…and it's working perfectly.

Yes, as several members suggested and as I did with the Mini, once I had the right drive to copy everything went as smooth as butter.

I had gotten to the point of frustration, as you can probably tell, where I was screaming for help.

Everything that was offered as a solution was not viable or I had already tried it unsuccessfully.

The good news is that I suddenly realized that I did have a suitable drive installed on my MacPro from which I could clone a decent copy on to the SSD…

…and it's done!

I using it now. Everything seems to be working just fine, although I will have to do some refining. Updating apps and making connections to the many files that would be too big to bring over to the SSD, and so on.

This was the original Apple drive 100GB drive that came installed on the Mac Pro and since it is so small I hardly ever used it. Fortunately, I upgraded it to Lion a while back, so it was the perfect candidate for me to copy over to the SSD. As far as I can see, most if not all of my apps were on this drive.

I will need assistance in figuring out how to link to files/data on my previous main drive.

As I understand it, I should be able to set things up so that it will appear that the files are on the SSD even though they're not. So how do I do that? Aliases?

Also, I'll have to figure out how to set up an ongoing backup program.

Please give me a day or two to see where I am with the SSD and the, perhaps, I can get an assist in making the (virtual?) connections from my (old) main drive to the SSD Desktop, etc.

I'm exhausted, but I feel as if there's more that I want to do.

At least I'm over the hump and I'm feeling very happy about it.

Best wishes to all who posted their ideas,

Gene

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

!!!

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2014 05:28AM by Speedy.

Congrats and go into cool-down mode for a couple of days to give YOUR system time to re-boot.

Stress and anxiety are platform agnostic. Chill, dude!

Congrats, again!

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

Gene,

Glad you got it done! Kick back and enjoy some downtime. You've earned it!

Robert

Congratulations.
Here's a zucchini.

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The Phorum Wall keeps us safe from illegal characters and words
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of one's own ignorance. -Benjamin Franklin
BOYCOTT YOPLAIT [www.noyoplait.com]
[soundcloud.com]

Glad you got it done

---

Northern California Coast

Terrific!

Quote
billb
Congratulations.
Here's a zucchini.

Are those from your garden?

What's "done?"
He's got part of an outdated backup installed and still has to figure out how he's going to be able to access most of his files.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Quote
Black
What's "done?"
He's got part of an outdated backup installed and still has to figure out how he's going to be able to access most of his files.

Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? Can't we have a little moment here?

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rj
AKA
Vreemac, Moth of the Future

Quote
rjmacs

Quote
Black
What's "done?"
He's got part of an outdated backup installed and still has to figure out how he's going to be able to access most of his files.

Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? Can't we have a little moment here?

Sorry, I'm finding this forum's approach to helping Gene unusually brain-dead. The way he ended up accomplishing this is going to be a mess to get working.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Clone your SSD now...just in case you need to reformat.

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Quote
wowzer
Clone your SSD now...just in case you need to reformat.

I would wipe the SSD and re-clone from his current main 1TB drive, with some sort of systematic )=as simple as possible) approach to determining which sub-folders not to bring over.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Quote
Black

Quote
rjmacs

Quote
Black
What's "done?"
He's got part of an outdated backup installed and still has to figure out how he's going to be able to access most of his files.

gure out how he's going to be able to access most of his files.

Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? Can't we have a little moment here?

Sorry, I'm finding this forum's approach to helping Gene unusually brain-dead. The way he ended up accomplishing this is going to be a mess to get working.[/quote]

I really hate to say this, Black, but it seems to me that you left your statement unfinished. I'm happy to have the SSD set up as a bootable drive, at last, but...

...you infer that there's a problem with the way that I got it done.

How is it a problem? What issues will I have that I wouldn't have if I had done the install another way?

Over the years, I've appreciated your suggestions, so for me and for some of our other friends who basically suggested the method that I ended up using, please clarify your seemingly negative pronouncement with an more detailed explanation.

