New Macbook Pro 2012 Operating System onto new SSD?
A friend has just bought a brand new Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion OS. We are going to install an SSD to replace the standard HD that it shipped with, however, it looks like Apple don't ship with the OS on DVD any more. They have informed him there is a backup of the OS on another partition of the drive that his MBP shipped with.
My question is, bearing in mind this MBP hasn't been used yet - there is nothing to back up, we just want to install his fresh OS on the new SSD drive, what is the best way to go about this?
Solution 1:
Macs that shipped with Lion or newer come with a recovery feature which is part of the EFI firmware, so that if the hard drive fails, or you install a new hard drive without OS X, the computer can start recovery directly from the internet over a broadband connection.
To start Recovery, hold down the Command + R keys while booting. The interface is pretty straightforward after that and you should be able to figure it out.
Apple also has as support article on OS X Recovery, and one on which models can support internet recovery through a firmware update.
Solution 2:
In addition to internet recovery mentioned by Alain, you can also install the recovery software to an external USB drive from a running Mac OS X installation with a Recovery HD partition.
To do this, you can download an assistant from this support page: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433
Solution 3:
There are two recovery methods. The first is a local feature located on a hidden partition on the HDD shipped with the Macbook.
The second, as mentioned by Alain King is in the firmware of the Mac and does not require the hidden partition to be present to work. It's the Internet Recovery feature and can download the OS to a new, blank drive.
If you're just swapping the existing HDD for an SDD, my suggestion would be to follow Gerry's advice. Install to a USB drive, replace the HDD with the new SDD, boot from the external drive with the Recovery Assistant and install to the SSD. It would be faster than the Internet Recovery.
Another option (to make use of the HDD) would be to install both drives in lieu of an optical drive. I've written some on this topic that might prove helpful.