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Necross

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 31, 2011
129
33
So I want to get one of the new iMacs. I have a 17" 2010 macbook pro. Is possible to just copy all of my settings, programs and files over to the iMac, like there's no change or anything? The new iMac doesn't have a CD drive, and I'm going to need to install all of my Adobe CS stuff on it, but if I could just suck everything over to the new iMac that would be great.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
So I want to get one of the new iMacs. I have a 17" 2010 macbook pro. Is possible to just copy all of my settings, programs and files over to the iMac, like there's no change or anything? The new iMac doesn't have a CD drive, and I'm going to need to install all of my Adobe CS stuff on it, but if I could just suck everything over to the new iMac that would be great.

Just connect an ethernet cable between the two machines and run Migration Assistant. That will copy over your personal account and data as well as your apps to the new machine.

Just be aware thought, that some apps require you to reenter the registration serial number when you do this. MS and Adobe apps seem to be the most picky about this.
 

Necross

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 31, 2011
129
33
yeah the serial #'s are no problem, was more worried about actually installing when I have no dvd drive in the new imac

So now i wonder, will i have to deactivate my adobe software on the old mac? They let you install it twice and my macbook is the 2nd install, the 1st is my mac at the office
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
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California
yeah the serial #'s are no problem, was more worried about actually installing when I have no dvd drive in the new imac

So now i wonder, will i have to deactivate my adobe software on the old mac? They let you install it twice and my macbook is the 2nd install, the 1st is my mac at the office

I'm going to say yes... there was a member on here last week that sold a machine and forgot to deactivate. He was only able to activate on the new machine after calling Adobe for a new code. So apparently, they can tell if you have hit the limit.
 

hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA
yeah the serial #'s are no problem, was more worried about actually installing when I have no dvd drive in the new imac

So now i wonder, will i have to deactivate my adobe software on the old mac? They let you install it twice and my macbook is the 2nd install, the 1st is my mac at the office

Yes, for Adobe software you will want to deactivate it on your old machine. Adobe keeps a counter of your installations, and it will be painless if you keep within that limit, otherwise, you will have to phone them (which isn't all that bad either).

I wish Microsoft had a "deactivate" for a Windows install that would eliminate the lengthy phone call to read off a 64 character code, and then slowly re-enter a different 64 character code. That is tedious!
 

APPLE-FANATIC

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2012
690
0
Texas
So from what I am reading (thanks for the links BTW) is its best if I install everything from Time Machine onto my new iMac since I use an external HDD with my macbook Pro thats houses all my files and TM B/U's. I guess it beats doing a MacBook Pro to iMac Transfer, especially if using a TB Ext HDD on the iMac.......not hard to confuse things, lol. :confused:
 

12dylan34

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2009
884
15
So to be clear, if I just use Migration Assistant with my Time Machine backup of my current machine, everything should be the same as it was on my old computer if I've only used my Adobe CS licenses once? Like all of my CS app preferences from .plist files, everything should be the same?
 
Last edited:

digitalfailure

macrumors regular
Sep 24, 2012
166
1
I'm going to be faced with this issue soon for the first time, so a bit of advice would be nice (pardon the thread crash)

I don't want to copy over photoshop cs4, lightroom 2 or my onone suite as I have newer versions.

other things like handbrake and open office I can re download, can I use the set up assistant and NOT copy apps, but still copy documents and emails and itunes music etc?
 

Roller

macrumors 68030
Jun 25, 2003
2,852
1,967
I'm going to be faced with this issue soon for the first time, so a bit of advice would be nice (pardon the thread crash)

I don't want to copy over photoshop cs4, lightroom 2 or my onone suite as I have newer versions.

other things like handbrake and open office I can re download, can I use the set up assistant and NOT copy apps, but still copy documents and emails and itunes music etc?

Yes, you can omit applications when you migrate. Unfortunately, it's an all-or-none proposition - you can't move apps selectively this way. If there are only a few specific ones that you don't want to migrate, you could delete them first. Personally, I'm planning not to migrate any apps and will re-install them on my new iMac.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
So from what I am reading (thanks for the links BTW) is its best if I install everything from Time Machine onto my new iMac since I use an external HDD with my macbook Pro thats houses all my files and TM B/U's. I guess it beats doing a MacBook Pro to iMac Transfer, especially if using a TB Ext HDD on the iMac.......not hard to confuse things, lol. :confused:

You could do the MA transfer either way and have the same end result. The only difference, and you mentioned it, is moving the MA data in from a Time Machine external TB drive will be much much faster.

One thing to remember, and this is a common mistake. When you start the new machine run Migration Assistant right away. Do not create your account on the new machine and then run MA... this will create a second account and makes a big mess. When you do the MA import is will create the account for you.
 

rangers12

macrumors member
Sep 10, 2009
61
9
If I want to transfer all my files/apps from my old Imac to my new one- can I keep my time machine backup the same? Do I need to create a new one?

Not sure if it's better to use migration assistant or backup from Time Machine- if I want to keep using my existing Time Machine backup, would it make a difference which way I did it?
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
If I want to transfer all my files/apps from my old Imac to my new one- can I keep my time machine backup the same? Do I need to create a new one?

