So a week ago I was told on this website that if I wanted to make my Mac (MacBook Pro early 2011, 13") really faster, I should replace my HDD with an SSD. And I'm about to buy this Samsung SSD. But one question went threw my mind.
After I physically install the SSD in the computer, how do I install the OS? I want to do a fresh install, but will there be a menu that asks me what I want to do with this new SSD, whether I want to import data from my old hard drive, or completely reinstall an OS?
I think I will need a USB stick with the El Capitan installer, but how will I proceed next?
Best Answer
If your HDD is still mounted you can download El Capitan from the Apple App Store and create a USB installer thumb drive:
Use the
createinstallmedia
command in Terminal to create the bootable installer. Examples of this command are in the next section. For detailed usage instructions, make sure that the appropriate Install OS X app is in your Applications folder, then enter one of the following paths in Terminal:If you already attached the SSD you can use Internet Recovery Mode (hold cmdR or altcmdR while booting) to first partition the new internal drive and then restore the original system (10.7 Lion). Then - after configuring Lion - you can to upgrade to El Capitan. This is not recommended because it takes at least twice the time/download.