Question about installing SSD into a Macbook Pro I want to upgrade the hard drive in my 2012 Macbook Pro to an SSD. I have the parts, but had a question about how to clone the contents of my current drive so I can install it onto the SSD.

I've seen tutorials where people suggest connecting the new SSD to the Macbook prior to installation and using a Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the drive, and then installing the SSD drive.

My question is, can I do a Time Machine backup of my current hard drive on an external hard drive, install the SSD, and then use the Time Machine backup from the external to transfer it onto the newly installed SSD? Is this the same as using the clone program above?
You can restore the backup onto the SSD so long as the SSD fits the entire contents of the backup[1].
According to Apple's support pages, you do not need to use an Apple Time Capsule for backups:

Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of your Mac. To use it, you need an external storage solution, sold separately:

External hard drive connected to a USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt port on your Mac
Time Capsule or macOS Server on your network
External hard drive connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme Base Station on your network


Then you would want to restore using macOS recovery using the &quot;Restore from Time Machine Backup&quot; utility.
[1]: It's possible this is not the same as the size used by your hard drive, as the Time Machine backup also has previous versions of files and deleted files. However, since you are newly setting up Time Machine, there would be no previous versions of files.