what is best way to move from old mac to new mac?

[settledown]

i am getting a new powerbook to replace my current indigo imac.
What is the easiest and most thourough way to move all my stuff from the imac to the PB?
I know how to network them and all that, copying over the documents is the easy part...
I am referring to the passwords for my oft used web sites, cookies, actually anything safari related, plus all of the apps I use, and their preferences, and licenses, my keychain settings, screen savers, etc.

I have cloned a disk in the past but that was just to upgrade the hard drive in a different imac(orange), i would like to use the installed OS in my new PB, but i want everything else from my current setup. Logic there is that there may be machine specific things in the OS that arent in my imac's OS.
New machine migrations occur everyday, I just want the best and easiest method.

 

[patrick0brien]

Re: what is best way to move from old mac to new mac?

Originally posted by settledown
i am getting a new powerbook to replace my current indigo imac.
What is the easiest and most thourough way to move all my stuff from the imac to the PB?
I know how to network them and all that, copying over the documents is the easy part...
I am referring to the passwords for my oft used web sites, cookies, actually anything safari related, plus all of the apps I use, and their preferences, and licenses, my keychain settings, screen savers, etc.

I have cloned a disk in the past but that was just to upgrade the hard drive in a different imac(orange), i would like to use the installed OS in my new PB, but i want everything else from my current setup. Logic there is that there may be machine specific things in the OS that arent in my imac's OS.
New machine migrations occur everyday, I just want the best and easiest method.

-settledown

Is this and OS X to OS X transfer?

If so, creat on your new box yoru user account (probably with the same credentials), and simply copy the contents of the home folder from the old account to the new one. All of your passwords, prefs and files will make the move.

 

[settledown]

yes, 10.2.8 on the imac (i update constantly)

is it as simple as that? Just copy my home directory over to the PB?

But my apps are in the main App folder, and thus their prefs in the main library, right?

Ok, clone the home directory to the PB, but what else would need done?

 

[patrick0brien]

Re: yes, 10.2.8 on the imac (i update constantly)

Originally posted by settledown
is it as simple as that? Just copy my home directory over to the PB?

But my apps are in the main App folder, and thus their prefs in the main library, right?

Ok, clone the home directory to the PB, but what else would need done?

-settledown

Actually, your prefs are in the Library of the user, not the main.

But you bring a good point, you will need to bring the apps over as well, just select all of the contents of your source Applications folder and drag to the target Applications folder, and decline all of the replacement requests.

I would also check the main library for any prefs and screensavers that you might miss.

Also keep your old machine live for a while in case you missed something - you will still have the ability to go get it.

 

[settledown]

i posted this to the software forum

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a migration App (like the XP to OSX helper from...Dantz was it? or Aladin?)?

Just answer some simple questions

Which Bookmarks?
Which Apps?
Which Passwords?
Which whatever?

Then it burns you a disk, you plop it into your new machine and BINGO.

I'll beta it for you!!
I dont want royalties, just a free copy of the software.

p.s. would Apple's Backup.app do this in a not so obvious in your face way?