGeekery]

Gracias!