[steveg_va]

Hi,

Not sure which forum is best to post. I have a Mini 9 (also a Mini 10v with HDD). The Mini 9, inadequate as it is for extensive typing, is more convenient to pack for a short trip where I do not expect to do more than read e-mails and maybe make a few terse replies. But, attempting to upgrade MacOS 10.5.x on the original 16GB SSD made it clear that I would not have sufficient space on the SDD, even though I had offloaded much stuff to a 16GB SD memory card permanently inserted. So, I had to delete most of the stuff from my home directory and some other stuff too (I forget by now) to be able to upgrade, and then restore it from Time Machine.

So, I ordered the latest (and greatest?) RunCore 64GB Pro IV Light 50MM Mini PCI-e SSDs for Dell Netbooks, and I expect delivery tomorrow. I regularly use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC), so will probably use that to clone the 64GB Runcore.

I get the impression from reading various forums that I will have to do the initial boot with my USB thumb drive with the installation files on it, and then somehow designated the cloned Runcore as the startup disk (but, first run NetBook Installer on it? -- or do that afterwards?). And, I also imagine that I would have to partition the Runcore first as MacOs, journaled, and with the GUID option selected?

Please, anybody in the know, confirm or correct me, and save me a lot of trouble.

Also, since MDD now sends an external case for future use with the discarded SDD, I wonder if that would be the preferred way to do the cloning. That is, to first install the new Runcore in the case and clone it that way to avoid breaking the fragile USB connector on the Runcore. Any comments on that, please?

Thanks for your guidance,

--SteveG_va

---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:43 PM ----------

One more question: Are the innards of the Mini 10v and Mini 9 sufficiently similar to permit cloning the contents of the HDD on my Mini 10v (running MacOS 10.6.3) to my new 64GB Runcore to be swapped into my Mini 9 (which is now running MacOS 10.5.8 on its original 16GB SDD)? Or do I have to first clone the 16GB SDD onto the 64GB Runcore SDD and then upgrade it to Snow Leopard (MacOS 10.6)?

Thanks,

--SteveG

[gustenhoff]

I think you have the right idea, I didn't clone from an existing OS so I'm not to sure. I just used the external dvd drive onto my 64 gig runcore. I do recommend using the external case that MDD had, I now use that as a bootable drive with ubuntu on it. Pretty nifty stuff. anyways, good luck.

[steveg_va]

Many thanks for the reassurance. --Steve

[minihack]

Been a lurker here for a while, but am becoming a veteran hackintosher having done a couple of desktops before now tackling the Mini.

I was sceptical at first of easy installers such as those we routinely use for the Mini, but am now a convert. I have done lots of alternative cloning methods in the last 48 hours finding the best ways to get an OS onto my 8GB drive, so my thoughts for most efficient use of your SSD and carriers to avoid unnecessary steps are this:

If you will have a USB carrier for your SSD then, if it is fragile, just take the SSD you want cloned straight out of your Mini and put it in the carrier. Put your new bigger drive into the Mini. Connect your USB carrier with the old SSD to your Mini.

Boot up the Mini and press 2 on start up so that you enable booting from your USB drive (advanced settings tab, enable USB Legacy booting, save and exit). When the device reboots, this time press 0 and select USB device. The Mini should happily boot from the drive.

Then go into disk utility, partition your new internal drive as you would normally - 1 partition, HFS+ journaled and select GUID under "options".
You can then if you have Carbon Copy Cloner or Superduper clone from your old to new drive or if you want to you can use Disk Utility again to restore from your old drive to your new one. Either way you'll want a full clone. After you have cloned you can open up NetbookInstaller from your applications (still booting from the USB drive) and run it with your new SSD as the target.

Shutdown, disconnect your USB drive and reboot. You can then disable USB legacy boot again during the startup if you want (not needed, but if you want to then press 2 during the Dell logo, go into the bios settings, advanced....etc.).

All very simple and straightforward.

Good luck and have fun.

BTW, the 10v installs are pretty much the same as the 9 installs so a clone from one to the other should be fine as far as booting is concerned, just remember to use NBI again on the new install as it'll recognise the new machine and re-do your needed extensions. I'd suggest if you have an older install maybe downloading and using the latest version for this.

[steveg_va]

Thanks for the tips. Still awaiting the Runcore 64GB module which is on the truck for delivery some time today. First thing that I will try will be to clone it from the HDD on my Mini 10v which already is running 10.6.3 and then see if I can make it work on the Mini 9 which is running 10.5.8. If not, I will re-initialize it and follow your suggestions. And, then, eventually, update to 10.6 and go through all the updating, etc. The external case that MDD supplies should make it relatively easy to try the various approaches.

[steveg_va]

Just for the record, folks, as soon as the RunCore 64GB SSD arrived, I put it in the external USB case that comes with it (GREAT IMPROVEMENT, MDD!) and cloned the HDD in my Mini 10v (running 10.6.3) to it. Then, I did a test run with it as the startup (still external) on my Mini 9 (which was running 10.5.8). It seemed to work, so I swapped the RunCore into the Mini 9 (ran NBI 0.8.4RC1 on it, of course), and started up. It seemed perfect at first--too good to be true. And, it was too good to be true, because, though the speakers worked after another restart, the internal microphone was not recognized.

I then applied several "fixes" mentioned in the Forum, but things just got worse (no speakers, either). When I restarted from the 10.5.8 system from the external case, audio (mic and speakers) worked fine. So, I gave up and used the original STEC 16GB SSD, now in the external USB case, to re-clone the internal RunCore 64GB back to 10.5.8. And, that works fine in the Mini 9.

I note from the Forum that 10.6.3 exhibits audio problems. My apologies for not linking back to them, but I just learned about linking back. And, alas, I have since closed those tabs in my browser and cannot locate them easily.

Bottom line: I do not know whether the audio issues that I experienced in my Mini 9 with 10.6.3 are attributable to 10.6.3 oddities (as others have reported) or to some Mini 10v-specific objects that are not compatible with the Mini 9. Also, I wish to sing the praises of the new RunCore Pro IV PATA 50mm Mini PCIe SSD package that comes complete with the correct size screw driver (Philips 0) and an external USB case and cable. The RunCore Pro IV SSD has the same form factor of the initial STEC SSD, so it does not overlap the WLAN real estate inside the Mini 9, and the external case avoids the issues that others have reported about the USB port attached to the RunCore SSD breaking off (a USB port is still there, but no longer needed because of the superior solution with the external case).

[Akki]

I just got my KingSpec 32gb and it seems to have worked out well. I took the straight forward install route. I use Time Machine so I had a backup already. I physically installed the SSD, used my OSX install image from my original installation to restore from the TM backup, ran NBI on the new disk and was golden. The only hitch was getting chameleon to boot with the unformatted drive in place. I had to go into the BIOS and actively disable the drive to get my installer image to boot w/o hanging at an EBIOS error.