I am upgrading my Wife's Laptop. I have done much research. It is a new task for me, I am pretty good with technical things, But I have next to no experience inside a computer. I do not know command lines. But I take direction very well. I have some questions to run by the community before I proceed any further. I will start with what I have done, and what I plan to do.
This is a mid 2013 13" MBA running Mac OSX Sierra, 128gb. I have ordered a sabrent Rocket 4 Plus M.2 PCIe NVME SSD, 1TB. Also a tool kit and a short 12+16 Pin adapter from sintech. Then,(I realized that our 500mb external HD was not going to be sufficient for back ups anymore) I ordered another Sabrent Rocket 2TB and enclosure, this is for external back up for this MBA and my MBP.
I also ordered a bootable usb off of amazon from china, it has High Sierra OSX. And I have reviewed and saved the sticky on this site that walks through the high points of this task.
Here is a couple of understandings that I have that if incorrect I hope someone will address. OSX High sierra is the first OSX that will run on an NVME SSD, Meaning I cannot just reboot from a clone or TM Back up, I will have to boot to at least High Sierra, then Migrate from a Clone or a TM back up. Also I understand that If I want to avoid Hibernation issues I will need to end up with at least OSX Big Sur. If any of this is wrong or inadvisable please say so.
I have made a Time Machine Back up on my 500GB EXT. HD. I Plan to partition the 2TB Rocket for our separate computers and Make a clone of her MBA on it before I proceed. This will give me three recovery options, TM Back up on the Ext. HD, Clone on the Ext. SSd, and the original SSD out of the laptop.
--Questions
#1 -My first worry is that maybe I should not trust the $8 High Sierra boot drive from amazon, due to possible malware or even just simple install issues. Is it even legal/ethical? Im just a little anxious about making my own boot drive. If advice is to not use it can I simply partition my 2TB rocket or even my old Ext HD and make a bootable drive there? If so which is best?
#2 - My second worry is about making the giant leap from Sierra to Big Sur. My Plan is to Boot the new SSD to High Sierra hoping to have the least issues, then if all goes well, update to Big Sur. Is that silly? Would anyone advise just booting with Big Sur initially?
#3 - What is the best way to clone the existing SSD to the Ext. SSD. Ive seen ways to do it with disc utility, and 3rd party apps. I have also read about booting from the internet, but I see some have ISP issues that I would like to not take a chance with, and Also I do not know if that will work with older versions of OSX.
#4 - I am unclear about the insulating tape strip that is supposed to be on the 12+16 pin adapter. I can't tell if it is there, Im not sure what it is for, or if I am supposed to leave it on when installing the new SSD. It does say that it is for older adapters, mine is new and doesn't look like to one in the picture. It is green and mine is all black.
I think I covered all the bases. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks to any who comment.
This is a mid 2013 13" MBA running Mac OSX Sierra, 128gb. I have ordered a sabrent Rocket 4 Plus M.2 PCIe NVME SSD, 1TB. Also a tool kit and a short 12+16 Pin adapter from sintech. Then,(I realized that our 500mb external HD was not going to be sufficient for back ups anymore) I ordered another Sabrent Rocket 2TB and enclosure, this is for external back up for this MBA and my MBP.
I also ordered a bootable usb off of amazon from china, it has High Sierra OSX. And I have reviewed and saved the sticky on this site that walks through the high points of this task.
Here is a couple of understandings that I have that if incorrect I hope someone will address. OSX High sierra is the first OSX that will run on an NVME SSD, Meaning I cannot just reboot from a clone or TM Back up, I will have to boot to at least High Sierra, then Migrate from a Clone or a TM back up. Also I understand that If I want to avoid Hibernation issues I will need to end up with at least OSX Big Sur. If any of this is wrong or inadvisable please say so.
I have made a Time Machine Back up on my 500GB EXT. HD. I Plan to partition the 2TB Rocket for our separate computers and Make a clone of her MBA on it before I proceed. This will give me three recovery options, TM Back up on the Ext. HD, Clone on the Ext. SSd, and the original SSD out of the laptop.
--Questions
#1 -My first worry is that maybe I should not trust the $8 High Sierra boot drive from amazon, due to possible malware or even just simple install issues. Is it even legal/ethical? Im just a little anxious about making my own boot drive. If advice is to not use it can I simply partition my 2TB rocket or even my old Ext HD and make a bootable drive there? If so which is best?
#2 - My second worry is about making the giant leap from Sierra to Big Sur. My Plan is to Boot the new SSD to High Sierra hoping to have the least issues, then if all goes well, update to Big Sur. Is that silly? Would anyone advise just booting with Big Sur initially?
#3 - What is the best way to clone the existing SSD to the Ext. SSD. Ive seen ways to do it with disc utility, and 3rd party apps. I have also read about booting from the internet, but I see some have ISP issues that I would like to not take a chance with, and Also I do not know if that will work with older versions of OSX.
#4 - I am unclear about the insulating tape strip that is supposed to be on the 12+16 pin adapter. I can't tell if it is there, Im not sure what it is for, or if I am supposed to leave it on when installing the new SSD. It does say that it is for older adapters, mine is new and doesn't look like to one in the picture. It is green and mine is all black.
I think I covered all the bases. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks to any who comment.