I, for one, want to make sure that what I ended up doing to get the SSD up and running, isn't going to bite me in the tush, later on.

As you say, I do still have to "figure out how he's going to to be able to access most of his files." So, where's the explanation? If you see a problem with what I've done to clone the SSD, please don't leave me hanging. Fill in the answer.

I'm sure that not only will I be grateful, but no doubt others will be as well.

Rather than being seen as a "party pooper" the explanation would turn your statement into a welcome contribution.

I always appreciate the fact that you and all my other forum friends take the time to send their thoughts to me.

Immediately helpful or not, these thoughts seem to guide me to a successful conclusion.

I find that many things in life that are frustrating work out just fine, given a little time and lots of input. The more to choose from, the easier and better the solution.

So, Black, please don't leave me hanging. Please fill in the blanks!

Your friend,

GeneL

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

If this were me. And it was last year sometime. I would do a fresh install of the OS on the SSD. Then I would install all the apps I KNOW I will need immediately. Keeping in mind, I will be installing them in the future as needed. Keeps unnecessary cruft from transferring from the old drive. Then I would tell iTunes to use my larger HDD as the repository of all my music and make sure it "moves" everything there. In addition to the iTunes folder, I would have a photos folder as well as my "projects" folder.

That's it. The only thing extra required is a blank HDD to transfer the larger files to from the original HDD.

Was it instant gratification? No. It took a good bit to make sure I had reinstalled all the apps I needed. But it was also nice to know that I didn't move a bunch of apps (and their support files) that I hadn't used in years over to my current drive.

Furthermore, I kept my original backup (the source from which all this sprang) for a while so I could refer back to it if I needed some pref files or some Application Support files.

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Quote
bazookaman
If this were me. And it was last year sometime. I would do a fresh install of the OS on the SSD. Then I would install all the apps I KNOW I will need immediately. Keeping in mind, I will be installing them in the future as needed. Keeps unnecessary cruft from transferring from the old drive…

Yep, that's the procedure I used when I moved from my steam-powered 1937 Apple McIntosh confuser to my new Late 2012 iMac w/ Fusion drive.

It was a prolonged and painstaking process but my new system is super clean, reliable, and fast.

To set the record straight, I had recently done a fresh install of Lion to the original Apple drive that I cloned. Because I so rarely used it, it had most, if not all of my mainly used apps installed and not a lot more.

I'm thinking that it was the perfect candidate for making a clone to the SSD.

It would have been great if I had thought of it sooner, but it didn't come to mind until after I struggled for awhile. Seems to have ended well, though.

Now, I do need more suggestions about how to bring the SSD up to speed with a clean connection to any and all the files that are still on the 1TB internal drive that has been my main "working" drive, until now.

From what I've seen, the end result should make it seem as if all my files are stored on the SSD, even though they are actually on another drive.

One question comes to my mind. Should I change the drive, which is now a "slave" by removing the OS and treat it just like a folder? I'm not sure how I'd do that.

How I set up this function is the balance of this project and that is where I need guidance.

May I have more gruel, I mean guidance, PLEASE!

I may have to hit the lottery in order to buy all the margaritas that I'm offering in thanks for the very kind support that everyone has given me.

Thanks again!

GeneL

Quote
bazookaman
If this were me. And it was last year sometime. I would do a fresh install of the OS on the SSD. Then I would install all the apps I KNOW I will need immediately. Keeping in mind, I will be installing them in the future as needed. Keeps unnecessary cruft from transferring from the old drive.

That's it.

The only thing extra required is a blank HDD to transfer the larger files to from the original HDD. This puzzles me. I have four internal drives, two of which are 1TB and have been used as my main drive and backup. They have everything on them that I've been using over time. So, why would I need a blank hard drive and why have to transfer anything from my original drive, since it's right there in my Mac Pro?

Was it instant gratification? No. It took a good bit to make sure I had reinstalled all the apps I needed. But it was also nice to know that I didn't move a bunch of apps (and their support files) that I hadn't used in years over to my current drive.