Yes, you can keep the same Time Machine backup if you like. After the Migration Assist and when you go to use TM the first time you will get a message like this asking if you want to "inherit" the old backup. Personally, if you have the disk space, I like to create a new backup set with the new machine just to start fresh. Then after a couple weeks if the new machine is running okay, I delete the old backup. Just my preference... either way is fine.

Not sure if it's better to use migration assistant or backup from Time Machine- if I want to keep using my existing Time Machine backup, would it make a difference which way I did it?

You can use Migration Assistant from either the old machine directly or from the Time Machine backup. The end result will be exactly the same and either way will have no impact on the Time Machine backup data.
 

xgman

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2007
5,671
1,378
Is it possible to boot the new imac directly from an existing 10.8.2 external TB drive (taken right out of a 2010 mac pro)? or will certain drivers be missing and it won't boot?
 

Kirk

macrumors regular
Jan 6, 2004
213
24
Norway
I am replacing my 2007 iMac, and I don't want to transfer all the mess from the old iMac. Basically I just want my music from iTunes and all my photos from iPhoto. What will be the easiest way to do that?
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
Is it possible to boot the new imac directly from an existing 10.8.2 external TB drive (taken right out of a 2010 mac pro)? or will certain drivers be missing and it won't boot?

Maybe. Some newer machines have a special build of OS X even of the same version number. I know the new retina 15" had a special build so doing what you suggest would not work.

I have not seen posts from new iMac owners yet saying if the new machine uses a special build or not. If it does not use a special build number, then yes what you want to do would work.

I am replacing my 2007 iMac, and I don't want to transfer all the mess from the old iMac. Basically I just want my music from iTunes and all my photos from iPhoto. What will be the easiest way to do that?

Here is how to copy your iTunes library over. Follow this to move your iPhoto library to an external drive then copy it to the new machine.
 

NicB

macrumors newbie
Dec 12, 2012
10
0
This has been a useful thread for me--thanks for these answers, Weaselboy--I'm on a 2006 white iMac and am dying to move it all over to the 27" iMac when it arrives. It's been a LONG wait for the new iMacs for me.

I've used MA before with no glitches. However, this is the first time I'll be moving to a new computer where I haven't upgraded all the apps to their current versions first. For instance, the iPhoto on my 2006 iMac isn't what's on the new iMacs. When I use MA, will it automatically use the newer software? Or should I upgrade on the old iMac first to keep the transition smooth?
 

hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA
Maybe. Some newer machines have a special build of OS X even of the same version number. I know the new retina 15" had a special build so doing what you suggest would not work.

I have not seen posts from new iMac owners yet saying if the new machine uses a special build or not. If it does not use a special build number, then yes what you want to do would work.



Here is how to copy your iTunes library over. Follow this to move your iPhoto library to an external drive then copy it to the new machine.

I am assuming that the new iMac, like the new Mac Mini, will have the newer build of OS X 10.8.2 which will have Disk Utility support for Fusion drives. It will be important not to destroy that immediately, since it appears to be a lengthy process to try to restore it. Probably best to do a full backup first if you are going to do anything potentially destructive.

However, using the migration program should be fine, or using any of the linked techniques to pull just iTunes music library and photo libraries over to the new iMac.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
This has been a useful thread for me--thanks for these answers, Weaselboy--I'm on a 2006 white iMac and am dying to move it all over to the 27" iMac when it arrives. It's been a LONG wait for the new iMacs for me.

I've used MA before with no glitches. However, this is the first time I'll be moving to a new computer where I haven't upgraded all the apps to their current versions first. For instance, the iPhoto on my 2006 iMac isn't what's on the new iMacs. When I use MA, will it automatically use the newer software? Or should I upgrade on the old iMac first to keep the transition smooth?

If there is a newer version of an app on the new machine, MA will see that and leave it alone. What you will notice though it the first time you run iPhoto on the new machine you will get a message that the iPhoto library is from an older version and it needs to be converted. Just click okay, and the conversion takes a minute or two and you will be back in business.

----------

I am assuming that the new iMac, like the new Mac Mini, will have the newer build of OS X 10.8.2 which will have Disk Utility support for Fusion drives.

Yes... good point. I would say you can just about bet the new iMac will have its own 10.8.2 build number to accommodate Fusion.
 

NicB

macrumors newbie
Dec 12, 2012
10
0
Thank you. Should be very straightforward...and it'll save me the cost of upgrading any old software. Not that I'm "saving" as I'm paying for the updated versions on the new iMac :)
 

Necross

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 31, 2011
129
33
ANother question about copying everything over. If I go the ethernet route... I have a bootcamp partition on my Macbook right now, will it copy that over too and windows will be ready to go right off the bat? Or will I need to redo all of my windows stuff? I don't keep much on there anyway, but still...
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,494
California
ANother question about copying everything over. If I go the ethernet route... I have a bootcamp partition on my Macbook right now, will it copy that over too and windows will be ready to go right off the bat? Or will I need to redo all of my windows stuff? I don't keep much on there anyway, but still...

You will need to move the Windows partition over separately. Start at step 14 of this article.
 
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