Question: I bought a 240 GB SSD to replace the 500 GB primary HDD in my new MacBook Pro.

How do I clone the current Lion system image on my 500 GB HDD to the SSD? I want to clone the entire drive not just copy data.

I can only have either the HDD or SSD in the MacBook Pro at a time. I have an external 500 GB USB drive that can I use if necessary. I've seen suggestions on using Carbon Copy Cloner but I'm not sure how to proceed with only one disk in the MacBook Pro at a time.

Answer: 
I would try to open the enclosure of your external USB drive and replace it with the SSD to clone your data.

Simple hard drive cloning using Carbon Copy Cloner
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1. Format the target drive with `Disk Utiliy.app` to **Mac OS Extendend (Journaled)** using the option **Erase**. This erases the drive and creates one partition across the entire disk.
2. [Download](http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html) and install Carbon Copy Cloner.
BTW: *Developers need to eat!* Therefore, I suggest making a small donation to Mike Bombich via Paypal.
3. In CCC configure **Source Disk: Macintosh HD** and **Target Disk: your\_formatted\_disk**. For cloning options choose **Backup everything** in order to make the target bootable. The time for cloning varies. It took me 105min to clone a 250GB Hitachi to a 500GB Seagate.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9nOWe.jpg)
4. Swap the hard drives and boot into your new hard drive. Repair your disk using Disk Utility.

[Source](http://mac101.net/content/how-to/simple-hard-drive-cloningbackup-with-carbon-copy-cloner/): credit to Mark West @ mac101.net
Some SSDs makers will sell it as an upgrade kit. It includes the SSD and SATA to USB adapter. You'll need to purchase the USB adapter. Plug it in and let carbon copy cloner do the rest.