Furthermore, I kept my original backup (the source from which all this sprang) for a while so I could refer back to it if I needed some pref files or some Application Support files.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Quote
GeneL
One question comes to my mind. Should I change the drive, which is now a "slave" by removing the OS and treat it just like a folder?

HELL no.

It's handy to have a spare boot drive, the items in the Library folder may prove valuable as you accommodate the move to the SSD and the OS, itself, takes up little drive-space.

Okay! Thanks.

I'm still looking for the method to use to complete the install. How do I best create the links to the "old" drive.

I did see the tips about iTunes and that I can link to the iPhoto library by holding down the option key when I open iPhoto on the SSD. That's right isn't it.

What concerns me are the several inferences that it's more complicated than it appears to create the linkage between the SSD and the files on the old drive. It seems that if I don't do it the"right" way, it will create problems.

I'm in the dark about this, so please, someone enlighten me.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

My concern would be that Gene's landlocked, and can't surf the waves of Mavericks, and beyond, on that old tower. A new Mini will probably be in his future anyway, so this bunch of hoop-jumping is basically a practice run; it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to give him that wonderful SSD experience that is continually praised amongst these parts. Whether all the apps and files are set up completely properly really doesn't matter. As long as enough of them are, he gets the SSD wow factor, which ought to be considered a success given the scope of his project.

'zook nailed THE solution, anything else is just part of an extended learning experience, which will hopefully be beneficial at some point in the future as additions to Gene's toolkit. If he gets it working, for now, whether it's 100% proper or not, and sleeps better, it is a win. Perfection awaits Gene on his future Mini... and he has something to look forward to; I'm pretty sure none of us here would wish for anyone to really be stuck on Lion forever.
==

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Sometimes it is what it is...
and then there's times when it's really better.



==

Very true, Buzz.

Thanks!

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Quote
GeneL
What concerns me are the several inferences that it's more complicated than it appears to create the linkage between the SSD and the files on the old drive. It seems that if I don't do it the"right" way, it will create problems.

I'm in the dark about this, so please, someone enlighten me.

Aliases work fine for most purposes.

If a program squawks that it can't find a file or support file when you KNOW that you've got the aliases set up correctly then we'll talk about making links in the Terminal. But there's no need to complicate things with that discussion right now.

Quote
bazookaman
If this were me. And it was last year sometime. I would do a fresh install of the OS on the SSD. Then I would install all the apps I KNOW I will need immediately. Keeping in mind, I will be installing them in the future as needed. Keeps unnecessary cruft from transferring from the old drive. Then I would tell iTunes to use my larger HDD as the repository of all my music and make sure it "moves" everything there. In addition to the iTunes folder, I would have a photos folder as well as my "projects" folder.

That's it. The only thing extra required is a blank HDD to transfer the larger files to from the original HDD.

Was it instant gratification? No. It took a good bit to make sure I had reinstalled all the apps I needed. But it was also nice to know that I didn't move a bunch of apps (and their support files) that I hadn't used in years over to my current drive.

Furthermore, I kept my original backup (the source from which all this sprang) for a while so I could refer back to it if I needed some pref files or some Application Support files.

I'm not shouting above the din here with detailed instructions-- you know you won't even try to read anything longer than a short paragraph.
I did post my solution prior to your response in brief-- 40 minutes before your response. Did you read it?

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2014 04:41PM by Black.

Quote
Black
I'm not shouting above the din here with detailed instructions-- you know you won't even try to read anything longer than a short paragraph.
I did post my solution prior to your response in brief-- 40 minutes before your response. Did you read it?

I'm afraid that it got lost among the many responses on the several threads that I started.

As they say, "My bad!!"

My main takeaway is that I now have a lot of useful information that I didn't know before.

Thank you for letting me have your input. It's always welcome, my friend.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Gene,
Is your i TB internal (main boot drive) still intact? Or have you deleted things?

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

I haven't done anything to it, as far as I can tell.

