Help getting info off of old MBP HDD

Hello all,

Yesterday, someone offered to buy my 2011 MBP 15" computer for a great price. My fiancé and I both have MBA's for work, and the 15" was relegated to desktop duty anyway.

I sold the 2011 MPB, but not before removing the original hdd. The new buyer wanted an SSD anyway, so I was able to keep my information and worry less about subsequent purchasers accessing my old data.

Anyway, I bought a 27" iMac last night (for $1,511.xx at best buy btw) for our home computer.

However, I am wondering if I can simply connect the old MBP HDD to the iMac and drag and drop the info? I know the MBP HDD was the computer's main drive, and I wanted to ask if there was going to be any issues accessing the document files, music, movies, etc.

Also, I had Microsoft Office 2011 on the MBP. Is there any way I can move Office to the new iMac without buying a new copy/license?

Thank in advance for your responses.

(P.s. I put this thread here because it involves accessing data from the MBP. If the thread needs moved, please do so).

McGiord said:

You have several options. The key is how you want to.

i think the faster and easiest way to deliver your old MBP to the new owner is to simple copy or clone the MBP HDD to an external HDD.
Therefore you have a backup of your old HDD, and then afterwards without the time pressure you can use Migration Assistant to move over the user and data to the New iMac.

Or you can pursue other things like:

1) putting the MBP in Target Disk Mode and connecting it to your iMac it will be seen as an external HDD
2) Connect both Macs using your network (slower)
3) Remove the HDD and then the new owner will be halfway there to install the SSD.

Some instructions that can help you:
Migration Assistant
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5872?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

How to remove the HDD from the Macbook:
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_15"_Unibody

Click to expand...

Sorry if I wasn't clear before. I have already completed the sale. The only remnant of my old MBP that I still have is the HDD. I also have an enclosure that I plan to put the HDD into in order to access the data.

My question is more about what to do after I have connected the USB to the iMac. Do I absolutely HAVE to use migration assistant? If so, will it basically just be like cloning my old HDD? There are certain things that I want to move to the new iMac, but there is also a TON of stuff that I don't even want to put on the new machine. I was looking for guidance mainly on how to move programs (i.e. MS office, etc) and documents over to the new machine without being forced to dump EVERYTHING on the new machine.

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yjchua95 said:

In this case, you should stick the MBP's HDD into a USB 3.0 enclosure and migrate the data into the 27". I'm not sure whether Migration Assistant can help or not though, but it's worth a shot.

Good move in getting rid of that 2011 15" MBP, that model's infamous for Radeongate.

Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks. Also, I didn't have any problems with the 2011 MPB, but with applecare expiring I didn't want to chance it. I originally thought I'd just reapply thermal paste, install an SSD, and hope for the best. But a buyer offered my $800, so I didn't want to walk away from that.

Plus, the lady has been wanting an iMac for the house for a couple of years.

It was a big debate between the iMac 27" and the rMBP 15" with an external display. In the end, the price at best buy for the 27" iMac was too good to pass up.

McGiord said:

To move only specific apps you can download them and re-install them.
For MS Office you only need to know what the serial key is, and enter it.
If you run into problems call Microsoft help desk.

Click to expand...

And therein lies the problem. I have since moved 2 times since purchasing the macbook pro/installing office. I don't know If I will be able to find the serial key or the box.

Thank you.

My only hope is that I am 99% sure I took a picture of the product key with my iPhone (back then) and saved the pics onto the hdd itself.

as much as I'd love to give MS the finger and not use their products anymore, my new employer uses Office for brief writing and editing. :-/

I also need to buy Adobe acrobat for pdf editing, but at least I can get the edu discount because the fiancé is a elementary teacher for a public school district.