Upgrade OS SSD?

[jancy]

I have a perfectly working Yosemite install but want to upgrade my SSD to a 500gb from a 250gb. What is the best way to do this and not have to install again or lose data?

 

[Jithin.C.V]

I have a perfectly working Yosemite install but want to upgrade my SSD to a 500gb from a 250gb. What is the best way to do this and not have to install again or lose data?

You can use the clone functionality, however you have to install the boot loader again.

 

[jancy]

How exactly would I do that?

 

[Going Bald]

How exactly would I do that?

There are several ways to clone your drive. You can use Disk Utility to create an image of your system, then restore that image to a partition on a larger drive that is the same size as the existing drive. Once restored you can then extend the OS X partition to include the entire drive if you want.

You can download Carbon Copy Cloner http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
and use it to clone your drive. Note that the free version does not clone the boot loader files from the SSD MBR/PBR so you must re-install the boot loader to the clone. No big deal, just run the boot loader install app and point the installer at the clone SSD.

or

You can download SuperDuper http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/13803/superduper and do the same thing. Same caveat about the boot loader applies to the free version.

 

[jancy]

Ok so for the guy who is not so versed in hackintosh....I am using clover...how would I reinstall the bootloader? Wouldn't I need to boot into OSX to do this?

 

[Jithin.C.V]

Ok so for the guy who is not so versed in hackintosh....I am using clover...how would I reinstall the bootloader? Wouldn't I need to boot into OSX to do this?

Once you completed the cloning, boot into the clone with a bootable USB's help. Then install clover with proper options selected. Copy the config.plist.

 

[Pirum]

A couple of days ago I did a similar thing, moved my Yosemite installation from one SSD to another. Checking earlier threads I got the recommendation to use Clonezilla which can clone everything including bootloader. It worked great.

Clonezilla is free. Other free options are EaseUS Disk Copy Free Edition which was also recommended in another thread (but might be limited to 1TB data, can't remember)

To minimize the risk of something going wrong (after making proper time machine backup + superduper backup to external drives) I disconnected all other hard drives and kept just the 2 SSDs running while using Clonezilla. Clonezilla is Linux and textbased and can boot from optical disk or USB, I used optical.

After making sure all worked fine I used OSX Disk Utility to expand the size of the main partition to fill the new SSD.