When I tried using the Migration Assistant it didn't work out, but I don't think that any changes were made.

I do have the clean backup on the other 1TB drive, as well.

What is your thought about it?

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

I think you should wipe the SSD and try again to clone directly from the 1 TB internal. As far as what not to bring over, keep it very simple.
You said in another thread that your cloing app (which I've never heard of) has the option to uncheck files or folders.

Here is your stuff per a previous thread:

Applications=90GB
Desktop=126GB
Documents (which includes the very necessary Microsoft Identity file) =126GB
Downloads=9GB
Dropbox=531MB
Installers Folder=685MB
Movies, Music & Pictures Folders=156GB
Public (seems to only hold Dropbox) =0GB
Stored Desktop Files saved from previous backup (I don't know that this has to be in the Home folder?)=84GB

Question-- where is all this? Does the above describe exactly what you see when you open your "home" folder?

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Also-- is there anything on the desktop that you may be able to 'put away' into your documents or media folder somewhere?

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Quote
Black
I think you should wipe the SSD and try again to clone directly from the 1 TB internal. As far as what not to bring over, keep it very simple.
You said in another thread that your cloing app (which I've never heard of) has the option to uncheck files or folders.

Here is your stuff per a previous thread:

Applications=90GB
Desktop=126GB
Documents (which includes the very necessary Microsoft Identity file) =126GB
Downloads=9GB
Dropbox=531MB
Installers Folder=685MB
Movies, Music & Pictures Folders=156GB
Public (seems to only hold Dropbox) =0GB
Stored Desktop Files saved from previous backup (I don't know that this has to be in the Home folder?)=84GB

Question-- where is all this? Does the above describe exactly what you see when you open your "home" folder?

Yes, everything I listed was in my Home Folder.

Quote
Black
Also-- is there anything on the desktop that you may be able to 'put away' into your documents or media folder somewhere?

I'm sure that I could do that. I mainly leave things on my Desktop, so that I won't forget about them. (76 years old and not enough sleep)

Once I bury something, I'll probably never see it again.

I do my best to keep the number of items on my Desktop to a minimum by putting as much as I can in dedicated folders.

I can see that I have an issue that will exist until I am able to link my apps back to the 1TB drive.

I just wanted to check some info that I had put on a Sticky. I couldn't access the saved Stickies back on the 1TB drive.

I opened the 1TB drive in the Finder and made an alias for the Sticky app, but that didn't work.

Is there a simple way for me to access that info from the SSD? If there is, I should be able to use that information with other applications, as well. shouldn't I?

Thanks!

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Not willing to help clean up this mess piece by piece, sorry.
I am willing to help you do it again and get it right.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

This is where your choices get messy.

You could alias the whole Preferences folder from the Library folder in the home folder on the 1TB drive to the corresponding folder on the SSD (which would effectively replace all of your user preferences/settings on the SSD with the preferences from the 1TB drive)...

Or you could make an alias from the "StickiesDatabase" file from the Preferences folder from the Library folder in the home folder on the 1TB drive to the corresponding folder on the SSD which would only mess with the Stickies database, linking back to the database file on the 1TB drive...

Or, because it's a tiny little file, you could just copy the "StickiesDatabase" file from the Preferences folder from the Library folder in the home folder on the 1TB drive to the corresponding folder on the SSD.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2014 07:34PM by Chakravartin.

I can't seem to find the "StickiesDatabase."

There's no sign of the Library Folder in my Home Folder???

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Quote
GeneL
I can't seem to find the "StickiesDatabase."

There's no sign of the Library Folder in my Home Folder???

It's hidden.

Hold down the option key when you click on the "Go" menu in the Finder and you will find a link to it.

...This gets you into the Library folder on whatever your current boot drive is.

To get into the Library folder on the 1TB hard drive, use the "Go to folder" command under the "Go" menu in the Finder. It'll pop up a window for you to type a path into... You'll have to figure out the exact path for yourself, but it will look something like this:

/Volumes/[name of 1TB hard drive]/Users/[name on my home folder on the 1TB hard drive]/Library



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2014 08:00PM by Chakravartin.

