What is the easiest way to change my 160 GB HD for a 500 GB using Mac OS X

Question

I have a Mac with Mac OS X 10.5.8 installed. My 160 GB hard drive is almost full and I want to replace it with a 500 GB hard drive. What is the best way to transfer all data (including the system configuration) to the new drive?

I have some limitations: - I don't have a SATA USB adapter

And some tools: - I have storage on my network, with enough capacity to put all 160 GB content there.

I thought about using Time Machine this way:

1. Backup my 160 GB hard drive to my Time Machine hard drive
2. Remove the 160 GB hard drive, put the 500 GB hard drive
3. Install Mac OS X on the 500 GB hard drive
4. Restore from Time Machine

I'm almost sure this will work, but I want an easier, quick and intelligent solution. What could it be?

Answer 1

You can use Disk Utility from your install DVD to make a disk image of your internal hard drive to your network drive. Then after having switched from the 160 GB to the 500 GB hard drive, you restore your disk image to the 500 GB hard drive, also using Disk Image from the install DVD.

Answer 2

Carbon Copy Cloner has worked every time for me in the past. And it's free!

Extract from the site follows: CCC 3 features an interface designed to make the cloning and backup procedure very intuitive. In addition to general backup, CCC can also clone one hard drive to another, copying every single block or file to create an exact replica of your source hard drive. CCC's block-level copy offers the absolute best fidelity in the industry!