G4 Ibook HD cloning via usb

wslctrc · Nov 22nd, 2009, 10:59 PM

A friend wants me to upgrade the hd in his G4 Ibook and wants it to be like nothing happened. I have done this with fw on my own laptops but never with usb. time is not important so don't care about that. Did a search and found disc utility will do the job.

I will back up his hard drive to a third drive for safety first.

Just want to confirm with the pros on the site of the process of copying/cloning.
I have an external case to give him for the old drive I had laying around, everything is ide.
The new drive is formatted as dos right now and will start out in the external case.

I assume the rest but would appreciate clarity from the pros.

After booting and opening disc utility what is the process?
I have one shot and my buddy can't afford to lose anything nor do I want to delve through the hardware a second time to swap the drives.

Thanks in advance

John Clay · Nov 22nd, 2009, 11:27 PM

You can clone to USB with Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner easily enough, but you won't be able to boot from a USB drive on an iBook. You're wasting your time to clone to anything other than FireWire.

Edit: Reread and noticed you're cloning to the external drive first. Should be OK, but you won't be able to test it before installing it into the iBook.

wslctrc · Nov 23rd, 2009, 07:19 AM

replacing the original drive, cloning to external drive and then making the swap. The reason I need it to work first time.
It's the process I'm looking for without buying third party software, using what apple already provides.

pwstoneman · Nov 23rd, 2009, 08:53 AM

To make this process the easiest and is if nothing happened I would really suggest you consider using CCC (Carbon copy cloner). It is donation ware software and so can be tried before making a donation if you wish to continue using it.

That being said:

-Install 'new' hard drive in external enclosure
-Use Disk Utility to format/partition the drive

-Use CCC to make a bootable clone of the 'old' hard drive (currently in use)
-(if you had a FW enclosure you could test boot the new drive at this point)

-Install 'new' drive in iBook.
-Boot and play like nothing ever happened.

Cheers,
Paul

John Clay · Nov 23rd, 2009, 09:36 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by wslctrc
	replacing the original drive, cloning to external drive and then making the swap. The reason I need it to work first time. It's the process I'm looking for without buying third party software, using what apple already provides.

I wouldn't use Disk Utility to make a clone, as I've found it to be unreliable for such things. The applications I suggested are free for the purpose you want. SuperDuper has a fee to unlock more advanced options like automated backups.

eMacMan · Nov 23rd, 2009, 09:56 AM

Cloning from SuperDuper is also free. You need to pay to do incremental back-ups or restores from disk images.

HowEver · Nov 23rd, 2009, 10:01 AM

If I only had "one shot" I would make a bootable backup with a FireWire enclosure. And boot from it as a test before proceeding.

As important as the backup is (and why the heck isn't there already a backup if this data is so important?) I'd be a bit wary of the hard drive replacement in an iBook G4. That's the part that's daunting. Anybody's not so lucid cousin can execute a backup.

wslctrc · Nov 23rd, 2009, 05:22 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by pwstoneman
	To make this process the easiest and is if nothing happened I would really suggest you consider using CCC (Carbon copy cloner). It is donation ware software and so can be tried before making a donation if you wish to continue using it. That being said: -Install 'new' hard drive in external enclosure -Use Disk Utility to format/partition the drive -Use CCC to make a bootable clone of the 'old' hard drive (currently in use) -(if you had a FW enclosure you could test boot the new drive at this point) -Install 'new' drive in iBook. -Boot and play like nothing ever happened. Cheers, Paul

I think I will try CCC as you suggested, is it better than SD?

	Quote:			Originally Posted by John Clay
	I wouldn't use Disk Utility to make a clone, as I've found it to be unreliable for such things. The applications I suggested are free for the purpose you want. SuperDuper has a fee to unlock more advanced options like automated backups.

Is SD better than CCC? I am convinced not to use DU now.

	Quote:			Originally Posted by HowEver
	If I only had "one shot" I would make a bootable backup with a FireWire enclosure. And boot from it as a test before proceeding. As important as the backup is (and why the heck isn't there already a backup if this data is so important?) I'd be a bit wary of the hard drive replacement in an iBook G4. That's the part that's daunting. Anybody's not so lucid cousin can execute a backup.

I have a firewire dock but it is sata, the only external case I have that is ide is usb only. I can't see buying a new firewire case for this, even if it is to use as a backup with the old drive installed in it, even if I could find ide to firewire. My friend probably has a backup for everything he is worried about so mine would be just in case.
I have done HD upgrades/ replacements on G4 ibooks many times and also a few G4 PB's as well so it doesn't worry me about the hardware end of things. I just would rather not have to swap them around again if the cloning failed. I did that once and took way too long for the overall job, good thing it was only my daughter's ibook

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips, I will let you know how it goes. He will be dropping it off Tuesday afternoon and I will be doing it that evening.

fellfromtree · Nov 23rd, 2009, 05:34 PM

I used a usb enclosure to clone the Sata drive for my G5 because my existing external was IDE and I couldn't find a FW enclosure locally.
3.5 hours to clone 79GB via usb. Painful.

eMacMan · Nov 23rd, 2009, 10:19 PM

I have used both CCC and SD to make clones. The last time I had an issue with a clone was back in the days of Jaguar.