Chakravartin, here's what I see in my Home Folder…

[/url]

I'm not sure how I ended up with a separate folder named APPS. I did put a folder like that on my Dock. Same name and color, but I don't know how it changed things in my Home Folder.

Can I just drag all of my apps back into the Applications Folder and delete that yellow APPs folder?

I have no idea where I got the Calibre Library folder??? It doesn't contain anything important.

The main thing is that I don't know where the Library Folder that should be in the Home Folder has gone???

I'll follow your instructions to find it, but can you assist me in straightening the rest out?

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gl @ Dana Point, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2014 02:30AM by GeneL.

Quote
GeneL
Can I just drag all of my apps back into the Applications Folder and delete that yellow APPs folder?

Ordinarily, the Applications folder in the home folder is redundant and empty. Do you have stuff in there?

Quote
GeneL
I have no idea where I got the Calibre Library folder??? It doesn't contain anything important.

Something named Calibre probably created it there.

Quote
GeneL
The main thing is that I don't know where the Library Folder that should be in the Home Folder has gone???

It's there. You just can't see it.

Apple made it invisible in Mac OS X 10.7.

(Another way to see it is to hack the Finder pref's to show all invisible files, but that can be scary. There's a LOT of stuff hidden from you in the Mac OS.)

Gene, I have to say that as convenient as it is to have everything on your desktop, it's killing your speed with finder.

What I do for key folders is move them to documents, and make an alias to put into the desktop.

In Mac OS X, a cluttered desktop just slows everything down. Lots of reports on the web to discuss details.

As needed, I've even made a folder in my documents that is 'old desktop files' to help me get going. If I really need that file, I go and get it and put it back onto my desktop.

Just trying to help.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2014 02:52PM by sekker.

I thought the "too many files on desktop slowing down finder" canard died with OS9.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

Quote
Black
I thought the "too many files on desktop slowing down finder" canard died with OS9.

If you have "show icon preview" enabled in the view preferences for the Desktop then the Finder will be constantly refreshing those icons on the Desktop, providing "live" and potentially interactive previews for every item on the Desktop.

You can actually navigate multi-page PDF documents and play movies in tiny thumbnail form.

It's clever, but it's also a huge waste of processing power. With dozens of icons on the Desktop -- especially for images, PDFs and video files -- the Finder's speed will take a hit.

Quote
sekker
Terrific!

Quote
billb
Congratulations.
Here's a zucchini.

Are those from your garden?

Yeah.
Got a bunch of funny looking zucchini this year, especially the half green/half yellow ones.

Quote
Chakravartin

Quote
Black
I thought the "too many files on desktop slowing down finder" canard died with OS9.

If you have "show icon preview" enabled in the view preferences for the Desktop then the Finder will be constantly refreshing those icons on the Desktop, providing "live" and potentially interactive previews for every item on the Desktop.

You can actually navigate multi-page PDF documents and play movies in tiny thumbnail form.

It's clever, but it's also a huge waste of processing power. With dozens of icons on the Desktop -- especially for images, PDFs and video files -- the Finder's speed will take a hit.

So we:
a) Know that "show icon preview" was enabled on Gene's Mac Pro
b) Know that he had files pretty much covering his desktop, rather than a few hefty folders causing all that bulk, and
c) believe that was "killing his speed with the finder?"

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2014 08:47AM by Black.

My number one maintenance item I do when helping a long-time Mac user is have them clean up their desktop.

It can be a dramatic and instant speed boost.

He has over 120GB on his desktop. It's a good bet that moving all of that stuff to his document folder would help.

Umm, his desktop folder IS his document folder - the two are identical in size. Also his Applications folder has over 90 GB in it. Go check your own App folder and see how large it is.

Quote
PeterW
Also his Applications folder has over 90 GB in it. Go check your own App folder and see how large it is.

That DOES seem a bit excessive.

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