Best way to backup and transfer files to new 2012 iMac?

[Kmad86]

Just got my new 27" in today.

I have a 2.2Ghz i7 17" MBP that I have been using for just a few months. I have kept it very clutter free and just with the essentials that I use and all of my mail accounts are configured correctly. I also use Parallels desktop and have it configured to my liking. Sure, I could start this new iMac fresh but would really like if I could transfer my hard drive over to the new iMac as a carbon copy. I could use Carbon Copy Cloner, but is there any con to doing that?

Did it really matter that the original computer the OS was installed on has now changed?

I just ordered my SSD today so I have a few days to think this over. If there is no downside to a carbon copy image then that's the route I figure I will go.

Thanks!

[Heresiarch]

Same here. I would like to move the things in my MBA to the iMac. I know airdrop is extremely convenient to move things around, but can you still drag & drop apps like that?

[Razorhog]

I used Migration Assistant with a cat6 cable between my old iMac and new iMac. Worked great. When it's done, the new machine will be just like the old one - all programs, settings, etc. Not sure about parallels though. I know Migration assistant won't transfer a bootcamp partition, so it might not with parallels. There is probably a way to move a VM to a new computer though.

[rkaufmann87]

Originally Posted by Kmad86

Just got my new 27" in today.

I have a 2.2Ghz i7 17" MBP that I have been using for just a few months. I have kept it very clutter free and just with the essentials that I use and all of my mail accounts are configured correctly. I also use Parallels desktop and have it configured to my liking. Sure, I could start this new iMac fresh but would really like if I could transfer my hard drive over to the new iMac as a carbon copy. I could use Carbon Copy Cloner, but is there any con to doing that?

Did it really matter that the original computer the OS was installed on has now changed?

I just ordered my SSD today so I have a few days to think this over. If there is no downside to a carbon copy image then that's the route I figure I will go.

Thanks!

The best method is to use an external HD and create a bootable clone of your old computer. You will need to use either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. You can re-use the EHD as a backup for either the new or old machine after migrating. Then when the new machine arrives when you turn it on for the first time it automatically starts Setup Assistant. Setup Assistant will prompt you to migrate from another Mac. Pondini does and awesome job of explaining this and how to use it in:

http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html

Read that and use it and your migration will be extremely easy!!!

The down side is no migration will migrate MS Windows so you will need to re-install it. Parallels will migrate fine but Windows will not!

[Kmad86]

Originally Posted by rkaufmann87

The best method is to use an external HD and create a bootable clone of your old computer. You will need to use either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. You can re-use the EHD as a backup for either the new or old machine after migrating. Then when the new machine arrives when you turn it on for the first time it automatically starts Setup Assistant. Setup Assistant will prompt you to migrate from another Mac. Pondini does and awesome job of explaining this and how to use it in:

http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html

Read that and use it and your migration will be extremely easy!!!

The down side is no migration will migrate MS Windows so you will need to re-install it. Parallels will migrate fine but Windows will not!

Any suggestion on SuperDuper or CCC being better?

[imjoee]

Originally Posted by Razorhog

I used Migration Assistant with a cat6 cable between my old iMac and new iMac. Worked great. When it's done, the new machine will be just like the old one - all programs, settings, etc. Not sure about parallels though. I know Migration assistant won't transfer a bootcamp partition, so it might not with parallels. There is probably a way to move a VM to a new computer though.

When transferring the data, does it give you an option to select specific items/documents/apps when you transfer the data? Because I have a multi account iMac and there's about 4 accounts, is there a way to just transfer my own specific account without transferring the entire hard drive?

[Razorhog]

Originally Posted by imjoee

When transferring the data, does it give you an option to select specific items/documents/apps when you transfer the data? Because I have a multi account iMac and there's about 4 accounts, is there a way to just transfer my own specific account without transferring the entire hard drive?

It gives the option to choose accounts, apps, etc. I'm not sure if you can transfer just one account. I'm about to do a migration, I'll check the options.

[Razorhog]

There is only one account to transfer on the mac i'm working on. However, it looked like you could choose a particular account.

[torana355]

Originally Posted by rkaufmann87

The best method is to use an external HD and create a bootable clone of your old computer. You will need to use either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. You can re-use the EHD as a backup for either the new or old machine after migrating. Then when the new machine arrives when you turn it on for the first time it automatically starts Setup Assistant. Setup Assistant will prompt you to migrate from another Mac. Pondini does and awesome job of explaining this and how to use it in:

http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html

Read that and use it and your migration will be extremely easy!!!

The down side is no migration will migrate MS Windows so you will need to re-install it. Parallels will migrate fine but Windows will not!

You cant do this, the new iMacs run a special version OF Mountain Lion!!! My old Mountain Lion bootable backup would not boot up. You need to use migration assistant or start fresh.

[pjfla]

I had this dilemma last night. I used (and would recommend) connecting each machine via ethernet cable and sharing from one machine to the other. Works MUCH faster than air drop / dropbox / wifi. I was amazed at how fast I moved nearly 2tb of data.

[Kmad86]

Originally Posted by torana355

You cant do this, the new iMacs run a special version OF Mountain Lion!!! My old Mountain Lion bootable backup would not boot up. You need to use migration assistant or start fresh.

Yeah, it won't boot my backup

[Icaras]

Time Capsule/Time Machine backup.

About 3 clicks and after a few hours, and done.

Couldn't be easier.

[Chris Blount]

Originally Posted by Icaras

Time Capsule/Time Machine backup.

About 3 clicks and after a few hours, and done.

Couldn't be easier.

THIS! Just use a Time Machine backup and restore. Don't mess with a clone.

[mchoffa]

I used migration assistant for the first time last night going from the Time Machine backup from my old 24" model to the new 27". Blown away by it. I left everything selected and to migrate ~400GB of data over it took just over 4 hours. Then it booted up and I logged in and had all my tabs open, the same apps opened back up, etc. as if I was using the same machine (except that it logged in in about 3 seconds instead of 30)

There were a couple small apps that required me to enter serial numbers again and reset a couple settings, and CS6 required me to activate, but other than that, no work on my part. Flawless and relatively quick.

This way worked best for me because I could still use the old machine while it was migrating.

[imjoee]

Originally Posted by Razorhog

There is only one account to transfer on the mac i'm working on. However, it looked like you could choose a particular account.

So you can manually select what you want to transfer?

[metssuck]

I'm using Time Machine to transfer from my MBP to my iMac

[slffl]

Migration Assistant and Time Machine is all you need.