Most find CCC slightly easier to use.

NOTE: Cloning will erase the target drive that is the drive or the partition you are cloning to.

Personally I would try to find a FW case to match the iBooks drive that way you can boot from the external clone and give it a good test before you erase the original drive.

Nov 22nd, 2009, 10:59 PM	#1
wslctrc Full Citizen Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 459	G4 Ibook HD cloning via usb A friend wants me to upgrade the hd in his G4 Ibook and wants it to be like nothing happened. I have done this with fw on my own laptops but never with usb. time is not important so don't care about that. Did a search and found disc utility will do the job. I will back up his hard drive to a third drive for safety first. Just want to confirm with the pros on the site of the process of copying/cloning. I have an external case to give him for the old drive I had laying around, everything is ide. The new drive is formatted as dos right now and will start out in the external case. I assume the rest but would appreciate clarity from the pros. After booting and opening disc utility what is the process? I have one shot and my buddy can't afford to lose anything nor do I want to delve through the hardware a second time to swap the drives. Thanks in advance

Nov 22nd, 2009, 11:27 PM	#2
John Clay Get off my lawn! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,720	You can clone to USB with Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner easily enough, but you won't be able to boot from a USB drive on an iBook. You're wasting your time to clone to anything other than FireWire. Edit: Reread and noticed you're cloning to the external drive first. Should be OK, but you won't be able to test it before installing it into the iBook. __________________ iMac 27" 2.8Ghz Core i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB + 1TB • Samsung 24" LCD • APC Smart-UPS 1000VA UPS MacBook Pro 13" 2.26Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 500GB iPhone 4 32GB Mac mini 1.66Ghz Core Duo, 2GB RAM, 8TB, as PBX/file/web/mail server • ViewSonic 19" LCD • APC 750VA UPS SpeedTouch 516 • Linksys WRT54GL • NETGEAR GS108 switch TekSavvy DSL • Voip.ms VoIP

Nov 23rd, 2009, 09:56 AM	#6
eMacMan Honourable Citizen Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,963	Cloning from SuperDuper is also free. You need to pay to do incremental back-ups or restores from disk images. __________________ Do NOT Touch this computer!!! Touching this computer WILL cause irreversible brain damage.

Nov 23rd, 2009, 10:01 AM	#7
HowEver Honourable Citizen Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: GTEh Posts: 14,324	If I only had "one shot" I would make a bootable backup with a FireWire enclosure. And boot from it as a test before proceeding. As important as the backup is (and why the heck isn't there already a backup if this data is so important?) I'd be a bit wary of the hard drive replacement in an iBook G4. That's the part that's daunting. Anybody's not so lucid cousin can execute a backup. __________________ ...

Nov 23rd, 2009, 05:34 PM	#9
fellfromtree Denizen Join Date: May 2005 Location: far from the tree Posts: 429	I used a usb enclosure to clone the Sata drive for my G5 because my existing external was IDE and I couldn't find a FW enclosure locally. 3.5 hours to clone 79GB via usb. Painful. __________________ MacBook 2.26, Nano.

Nov 23rd, 2009, 07:19 AM	#3
wslctrc Full Citizen Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 459	replacing the original drive, cloning to external drive and then making the swap. The reason I need it to work first time. It's the process I'm looking for without buying third party software, using what apple already provides.

Nov 23rd, 2009, 08:53 AM	#4
pwstoneman Full Citizen Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Whitby Ontario Posts: 71	To make this process the easiest and is if nothing happened I would really suggest you consider using CCC (Carbon copy cloner). It is donation ware software and so can be tried before making a donation if you wish to continue using it. That being said: -Install 'new' hard drive in external enclosure -Use Disk Utility to format/partition the drive -Use CCC to make a bootable clone of the 'old' hard drive (currently in use) -(if you had a FW enclosure you could test boot the new drive at this point) -Install 'new' drive in iBook. -Boot and play like nothing ever happened. Cheers, Paul

Nov 23rd, 2009, 10:19 PM	#10
eMacMan Honourable Citizen Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,963	I have used both CCC and SD to make clones. The last time I had an issue with a clone was back in the days of Jaguar. Most find CCC slightly easier to use. NOTE: Cloning will erase the target drive that is the drive or the partition you are cloning to. Personally I would try to find a FW case to match the iBooks drive that way you can boot from the external clone and give it a good test before you erase the original drive. __________________ Do NOT Touch this computer!!! Touching this computer WILL cause irreversible brain damage.

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